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Rural Minnesota electric cooperatives support defense industry growth and infrastructure
Jun 11 2026Rural Minnesota electric cooperatives are uniquely positioned to support growing U.S. defense industry infrastructure needs. As federal defense spending increases, Minnesota is gaining new opportunities to expand its role in national defense supply chains, especially in rural regions with reliable power, available land, and scalable infrastructure.For Great River Energy and...
The University of Minnesota’s Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) today announced the launch of a new Joint Research Alliance with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR): Innovative Materials and Processing for Advanced Critical Technologies (IMPACT).At a time when global competition and supply chain vulnerability are...
Minnesota has become one of the most competitive destinations for life sciences and medical technology (medtech) investment in the country. According to the Hickey Institute’s 2025 Life Sciences and MedTech Site Selection Strategy Report, the Minneapolis-St. Paul region is now one of the most critical national hubs for biomanufacturing and...
Ireland trade mission clarifies foreign direct investment paths for rural Minnesota cooperatives
Mar 10 2026Rural areas in Minnesota continue to find innovative ways to attract private investment, skilled workers and stable employers. Foreign direct investment is a steady source of growth. Despite changes in trade policy and global markets, international companies are still expanding in the U.S. Many are now looking beyond big, expensive...
Lake Country Power (LCP), one of Great River Energy’s member-owner cooperatives, celebrated the groundbreaking of its Cohasset Industrial Park Distribution System Upgrade, a project that promises to greatly enhance the shovel-ready development opportunities in Cohasset. LCP gathered with representatives from the city of Cohasset, Itasca County, Lake States Construction and the...
Ireland trade mission expands new foreign direct investment paths for rural Minnesota cooperatives
Feb 17 2026Minnesota's electric cooperatives continue to seek practical ways to diversify local economies, attract new capital and foreign direct investment, and connect rural regions with new international partners.A recent trade mission to Ireland – supported by Great River Energy, Greater Mankato Growth and LITTUS – provided new insight into how Irish...
Each year, Area Development partners with Chmura Economics & Analytics to evaluate the performance of U.S. metropolitan areas based on the fundamentals that matter most to business expansion: workforce, economic strength, and adaptability. Using Chmura’s data-driven model — which equally weights Prime Workforce and Economic Strength — the Leading Metro...
A critical shortage of development-ready industrial sites is pushing states to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in product development. These proactive efforts aim to enhance the developability and speed-to-market of industrial property, ultimately attracting capital investment and job creation. Site Selection Group regularly monitors these investments, and this article...
