ST. PAUL, MN – Joined by Duluth-area business leaders, Lt. Governor Tina Smith today held a roundtable discussion highlighting the significant impact of Minnesota’s innovation economy on job creation and quality of life across the state. The meeting follows the recent launch of the year-long #InnovateMN Campaign that celebrates emerging discoveries and technologies that will generate future economic opportunity. Minnesota firms are routinely among the world’s most inventive – with patent filing rates that beat larger companies from across North America, Asia, and Europe.

“Innovation is embedded in our Minnesota identity. Our state annually ranks among the top five in new patents and is home to many leading technology businesses,” said Lt. Governor Tina Smith. “Minnesota’s Arrowhead region is helping lead the way with great businesses like GeoCom, Tryon Media, and LHB Engineering, which are creating new products for consumers around the world and new economic opportunities for Minnesotans.”

The roundtable follows Lt. Governor Smith’s visit to Duluth-based Clearwater Composites yesterday. Clearwater is an engineering and composites manufacturing company that produces carbon fiber tubing, plates, and complex shapes for aerospace, medical, and consumer products.

At the heart of Minnesota’s innovation economy are its hard-working, well-educated citizens, who have invented iconic products, including: the pacemaker and heart valve, taconite pellet and autopilot, and Bisquick and Spam. However, Minnesota is expected to have a workforce shortage of more than 100,000 workers by 2020. Minnesota’s economic success and high-quality of life could be threatened without a growing skilled workforce.

During the roundtable discussion, Lt. Governor Smith highlighted critical investments included in the Dayton-Smith Opportunity Agenda that will help expand our innovation economy and create statewide job opportunities.

• Excellent Educations for All Minnesotans – Minnesota’s innovation economy starts with a well-educated workforce. Governor Dayton and Lt. Governor Smith have proposed new investments to ensure every Minnesotan has access to an excellent education and better workforce training. The Opportunity Agenda would invest $609 million in preK through Grade 12 education to close disparities and ensure Minnesota students are prepared for college and career training. It also would invest more than $255 million to reduce college debt and ensure all Minnesotans have access to quality, affordable higher education.
  
  
• World-Class Research Institutions – Minnesota’s college and universities drive our innovation economy, having helped launch some of our state’s biggest companies, such as Medtronic. In the last decade, the University of Minnesota has helped launch more than 100 start-up companies. This year, Governor Dayton and Lt. Governor Smith have proposed a $315 million investment to ensure Minnesota has world-class colleges and research institutions, including $67 million for a health sciences center at the University of Minnesota and $28.3 million for a new chemistry and advanced sciences building at the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Opportunity Agenda also would invest $8 million over the next two years to support research focused on cancer treatment – an area expected to create jobs and opportunity in the future.
  
  
• Expanding Border-to-Border Broadband – Reliable, high-speed internet is critical to economic development in the information age. Without broadband, Minnesota risks leaving the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators disconnected from the global economy. Approximately 22 percent of Minnesotans in rural areas still lack access to affordable, reliable broadband internet. This year, the Dayton-Smith Administration is proposing a $60 million investment to further expand broadband access for Greater Minnesota households and businesses.
  
  
• Investing in Growing Minnesota’s 21st Century Businesses – One of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs and small businesses is finding sufficient business capital to expand their operations. To help, Minnesota offers an Angel Tax Credit that provides a 25 percent credit to investors or investment funds that put money into new start-up companies. The initiative has helped over 345 Minnesota businesses in growing industries like software, biotechnology, and medical devices secure needed startup capital. Between 2010 and 2015, a $76 million state investment leveraged more than $318 million in private sector investment. This year, Governor Dayton and Lt. Governor Smith have proposed a $10 million investment for 2019 to continue the program and create new economic opportunity across Minnesota.