Wonderful visit

To the editor,
My wife, Pheroza, and I have just returned to Minneapolis after a wonderful visit to the communities of International Falls and Fort Frances, and I wanted to publicly thank you for treating us so kindly during our visit. And what a visit it was!
We traveled back and forth across the border by bridge and by boat. We met with Mayor Avis and the Fort Frances City Council, Mayor Anderson and the International Falls City Council, and the Koochiching County board.
We shared wonderful meals with members of the community. I pulled a rope across the Rainy River! (Sadly, Canada lost, but we’ll try again next year.)
For nearly 200 years now, the US and Canada have shared a peaceful border, and have shared the responsibility for managing it effectively.
President Kennedy once said: “Geography has made us neighbours, but history has made us friends.”
Nowhere is that friendship more evident than in your communities. You represent the best there is when it comes to our shared border.
You are not just neighbours. You are friends, family, co-workers, and partners.
My office is committed to working with United States Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, and their colleagues at all levels of government, to enhance our linkages; to ensure that Canada and the US remain the best of friends as we work closely together on the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Thank you, Fort Frances, for the most gracious welcome.
See you next year!
Sincerely,
Consul General
Jamshed Merchant