I'm wondering whether it was separate tickets, perhaps for an "illegal" connection. IME there's lots of time to catch connections after international arrivals at MSP, although someone who doesn't know the airport might take the long and slow path to the A/B/high C gates.

There aren't many one hour flights from MSP that would have eight hour gaps between flights (although Saturday travel could be worse) and are also a three hour drive. Someone upthread suggested Duluth, but the eight hour gap in schedules doesn't seem right to me. So my guess is Eu Claire, Wisconsin, on a tiny airplane. IIRC there's also shuttle bus service from MSP airport, although not real frequent either. Rochester is too close and again wouldn't have an eight hour gap while IIRC DL no longer serves St Cloud (which could be three hours in bad traffic). If the eight hour schedule gap were something like 10 pm to 6 am, I think the OP would have complained about a forced overnight with no hotel.

Maybe the OP doesn't want to drive, especially in a foreign country and after a long TATL flight, when jetlagged, and perhaps after consuming alcohol. A three hour bus ride wouldn't be pleasant and it might not even be obvious that there is a bus option, nor how get information or use the bus. [Woud one first take a taxi to St Paul or to Minneapolis and if the latter, would you go to the downtown "transit center" or the greyhound bus station a bit outside of downtown, with the first being accessible by light rail plus walking if you don't have much luggage?]