The plant will be owned by Northstar Ethanol LLC, a group of 318 investors, most of who are area farmers. The Broin Cos., a Sioux Falls, SD-based firm that is a minority stakeholder in Northstar, are handling the development, design, engineering, construction and product marketing for the new venture.

"It's hard to count all the ways this plant will fuel the regional economy," Pawlenty says. "Workers benefit from dozens of new, well-paying jobs; Main Street benefits from the millions of dollars the plant will spend in the area every year; farmers benefit from increased corn prices; and the nation benefits when we produce more of our energy at home."

Jeff Broin, CEO of the Broin Cos, says it took the combined efforts of the state, city, county, two townships and the school district to bring the project to fruition. The JOBZ program, which offers a variety of local and state tax incentives to companies that startup, expand or relocate in one of 10 designated regions of Greater Minnesota, spurred the company's decision to build the plant in Minnesota.