- The Jobs Development Authority of Grand Forks has approved a request from Cirrus Aircraft to purchase its 200,000 square-foot production facility by the end of 2020, as well as an adjacent parcel to support future growth. This further solidifies Cirrus as a long-term member of the community.
- The EDC recently welcomed Bridget West as our new operations specialist. Bridget’s responsibilities include project-related research and tracking key metrics and regional economic indicators. Meet Bridget.
- The Grand Forks Herald recently profiled the State of North Dakota LIFT program (Innovation Technology Loan Fund) created to support the commercialization of technology developed by North Dakota companies and drive economic diversification. So far, 19 North Dakota companies have received funding through the program and eight of those are located in Grand Forks.
- Out of those eight companies, three (Airtonomy, Hubedge, First I/KSI Data Sciences) will be new tenants in the tech hub located in the Grand Forks Herald building. The tech hub is the city’s latest step to grow the expanding technology sector in the region.
- The Grand Forks Air Force Base held their 12th annual State of the Base address virtually on Tuesday, November 10. Col. Cameron Pringle highlighted modernizing Global Hawk cockpits and expanding 5G capabilities to the base. GFAFB supports 885 jobs and has an annual economic impact of $270 million in the community.
- The North Dakota Department of Commerce opened up a second round of Hospitality Economic Resiliency Grant (HERG) applications and will close on Friday, December 4 at 5:00 pm. The grant reimburses operation costs to cafes, bars, restaurants, breweries, theatres, etc for up to $25,000 for expenses dating back to March 27, 2020. You can find more information here.
- The Covid-19 Response Unmet Needs (C-RUN) loans are still available for applicants. The Grand Forks Growth Fund has received $1.39 Million in CARES Act funding from the Economic Development Administration for a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to address the economic impact of COVID-19 in Grand Forks County. Businesses can apply for the C-RUN loans with interest rates as low as 0.75%.
- Applications for InternGF have closed, and this year we had a record number of requests for funding! The program, sponsored by the University of North Dakota’s Center for Innovation and the EDC, is designed to increase the number of local internships and offers companies up to $3,500 to offset an intern’s salary.
- Grand Forks received a solid bond rating from Moody’s, the New York City financial firm. This means Grand Forks is on stable financial footing thanks to a strong tax base and economy anchored by Altru Health System, Grand Forks Air Force Base, and the University of North Dakota.
- More good news for our local economy: airport passenger numbers were up in October. This is still down compared to last year, but the trend upward is encouraging. The numbers were the highest point they have been since the pandemic began in March.