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) - MARCH 7, 2003







                                  ALLETE, 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, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS.

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

Exhibit
Number
-------

  99 - ALLETE News Release  dated  March 7, 2003  updating the  sale of  Florida
       Water Services Corporation.





                      ALLETE Form 8-K dated March 7, 2003                      1


                              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 such term is
defined in the Private  Securities  Litigation Reform Act of 1995) made by or on
behalf of ALLETE in this 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,   risks   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 or outcomes to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking
statements:

 -   war and acts of terrorism;
 -   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,  financings,  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)  as well as  general
     vehicle-related laws, including vehicle brokerage and auction laws;
 -   unanticipated impacts of restructuring initiatives in the electric
     industry;
 -   economic and geographic factors, including political and economic risks;
 -   changes in and compliance with environmental and safety laws and policies;
 -   weather conditions;
 -   natural disasters;
 -   market factors affecting supply and demand for used vehicles;
 -   wholesale power market conditions;
 -   population growth rates and demographic patterns;
 -   the effects  of  competition, including  the  competition  for  retail  and
     wholesale customers, as well as suppliers and purchasers of vehicles;
 -   pricing and transportation of commodities;
 -   changes in tax rates or policies or in rates of inflation;
 -   unanticipated project delays or changes in project costs;
 -   unanticipated changes in operating expenses and capital expenditures;
 -   capital market conditions;
 -   competition for economic expansion or development opportunities;
 -   ALLETE's ability to manage expansion and integrate recent acquisitions; and
 -   the outcome  of  legal  and  administrative  proceedings (whether  civil or
     criminal) and  settlements  that affect 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                     ALLETE Form 8-K dated March 7, 2003



                                   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, Inc.





March 7, 2003                                        James K. Vizanko
                                         ---------------------------------------
                                                     James K. Vizanko
                                         Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
                                                       and Treasurer





                      ALLETE Form 8-K dated March 7, 2003                      3




                                 EXHIBIT INDEX

EXHIBIT
NUMBER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 99 - ALLETE News Release dated March 7, 2003 updating the sale of Florida Water
      Services Corporation.








                      ALLETE Form 8-K dated March 7, 2003