Summer of uncertainty: Northwest Angle resorts wait to hear if US-Canada border will open

The summer travel and fishing seasons are quickly approaching for the dozen resorts on Minnesota’s Northwest Angle. However, they are waiting to hear if tourists will be able to come back by land.

Canada’s Public Safety Minister Bill Blair tweeted a decision on the continued U.S.-Canada border closure will come by May 21. It’s been closed since last year.

The Northwest Angle region of Minnesota is landlocked by Canada, and is also bordered by the Lake of the Woods.

"We’re exactly the same place we are at a year ago, we’re cut off,” said Paul Colson, owner of Jake’s Northwest Angle resort. “This is a Northwest Angle thing, this isn’t my story, this is a community story."

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Colson said the only way to reach Jake’s right now is by seaplane or a 50-mile boat ride from northern Minnesota, due to the road being closed.

"We’re just trying to get our Northwest Angle businesses some relief, so they can sleep at night," said Joe Henry, Executive Director, Lake of the Woods Tourism Bureau.

Henry said resorts have asked Canadian government officials to create a travel corridor to allow Americans to only come on a 40-mile road to the Northwest Angle.

“We could be having a check-in system where people are fined $10,000 if they are outside the boundaries, we could have a pilot car we pay for leading them through, GPS could be given to each person going through,” Henry said. “There are so many things you could do. We’ve heard crickets from Canada."