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About 50 people welcomed Tashitaa Tufaa back to Minnesota at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Tuesday. Tufaa, the founder of Fridley school bus company Metropolitan Transportation Network, had been detained in Ethiopia for three days and was released on Jan. 1.

Family and friends greeted him with cheers, flowers and brightly colored balloons that read "welcome home."

His son Nuurasuu Tufaa, 20, thanked state leaders and the U.S. State Department for their help in securing his father's safe release.

The son says his family is unsure why the business owner was detained, but he said it felt great to have his father back: "We're going to go home and have a good meal," he said.