Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $3 Million to Establish Business Incubator in Red Lake Reservation Opportunity Zone

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $3 million grant to the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Red Lake, Minnesota, to construct the tribe's Adaawe-Wigamig Business Center. The EDA grant, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $214,789 in local funds and is expected to create 217 jobs, retain 87 jobs, and generate $7.2 million in private investment.

“The Trump Administration is committed to boosting entrepreneurship efforts and small business ownership in Native American communities,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This project will provide the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians with the resources to create jobs and build economic resiliency, and the project’s location in an Opportunity Zone will attract additional investment.”

“The Economic Development Administration is pleased to support the Red Lake Reservation’s efforts to help its business community thrive,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This project will spur economic growth on the reservation and throughout Northwest Minnesota, and its location in an Opportunity Zone provides additional incentive for business investment.”

The funding announced today goes to one of Minnesota’s 128 Opportunity Zones. Created by President Donald J. Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones are spurring economic development in economically-distressed communities nationwide. In June 2019, EDA added Opportunity Zones as an Investment Priority, which increases the number of catalytic Opportunity Zone-related projects that EDA can fund to fuel greater public investment in these areas. To learn more about the Commerce Department’s work in Opportunity Zones, please visit EDA’s Opportunity Zones webpage. To learn more about the Opportunity Zone program, see the Opportunity Now resources webpage. To learn more about Opportunity Zone best practices, see the recently released White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council Report (PDF) to President Trump.

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Headwaters Regional Development Commission, , which EDA funds to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.