Star Tribune
Delta to send off first flight from MSP using Minnesota-grown sustainable fuel
The first batch of sustainable aviation fuel made from Minnesota and North Dakota grown crops arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Tuesday, a landmark in efforts to reduce air emissions.
And Wednesday afternoon, that fuel will help power its first flight: a 4 p.m. takeoff for a 7:30 p.m. arrival in New York during the city’s climate week. Delta Air Lines, which uses MSP as one of its major hubs, will cover the cost of the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that will replace traditional jet fuel for its flight.
“This initial SAF delivery is another example of how we are making SAF real in Minnesota and showing the world how to do it right,” said Peter Frosch, president and CEO of Greater MSP , in a news release. “We are highlighting the first SAF flight from MSP International as another major milestone in our push to build a SAF economy anchored in Minnesota.”
The Minnesota SAF Hub, a coalition Greater MSP leads, orchestrated this moment as part of its larger mission to decarbonize the airline industry.
The aviation industry accounts for about 2% of the world’s emissions of carbon dioxide, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Each year, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines burns through about 250 million gallons of fuel at MSP, its second-biggest hub, according to the airline. When combined with jet fuel, SAF can these reduce carbon emissions by more than 80%, per Greater MSP.
Farmers in Minnesota and North Dakota partnered with Minnetonka-based Cargill to produce 2,000 acres of cover crop winter camelina, harvested this summer, processed at a Cargill plant in West Fargo and transported to Montana for blending into SAF. By late 2025, a facility in Pine Bend will blend the safe locally.
Winter camelina, planted in the fall and harvested in the summer, has oil-rich seedscrushed and refined to produce SAF. The plant also provides soil cover during non-growing seasons.
“This first batch of camelina SAF is a demonstration of how we plan to decarbonize air travel and improve water quality on agricultural lands while providing new income sources for farmers in and around Minnesota,” Frosch said in the release.
Solventum, the 3M health care spinoff, might be keeping its home base in Minnesota after speculation it could eventually set up its headquarters out of state.
The company is working with the city of Eagan to move into an existing commercial building there and is seeking state support for the major upgrades the campus will need to accommodate upwards of 800 employees working on-site every day.
There was concern Solventum could exit the state after leaving its short-term home on the 3M campus in Maplewood. San Antonio, home of major subsidiary Acelity, was a possible target, and Solventum had not made any pledges to remain in Minnesota.
“Other states (and countries) are generously courting the company to move to their jurisdiction, and the bulk of the company’s business is, in fact, not currently located in Minnesota,” an Eagan City Council resolution read. “The company could downsize its workforce currently located at the 3M corporate campus in Minnesota and move employees to any of the company’s 29 locations outside of Minnesota.”
Instead, the state might keep its newest public company, and the Twin Cities could continue to boast yet another Fortune 500 business.
To make that happen, Solventum is looking for an as-yet-unspecified level of funding from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), likely many millions given the “large amount of capital investment” needed, according to city documents.
“The assistance to be provided by DEED is appropriate and necessary to retain an existing business in Minnesota,” the resolution said.
Solventum spun off from 3M on April 1 this year. It manufactures a range of medical devices, bandages, dental supplies and other products. The company earned roughly $8 billion in annual revenue when it was a part of 3M.
Two central Minnesota banks are merging to bolster the size and resources of the community institutions.
First State Bank of Sauk Centre and Little Falls-based Pine Country Bank will operate as Pine Country Bank, per a Monday announcement. Regulatory authorities have already approved the merger, which will complete in January.
“We’d be considered an agricultural bank,” said Rob Ronning, CEO of Pine Country Bank. “It makes up the largest portion of our portfolio.”
Ronning said the merged bank’s lending limit will likely increase from $4.1 million to $6.2 million. As of June 30, Pine Country Bank had assets of $244 million and First State Bank had assets of $157 million.
Holding company MidCountry Acquisition, based in Minneapolis, owned and operated both banks and drove their merger.
“They were just looking to get more efficient,” Ronning said of MidCountry’s motivation to combine the financial entities.
Pine Country Bank — which began in 1927 as the Royalton State Bank — has branches in Little Falls, Rice and Royalton. First State Bank has locations in Sauk Centre and downtown Minneapolis. Pine Country has 40 employees while First State employs 15 staffers.
Last week, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a percentage point. Ronning is optimistic about the impact of that on the banking industry.
As well-wishers flocked Officer Ikran Mohamed, 4-year-old Amira Shafii raised her little arm in a proud salute — her auntie’s new police cap perched lopsided on her head. The ‘junior officer’ cracked a smile.
Mohamed, dressed in a black hijab, adjusted her newly pinned badge with henna-laced hands. She’d just become the first Somali woman to ever join the Minneapolis Police Department.
“I want to be a role model for girls who look like me, so they can say ‘I can do it, too,” Mohamed, 23, told reporters Thursday night following a graduation ceremony honoring 11 new recruits and 12 lateral hires from other Minnesota law enforcement agencies.
“I’m just very excited to be here and represent my people and my community.”
Amira Shafii, 4, goes around saluting friends and relatives for photos wearing the police uniform cap of her aunt, officer Ikran Mohamed, who became the first Somali woman to become an officer with Minneapolis Police Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 at the American Indian Center in Minneapolis, Minn.. ] AARON LAVINSKY • Aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com (Aaron Lavinsky/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Mohamed immigrated to the United States from Kenya when she was 10 years old. She previously worked as a corrections officer in Steele County.
Beside her, 27-year-old Officer Lesly Vera also had the power of representation on the mind. Vera became the first non-citizen to serve on the police force Thursday, marking a significant victory for immigration advocates.
Although thousands of lawful permanent residents and DACA recipients already serve in the United States military, many states maintain citizenship requirements for those seeking to become a licensed police officer. But in recent years, as law enforcement agencies across the nation have struggled to replenish their ranks with qualified candidates, a growing number have eliminated that requirement.
In 2023, at the recommendation of the Peace Officers’ Training Board, the Minnesota Legislature changed state law allowing for applicants who are either citizens or “eligible to work in the United States under federal requirements.”
