{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ernst-joins-president-trump-to-tout-transformative-15-billion-steel-investment-in-iowa", "Ernst Joins President Trump to Tout Transformative $15 Billion Steel Investment in Iowa", "2026-09-28", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "Senate", "IA", "Joni Ernst", "E000295", "www.ernst.senate.gov", "ernst", "https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) joined President Donald Trump at the White House to announce a $15 billion investment by Mesabi Metallics to build a new steel mill in eastern Iowa.\n\nWatch Senator Ernst\u2019s statement here.\n\n\u201cI am grateful to President Trump for securing this historic deal that will create thousands of jobs for Iowans,\u201d said Ernst. \u201cAs chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, I\u2019ve long advocated to make \u2018Made in America\u2019 the norm and not the exception. I am excited to see this project move forward and will continue working with the Trump administration to strengthen U.S. manufacturing.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nMesabi Metallics plans to invest $15 billion to build a major steel mill in eastern Iowa, with steel production expected to begin as soon as 2030.\n\nThe project is expected to support more than 1,700 jobs and initially produce 7.5 million tons of steel annually, with future development potentially increasing capacity to roughly 10 million tons per year.\n\nThe eastern Iowa location provides strategic access to the Mississippi River, allowing Mesabi to transport iron ore from its Minnesota mine directly to the facility.\n\nThe plant will process that iron ore for use in electric arc furnaces alongside recycled scrap steel, expanding domestic steel production and strengthening the American manufacturing supply chain.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-29T11:07:12Z", "2026-09-29T11:08:49Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ernst-joins-president-trump-to-tout-transformative-15-billion-steel-investment-in-iowa"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7400438189506531, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}