State and federal officials gathered at a electric utility substation in northeastern Minnesota Wednesday to celebrate the funding and approval of a $940 million transmission line project that’s designed to help power a carbon-free future for the Arrowhead region.

Duluth-based Minnesota Power plans to upgrade and expand an aging high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line that runs 465 miles from Center, N.D., to Hermantown to enable it to transport up to 1,500 megawatts of electricity, including renewable power from wind-rich North Dakota.

Minnesota Power’s transmission line is one of only a handful of existing HVDC lines in the country. These lines transmit electricity more efficiently over long distances than alternating current, or AC lines.

“Direct current is the best way to move lots of electricity far,” explained Pete Wyckoff, deputy commissioner of energy resources at the Minnesota Department of Commerce. “And we need more of these, particularly to places that need a lot of electricity.”

The project received approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in August. It’s funded in part with a $50 million grant from the bipartisan infrastructure law. It also received $25 million from the state of Minnesota, including a $15 million appropriation from the legislature.

“We’ve never made a direct appropriation to a utility company, but we did it because we knew that we had to address climate change,” said State Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown.

The project includes replacing converter stations at both ends of the line with new buildings and electrical infrastructure, allowing the utility to nearly double the amount of energy the line delivers. The stations convert the HVDC power to AC so it can flow onto the existing electric grid.

The upgraded line will also be able to move electricity in both directions, said Minnesota Power chief operating officer Josh Skelton.

The utility currently produces 60 percent of its electricity from carbon free resources, said Bethany Owen, CEO of Allete, the parent company of Minnesota Power.

The state’s utilities are required to produce 100 percent of their power from carbon free sources by 2040. Minnesota Power expects this project to be in service between 2028 and 2030.

Utilities and state and federal agencies are scrambling to build more electric transmission capacity in Minnesota and across the region, to transport renewable energy from where it’s produced — often in rural areas — to where it’s consumed.

While there’s not a huge population base in northeastern Minnesota, the region’s heavy industry uses enormous amounts of electric power, especially the six taconite mines and processing plants that dot the Iron Range.

The taconite ore mined in Minnesota is shipped to mills around the Great Lakes where it’s made into steel.

But officials believe this new transmission line, with its ability to transport huge amounts of renewable electricity, could pave the way to a future where more of that taconite ore is processed into steel and other products here in Minnesota.

“We can use electricity to make things like green hydrogen to react with Minnesota’s oxidized iron to make high value iron products,” said Wyckoff. Maybe even “green steel,” he continued. “That is the vision.”

MINNEAPOLIS — There are only two undefeated teams left after Week 5 of the NFL season: the Minnesota Vikings and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Both fan bases might be setting their sights on the playoffs already, but how successful are NFL teams that start 5-0? Good Question. 

Here’s why Vikings fans should be both excited and cautious given the team’s history.

Sit back and relax, Vikings fans, for the sweet taste of victory is all you know right now. Fans told WCCO they feel optimistic and good about the team so far. Fans of opposing teams are surprised to see the purple and gold at the top of the NFC North Division.

When asked if it’s fair to start thinking about the post-season, Vikings fan Mike Applequist said, “I’m not quite there yet. I’d say about 3-4 more games and I will be.”

From 1990, when the NFL expanded the playoffs, to the 2023-24 season, 64 teams have started the season 5-0.

The Vikings did it five times during that stretch, in 1998, 2000, 2003, 2009 and 2016.

What percentage of teams that start with a 5-0 record get to the playoffs? Fans guessed between 75-85%. 

Of the 64 teams mentioned, 58 of them made it to the playoffs, or 91%. 

Only six teams missed the playoffs. Unfortunately, two of them were the Vikings. First in 2003 after a heartbreaking loss to the Cardinals in the last game of the season. Their final record that year was 9-7. 

The second time happened in the 2016 season. 

“All of a sudden they went to Philadelphia one day, got beat up, didn’t look like the same team,” said Mike Max, WCCO sports director. The Vikings finished with an 8-8 record that year.

What separates the 2024 team from the two teams that failed to make the playoffs? Max said not much at all. All three teams are winning, and losing, by razor-thin margins and have an equal amount of talent on the roster.

“The last two games, one drive could have cost them the game against Green Bay (Packers) and the (New York) Jets,” he said. If there’s one thing that stands out positively about the current team, Max said it’s the defense. “The defense looks like they can keep you in every game.”

Since 1990, nine teams that started 5-0 have gone on to win the Super Bowl. The last team to do it was the Denver Broncos in 2016.

In 1998, the Vikings started the season with seven straight wins while scoring 29 points or more in each of those games, giving fans Super Bowl aspirations. The team finished the regular season, 15-1 but lost in the NFC Championship. Fans will remember kicker Gary Anderson missing a key field goal that game, especially since he didn’t miss a kick all season.

History would repeat itself a few years later. After a 7-0 start in 2000, the team finished with an 11-5 record and again lost in the NFC Championship. The New York Giants shut them out 41-0.

Quarterback Brett Favre guided the 2009 team to a 6-0 start and a 12-4 record. The team infamously lost after Favre threw an interception in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship.