DES MOINES — Iowa lawmakers are being called back to the State Capitol for a rare special session Friday as state leaders move quickly to alter a major economic development program for the enormous $15 billion steel complex planned for southeast Iowa.
Gov. Kim Reynolds will convene the Iowa General Assembly at 8:30 a.m. Friday, October 2, with what her office described as the “sole and singular purpose” of amending the state’s Major Economic Growth Attraction, or MEGA, program.
The extraordinary session comes only days after President Donald Trump announced that Mesabi Metallics plans to build a massive integrated steel complex in Lee County, an undertaking expected to represent the largest private investment in Iowa history.
The project is expected to involve approximately $15 billion in investment, create between 5,000 and 6,000 construction jobs and eventually employ about 1,750 permanent workers.
State officials and the company have already executed a memorandum of understanding outlining terms of the proposed partnership, but Reynolds said the unprecedented scale of the project requires lawmakers to make changes to the existing MEGA program.
“On Friday, the legislature will return to the Iowa State Capitol to advance the most consequential economic development opportunity ever for our state,” Reynolds said.
She said what she described as “reasonable and limited updates” to the existing program would allow Iowa to accelerate major capital investment and shape the state and regional economy for generations.
What is Iowa’s MEGA program?
The Major Economic Growth Attraction program was created to give Iowa another tool for pursuing exceptionally large economic development projects.
Unlike smaller incentive packages routinely considered by the Iowa Economic Development Authority, the MEGA program is designed around investments significant enough to potentially reshape a regional economy.
That distinction becomes especially important with the Mesabi Metallics proposal.
For comparison, an Iowa Economic Development Authority package approved in August involved about $57.2 million in expected private manufacturing investment across multiple projects.
The proposed Mesabi steel complex would involve investment measured in the tens of billions of dollars.
Exactly what lawmakers will change in the MEGA program will be central to Friday’s debate.
Reynolds’ proclamation limits the special session to legislation involving amendments to the program, meaning lawmakers are being summoned specifically to address the incentive structure tied to the steel development.
Iowa lands enormous steel project
The special session follows Monday’s White House announcement involving Reynolds, Trump and Mesabi Metallics Chairman Rewant Ruia.
Mesabi plans to construct a fully integrated steel complex in Lee County in southeast Iowa, with production targeted for later this decade.
The company and government officials have described the project as the largest steel manufacturing investment in American history.
If built as announced, the plant would have an annual production capacity of roughly 10 million tons of steel, potentially turning Iowa into a major steel-producing state.
The Lee County location also positions the operation along the Mississippi River transportation corridor and gives the project a connection to iron ore resources in Minnesota.
The massive industrial development could create significant secondary demands involving roads, utilities, electricity generation, housing and workforce development.
Those issues are particularly noteworthy as Iowa is already directing substantial public resources toward economic growth and infrastructure.
Earlier this month, Northern Iowa housing developments received more than $2.25 million in state workforce housing tax credits as part of a nearly $40 million statewide program intended to support more than 2,000 new housing units.
Iowa is also pursuing major new energy capacity. The proposed restart of the Duane Arnold nuclear plant recently secured up to $1.9 billion in federal financing, while a state nuclear task force has urged Iowa to prepare for additional large-scale power investments.
Lawmakers return Friday
Reynolds issued the special-session proclamation under authority granted to the governor by the Iowa Constitution.
Unlike the regular legislative session, lawmakers will return to Des Moines with a narrowly defined assignment: determine how the MEGA program should be changed to accommodate the Mesabi Metallics agreement.
The size and structure of any state incentives will likely become one of the most closely watched pieces of the deal as additional information about the project is released.
The steel complex remains a proposed development and will require years of planning, construction, permitting and infrastructure work before production begins.
But Iowa’s political leaders are moving rapidly on the state’s portion of the agreement.
Just four days after the $15 billion project was publicly unveiled, legislators will be back inside the Capitol considering changes to Iowa law intended to help make it happen.
Anyone that believes this BS needs their head examined