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Workers at the Magnitude 7 Metals plant in Marston, which announced it was closing in 2024 (photo submitted). <\/p>\n
When I fire up the tractor before sunrise in Campbell, the hum of the engine takes me back to a different kind of power \u2014 the kind that used to surge through the aluminum cells at Magnitude 7 Metals in Marston before it closed its doors almost two years ago.<\/p>\n
Back then, I worked nights surrounded by sparks and heat, helping turn raw ore into the lightweight metal that keeps America running. These days, I work the same Bootheel land at my neighbors farm, but the story hasn\u2019t changed much: whether you\u2019re smelting or farming, you\u2019re fighting the same battle for affordable energy, steady pay and a future worth passing on.<\/p>\n
When the Magnitude 7 Metals smelter closed nearly two years ago for the second time, hundreds of good-paying union jobs vanished overnight. Those were jobs that kept local diners open, hardware stores busy, and families rooted in this corner of Missouri.<\/p>\n
I thought tariffs would keep us safe \u2014 after all, that\u2019s what we were told in 2018 when President Donald Trump imposed Section 232 tariffs to bring our industry back from the brink. For a while, it felt like that might happen. The former Noranda plant restarted. Paychecks flowed back into our towns. But without addressing the root problem \u2014 sky-high electricity costs driven by our reliance on the aging New Madrid coal plant \u2014 tariffs, though helpful, are only a temporary patch.<\/p>\n
Without investment in affordable, reliable power, tariffs won\u2019t cut it. That\u2019s why the gates at Magnitude 7 are still closed today.<\/p>\n
The truth is, Missouri\u2019s economy runs on the same current: whether you\u2019re melting metal or tending crops, you need dependable electricity at a fair price. Down here in the Bootheel, farmers are struggling with the same energy problem that sank the smelter. High power costs drive up grain drying bills, squeeze irrigation budgets, and eat away at razor-thin margins. And most of that power still comes from the New Madrid coal plant, a costly system that\u2019s left both industry and agriculture in a tough spot.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve got what it takes to fix this. Missouri is rich in natural and human resources: flat land, steady wind, strong sun, and hardworking people ready to make a living. If we invested in renewable energy right here \u2014 from solar arrays outside Sikeston to wind projects across the state \u2014 we could lower costs, strengthen the grid, and give towns like Marston and Campbell a second chance.<\/p>\n
Coal is still essential in the short term, since we lack the infrastructure to switch fully to renewables right away, but the transition has to start somewhere and coal won\u2019t be around forever. Cleaner, cheaper power could help farms grow and maybe even bring primary aluminum production back to life.<\/p>\n
America still needs aluminum, and it\u2019ll need a lot more of it in the coming years. Every tractor, truck, and transmission line depends on it. And Missouri can play a bigger role in meeting that need, not by relying on quick political fixes like tariffs, but by giving workers and farmers the tools to compete with cleaner, more efficient energy.<\/p>\n
Across America, data centers are booming, and billions in new investments are being proposed right here in Missouri. But for all that growth, these massive facilities won\u2019t create anywhere near the number of steady jobs a smelter once did. What they will do is compete for the same limited supply of electricity \u2014 driving up demand and making it even harder for industries like aluminum and agriculture to afford the power they need to survive<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s stop pretending tariffs will rebuild our economy. The people who power Missouri \u2014 on the factory floor and in the fields \u2014 know what we really need: investment in affordable, modern energy that lets us work hard, earn fair, and stay rooted right here at home.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been almost two years since the smelter closed, but I still think of the job and people I worked with every day. Every time I do, I think about how connected our struggles are in this part of the state. The lesson is clear: if we want to rebuild Southeast Missouri, we have to invest in energy that works for everyone \u2014 from the aluminum cell to the plow.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Workers at the Magnitude 7 Metals plant in Marston, which announced it was closing in 2024 (photo submitted). When I fire up the tractor before sunrise in Campbell, the hum of the engine takes me back to a different kind of power \u2014 the kind that used to surge through the aluminum cells at Magnitude…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8203,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n