GRAND FORKS — Business leaders from the northern Red River Valley area joined U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott for a roundtable discussion Friday at the Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce.

The discussion was put together as a way to provide thoughts and feedback on how hours and staffing at U.S.-Canada border crossings have been affecting small businesses, particularly in border towns like Pembina and Walhalla.

"What really came across is it's not just one thing," Hoeven said. "We have to make sure the wage rate works, it's housing, which is a challenge everywhere."

Conversations were centered around certain border crossing hours and staffing shortages at those facilities and branched out into the lack of Canadian traff

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