Isolated from U.S., Northwest Angle residents have to go to Canada after latest border clampdown
The new federal requirement for a negative COVID-19 test before crossing the border is forcing residents of a Minnesota region surrounded by Canada on three sides, and water on the fourth, to travel to Manitoba for groceries even though U.S. communities are closer to them.
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COVID-19 test requirement means residents of Minnesota region surrounded by Canada can t make U.S. grocery run
Posted: Apr 15, 2021 5:00 AM CT | Last Updated: April 15
Karen and Paul Colson leave a Steinbach grocery store with a cart full of groceries. The Americans say they have no other choice but to travel into Canada to buy their groceries, after the federal government imposed stricter rules on border crossings.(Ian Froese/CBC)
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The Canadian border has been closed for a while but that makes things very difficult for people trying to get to or from Minnesota s Northwest Angle. The only way there is by crossing the Canadian border. Since that s not possible, how are people supposed to get to and from the Northwest Angle? That s when residents decided to create an ice road over Lake of the Woods called the NW Angle Guest Ice Road. It s 22 miles on ice and 8 miles through forest to get to the Northwest Angle.
There are quite a few resorts in the Northwest Angle and because the border has been closed they haven t been able to host any visitors, it has really hurt business. Paul and Karen Colson are owners of Jake’s Northwest Angle, the third-generation resort started by Paul’s grandfather according to KARE 11. Paul said they had zero people at their resort.
The border to and from Canada has been closed for a while and because of that, the people who live on Minnesota's Northwest Angle aren't able to get anywhere else in the USA and travelers can't get to any of the resorts there. Since traveling by road isn't an option, residents decided to create a 22-mile ice road over Lake of the Woods to get to and from Minnesota's Northwest Angle.
Cut off from rest of US, Minnesota resort town builds a 22-mile ice road
Passage on the ice road requires a $145 roundtrip permit. Season passes are being sold for $500 to recoup the cost of building and constant plowing. Author: Boyd Huppert Updated: 10:08 PM CST February 1, 2021
ANGLE INLET, Minn. Paul and Karen Colson live 40 miles north of Warroad, Minnesota.
They may as well be on the moon.
“Cut off,” Paul says. “Totally, totally.”
For the past 10 months, the Minnesota husband and wife have been essentially severed from the rest of the United States.
That’s when Canada, seeking to slow the spread of COVID-19, closed its southern border to all but essential travel.