- We recently added three new members to our board of directors: Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski; Meghan Compton, executive vice president and chief clinic operations officer at Altru Health System; and University of North Dakota President Andrew Armacost. Bochenski and Compton will serve as directors on the board, and Armacost as an ex-officio member.
- The Grand Forks Herald asked local government and business leaders to compile reports that portrayed some spark of optimism for a special section titled “Greater Grand Forks Community”. Here is EDC President & CEO Keith Lund’s take on our economic development for the region during the pandemic.
- The GE Foundation has given a $100,000 COVID-19 Community Response Grant to the Community Foundation of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Region. This will support the Grand Forks Public Schools “Smart Restart” initiative. EDC member companies like LM Wind Power (a GE Renewable Energy business) often give back to our community. Thank you, LM Wind Power!
- EDC President & CEO Keith Lund attended a business leader congressional roundtable with Sen. Kevin Cramer on August 18th hosted by the Grand Forks/East Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce. Cramer was looking to the group for input on business issues and to discuss legislation that could change the way some Paycheck Protection Program loans might be forgiven.
- UND is back in session for the fall semester, and they recently announced overall enrollment is up slightly over last year, something that seemed unachievable as little as three months ago.
- Becca Cruger, EDC Workforce Development Manager, gave a three-year overview of the Greater Grand Forks: Way Cooler Than You Think! initiative at our August board of directors meeting. Here are some pretty cool numbers:
• 11 million – digital impressions of Cooler content seen nationwide
• 11,000 – hashtag uses of #GFisCooler on social media
• 84 – percentage of visitors to gfiscooler.com who are from outside the Grand Forks region
- In the first week of August, EDC President & CEO Keith Lund and Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski toured two EDC member companies, PS Industries and Philadelphia Macaroni, who showcased the manufacturing industry’s impact on our economy.
- Grand Forks made it in the top 20 for Best Housing Markets for Growth and Stability according to SmartAsset. Other good news that could positively impact the housing market: the Mayor is backing a plan that would offer $10,000 to people to spend on a down payment, closing costs, and home improvements.
- Inovan, Inc. is a new biotech company in our region and is leasing laboratory space in the UND Tech Accelerator. Inovan is researching and developing, in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, an effective therapeutic (antibody) against COVID-19.
- We welcomed aboard our new marketing & communications manager at the beginning of the month. Meet Stephanie Flyger.