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Rukavina Annoyed Stadium Requires Foreign Ore

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former state House member Tom Rukavina says he's annoyed that the new Vikings stadium requires ore from overseas.

Mortenson Construction executive John Wood told the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority that some high-grade steel will be imported from Europe. He says officials are ordering from a Luxembourg manufacturer that's a global provider of the extra-strength steel.

Wood says the 7,000 tons of steel that make up the perimeter can be drawn domestically, but even that will probably have only small traces of Minnesota in it.

Rukavina, a Democrat from Virginia, pushed for laws requiring that Minnesota-made products be used in state construction projects. He says the ore requirement contributed to the vote for the new Vikings stadium.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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