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 25, 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.

(a) Financial Statements - Not applicable

(b) Pro Forma Financial Information - Not applicable

(c) Exhibits

    Exhibit
    Number
    -------
      99    -   ALLETE, Inc.  News Release dated April 25, 2003  announcing 2003
                first quarter earnings.

ITEM 9.  REGULATION FD DISCLOSURE (ITEM 12. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL
CONDITION)

On April 25, 2003 ALLETE,  Inc. issued a press release  announcing first quarter
2003 earnings which is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 99
and incorporated  herein by reference in its entirety.  The information is being
furnished pursuant to Item 12. Results of Operations and Financial Condition and
is being  presented  under Item 9.  Regulation FD Disclosure in accordance  with
interim  guidance  issued by the Securities  and Exchange  Commission in Release
Nos.  33-8216 and  34-47583.  This  information,  including  Exhibit 99 attached
hereto, shall not be deemed "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities
Act of 1934,  nor shall it be deemed  incorporated  by  reference  in any filing
under the  Securities  Act of 1933,  except as shall be  expressly  set forth by
specific reference in such filing.


                      ALLETE Form 8-K dated April 25, 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 April 25, 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.





April 25, 2003                                   James K. Vizanko
                                  ----------------------------------------------
                                                 James K. Vizanko
                                     Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
                                                  and Treasurer

                      ALLETE Form 8-K dated April 25, 2003                     3


                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

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

  99 - ALLETE, Inc. News Release dated  April 25,  2003  announcing  2003  first
       quarter earnings.



                      ALLETE Form 8-K dated April 25, 2003