The planned Willmar Rail Park will be owned and managed by Midwest and Bluegrass Rail, a full-service company formed in 2019 for rail and logistics in the Midwest.
The Willmar City Council has OK'd payment for services related to BNSF Railway certification, which designates rail-served sites as meeting the rail company's readiness standards for development.
The Willmar Rail Park represents an expansion of the Nexyst development, which has been previously described as regional transportation hub for the company
The Willmar Rail Park, as it's being called by Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission Director Aaron Backman, would encompass 145 acres in Willmar's Industrial Park and represents an expansion of the Nexyst development. The Nexyst project has been previously described as regional transportation hub for the company, which moves crops from field to consumer by using a network of specialized containers.