Bismarck-Mandan Economic News

I’m back! - Like the line out of the past horror film, I am back after a couple weeks of medical leave. Thanks to a really great staff and modern communication technology, life here at the BMDA has gone on very smoothly. My absence forced me to do a couple things (with the help of my staff) to help keep the flow of things moving as smoothly as it did. Probably the most important was getting my own lap top system up and operating so I could continue to function from home. Again, this was only accomplished with the extensive efforts of the BMDA staff. My sincere thanks to Eileen, Judy, Brian and Richard for keeping the ship moving forward. ~ Russ



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Oil industry activity – The current Wall Street Journal price per barrel of crude as of 4/9/10 is $85.39. The North Dakota active rig count is at 104 and probably heading to the recent projections of 120 to 125 active rigs in North Dakota by the end of 2010.



Today’s Minot Daily News included an article on the discovery of yet another oil bearing structure in the northern portion of North Dakota. This smaller and much shallower discovery overlaps the North Dakota – Manitoba border allows for fairly positive returns of 70 to 100 percent according to Bob Papa, CEO of EOG Resources. Read the article HERE.



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Young professionals’ regional summit to be held in Bismarck – The first Great Plains Young Professional Summit will be held at the Bismarck Ramkota June 3-5, 2010. The three-day event will be feared toward the professional development needs of 21- to 39-year-olds. Speakers announced to date include Michael Solberg, President/COO of State Bank & Trust in Fargo; Susan Power, an internationally known speaker, author and teach; and, Joel Kotkin, an internationally–recognized authority on global, economic and social trends.



If your business is interested in becoming a sponsor of the summit, visit the summit’s website at www.GPYPsummit.com. And if you have employees that fall into the Young Professionals Network’s age group, consider sending them to the summit to gain insight from the presenters and their peers from throughout the Midwest. Details of the summit’s agenda and registration information can be found at www.GPYPsummit.com.



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Taxable sales & purchases – The ND Office of State Tax Commissioner released taxable sales and purchases statistics for the 4th quarter of 2009. Overall, North Dakota’s overall taxable sales and purchases slowed by 7.9 percent, or by $269 million, compared to the same time period during 2008. Taxable sales and purchases are up when compared to fourth quarter 2007 statistics. According to Tax Commissioner Cory Fong, “ “North Dakota experienced a record-setting year for taxable sales and purchases in 2008, and that level of growth was not sustainable. When we compare 2009 to 2007, which is a more typical year, fourth quarter spending levels were strong and indicate that North Dakota’s economy remains on track.”



The Bismarck-Mandan MSA experienced the same dip from 2008, yet consistently shows increases over 2007. The MSA also showed a slight increase in the 4th quarter of 2009 over the same period in 2008. The table below shows the quarterly breakdown for years 2007, 2008, and 2009 for the MSA, which includes all of Burleigh and Morton Counties.





Q - 1
Q - 2
Q - 3
Q - 4
Totals

MSA
2009
294,742,960
390,679,929
394,898,967
400,307,587
1,480,629,443

MSA
2008
314,955,108
398,723,836
400,369,707
399,536,219
1,513,584,870

MSA
2007
294,969,693
370,626,242
378,852,139
389,582,194
1,434,030,268





To view the new release and 2009 4th quarter report at the Tax Department’s website, click HERE.



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Site selection - Brian participated in a site selection this week with a industrial supplier looking to locate a new office in Bismarck-Mandan. The prospect viewed several properties throughout Bismarck-Mandan and hopes to have their new office open by the summer.



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Heartland Center for Leadership Development and RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship - BMDA will be hosting its 4th webinar put on by the Heartland Center for Leadership Development and RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship. The next webinar of the series is titled Energized Youth—Energized Communities. BMDA will host the webinar in our conference room at noon on April 15, 2010.



Please RSVP by April 13th if you plan to attend.



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Hebron Renaissance Zone application - BMDA continues working with the Hebron Renaissance Zone Development Committee to draft Hebron’s application. Key tasks completed during the past week include the creation of a property owner informational table by committee member Ken Johnson and a draft of the community survey by Richard. The community survey will be sent out to the property owners of the 310 parcels located within the proposed 23-block Renaissance Zone. The surveys will be sent out on April 16th and are to be returned by April 23rd.



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Mandan retail - This past week Richard, Ellen Huber of Mandan’s Business Development Office and Brent Ekstrom of the Lewis and Clark Regional Council met with a small retailer looking at locating a store in Mandan. The retailer is working to complete a business plan for her proposed store. Following the meeting, Richard and Ellen took the potential retailer for a tour of the community to look at potential locations.



Richard, Ellen and Brent also met with representatives for the Mandan Mercantile Committee and the proposed Pride of Dakota Coop to discuss the current status of their project. The two groups are looking to redevelop the John Iverson Building in Mandan and have proposed locating a retail/fulfillment center in the building focused on Pride of Dakota products in the building. The group looking to put together the Pride of Dakota Co-op has completed their feasibility study and is in the process of moving forward to complete their business plan.



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New member – BMDA welcomes the following new member:



Environmental Services, Ltd.

402 1st Street NW

PO Box 1075

Mandan ND 58554

701-663-4069

Contact: Perry Schafer



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Jobs available in the oil patch - If you are interested in the jobs in the oil patch, whether just out of curiosity or because you might know someone who might be looking for a job, this week’s list of openings can be viewed HERE. For these and other employment opportunities in Bismarck-Mandan and throughout the state, go to www.jobsnd.com.



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