St. Paul – The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has awarded $681,000 in grants to Alexandria, the Duluth Airport Authority and Elbow Lake.

“These grants will create jobs and expand economic development opportunities in the Greater Minnesota communities receiving these grants,” said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove. “This is an important investment as Minnesota’s economy begins to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 over the coming months.”

“I created and designed the Air Grants bill last year because I wanted to help smaller communities take advantage of the tremendous economic opportunities that local and regional airports offer,” said Sen. John Jasinski (R-Faribault), the Senate author of the Air Grants bill. “I am excited to see the rewards that Alexandria, Duluth, and Elbow lake will be able to reap from this first round of funding.”

The Airport Infrastructure Renewal (AIR) grant program was signed into law by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in 2019 as part of the jobs omnibus bill. The AIR program provides grants to counties, airport authorities or cities to retain or grow jobs in the area, increase the tax base and create new local economic development.

Details on individual projects are below:

Alexandria, $181,000

This project consists of renovating the existing Viking Building at the airport. Currently the building is in poor condition and partially occupied by two businesses for manufacturing and warehousing purposes. The city hopes the renovation will allow the businesses to expand and attract new business to the location. The building plans to add six full-time employees in the next five years. Total cost of the renovation is $362,000.

Duluth Airport Authority, $250,000

Duluth Airport Authority will use the funds to assist in completion of the phase II rehabilitation of its 311 building. Cirrus Aircraft plans to expand their current manufacturing capacity in the building and create 25 full-time jobs. Total cost of phase II is expected to be $500,000.

Elbow Lake, $250,000

This project will add a 4,800 square foot addition to an existing hanger. Prairie Air will use the hanger and plans to add five new full-time employees in the next five years. The total project cost is expected to be $610,000.

DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more information about the agency and its services visit the DEED website or follow DEED on Twitter.