ADESA Corporation Strengthens Management Team.

Business Editors

INDIANAPOLIS--(AutomotiveWire)--Sept. 4, 2001

ADESA Corporation, a business unit of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE), today announced that Brian J. Warner, president of ADESA Canada, has been appointed to the position of president of ADESA Corporation, based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Warner's appointment, which takes effect Oct. 1, 2001, was announced by current company President Jim Hallett, who will remain chairman and chief executive officer of ADESA Corporation.

"Brian's addition to ADESA's corporate office strengthens an already deep management team and provides me the opportunity to focus more of my time on growing our salvage business and to look for opportunities to enhance our other services," Hallett said.

"Brian Warner has a proven track record and his attention to the fundamentals of the auction business will strengthen existing operations and will position ADESA for growth well into the future," said David Gartzke, president of ALLETE, Inc. "Jim Hallett and his team grew ADESA from 16 to 54 auction locations and he led the company into the automobile salvage business. He will continue to seek out new growth opportunities as he serves as chairman and chief executive officer of ADESA Corporation, as well as executive vice president of ALLETE, Inc."

Warner joined ADESA in 1994 as corporate controller and chief financial officer. Later he became general manager of ADESA's Indianapolis auction facility. In 1998 Warner was named president of ADESA Canada, where he grew the company from three to 13 wholesale automobile auctions and expanded ADESA's salvage presence through Impact Salvage Auctions. Warner holds a bachelor's degree from Ball State University, with majors in accounting and management information systems.

"My family and I are grateful and excited about the opportunity to return to the U.S.," Warner said. "However, we are leaving behind many great friends, employees and customer relationships in a country we have grown to love."

Dale Hewitt, current chief operating officer and a 30-year auction veteran, will succeed Warner as president of ADESA Canada.

ADESA Corporation is North America's second-largest provider of wholesale vehicle remarketing services. The company operates 54 wholesale auctions and 24 salvage auction facilities.

ALLETE, Inc., is a multi-services company with corporate headquarters in Duluth, Minnesota. ALLETE's holdings include the second-largest wholesale automobile auction network in North America; the leading provider of independent auto dealer inventory financing; the largest investor-owned water utilities in Florida and North Carolina; significant real estate holding in Florida; and a low-cost electric utility that serves some of the largest industrial customers in the United States.

The statements contained in this release and statement that ALLETE and ADESA Corporation may make orally in connection with this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and investors are directed to the risks discussed in documents filed by ALLETE with the Securities and Exchange Commission.