State trade fact sheets - Minnesota

Bridging Canada & the U.S.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) recently celebrated the replacement of the jointly-owned International Bridge between the City of Baudette, Minnesota and the Town of Rainy River, Ontario. The bridge is the only border crossing for 50 miles in either direction and connects the communities on both sides of the border, as well as all who travel to the region for year-round recreation.

The previous crossing, which dated to 1959, was in poor condition and had been deemed fracture-critical. MnDOT and MTO determined that the best way to build a safer and longer-lasting bridge between our nations was to approach the project as equal partners, coordinating fully on every detail of this $40 million project from design, to permitting, to construction. Conversations between the two agencies began in 2011, with construction commencing in 2018 and concluding in 2020.

Ensuring No Waste Goes to Waste

The City of St. Cloud, Minnesota, in partnership with Vancouver-based Ostara and Ontario-based Lystek, has implemented a project to convert its waste streams into valuable fertilizer for farmers. Through the Nutrient Recovery and Reuse project, Ostara strips nutrients from waste to extract high-quality fertilizer pellets, while Lystek converts residual solid waste to liquid fertilizer. The project helps prevent overloading of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus into the Mississippi River and other local waterways, recovers valuable materials from the waste stream, reduces energy use and returns clean water to the environment.

Regenerative Agriculture, Cheerios, & Canadian Oats

As part of a commitment to advance regenerative agriculture practices on one million acres of North American farmland by 2030, Minnesota-based General Mills, one of the world's largest food companies, is providing support to dozens of oat farmers across Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and North Dakota. The farmers participate in a regenerative agriculture oat pilot project, which includes individualized coaching and other tools. This region of North America provides the oats for Cheerios and other leading General Mills brands.