With over 700 deaths due to mesothelioma from 1980 to 2000, Minnesota has one of the highest mesothelioma mortality rates in the country. It's not surprising, then, that it also ranks thirteenth in the nation for mesothelioma lawsuits. Minnesota has been the venue of several high-profile mesothelioma lawsuits, and has frequently been in the news over the past two years as the state deals with the fallout from a state health department study that revealed an obvious link between mesothelioma and the state's taconite miners