FEBRUARY 2003

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CONTENTS

The Department of Commerce and its partnership with local developers was featured on the cover of the �Money� section in the Sunday, Dec. 29, Bismarck Tribune. The story�s focus is the new strategic plan, its goals and benchmarks. �The biggest key to reaching those benchmarks is the state and local economic development groups forming a relationship that is seamless where everyone helps everyone,� wrote Mark Hanson, the newspaper�s business reporter.

In reference to building partnerships, Lee Peterson, commissioner, said, �I think it�s the most vital component of our success. The local development people are what we focus our attention on. It has started to gel.�

Gaylon Baker, director of the Stark Development Corporation in Dickinson, is quoted as saying, �There�s a lot more cooperation. We�re getting a lot more leads. They better understand who we are out here. They seem more attentive to every community in North Dakota and are working harder than they (ever) have.�

The No. 1 goal in the strategic plan is to develop a united front for economic development based on collaboration, accountability and trust�just one thing we are doing differently to get the job done!

BUSINESS MARKETING AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OUTLINED

The Economic Development & Finance Division has planned several business development and marketing events through June 30. Local developers should have received a more descriptive list in January early.

February 2003
19-21 Medical Devices Manufacturing Exhibit, Anaheim, Calif.
24-26 Outsourcing World Summit Exhibit, Palm Desert, Calif.

March 2003
1 North Dakota Business Reception and Dinner, Chicago, Ill.
1 Department of Commerce Ambassadors Meeting, Chicago, Ill.
3-6 National Manufacturing Week Exhibit, Chicago, Ill.
20 Department of Commerce Business Dinner, San Jose, Calif.
20 Department of Commerce Ambassadors Meeting, San Jose, Calif. 31 to April 2 APEX Exhibit, Anaheim, Calif.

May 2003
3 Corenet Global Summit Reception and Dinner, Toronto, Ontario
3-6 Corenet Global Summit Exhibit, Toronto, Ontario
TBA North Dakota Business Reception and Dinner, Denver, Colo.

June 2003
1-5 SuperComm Exhibit, Atlanta, Ga.

If you plan to participate in any of these events, please contact Mike Strotheide, vice president of business development, at 701-328-5322, or [email protected]; or Tracy Metzger, vice president of marketing, at 701-328-5352 or [email protected].

NORTH DAKOTANS ATTEND NORTHWEST FOOD PROCESSORS SHOW

Economic developers from Williston, Minot, Bismarck, Jamestown and Grand Forks, and representatives from Montana-Dakota Utilities joined Chuck Fine, business development project manager, and Mark Jennings, research analyst, both with the Department of Commerce Economic Development & Finance Division, at the Northwest Food Processors Association Convention and Exposition in Seattle in mid-January.

This is the food processing industry�s main annual event for the Pacific Northwest. �We have a number of operating companies in North Dakota that are members of and active in the association,� said Fine. �A number of our customers also attend this show.�

In conjunction with the annual meeting, some 300 exhibitors participate in a trade show to market services and products to the association�s members. ED&F; was among the exhibitors.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL STRENGTHENS COMMUNITIES

Based on the premise that the state�s future depends on the vitality of communities, a state-level partnership is at work to strengthen rural North Dakota.

The North Dakota Rural Development Council, part of a national rural development partnership, is among the programs within the Economic Development & Finance Division. The council is completely federally funded.

Cornelius Grant, Rural Development Council director, said, �The council is the organization that creates a forum where federal, state, local and tribal governments, and private and non-profit organizations can come together to discuss strategies to overcome barriers to rural revitalization.�

The council�s board represents a cross-section of people, six of whom are appointed by the governor. Members of the North Dakota Rural Development Council Board of Directors are:

• James (Jim) Laducer, Laducer & Associates, Mandan
• Carol Dilse, Scranton
• Mike Fladeland, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., Bismarck
• Jennifer Gladden, TMI Storage, Dickinson
• Dean S. Somerville, Posi Lock Puller, Inc., Cooperstown
• J.P. Wiest, Wiest Trucking, Inc., Jamestown
• Russ Staiger, Bismarck-Mandan Development Association, Bismarck
• Austin Gillette, Three Affiliated Tribes, New Town
• Paul Rechlin, Lewis & Clark Regional Council, Bismarck
• Mark Johnson, N.D. Association of Counties, Bismarck
• Connie Sprynczynatyk, N.D. League of Cities, Bismarck
• Eddie Dunn, College Technical Education Council, Fargo
• Eric Hardmeyer, Bank of North Dakota, Bismarck
• Roger Johnson, N.D. Agriculture Depart., Bismarck
• Wayne Kutzer, State Board for Vocational & Technical Education, Bismarck
• Clare Carlson, USDA Rural Development, Bismarck
• Pat Hemmy, Turtle Mountain Agency, Belcourt
• Jim Stai, Small Business Administration, Fargo
• Lee Peterson, Department of Commerce, Bismarck
• Paul Govig, DOC Division of Community Services, Bismarck

The board meets quarterly. For more information on the council and its work, call Grant at 701-328-5313, or visit www.growingnd.com.

COMMERCE BEGINS TESTIMONY JAN. 13

January 13 was a hectic day at the Legislature for Department of Commerce Commissioner Lee Peterson and the four division directors. DOC leadership appeared before the Government Operations Division of the House Appropriations Committee.

Others testifying on behalf of the department included:

• Mike Hohl, president, DMI Industries, West Fargo
• Gary Satern, director, Rugby Area Job Authority, Rugby
• Keith Olson, CEO, Bushel 42 Pasta Co., Crosby
• John Phillips, development director, Beulah Jobs Development Authority, Beulah
• Don Longmuir, Souris Basin Planning Council, Minot
• Perry Lundon, executive director, Dakota Prairie Community Action Agency, Devils Lake
• Diane Oster, owner, Missouri River Lodge, Stanton
• Dave Borlaug, president, North Dakota Lewis & Clark Bicentennial
• Foundation, Washburn
• Randy Hatzenbuhler, executive director, Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, Medora
• Kyle Blanchfield, owner, Woodland Resort, Devils Lake
• Bryan Schulz, marketing director, Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau
• John Staley, president, Greater Grand Forks Convention and Visitors Bureau

Gov. John Hoeven�s recommended budget for DOC is $71,098,799 for the 2003-05 biennium. That compares to $64,745,502 for the current biennium. The majority of the increased funding comes in the form of $10 million in federal grants for Division of Community Services programs.

Here are Economic Development & Finance Division budget highlights involving the most significant changes from the current biennium:

• $60,342 increase in Research bringing the total to $632,480.
• $280,066 more for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, to bring the budget to $876,573.
• No new grant money for the Development Fund. $2,350,000 was appropriated in the current biennium.
• Two new venture capital funds � a $10 million New Venture Fund and a $1 million Seed Capital Fund proposed by Gov. Hoeven as part of his Smart Growth initiative.

OTTE COLEMAN NAMED TOURISM DIRECTOR

Sara Otte Coleman didn�t officially begin her duties as director of the North Dakota Department of Commerce Tourism Division until Jan. 16, but she hit the ground running even before that date arrived.

Coleman, selected by Gov. John Hoeven to replace Allan Stenehjem, handled double duty the first two weeks in January, working as director of administration and marketing for the Bismarck-Mandan Convention and Visitors Bureau while studying the inner workings of the state Tourism Division.

DOC ADOPTS UNITED IDENTITY

Since the formation of the Department of Commerce (DOC), the four divisions have worked diligently to create one seamless department. One step in that evolution is having a united look for the department and a positioning statement to explain who and what DOC is.

That positioning, �A new state of business,� is a multi-faceted declaration of the department�s most important messages:

1. The Department of Commerce is new and doing things differently.
2. North Dakota�s business environment is new in the sense that it has become more business-friendly.
3. The state is growing new jobs and new businesses, and improving the quality of life for its residents.

The logo positions North Dakota as a �product,� whether it is bringing a new business to the state with quality jobs, creating a better environment for businesses to work and employees to live, or tourists bringing new wealth to the state.

WHAT THEY�RE SAYING

�North Dakota has a wonderful workforce. Our employees are highly educated and skilled. They tend to produce quality products with very little training.�