Cross-Range expressway would memorialize ‘Defender of the Range’

A first step has been taken to honor a beloved colleague, friend and mentor.

The House Transportation Finance and Policy Committee approved a bill Tuesday that would designate approximately 50 miles of Highway 169 in northern Minnesota the Senator David J. Tomassoni Memorial Cross Range Expressway. The named route would run between Virginia and Taconite and include Tomassoni’s hometown of Chisholm.

Sponsored by Rep. Dave Lislegard (DFL-Aurora), HF4237 was sent to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Sen. David Tomassoni

Lislegard called his friend and mentor a defender of the Iron Range and its industries mining, logging and tourism. Tomassoni was loved by members on both sides of the aisle, said Lislegard.  “He taught me so much about serving people.”

After retiring from professional hockey ­in Italy (he played for Italy in the 1984 Olympics), Tomassoni served in the Legislature for three decades, starting in the House in 1993. He was elected to the Senate in 2000 and served until months before his death in August 2022, about one year after announcing he was diagnosed with ALS.

In his last year, Tomassoni spearheaded bipartisan legislation appropriating $20 million for ALS research and $5 million for caregivers.

The longtime plan to turn the two-lane road into a four-lane road would not have come to fruition without the determination of Tomassoni, said Sen. Robert Farnsworth (R-Hibbing), sponsor of the Senate companion.

Dante Tomassoni said his father had a passion for the economic vitality of his district, and the highway is an essential component of commerce, safety and quality of life.

“It transports goods, critical minerals, infrastructure and most importantly families,” he said.