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To: Starduster who wrote (469)	12/10/1998 12:47:00 PM
From: SEAN007	Respond to of 1051

By the way this Irishshareholder or whatever he is. His post have nothing to do with SGII. This is his attempt to pump INSGY. He private mailed me and that is the best I can figure.

To: Starduster who wrote (469)	12/11/1998 9:35:00 AM
From: SEAN007	Respond to of 1051

Holy Cow Batman a 50k buy at .43 Huge!!!!!

To: Starduster who wrote (469)	12/11/1998 11:05:00 AM
From: SEAN007	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1051

IMPORTANT SGII RELATED ARTICLE December 11, 1998 FROM THE WSJ Dakota Minnesota Rail Plan Approved; $1.4 Billion Line Would Transport Coal By DANIEL MACHALABA and ANNA WILDE MATHEWS Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad Corp. won approval from federal regulators Thursday to build a $1.4 billion rail line through the coal fields of Wyoming, the biggest rail-construction project in a century. The decision by the Surface Transportation Board -- an independent agency that reviews rail mergers and other transportation matters -- is expected to spur competition in the $5 billion-a-year business of transporting coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin to utilities in the Midwest and Southwest. Currently, that service is dominated by Union Pacific Corp. and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. But the decision noted that construction can't begin until the board issues an environmental ruling, which will analyze the effects of the project and suggest fixes to protect the environment. The board will have to respond to numerous objections, including those from towns that fear disruption caused by increased freight-train traffic. But in approving the project on economic and competitive grounds, the board cleared the way for creating 280 miles of new line and upgrading another 600 miles of rickety track to create a single coal-transit line that would stretch from Gillette, Wyo., to the Mississippi River. Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad, a privately held company based in Brookings, S.D., said its current revenue of $60 million a year could shoot up to more than $800 million a year once the project is fully implemented. "We're trying to turn a back-country gravel road of a railroad into the superhighway of the railroad industry," said Kevin Schieffer, the rail company's president. Growing Demand The Powder River Basin has become the largest coal-producing region in the U.S., accounting for nearly 30% of total coal production. Consumption of the type of coal produced in the Powder River Basin has doubled in the past decade to 319 million tons last year from 161 million tons in 1987. Demand for this kind of coal has been growing because it is relatively inexpensive to mine, and it has a low sulfur content which helps utilities meet more-stringent air-quality standards. But utilities complain that some rail coal deliveries in the past year have been late -- sometimes by as much as a week -- and delivery times in general have stretched out. That has caused some power companies to temporarily switch to natural gas or to shut down facilities until coal was delivered. Last year, Entergy Corp., New Orleans, curtailed two power plants in Arkansas because they were running short of coal. "We need better rail service than we are getting," said Charles Linderman, a director of the Edison Electric Institute, which represents 180 investor-owned utilities. While they didn't formally protest, the incumbent railroads have long maintained that they already compete vigorously for business in the Powder River Basin and are continuing to invest heavily in additional tracks and locomotives to handle more coal. Officials of Union Pacific, based in Dallas, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Fort Worth, Texas, declined comment on the decision. Competition Issues The Surface Transportation Board has come under heavy pressure in recent months from rail users to demonstrate its support for competition. Many companies, stung by service problems on Union Pacific, have complained that the board didn't go far enough to address rail service and competition issues in the Gulf Coast region. Rail labor unions have argued that the board has been too lenient in allowing a series of giant rail mergers that are leaving just four megasystems in the U.S. The decision to back the Dakota project, which won support from coal-burning utilities, could help mollify rail customers, as Congress prepares to vote next year to reauthorize the board, which replaced the old Interstate Commerce Commission. Disgruntled companies have called for legal changes that would give more rights to rail shippers, while railroads would like to maintain the board's current role. In making its ruling the board said it considered the railroad's financial strength, the need for new rail service and the public interest, including whether the new railroad would hurt existing service. The board said the new railroad would be "competitive in a number of markets," and was therefore feasible. Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern, however, still must nail down funding. Mr. Schieffer said the company plans to involve "a strategic partner or partners" including coal producers, coal users and other railroads.