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Minnesota Power Plans Name Change

9 August 2000

Minnesota Power Plans Name Change

    DULUTH, Minn. - Minnesota Power, Inc. will begin doing business under a new 
name -- ALLETE on September 1.  The company's regulated electric business will 
continue to be called Minnesota Power.

    "With diverse, profitable and growing businesses operating in 39 states
and six Canadian provinces, it's time for a corporate identity that better
describes who we are and communicates the financial strength, diversity and
the value of our company," said Ed Russell, chairman of Minnesota Power.  "Our
recent acquisition of 22 auto auctions across North America and additional
water properties in Florida highlight the company's evolution to a more
diversified, multi-services corporation.  We are clearly more than Minnesota
and more than power."

    "ALLETE" results from the combination of two words -- "all" and "elite" --
and was chosen to signify that all of the business units in the corporate
group are leading competitors in their respective markets.  "We wanted to be
both all-inclusive and recognized for striving to be the best," Russell said.

    "Electric customers will not see any change in their service," said Bob
Edwards, executive vice-president of Minnesota Power.  "We remain firmly
committed to our longstanding relationships with all of our customers and
communities in our electric service area.  Every day, we work hard to earn the
positive reputation associated with the Minnesota Power name and we are
pleased to use it where it accurately describes our electric business."

    Shareholders will be asked to formalize the name change during the
company's annual meeting, which will be held on May 8, 2001.

    Minnesota Power, Inc. is a multi-services company with corporate
headquarters in Duluth, Minn.  Minnesota Power holdings include the second
largest wholesale automobile auction network in North America; the leading
provider of independent auto dealer inventory financing; the largest
investor-owned water utilities in Florida and North Carolina; significant real
estate holdings in Florida and a low-cost electric utility that serves some of
the largest industrial customers in the United States.