The College of Design's Department of Landscape Architecture is partnering with Cliffs Natural Resources and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Lands & Minerals Division on reshaping an overburden stockpile near Virginia. Overburden is material removed during taconite surface mining. Reshaping the stockpile improves the appearance and improves its environmental impact.

A second overburden stockpile reshaping project is planned for next year near Keewatin.

Both projects are part of the Laurentian Vision Partnership to turn "pits and piles into lakes and landscape" according to Lee Bloomquist's RangeViews.