9-17-13 wi mine-forest

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican leaders have decided not to place a bill that would close off public access to a northern Wisconsin mine site on the Senate's floor agenda this week.  Gogebic Taconite's plans to dig a 4½-mile long iron mine in the Penokee Hills have been a flashpoint of contention for more than a year. The bill's author, Sen. Tom Tiffany, a Hazelhurst Republican, says the bill is designed to protect miners and environmental regulators from protesters.  The proposal looked like it was on the fast track. The Senate's mining committee held a public hearing and approved the bill in two days. But it's not on the Senate's Tuesday floor agenda.