Top 10 | October 2025 | Grand Forks EDC

1. edc team sponsors, attends uas summit & expo and hoeven announces collaborations for counter-uas in gf

During the week of October 13th, the Grand Forks Region EDC was a Platinum Sponsor of the 19th Annual UAS Summit and Expo! The event, held at the Alerus Center, had a record-breaking attendance of 750. The EDC team engaged with a variety of companies interested in the Grand Forks ecosystem, such as a software coding company, a defense weapons manufacturing company, and a small UAS manufacturing company. The summit is one of the EDC’s largest pipelines for UAS businesses looking to expand and grow in the Grand Forks region.

During an evening reception for the UAS Summit & Expo at GrandSKY on Monday, October 13th, Senator John Hoeven announced two counter-UAS collaboration opportunities through the Grand Forks Air Force Base and GrandSKY. GFAFB will be the Point Defense Battle Lab for the Air Force’s Air Combat Command to test, develop, and find companies with new systems that can help with counter-UAS. Additionally, a company named AeroVironment has created a 360-degree radar system to find, detect, and track UAS, called AV Halo, which will deploy at GrandSKY.

2. gfafb awarded $20 million for runway repair

The Grand Forks Air Force Base was awarded $20 million for runway repairs! The runway is a crucial part of an air base, so this investment is vital to maintaining operations that support current missions and securing future missions. The work is anticipated to be completed by September 2026.

3. grand forks companies expanding: associated potato growers, ideal aerosmith

Congratulations to EDC clients who are expanding! Associated Potato Growers received approval for a FlexPACE Loan through the Jobs Development Authority in October, and Ideal Aerosmith will be presented to the Jobs Development Authority for approval of a PACE Loan on Monday, November 3rd.

Associated Potato Growers specializes in growing premium red and yellow potato varieties, with its members handling the full process of cultivation, sorting, packaging, and storage before distributing their products to national and international wholesale and retail markets. The company is investing in an Oculus equipment sorting system to improve efficiency and accuracy in the warehouse sorting process. It will integrate automated product identification, sorting, and quality control.

Ideal Aerosmith provides industrial products and services. The company is experiencing significant growth and is in the process of expanding its main building on South Washington St to create more inventory and assembly space.

4. edc helps introduce 2,000+ students to regional careers at nvce

On Wednesday, October 22nd, the EDC staff worked alongside a group of local stakeholders to host the 13th annual Northern Valley Career Expo!

The expo is a workforce retention initiative that introduces over 2,000 tenth-grade students from 58 school districts in the 22-county region of northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota to high-wage, in-demand regional career opportunities.

To gauge the effectiveness of the event efforts, a survey is distributed to students who attend the expo. Preliminary survey results show that:

87% of students agree or strongly agree with the statement: the Career Expo has increased my interest in considering a job/career within the region.
97% of students agree or strongly agree with the statement: the Career Expo will be helpful as I determine what job/career I’m interested in doing.
97% of students agree or strongly agree with the statement: the Career Expo allowed me to learn about a new career in an area I have never considered before.
99% of students agree or strongly agree with the statement: the Career Expo was a valuable career education activity.

All photos from the event are available on the GF is Cooler Flickr.

Learn more about the expo: NorthernValleyCareers.com

5. mayor's air service expansion continues

Mayor Bochenski’s efforts to expand air service at GFK continues! The mayor met with United Airlines officials in October and is hopeful for a positive announcement from the airline in the near future. Scheduled conversations with Delta in October have been postponed until mid-November to allow the airline to gain a better understanding of plane availability to meet additional daily flights out of GFK. EDC President & CEO Keith Lund remains engaged with the efforts and is attending the Routes TakeOff air service development conference in November to continue support of GFK in strengthening relationships with domestic commercial carriers and promoting additional service at GFK.

6. und awarded $16.9 million by advanced research projects agency for health

Congratulations to UND’s Biomedical Engineering Program, which was recently awarded a $16.9 million grant by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (APRA-H). This award will leverage capabilities at UND, Grand Forks-based SafetySpect and Edgewood Healthcare, and Wahpeton, ND-based ComDel Innovation to develop edge computing technology that will predict and improve the prediction of diabetes foot ulcer risk.

7. und, faa sign $5 million research partnership

The University of North Dakota and the Federal Aviation Administration teamed up to sign an agreement to boost aeromedical research! The FAA will assign a research medical officer to UND, who will assist with the execution and planning of research activities; this is the first time the FAA has embedded a medical researcher into a university. The agreement is a result of a partnership between the School of Medicine & Health Sciences, the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Studies, and the recent creation of the North Dakota Center for Aerospace Medicine. The agreement will last five years and provide up to $5 million in funding.

8. grandsky signs agreement to manage the hive

The Grand Forks City Council provided final approval for GrandSKY to take over management of The HIVE, a UAS tech accelerator, on Monday, October 6th. GrandSKY will assume management on Saturday, November 1st, and will continue managing the building through 2030. The change is not only expected to increase the financial performance of The HIVE, but also to increase the number of UAS companies operating within The HIVE, adding more vibrancy within an already dynamic regional UAS ecosystem. Congratulations, GrandSKY!

9. nctc hosts state of the college

Northland Community and Technical College hosted a State of the College event on Thursday, October 16th. The EDC sponsored the event, and staff attended. Olson highlighted changes at the college since her presidency began, including three goals: a shared governance model, enrollment growth of 10% over three years, and the well-being of staff and students. Olson was proud to share that NCTC saw a 9.1% growth in enrollment in one year! The college also gathered ideas for furthering the advancement of workforce partnerships.

10. cruger named ednd member at large

The EDC’s Becca Cruger has been selected to join the Economic Development Association of North Dakota as a member-at-large! Cruger will serve a two-year term, bringing a new perspective to innovative industry attraction and workforce development strategies championed by EDND.