U-S Customs officials will again leave gates at the Canadian border crossings at Roseau and Pinecreek open until midnight, after Congressman Collin Peterson and Roseau Mayor Jeff Pelowski objected that without notice they were closed four hours earlier — even though Canadian customs was still open. Peterson says he’s glad it was worked out, but there’s still the underlying issue of reducing service hours in Lancaster and Roseau. “It’s not right and it’s hurting my people,” he says. “Frankly, they have been giving North Dakota preference over our border crossings. They’ve been staffing North Dakota crossings and cutting ours back, even though we have more traffic.”
Peterson says reduced hours force travelers to drive more than an hour to the Warroad and Pembina, North Dakota ports of entry. Peterson says he thinks it may be to divert more money to the U-S southern border.