An additional 19 other states also turned in bids, many offering significant public subsidies. Minnesota offered little in the way of financial aid. Duluth, meanwhile, was not a four-season port, a required feature for Boeing. The international port on Lake Superior is iced in for most of the winter. McCallum-Sweeney Consulting, Boeing's site-selection consultant, told Minnesota officials that this essentially eliminated Minnesota from the running.
The state of Minnesota said it is still pursuing Montreal-based Bombardier Aerospace to build a maintenance base in Duluth. The base would employ about 300 people and help further Duluth's attempts to become a cluster for the aviation industry. The city is already home to a Northwest Airlines maintenance operation and to Cirrus Design Corp., a fast-growing manufacturer of small planes.
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