Willmar today welcomes Mexican Consul Nathan Wolf and his staff to west central Minnesota.
Local officials will welcome Wolf and his staff at a public reception at 6 p.m. today at the Willmar Education and Arts Center. On Saturday, the consulate staff will be available be to Mexican nationals to assist in their needs.
Wolf is the first consul at the Mexican consulate which opened in 2005 in St. Paul. The Mexican Consulate in Minnesota, the 46th in the United States, is located in our capital city, the historic center of Mexican-American culture in Minnesota.
The St. Paul consulate serves the upper Midwest, including west central Minnesota.
And that is why it makes sense for the consul to visit Willmar, a city that continues to embrace its diverse people and businesses in Kandiyohi County.
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The consulate can assist Minnesota businesses wishing to do business in Mexico.
Mexico is an important trading partner to Minnesota. Our southern neighbor is the state's eighth-largest trading partner, with Minnesota exports in goods and services totaling between $350 million and $400 million annually. Nationally, Mexico is the United States' second-largest trading partner.
Saturday the consul's staff will assist Mexican nationals in obtaining a "matricula consular," an identification card for Mexicans in the U.S. This will be beneficial to individuals without other forms of identification to provide appropriate proof of identity when needed, for example when obtaining bank accounts. However, it will not assist in getting a driver's license which requires a Social Security card.
The consul's visit to Willmar is another positive step in the history of the city and west central Minnesota.
Welcome, Consul Wolf!
