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Investments | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2014
Investments [Abstract] |
Investments [Text Block] | INVESTMENTS Investments. At December 31, 2014, our 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.
Other Investments |  |
As of December 31 | 2014 |  | 2013 |
Millions |  |
ALLETE Properties |  | $88.2 |  |  | $89.9 |
Available-for-sale Securities (a) | 18.9 |  | 17.7 |
Cash Equivalents (b) | 2.9 |  | 34.2 |
Other | 4.4 |  | 4.5 |
Total Other Investments |  | $114.4 |  |  | $146.3 |
(a) | As of December 31, 2014, 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 $1.7 million, in three years to less than five years was $2.6 million, and in five or more years was $5.9 million.
(b) | During 2014, cash included in Other Investments was transferred to Cash and Cash Equivalents.
ALLETE Properties |  |
As of December 31 | 2014 |  | 2013 |
Millions |  |
Land Inventory Beginning Balance |  | $85.4 |  |  | $86.5 |
Cost of Sales | (2.2 | ) | (1.5 | )
Other | 0.6 |  | 0.4 |
Land Inventory Ending Balance | 83.8 |  | 85.4 |
Long-Term Finance Receivables (net of allowances of $0.6 and $0.6) | 1.2 |  | 1.4 |
Other | 3.2 |  | 3.1 |
Total Real Estate Assets |  | $88.2 |  |  | $89.9 |
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 indicators of impairment on a quarterly basis and no impairments were recorded for the year ended December 31, 2014 (none for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012). Long-Term Finance Receivables. As of December 31, 2014, long-term finance receivables were $1.2 million net of an allowance ($1.4 million net of an allowance as of December 31, 2013). 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, 2014, the allowance for doubtful accounts amounted to $0.6 million ($0.6 million as of December 31, 2013). 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 held in other postretirement plans to fund employee benefits. NOTE 8. INVESTMENTS (Continued)
Available-For-Sale Securities
Millions |  | Gross Unrealized |
As of December 31 | Cost | Gain | Loss | Fair Value
2014 | $19.6 | $0.2 | $0.9 | $18.9
2013 | $18.3 | — | $0.6 | $17.7
2012 | $27.4 | $0.5 | $1.1 | $26.8
|  | Net | Gross Realized
Year Ended December 31 |  | Proceeds | Gain | Loss
2014 |  | $3.6 | $0.2 | —
2013 |  | $16.1 | $2.2 | —
2012 |  | $1.5 | — | —

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- Definition The entire disclosure for investments, including all tables. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Article 6 -Section 10 -Paragraph (c) -Subparagraph (1) + Details
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