Bismarck-Mandan News -- North Dakota

BMDA Highlights - 4/23/10


MSNBC report - The list of positive reports from the national media continue. Last week it was Forbes Magazine. This week it is a report from the MSNBC continuing story the “Elkhart Project” ranking Bismarck as the # 5 city for new jobs created. The # 5 ranking is out of 384 MSA’s across the US, or 4 percent of the total.



The recovery remains jobless for most of the nation, with only 16 of 384 metro areas showing job gains in the past year. Of the nation's 384 metro areas, 205 had begun to recover, or 53 percent, according to the February Adversity Index. That's up from 185 metro areas in January, or 48 percent. The full article can be read here.



In addition to the article, The Adversity Index, from msnbc.com and Moody's Economy.com, measures the economic health of 381 metro areas and all 50 states. Each area is in recession, at risk, recovering or expanding. Click here to view the Adversity Index map. On this map you can explore changes in the four components of the index: employment, housing starts, housing prices and industrial production, each shown as a percentage change from a year earlier.



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Great Plains Applied Energy Technology Center - The 2009 Legislature approved $5.0 million to be matched 2 to 1 by other public or private funding to be used for the creation of the Great Plains Applied Energy Technology Center in Bismarck. The Legislation also required that a feasibility study be completed prior to the $5.0 million being released for the GPAETC project. This feasibility study had to demonstrate that the Center would become economically viable and self supporting in the future. To accomplish the feasibility study, the steering committee made up of the primary stakeholders selected the national consulting service Deloitte Consulting LLP to guide the study. On April 21, the Steering Committee met for the first time with Deloitte to discuss the study process that would follow and to refine the GPAETC scope and priorities. The study process will take approximately two months. The BMDA is a member of the Steering Committee and will provide brief updates of the study as it moves forward.



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BMDA Executive Committee meeting - The BMDA has scheduled an Executive Committee Meeting for May 11 to discuss a proposal for the BMDA to serve as the center of liaison between public and private efforts to promote continuing economic growth in the downtown area. The discussion will cover the White Paper Proposal developed by the BMDA which outlines the BMDA’s mission as the center of liaison for this broad growth effort. The BMDA’s involvement as the center of liaison represents a 360 degree turn since the Bismarck Development Association was originally created in 1979 as a private not for profit group to provide focus in a private effort that was initiated by the founding private property and business owners in the downtown area. The first four years of the BDA’s efforts directly and indirectly resulted in investments of over $82.0 million in a wide variety of projects including Galleria I, the new Q & R Clinic, renovation of a long list of private properties in various retail and commercial office spaces, additional parking and public housing. The proposed White Paper, once adopted would see the BMDA renewing this past effort.



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Conversation with the community on retail development scheduled for May 4 - The City of Mandan will host a conversation with the community on the topic of retail development on May 4 at City Hall. The forum will run from 7 to 8 p.m. following a City Commission meeting scheduled for that evening. The public is encouraged to attend.



Business Development Director Ellen Huber will present information on typical retail site requirements, Mandan’s statistical profile, targeted retail list and recruitment efforts, and steps to becoming more retail ready. There will also be a question and answer period.



The forum will be carried live on Government Access, cable channel 2, and online at www.freetv.org. It will also be available for subsequent online viewing.



Representatives of partner organizations have been invited to attend and be available for questions. Those partners include the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association, Lewis and Clark Regional Development Council, Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce, Bismarck-Mandan Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Mandan Progress Organization.



For more information, call the City of Mandan Business Development Office at 701-667-3485.



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A long time coming - Many people wonder how long some economic development projects generally take. A standard answer is: “They almost always take longer than folks expect”! From initial inspiration or contact on a project to completion as a functioning project they can occur in months or years. Sometimes lots of years! To demonstrate the time element the BMDA and a long standing private effort are just now coming to a successful conclusion after well over ten years of discussions, more discussions and even more discussions. Because the project has not been formally announced yet, we will not use any names. We will however extend long overdue congratulations to all of the parties to the project which will see the light of the public eye in the next six to eight weeks.



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New board member orientations - Each year following the Annual Meeting, the BMDA staff will ask new board members elected to the board at the Annual Meeting to spend a couple hours with the staff discussing the things the BMDA does and does not get involved in. We share the history of the organization, talk about the strategic vision, some of the projects we are working on and any special issues we might be facing. This is done so that the new board member can develop an early understanding of the many areas of activities of the organization. We try to stress the importance of the role of the board members. They effectively become our “eyes and ears” in the community. They can alert us to areas which need attention, possible business leads and opportunities for us to follow up on and any assistance which the general business community might be in need of. The orientation meetings are generally held over the lunch hour. The most recent orientation meeting was held with Timothy Atkinson who was elected to the BMDA Board during the February 17, 2010 Annual Meeting.



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Young professionals’ regional summit to be held in Bismarck – The first Great Plains Young Professionals Summit will be held June 3-5, 2010. Networking regional young professionals together will be one of the main goals of the summit. The three-day event will be geared toward the professional development needs of 21- to 39-year-olds. A full schedule of events and activities has been planned.



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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AWEA annual wind industry market report - The U.S. wind energy industry is expanding as established industry leaders maintain their top position and manufacturing continues to grow albeit at a slower rate than in 2008, according to the annual wind industry market report released April 8th by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).



According to the report, at the end of 2009, there were six states that received more than 5 percent of their electricity from wind, and North Dakota was one of them. Also in 2009, there were fourteen states in the “GigawattClub” with more than 1,000 MW installed (1 GW). In 2009, new club members included Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New York, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Wyoming.



Read more about the report HERE.



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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.



This week the number of active oil rigs in North Dakota is 109. The Wall Street Journal crude oil price for today (3/26/10) is $83.70.



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