$150 million tribal loan advances Minnesota company’s plan to build magnets without rare earth minerals
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A tribal nation announced Tuesday it is putting money into a Minnesota-based magnet maker whose technology doesn’t rely on rare-earth minerals. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is loaning $150 million to Niron Magnetics to further the company’s plans to open a manufacturing plant in Sartell, just north of St. Cloud, in 2027.
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Chair Cole Miller says the company’s manufacturing goals align with the tribe’s cultural values around environmental stewardship.
“We prioritize investments that align with our Dakota values — including being a good steward of the earth,” said Miller in a statement Tuesday. “We recognized Niron's potential early on to benefit the broader Minnesota community and have remained committed to investing in its success.”
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is located southwest of the Twin Cities. The tribe’s successful gambling operations have allowed it to begin investing in housing and manufacturing.
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Niron Magnetics makes magnets found in everything from cellphones to the equipment used to cool data centers.
In a brief interview with MPR News, Niron Magnetics CEO Jonathan Rowntree said the tribe is a core part of Niron’s success. He said the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community was an early investor in the company, going back to 2016, while the technology used to create the magnets was in development at the University of Minnesota.
“We share a lot of common values,” said Rowntree, pointing to the company’s desire to produce magnets sustainably.
Niron Magnetics uses iron and nitrogen to make its magnets, which it says are abundant and can be sourced domestically. The federal government has also committed $150 million in support of the company’s manufacturing plant.
The plant in Sartell broke ground last September. Rowntree says the plant is designed to turn out 1,500 tons of magnets a year when fully operational. He says the company expects to hire 175 full-time, highly skilled workers through 2027.
Correction (Aug. 20, 2026): A previous version of this story misstated how many magnets the plant would produce.
