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 WGA Western Prosperity Roundtable Forum
Community Development Director Maria Effertz Hanson presented at the Western Governors' Association Western Prosperity Roundtable Forum in Oklahoma City to discuss the Main Street Initiative and other economic and community topics.
 Williston Economic Development Summit
Commerce Workforce Director Katie Ralston Howe was invited to speak about workforce and the work we're doing to address the state's needs. She spoke about new grant programs currently offered through the Commerce workforce division, highlighted some of the drafted Workforce Development Council recommendations, and shared information on Find the Good Life 2.0, which will launch next month.
Deputy Director of Economic Development and Finance Rich Garman was also invited to the conference to be on the energy panel.
 International Roundup
North Dakota tourism suppliers pose after the International Roundup (IRU) market places held in Fargo this week. The suppliers met with each overseas representative and operator to pitch the offerings in their area. The North Dakota delegation represented: Fargo, Grand Forks, Cavalier ( Rendezvous region) Jamestown, Devils Lake, International Peace Garden, Turtle Mountains, Bismarck Mandan, Minot, Fort Berthold, Dickinson, Medora and Watford City as well as Regency Hotel Management.
Gov. Doug Burgum, and representatives of the Main Street Initiative (MSI) team from the North Dakota Office of the Governor and the North Dakota Department of Commerce visited Minot on May 6, for a Main Street Visit.
More than 50 residents and leaders joined the round table at Minot Central Campus High School to listen and hear from both leaders and residents about Minot’s tremendous progress as a community. Topics included youth activities and engagement, business development and workforce needs.
Approximately 200 students representing grades 9-12 and higher education also joined in on the discussion to express their ideas and needs to keep the students involved in the community.
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Going on Oct. 24-26 at the Bismarck Event Center
North Dakota’s economy is changing, and now more than ever, a skilled workforce is vital to the success of every community and company – big and small. To attract the best and brightest, we need to come together and tell our story about why people should call North Dakota home.
The 2022 Main Street ND Summit will feature motivational and relevant keynote speakers to address the importance of community vibrancy for all generations. The event will include breakout sessions that will provide tools and resources to support community volunteers, local champions, business owners, and elected leaders at both the local and state level as they work together to create unique communities to attract a talented workforce.
The summit will highlight how community assets are critical to economic resiliency, and workforce attraction and retention across North Dakota. Economic development and workforce recruitment require the entire community to work together.
This FREE summit will help EVERYONE go home and start planning and implementing tools and strategies that promote the value of their healthy and vibrant community to attract and retain a talented workforce.
Gov. Doug Burgum announced that the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded $1 million to the North Dakota Department of Commerce through the EDA’s Statewide Planning program.
The intent of the EDA grant is to enhance the statewide attraction of businesses, promotion of economic activity, and retention and attraction of workforce.
Commerce will begin soliciting grant applications from North Dakota communities in the summer of 2022 for the planning of public space improvements that tie directly to economic resilience and economic development. The goal of the grant program is to strengthen economic resiliency across North Dakota through a strong, value-added collaboration process between state and local partnerships.
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Seven North Dakota communities to receive Main Street Initiative Partners in Planning Grant funding
Seven communities were selected to receive funding from round three of the Main Street Initiative (MSI) Partners in Planning (PiP) Grant with a total of $169,587 to be awarded. The MSI PiP Grant program supports nonprofit organizations and local governments with two grant options for completing a comprehensive plan or economic development/diversification strategic plan.
A total of 12 applications were received from communities and regions across North Dakota. The following seven applications are recommended to receive grant funding:
- City of Thompson: $25,000 for phase I of a comprehensive plan. Hazen Community Development: $29,587 for a diversification strategic and comprehensive plan.
- Underwood Area Economic Development Corporation: $22,500 for the creation of a city comprehensive plan.
- Carrington Economic Development Department: $22,500 for a diversification strategic plan.
- City of Hettinger: $30,000 for a city comprehensive plan.
- City of Gwinner: $22,500 for a comprehensive plan.
- Bismarck-Mandan Chamber Economic Development Corporation: $15,000 for an economic development strategic plan.
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North Dakota 2022 Annual Action Plan is now available for public comment
The 2022 Annual Action Plan for the application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships, National Housing Trust Fund and Emergency Solutions Grants programs is available online and open for comments until June 2.
Written comments, submitted to dcs@nd.gov or P.O. Box 2057, Bismarck, North Dakota 58502-2057, must be received by the close of business at 5pm central time on June 2.
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Committee passes Legislation to bolster outdoor recreation, promote biking on Federal lands
 U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) issued the following statement after the Senate Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee passed the bipartisan Biking on Long-Distance Trails (BOLT) Act out of committee. “Glad to see the BOLT Act pass out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The Maah Daah Hey Trail is a North Dakota treasure. As a former Tourism Director for the State of North Dakota, I am proud to have helped advance this bill to bolster outdoor recreation across the country and in North Dakota. I have enjoyed working to get this one step closer to becoming law.” North Dakota is home to the longest continuous single track mountain bike trail in the U.S.: the Maah Daah Hey.
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 Tourism Director promotes summer travel on Prairie Pulse
John Harris of Prairie Pulse recently interviewed Commerce Tourism and Marketing Director Sara Otte Coleman on what will be a big summer for tourism in the state this year.
Reminder - the May Travel Industry Chat takes place Monday, May 23
Learn how to maximize your search engine optimization (SEO) during the next North Dakota Travel Industry Chat on May 23 from 2-3 p.m. The guest presenter will be Justin Gibbs, director of Strategy & Insights at Miles Partnership. Justin leads the SEO team at Miles and will help to demystify some of the more misunderstood pieces of SEO to empower North Dakota’s tourism industry to take control of their own organic search performance. To register email Heather LeMoine at hlemoine@nd.gov.
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Great American West Nordic Mission in Stockholm
North Dakota Tourism Global Marketing Manager Fred Walker recently spent time in the Nordic region meeting with travel trade, media and industry friends. The time was spent building on and creating new relationships with Tour Operators and journalists in Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo. While there he met with over 50 tour companies/travel agencies and 15 media contacts.
Building relationships with the media and travel trade in the overseas markets is crucial in developing business from the Nordic countries. Nordic culture and history are an interest to many, and outdoor experiences, scenic beauty, wildlife, quality food and beverage continue to be a huge selling point to the region!
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 International Peace Garden celebrates 90th anniversary
It began in 1928 as an ambitious idea conceived by Dr. Henry Moore, a Canadian horticulturalist who had trained at London’s famous Kew Gardens. Dr. Moore imagined a living tribute to the friendship between the United States and Canada in the form of an international garden dedicated to peace. An estimated 50,000 people attended the dedication of the Garden’s cairn on the US-Canada border on July 14, 1932.
Today, in addition to its signature floral displays, the International Peace Garden features indoor and outdoor attractions and amenities spread over 3.65 square miles. A special celebration takes place July 30 – 31, to mark 90 years of cultivating peace and friendship between two nations.
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Applications for the Technical Skills Training Grant are open until July 7
The Technical Skills Training Grant program aims to offset the cost for program providers and employers in their effort to support the development of highly trained skilled workers to meet the demands of our labor market.
For this year’s cycles, the grant program is now offering Track A and B options to expand the grant’s impact.
The Track B option is in addition to the original parameters from previous cycles. This option is designed for companies wishing to provide internal upskilling opportunities for their existing staff to promote movement and advancement throughout the organization, create more comprehensive onboarding and new worker training programs, and/or provide safety training for employees.
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Regional Workforce Impact Program
Address your region’s most demanding workforce challenges through collaboration. Incorporate your workforce ideas in a larger project by working with an eligible organization in your region to submit an application.
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