Bismarck-Mandan Highlights

BMDA Highlights - 1/8/10


Mandan-Bismarck loses a true visionary - It was with a great deal of sadness on Thursday that Mandan-Bismarck lost one of its truly outstanding community leaders. Former Mayor Ken LaMont passed away early that morning as a result of lung and bone cancer which he had been struggling with for some time. Ken’s passing will leave a real void in the community leadership fabric. He had served the City of Mandan extremely well in some very difficult times and always did it with a smile on his face. Ken led without being a politician. No matter how busy he was, he always had a little extra time to hear someone’s problem and help that person find a solution. All of the BMDA board, officers and staff extend their sincere sympathies to Ken’s wife, children and extended family members. His loss will be felt by many for years to come.



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FK Beef Processing - On Wednesday, January 13th, a delegation of ten Korean investors along with the principle of the FK Beef project, are arriving in Bismarck. This group is coming to Bismarck-Mandan to meet with the local parties who support the concept of building a beef processing facility somewhere in Morton or Burleigh County. The BMDA will be hosting a dinner one evening that will allow the Korean group to meet and talk to local business people and political leadership of both Bismarck and Mandan as well as the State of North Dakota. If this plant is ultimately built, it would process approximately 750 head of finished cattle 7 X 24. Up to 60% of the resulting beef would be exported to Korea. Mr. Jack Kim, the primary principle of the project, already has a well established market for the beef in Korea. Historically he has been supplying that market with beef from existing US suppliers; however, he has not been fully satisfied with that supply. As a result of a meeting with several North Dakota meat suppliers who were in Korea on business, Mr. Kim developed an interest in possibly sourcing his beef from North Dakota growers. Consequently, he has made several trips to North Dakota and with participating funding from the ND Ag Products Utilization Commission, completed a project feasibility study. Based on the results of that study, Mr. Kim and his group, including local supporters are now attempting to work out the final details of actually building a processing plant.



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Mandan Tomorrow's 2010 Priorities to Be Presented - The steering committee for Mandan's new strategic vision plan, "Mandan Tomorrow," will present its first-year priorities and action plan on Monday, January 18th at 5:30 p.m. The public is invited to hear which initiatives will be implemented in 2010 during the presentation hosted at the new Mandan Middle School.

Community members are encouraged to attend. Members of each of the four implementation committees will be present to discuss plans and gather public input. The four areas of implementation are: 1) leadership, pride and image; 2) economic opportunity and prosperity; 3) quality places and destinations, and; 4) education and workforce.

The "Mandan Tomorrow" strategic plan and other vision plan documents are available online at www.mandanvisionplan.com.



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Federal/State Procurement Workshop – The SBA is presenting a Small Business Procurement Workshop in Bismarck on January 21-22. The workshop will provide basic information to small businesses that have never had a federal or state contract, as well as to those who desire to expand their government procurement opportunities.



The Registration and Agenda are on the Impact Foundation’s web site, www.impactpac.com



This two day workshop starts Thursday, January 21 at 12:30 p.m. and ends Friday, January 22 at 4:00 p.m.



Small businesses will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with Federal and State Contracting Officers in 15 minute individualized “Matchmaking” sessions. To schedule a Matchmaking appointment with a Federal Agency, please have the small business contact Tom Linnertz at 701-239-5131, extension 215, or Nadine Phillips at extension 208. We want small businesses to have time to visit with agencies that may have a need for their products or services.



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Rotary Club - Next Monday, Brian will speak to the Far West Rotary Club during their regular meeting at the Bismarck Municipal Country Club. Opportunities such as this to speak to community groups provide us with chance to let Bismarck-Mandan residents know what the organization is, what we're working on and answer any questions they might have.



The BMDA is available to serve as a presenter to service clubs, non-profit organizations, etc. at any time. For more information or to schedule, please contact the BMDA office at info@bmda.org or 701-222-5530



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IDEA Center fundraiser – The IDEA Center is hosting a fundraiser on Saturday, January 16th, beginning at 7:00 p.m. The event, “Black Tie Blue Jeans,” will be held at the National Energy Center of Excellence on the Bismarck State College campus.



The evening will include silent and live auctions, dinner and live entertainment from Bismarck musician Luke Graner.



Tickets can be purchased at Herberger’s in Kirkwood Mall, by calling the IDEA Center at 701-250-1198, or by e-mailing ryan@ideacenternd.org. Individual tickets are $45 or a table of 8 is available for $300.



The IDEA Center is an independent non-profit organization that was formed to expand the entrepreneurial activity in the region. For more information about the IDEA Center or the January 16th event, visit www.ideacenternd.org.



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New Salem strategic planning - This past week Richard met with members of the New Salem City commission to assist the community in their strategic planning efforts. The city has begun working through a strategic planning process in advance of preparing an application to the North Dakota Department of Commerce in the Renaissance Zone application process. As a part of the community’s strategic planning process, BMDA has been asked to provide technical assistance to the community in the creation of a community survey tool and the drafting of the overall plan. To help the process move forward for the community, BMDA has provided several examples of community survey tools.



This strategic planning process is planned to be completed during the first half of 2010. The process will provide the community a chance for the community to look at where they are today and where they want to go in the future.



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Hebron Renaissance Zone - BMDA is scheduled to meet with the Hebron Renaissance Zone Committee at 6:30 pm on January 26, 2010. Gordon La France of the North Dakota Department of Commerce will join Richard to meet with the newly established Renaissance Zone Committee to discuss the detailed Renaissance Zone application process. As a part of this application process, BMDA has been asked to provide technical assistance as the committee and community work through the strategic planning process and the Renaissance Zone application process.



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Housing market forecast positive for Bismarck-Mandan – Bismarck takes the #17 spot on a list of “Best 25 Housing Markets 2010” as compiled by Housing Predictor. These markets “hold the strongest likelihood of housing inflation of all 250 market predictions issued.” Twelve states are represented in the top 25, many of them Midwest and northern tier states.



To view the list and state-by-state predictions, go to www.housingpredictor.com.



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