To bring some focus on small businesses and the jobs they create in Minnesota, Sen. Amy Klobuchar has invited Duluth business owner Dave Benson to attend President Obama's State of the Union speech tonight in Washington.

Benson owns Epicurean Cutting Surfaces, which employs 40 workers and exports cutting boards and kitchen utensils to 45 countries, says the Duluth News Tribune.

Benson told the paper:

“I think it’s a great opportunity to go to the White House and see the State of the Union address. It will be good for our business as well, I hope. Hopefully I’ll get to meet and network with some people that may help us grow our business and bring some positive media to Duluth.”

Klobuchar's thoughts:

“I would like to see some focus on small businesses and growing jobs in our state. I am very hopeful that the president will address the small-business issue. I wanted to make a point by bringing a small-business owner from Minnesota there. I told that to the White House. Small businesses have been determined and they have hung in there in a really difficult economy. Benson is a great example of that. He has actually added jobs during this time because he has been forward-thinking with exports and he has a good product.”