Would a McDonald’s help Rainy River?

Ken Johnson

Big corporations like McDonald’s rarely make unsound moves and by setting up shop in Baudette they have sent a loud message to the world... “Baudette is a good place to invest.”
At the same time this bold move has been secured, constructed and opened one of their largest employers, Solvay Pharmaceuticals is contemplating massive staff cuts.
It must be hard to celebrate one great victory when such a huge loss could be just in the offing.
Small communities all across this region are in similar struggles. Rainy River has been trying for more than a decade to secure a new employer in the community and is still working on that.
While a corporate presence like McDonald’s might help attract other economic interests to

Baudette, I am not sure it would have the same effect in Rainy River.
Sometimes the brass ring seems shining on the outside, but the inner lining is sometimes darker than one would like.
Many businesses across the district are struggling to survive in the wake of Walmart’s arrival in Fort Frances last year.
Perhaps looking for a big industry is not the answer. Maybe thinking about the creation of several smaller employers would be more practical and more local in nature. Local ideas would likely see the money stay local as well and not go to corp. headquarters elsewhere.
–Until then,
Ken