JD Vance Targets 1,500 Factory Jobs for Towns of 80,000 as St. Cloud Stalls

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 27

St. Cloud, a Minnesota city of about 80,000, is cast as a test case for JD Vance’s reshoring pitch, with residents describing a downtown that has improved since COVID but largely plateaued.
Nearly half of available commercial space sits empty after blows including Herberger’s 2018 closure, area factory shutdowns and St. Cloud State University’s 2019 decision to drop football.
Vance’s argument is that only a few employers could change the trajectory there—one plant with 1,500 jobs and a tech firm adding 300 to 500 workers could refill homes and revive downtown foot traffic.
The report says local anxiety also centers on the Somali community, splitting between anger over alleged benefit fraud and a broader debate over assimilation, while noting Somali residents largely live outside downtown.
That mix of economic stagnation and cultural friction is presented as why Vance’s America First message could resonate in small Midwestern communities heading into the midterms.