- University of North Dakota Interim President Joshua Wynne shared his thoughts on moving the UND Strategic Plan forward and welcomed feedback at a special event for EDC members and the Chamber Board. More about the event …
- Our members impact the nation! Thanks to flood protection products made by PS Industries, the U.S. National Archives stayed dry this month after flooding in Washington, D.C.
- July was a big month for UAS happenings!
● Northland Community and Technical College received a $7 million grant to become a National Center for Autonomous Technologies.
● Grand Sky will be one of the first companies in the world to fly a long-endurance drone produced by Northrop Grumman.
● SkySkopes was selected as one of the top 5 Drone Service Providers in the nation.
● DroneBiz featured Northern Plains UAS Test Site Executive Director Nick Flom.
- 45 business and community leaders attended the Opportunity Zone Forum, hosted by the City of Grand Forks and the EDC. Learn more about Opportunity Zones and view the presentation slides here.
- Border States Electric and Northern Plains Rail each broke ground on new facilities in July.
● Border States‘ new building will allow for growth of the company’s customer base and the addition of new employee-owners.
● Northern Plains Rail expects Great Plains Rail Center, a rail car servicing and repair facility, to add about 20 jobs to the region.
- Newly installed Grand Forks Air Force Base Commander Col. Cameron Pringle invited community leaders, including EDC President & CEO Keith Lund, to share their experiences with base and community relations. The group discussed current partnerships and guiding values and brainstormed future initiatives and development.
- Congratulations to the executives honored at the inaugural Prairie Business Leaders and Legacies Awards, especially the following EDC member company executives:
● Hal Gershman, President, Happy Harry’s Bottle Shops
● Brian Johnson, CEO, Choice Bank
● Lonnie Laffen, President, JLG Architects
● Tammy Miller, CEO, Border States Electric
● Paul Steffes-,Founder and Chief Innovation Advisor, Steffes LLC
● Steve Swiontek, CEO, Gate City Bank
●Bruce Vaaler, CEO, Vaaler Insurance
- Charles Gorecki was named CEO of UND’s Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC). Additionally, the EERC secured two grants totaling $16 million for enhanced oil recovery research.
- Grand Forks’ Jobs Development Authority voted unanimously to fund a market capture analysis that will lean on location data to determine how area businesses can better attract and retain retail business, service business, and events. Funding partners include the EDC, Chamber, Convention and Visitors Bureau, and East Grand Forks Economic Development Authority. More …
- North Dakota ranks in the top 5 states to start a new business according to a study conducted by WalletHub.