GOP leaders say Assembly rep to retire

A Republican legislator who helped push a contentious mining bill through the Legislature has decided to retire.

Rep. Mark Honadel of South Milwaukee says he plans to step down in mid-September. He tells The Associated Press he plans to re-enter the private sector but declined to elaborate, saying he plans to issue a press release in several weeks about his next job.

Honadel was elected to the Assembly in 2003. He was one of the lead sponsors of a bill that relaxed Wisconsin’s mining standards to jump-start Gogebic Taconite’s plans for a giant iron mine near Lake Superior.

A spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker says the governor will call a special election to fill Honadel’s vacancy after he officially steps down.