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) - SEPTEMBER 19, 2002







                                  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 5.  OTHER EVENTS.

Reference is made to the 2001 Form 10-K of ALLETE,  Inc. (ALLETE or the Company)
for background  information on the following update. Unless otherwise indicated,
cited references are to ALLETE's 2001 Form 10-K.


Ref. Page 11 - Sixth Paragraph
Ref. Page 30 - Third Paragraph
Ref. Form 8-K dated and filed February 28, 2002 - Second Paragraph
Ref. Form 8-K dated and filed March 28, 2002
Ref. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2002 - Page 18 - Fifth Paragraph
Ref. Form 10-Q for the quarter  ended June 30, 2002 - Page 17 - Sixth  Paragraph
     and Page 22 - Third Paragraph

On September 19, 2002 ALLETE  announced that Florida Water Services  Corporation
(Florida Water), a wholly owned water  subsidiary,  entered into an agreement to
sell its assets to Florida  Water  Services  Authority  (FWSA),  a  governmental
entity that was  established  by an interlocal  agreement  between the cities of
Gulf Breeze and Milton,  Florida.  The purchase  price is $471 million.  Florida
Water will  receive  $433  million at closing and expects to receive $38 million
three years after the  closing.  In  addition,  Florida  Water will  receive $36
million  of  future  customer  hookup  fees  to be paid in  three  equal  annual
installments beginning in 2003.

The  purchase  price,  combined  with the hookup  fees,  brings the total amount
expected to be received in the  transaction to $507 million.  Aggregate net cash
proceeds to ALLETE are expected to be $260  million for the entire  transaction,
$190 million of which are expected to be received in 2002. Terms of the purchase
agreement call for a closing by December 15, 2002, subject to FWSA being able to
issue bonds for the purchase price and other conditions.

The sale of Florida Water assets is consistent with ALLETE's strategic objective
to unlock  shareholder value. The proceeds will further strengthen the Company's
balance sheet and will allow for future investments in the Energy and Automotive
Services segments.

ALLETE plans to include a copy of the asset purchase  agreement in an 8-K filing
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Company will host a conference
call with  investors on Monday,  September  23, 2002 at 9:00 a.m.  Central time.
Interested  parties may listen to the conference by calling (913) 981-5572 or by
listening to a rebroadcast on ALLETE's Web site located at www.allete.com.


Ref. Page 30 - First Paragraph
Ref. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2002 - Page 14 - First Paragraph
Ref. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2002 - Page 17 - First Paragraph

On September 19, 2002 ALLETE  revised the Company's  earnings per share estimate
for  2002 to be in the  range  of $1.80 to  $1.90,  a  change  from the  earlier
estimate  range of $2.00 to $2.10.  As with the previous  estimate,  the updated
estimate  excludes 5 cents of year to date  business exit charges as well as any
gain from the sale of the Florida  Water assets  discussed  above.  This updated
earnings  estimate  primarily  reflects year to date weaker  performance  within
ALLETE's Energy Services segment, due to continued lower-than-expected wholesale
power  prices.  ALLETE  continues  to expect  that  earnings  of its  Automotive
Services segment will grow by 30 percent in 2002 over 2001.


                    ALLETE Form 8-K dated September 19, 2002                   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;

     -    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;

     -    market demand, including structural market changes;

     -    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;

     -    our 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 September 19, 2002




                                   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.





September 19, 2002                                James K. Vizanko
                                     -------------------------------------------
                                                  James K. Vizanko
                                       Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
                                                    and Treasurer



                    ALLETE Form 8-K dated September 19, 2002                   3