Highway renamed for late Sen. Dave Tomassoni

ST. PAUL—Governor Tim Walz on Thursday (D-Minnesota) signed Sen. Robert Farnsworth’s (R- Hibbing) bill that renames portions of U.S. Highway 169 from Marble to Mountain Iron the “Senator David J. Tomassoni Memorial Cross Range Expressway” in a bill signing ceremony at the State Capitol.

Dante and Danny Tomassoni, along with their family members, joined the Range delegation and the governor at the signing.

“This is my great honor, and I want to thank the Tomassoni family for allowing me to carry this legislation,” Farnsworth said. “Filling the shoes of David Tomassoni is not easy, they are big footprints.”

Farnworth shared that he has a wood planer from Sen. Tomassoni as a reminder of what he would do in tough times. “He handled everything with grace and dignity, and I have it on a shelf in my office to remind me of how he would handle things.” Farnsworth also reminded the attendees, “there is still eight miles left to pay for,” of the highway.

The bill was signed with three pens, one each going to the Tomassoni family, Farnsworth, and Rep. Dave Lislegard (DFL-Aurora), who authored the legislation in the House.