President Biden launches rural investment plan in Minnesota

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (FOX 9) - President Joe Biden launched a new rural investment plan in Minnesota Wednesday.

The president made remarks and talked to folks in the crowd at Dutch Creek Farms near Northfield.

Third-generation owner Brad Kluver introduced Biden and said the administration has already helped his family business.

The president started by discussing evacuations in Gaza, but eventually got to the purpose of his visit here.

He blamed 40 years of trickle-down economics for the demise of rural communities as companies had to get bigger and competition reduced, claiming that today 7% of farms get 90% of the income.

So the president highlighted his administration’s plan to change that, embracing the term "Bidenomics."

He wants to invest more than $5 billion to help agriculture businesses adapt to climate change, as well as expand high-speed internet access and improve infrastructure.

"It’s about investing in all of America including rural America," he said. "It’s about making things in rural America again and that’s exactly what we're doing so rural America can begin to thrive again."

President Joe Biden speaks in Northfield. (FOX 9)

President Biden called his plan the most significant investment in rural America since the Eisenhower administration.

The announcement was the main purpose for the visit, but this trip also serves as a chance to shore up support in the home state of Dean Phillips, the Minnesota Congressman who announced his primary challenge just last week.

Biden attended a fundraiser in Minneapolis Wednesday evening before leaving the state.

The crowd at Dutch Creek Farms was mostly made up of Democratic legislators and donors, but we talked to some Cannon Falls FFA members who helped out with the event. They described it as apolitical for them, but potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get this close to a president.