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By HOWIE HANSON
Editor & Publisher
DULUTH, Minn. — Travelers across the Iron Range will now be reminded of a beloved statesman’s enduring legacy each time they pass through a key stretch of Highway 169. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has installed signs officially designating the route from Itasca County Road 69 in Marble to St. Louis County Road 7 in Mountain Iron as the “Senator David J. Tomassoni Memorial Cross Range Expressway.”
The designation follows legislation approved by the Minnesota House and Senate in May 2024, honoring the late Tomassoni, who spent nearly 30 years representing the Range and northeastern Minnesota at the Capitol. A son of Chisholm, Tomassoni first won a seat in the Minnesota House in 1993 before moving to the Senate in 2000, where he served with distinction until just months before his death in August 2022. He passed away at age 69, roughly a year after sharing his battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS.
Throughout his career, Tomassoni was widely respected for his relentless advocacy for the region’s mining economy, local schools, health care needs and—perhaps most visibly—its roads and bridges. Fellow lawmakers said the four-lane expansion of Highway 169 might never have left the drawing board without his dogged leadership, describing him as a force who never stopped pressing for safer, more modern transportation infrastructure across the Range.
Tomassoni understood what good roads meant for working families, for businesses trying to stay competitive, for emergency vehicles trying to save lives. Naming this stretch for him isn’t just symbolic. It’s a permanent reminder of what he fought for.
Tomassoni’s imprint on northern Minnesota extends far beyond asphalt. As a lawmaker, he chaired influential committees on higher education and economic development, secured millions in local investments, and was instrumental in advancing Iron Range resources programs that kept jobs and small towns afloat through economic swings. Known for his affable style and deep commitment to bipartisanship, he often said he measured success by what he could bring home to the people he served.
The Tomassoni family has indicated it plans to formally recognize the new signage with a public event at a later date. For now, motorists will see the fresh green-and-white markers standing sentinel over the Cross Range Expressway—an everyday testament to a life dedicated to lifting up his community.
