GRAND FORKS (WJON News) - The mayor of Grand Forks will deny the building permits for a Chinese-owned corn milling plant.

Mayor Brandon Bochenski said he will refuse to connect industrial infrastructure and deny building permits to Fufeng USA’s proposed corn milling plant.

Get our free mobile app

The China-based company bought 370 acres of land for the plant located 12 miles east of the Grand Forks Air Force Base in late 2021. Since the announcement, there has been considerable critique of a Chinese company operating an American plant.

In a letter to North Dakota Senator John Hoeven, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Andrew Hunter called the project a significant threat to national security.

Photo: City of Grand Forks
Photo: City of Grand Forks
loading...

Officials from Fufeng USA have repeatedly claimed they are not controlled by the Chinese government. The company is privately owned but has ties to China.

In a statement, Bochenski says Fufeng USA will still own the land.

Last month, a bill was introduced in the North Dakota legislature that would bar a foreign government or a business they control from purchasing, acquiring, leasing, or holding any interest in North Dakota land.


 

READ RELATED ARTICLES

 

Rockville, Minnesota...in Pictures

More From 1390 Granite City Sports