SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                              WASHINGTON, DC 20549






                                    FORM 8-K
                                 CURRENT REPORT






     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934






        DATE OF REPORT (DATE OF EARLIEST EVENT REPORTED) - APRIL 18, 2001







                                     ALLETE
                 (LEGALLY INCORPORATED AS MINNESOTA POWER, INC.)


                             A Minnesota Corporation
                           Commission File No. 1-3548
                   IRS Employer Identification No. 41-0418150
                             30 West Superior Street
                          Duluth, Minnesota 55802-2093
                           Telephone - (218) 279-5000







ITEM 7.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

The following exhibit of ALLETE is filed herewith in accordance with Item 601 of
Regulation S-K:

    Exhibit
    Number

      99   -   ALLETE News Release dated April 18, 2001.

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                           SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER
              THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

In  connection  with  the  safe  harbor  provisions  of the  Private  Securities
Litigation  Reform Act of 1995,  ALLETE is hereby filing  cautionary  statements
identifying important factors that could cause ALLETE's actual results to differ
materially from those projected in  forward-looking  statements (as that term is
defined in the Private  Securities  Litigation Reform Act of 1995) made by or on
behalf  of  ALLETE  which  are  made in this  current  report  on Form  8-K,  in
presentations,  in response to  questions  or  otherwise.  Any  statements  that
express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives,
assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always,  through the
use  of  words  or  phrases  such  as  "anticipates,"  "believes,"  "estimates,"
"expects," "intends," "plans," "projects," "will likely result," "will continue"
or  similar  expressions)  are not  statements  of  historical  facts and may be
forward-looking.

Forward-looking statements involve estimates,  assumptions and uncertainties and
are  qualified in their  entirety by reference to, and are  accompanied  by, the
following   important   factors,   which  are  difficult  to  predict,   contain
uncertainties,  are beyond the control of ALLETE and may cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements:

   -  prevailing  governmental policies and regulatory actions,  including those
      of the United States  Congress,  state  legislatures,  the Federal  Energy
      Regulatory  Commission,  the Minnesota  Public Utilities  Commission,  the
      Florida  Public   Service   Commission,   the  North  Carolina   Utilities
      Commission,  the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and various county
      regulators,  about allowed rates of return,  industry and rate  structure,
      acquisition  and  disposal  of  assets  and   facilities,   operation  and
      construction of plant facilities,  recovery of purchased power and capital
      investments,  and present or prospective  wholesale and retail competition
      (including but not limited to transmission costs);

   -  economic and geographic factors, including political and economic risks;

   -  changes in and compliance with environmental and safety laws and policies;

   -  weather conditions;

   -  population growth rates and demographic patterns;

   -  competition for retail and wholesale customers;

   -  pricing and transportation of commodities;

   -  market demand, including structural market changes;

   -  changes in tax rates or policies or in rates of inflation;

   -  changes in project costs;

   -  unanticipated changes in operating expenses and capital expenditures;

   -  capital market conditions;

   -  competition for new energy development opportunities; and

   -  legal and  administrative  proceedings  (whether  civil or  criminal)  and
      settlements that influence the business and profitability of ALLETE.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which that statement
is made,  and ALLETE  undertakes  no  obligation  to update any  forward-looking
statement  to  reflect  events or  circumstances  after  the date on which  that
statement is made or to reflect the  occurrence  of  unanticipated  events.  New
factors  emerge  from  time to time and it is not  possible  for  management  to
predict  all of those  factors,  nor can it assess  the  impact of each of those
factors  on the  businesses  of ALLETE or the  extent  to which any  factor,  or
combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those
contained in any forward-looking statement.

                                      -2-



                                   SIGNATURES


Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.





                                                     ALLETE
                                 (legally incorporated as Minnesota Power, Inc.)




April 18, 2001                                    D. G. Gartzke
                                ------------------------------------------------
                                                  D. G. Gartzke
                                         Senior Vice President - Finance
                                           and Chief Financial Officer

                                      -3-