UPDATE: Grand Forks City Council officially cancels Fufeng project; crowd erupts in applause

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KFYR) - Grand Forks City Council voted unanimously Monday to cancel the proposed Chinese-owned corn milling plant project over national security concerns.

The decision comes less than a week after the Air Force sent Sen. John Hoeven a letter, expressing their own concerns about the $700 million project. They said the location of the proposed corn mill and its proximity to a U.S. military base could pose a national security breach.

Monday night, city officials voted 5-0 against allowing the Fufeng project and were met with cheers and chanting of “USA” by public attendance members.

The applause and cheering from the crowd reflected much of the testimony that was given.

Many people voiced their opinions and concerns about how the project was handled and were dismayed that it took both of North Dakota’s senators and military intervention to prevent the project from going forward.

“You know, when senators like Cramer and Hoeven start saying the kinds of things that they did in the middle of last year, which was: ‘I’m not so comfortable with this. I don’t think this is maybe a good idea.’ That’s code for, ‘Don’t do it!’” said David Waterman, Grand Forks resident.

Your News Leader has reached out to the mayor of Grand Forks for his take on what happened at last night’s meeting and has not heard back yet.

The future of the land owned by the Chinese company is not yet clear, but there will be no building on this land as of now.

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