Two major events and Ely is represented at each one

At the State of the Union and the Super Bowl, two of the biggest events in the United States, Ely played a role. Not too many other small towns across America could have such claims to fame.
As President Donald Trump was giving his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, sitting in the gallery was Ely city council member Dan Forsman.
Minnesota U.S. House member Tom Emmer invited Forsman to be his special guest at the joint session of Congress, an honor of a lifetime to be sure.
Emmer chose Forsman after reading the much-publicized New York Times magazine article that focused on the copper-nickel mining controversy in the Ely area.
Forsman, a worker at a taconite mine, was the focus of caustic remarks in the story made by anti-mining activist and Ely area resident Becky Rom. Those comments backfired on Rom and likely helped get Forsman one of the toughest tickets in the country.
While you can’t buy a ticket to the State of the Union, you can buy one for the Super Bowl on Sunday, being played at the new U.S. Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis.
There’ll be two guys from Ely at the game, but they won’t be shelling out $10,000 apiece for a ticket.
Ely police officers Chad Houde and George Burger will get into the game free, albeit they’ll be working instead of cheering on the Philadelphia Eagles or New England Patriots.
Through an agreement with the city of Minneapolis, our local boys in blue will be working security at the Super Bowl.
After our Minnesota Vikings were knocked out of a chance to be the first host team to play in a Super Bowl, Burger and Houde took it upon themselves to attempt to arrest Swoop the Eagle for that win against the Vikings.
We’re proud of these three gentlemen for how they represented our city at two of the nation’s biggest events. Ely’s connection to the rest of the world is a strong one and these young men deserve our thanks.