Eau Claire has a new sister...a sister city that is.

On Tuesday night, the Eau Claire City Council voted to add Miramar, Costa Rica as a sister city. Karl Markgraf of UW-Eau Claire’s International Education Department presented the idea to the council in hopes of creating relationships with Miramar and allowing opportunities for students to travel there and vice versa.

At virtually no cost, City Manager Mike Huggins says the city has plenty to gain culturally and economically from this sisterhood.

"I think it is very much, as local government and local community, I think it is very much to our value to engage in opportunities to learn more about the world that we all live in."

Eau Claire joined the sister city program in 2000, and added Lismore, Australia as its first sister city in 2001.