Greater MSP releases bid to bring Amazon's second headquarters to Minnesota

(FOX 9) - The state of Minnesota and greater Minneapolis-St. Paul have finally released the entire bid to try and lure Amazon’s second headquarters.

Minnesota did not make the first cut. The bid reveals that the state offered only existing financial incentives of between $3 and 5 million and offered up 18 potential sites in the Twin Cities region.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul kept the bid secret, citing the confidentiality of its client.

Then, a watchdog group called Public Record Media sued to reveal what promises and taxpayer dollar commitments the state had made to Amazon.

Over the weekend, greater Minneapolis-St. Paul said it would finally release the bid. Amazon also agreed to its release.

But, Public Record Media says that’s what should have happened from the start.

“This case is not just about the Amazon bid - and the Amazon bid is an important part of it - it is also about HQ3, HQ4 and any future economic development projects to come.  We want to ensure that what happened in this case doesn’t happen to anyone else and that information that was paid for by the public - a bid that created using taxpayer dollars - will always remain accessible to the public,” said Mashesha Subbraman with the Public Record Media Special Council.  

Amazon eventually chose Virginia and New York City. It has since canceled its New York City plans after local pushback over the incentives the city and state offered.