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Investments
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
Investments [Abstract]  
Investments [Text Block]
INVESTMENTS

Investments. At December 31, 2013, our long-term investment portfolio included the real estate assets of ALLETE Properties, debt and equity securities consisting primarily of securities held in other postretirement plans to fund employee benefits, the cash equivalents within these plans, and other assets consisting primarily of land in Minnesota.

NOTE 8. INVESTMENTS (Continued)

Other Investments
 
 
As of December 31
2013

2012

Millions
 
 
ALLETE Properties

$89.9


$91.1

Available-for-sale Securities (a)
17.7

26.8

Cash Equivalents
34.2

20.7

Other
4.5

4.9

Total Other Investments

$146.3


$143.5

(a)
As of December 31, 2013, the aggregate amount of available-for-sale corporate debt securities maturing in one year or less was $0.6 million, in one year to less than three years was $4.7 million, in three years to less than five years was $2.0 million, and in five or more years was $2.5 million.

ALLETE Properties
December 31, 2013

December 31, 2012

Millions
 
 
Land Inventory Beginning Balance

$86.5


$86.0

Cost of Sales
(1.5
)
(0.2
)
Other
0.4

0.7

Land Inventory Ending Balance
85.4

86.5

Long-Term Finance Receivables (net of allowances of $0.6 and $0.6)
1.4

1.4

Other
3.1

3.2

Total Real Estate Assets

$89.9


$91.1



Land Inventory. Land inventory is accounted for as held for use and is recorded at cost, unless the carrying value is determined not to be recoverable in accordance with the accounting standards for property, plant and equipment, in which case the land inventory is written down to fair value. Land values are reviewed for impairment on a quarterly basis. In 2013, impairment analyses of estimated undiscounted future net cash flows was conducted and indicated that the cash flows were adequate to recover the carrying basis of our land inventory. Consequently, there was no impairment recorded for the year ended December 31, 2013 (none for the year ended December 31, 2012).

Long-Term Finance Receivables. As of December 31, 2013, long-term finance receivables were $1.4 million net of allowance ($1.4 million net of allowance as of December 31, 2012). Long-term finance receivables are collateralized by property sold, accrue interest at market-based rates and are net of an allowance for doubtful accounts. As of December 31, 2013, we had allowance for doubtful accounts of $0.6 million ($0.6 million as of December 31, 2012).

If a purchaser defaults on a sales contract, the legal remedy is usually limited to terminating the contract and retaining the purchaser’s deposit. The property is then available for resale. Contract purchasers may incur significant costs during due diligence, planning, designing and marketing the property before the contract closes, therefore they may have substantially more at risk than the deposit.

Available-for-Sale Investments. We account for our available-for-sale portfolio in accordance with the guidance for certain investments in debt and equity securities. Our available-for-sale securities portfolio consisted of securities established to fund certain employee benefits.

Available-For-Sale Securities
Millions
 
Gross Unrealized
 
As of December 31
Cost
Gain
(Loss)
Fair Value
2013
$18.3
$(0.6)
$17.7
2012
$27.4
$0.5
$(1.1)
$26.8
2011
$27.3
$0.1
$(2.7)
$24.7


NOTE 8. INVESTMENTS (Continued)
 
Net
Gross Realized
Net Unrealized
Gain (Loss) in Other
Year Ended December 31
Proceeds
Gain
(Loss)
Comprehensive Income
2013
$16.1
$2.2
2012
$1.5
$1.2
2011
$7.8
$(0.3)