Friends, family and travelers from many locations are excited to hear the news that the United States Border will be opening up on November 8^th.  The border crossing we are mentioning here is located at Baudette, MN, a gateway into our neighboring country of Canada. When Covid 19 hit in March of 2020 both the US and Canadian governments decided to close their borders allowing only those who were essential workers to cross.

Canada opened its border recently to travel into Canada and now the US has followed suit and will open to travelers very soon.  The reason the borders were closed was to help stop the spread of Covid 19 between the two countries.  We in this northland were saddened by this event because the towns of Baudette, MN and Rainy River, Ontario, Canada have been great neighbors and have shared jobs, sporting events and travelers between the two.

The Northern Light Region, the local newspaper in town, has just published an excellent article in this week’s paper by Reporter Robert Hopwood. The following is some information obtained from that publication.

“Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced this week that nonessential travelers vaccinated against Covid-19 will be allowed to enter the United States at land and ferry border crossings. The policy goes into effect November 8, according to the white House. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minneapolis, who worked earlier this year to ease travel restrictions for Northwest Angle residents and recently called on the Biden Administration to end land-crossing restrictions, praised the decision. ‘As chair of the Senate group working with the Canadian parliament, I’ve long advocated to safely open up both land and air travel between the United States and Canada.’”

The community of Baudette, Lake of the Woods, was hit hard when the border was closed. Traffic across the international bridge which is the port of entry into the United States from Canada fell sharply as trucks crossing the border and also personal vehicles. The ripple effect hit retail sales, theater attendance, high school sports, liquor stores and the like. Lake of the Woods School, especially suffered since students from Canada were invited to participate on the school’s football, baseball, ice hockey and cross-country teams at both the junior high and varsity levels.

Baudette is excited to see the border open because during this season, many improvements have been made to the community. Lake of the Woods Foods has been remodeled with new concrete parking lots and the store added space as well as Caribou Coffee. The whole Main Ave of town has new sidewalks with trees and decorative corner containers for beautification added on a newly paved street. The American Legion has redone the front of the building making it a very attractive addition to the street. Ronnings Department Store remodeled their store and added a beautiful storefront showing off their wares. Decorative signs adorn the front of the building.

Another feature to the city of Baudette is ongoing as there is a new distillery being built inside one of the current buildings.

All of these features are here to welcome travelers to our area. Sporting more than 50 resorts, lodging is abundant and pristine waters of both the Rainy River and Lake of the Woods contain an abundance of fish for the avid sportsman.

More information on crossing the border is oncoming, however, Canada has put some regulations in place for entering their country. One must download an app onto your phone called ArriveCan. People can use this app to download your vaccination card showing you have received the vaccines against Covid. They also require all nonessential travelers to show officials a negative Covid-19 test to visit or re-enter the country. Those tests are available at Thrifty White Pharmacy in Baudette from Monday to Friday for a fee.  This must be taken within 72 hours of crossing the border.

The United States will also require that nonessential travelers be vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be issuing guidance on what that means for the federal government.

All in all this northern border is rejoicing that friends and family will be reunited, businesses will prosper and even better, the welcome mat is once again extended to all travelers. Keep watching the Baudette Northern Light Region for more information or contact www.lakeofthewoodsmn.com to keep abreast of regulations.