|
|
|
Economic Development
Insights |
|
Greetings!
Fargo Moorhead MSA continues to boast a low unemployment rate at 3.7% (not seasonally adjusted) - slightly above North Dakota's 3.3% but well below the nation at 9.3%. To see the GFMEDC's latest economic indicators, please check out the following link.
August Economic Indicators
|
|
|
Sanford unveils the future of healthcare
Sanford Health unveiled its much anticipated design for a $360 million, 371-private room, Sanford Medical Center in Fargo.
The new 11-story Fargo Medical Center will house 200 physicians and 2,700 staff.
The new medical center is the largest project of its kind in North Dakota history and will be located south of I-94, between 45th Street and Veteran's Boulevard in southwest Fargo- a rapidly growing area that will provide the space and capacity for future expansion.
Sanford's overall commitment to facility improvements is equal to more than $600 million in construction projects reaching hundreds of miles from northern Minnesota across the Dakotas. Sanford also plans a $30 million enhancement and expansion of the Roger Maris Cancer Center at the downtown campus. Sanford's commitment to continued investment in downtown Fargo is strong. The downtown campus will be home to about 2,000 employees and will occupy about 200,000 square feet with 220 private rooms.
With the new medical center, Sanford anticipates continual job growth. Currently, Sanford employs 3.7 percent of the population of Fargo-Moorhead. Based on current growth, by 2015, it is estimated that more than 7,178 Sanford employees will be needed to serve 200,000 people in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. Sanford Fargo currently has 5,600 employees.
Medical center building design fly-over video
|
|
GFMEDC testified before Senate Budget Committee
At the request of Senator Kent Conrad, Chairman of the Federal Senate Budget Committee, GFMEDC President Kevin McKinnon testified before the Committee on the economic impact of flooding on the region, both in terms of costs of fighting the flood and the potential impact of a catastrophic event.
McKinnon's testimony touched on the region's economic impact including a population increase of 20% and a gross metro product of $11 billion in 2009. 120,000 jobs generate $4.35 billion in wages employing residents from 21 surrounding counties.
Any flooding threatens not only local residents, but also businesses including the disruption of companies' supply chains. That has serious consequences with the potential to temporarily or permanently lose important primary-sector companies.
Investment decisions rely on a strong infrastructure and mitigated risk such as what a diversion can accomplish. The GFMEDC supports permanent flood protection.
|
|
7th grade math teacher connects industry to classroom during four-week internship at Phoenix International
From the communication skills needed to work in a diverse group to the importance of social studies in education, a four-week teacher internship at Phoenix International, A John Deere Company, allowed one teacher to connect curriculum to real world. Holly Erickson, a 7th grade math teacher at West Fargo's STEM Center, followed engineers throughout Phoenix International to learn how the engineering design process is implemented in a real work setting.
Science Technology Engineering, & Math or STEM education uses the engineering design process to drive problem solving allowing students to use communication, creativity and innovation to solve problems. It integrates these four disciplines with the rest of the disciplines to make each more relevant and to allow students to understand each of them more easily.
"Many dots have been connected for me, and I feel I will have what it takes next year to allow my students to truly have a STEM experience. Using John Deere's business model, our new common core standards and our team units, next year will be a turning point in my teaching career," said Erickson.
The internship is designed to give classroom teachers the opportunity to work with interdisciplinary teams and gain more in-depth knowledge of teamwork, collaboration, communication and other critical skills. This experience strengthens the teacher's ability to make curriculum content more relevant.
"What happens in STEM is cutting edge; it is new, inspirational, engaging, fun, and transforming. STEM is all too similar to the technologies and advancements here at John Deere, and I love being a part of. Reflecting on the things I learned or took away from these past few weeks definitely kept me on the right path for where I want to be as a teacher," said Erickson.
The program will expand next year dependent upon funding. The GFMEDC and Phoenix sponsored the internship. NDSU also played an integral role.
|
|
GFMEDC forms manufacturing workforce council
There is a great need for skilled workers. In fact, right now companies here in the region could hire roughly 400 people in the skilled trades. With an aging workforce in the manufacturing industry, the long-term need is even greater.
These jobs are well-paying, advanced technical positions that require a two-year degree. "It is difficult to find people who have those skills who are not already employed, and it is difficult to get more people into the field because it seems that they have a misperception of what manufacturing today is like," said Tifanie Gelinske, GFMEDC Director of Workforce Development.
So the GFMEDC has organized a group of community leaders from manufacturing, K-12 and higher education, Job Service ND and Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). This group forms the manufacturing workforce council.
This group plans to tackle the issue two ways. First, the group will work to recruit people to fill current openings and second, to build the pipeline in order to meet future demand. The latter includes changing students' beliefs about the manufacturing industry so they see it as a viable career choice.
This challenge is not unique to our area. There are manufacturing companies all across the country looking for skilled labor. Competition for the same workers makes recruitment more difficult. Perceptions, and in some cases a lack of perception, about our region create additional challenges when trying to lure residents to the area. The council plans to work to change those perceptions in order to gain the needed workforce. |
|
Spectrum Aeromed recognized on 2011 Inc. 500 list of America's fastest-growing private companies
Over the past 3 years, Spectrum Aeromed has grown its revenue by 799.3% to earn the position of 433 on the 2011 Inc. 500 list, Inc. Magazine's annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The company realized revenue of $7.9 million in 2010, it has 20 full time employees at its headquarters in Fargo and also has client services offices in Vancouver, Washington and Munich, Germany.
The company's life saving air ambulance equipment, engineered and manufactured in Fargo, is in use worldwide as evidenced by the fact that 80% of the company's revenues are generated through exports.
Read Full Press Release |
|
In the news...
by Catherine Rampell, The New York Times
North Dakota is the second-happiest state in the Nation according to the New York Times.
by Eric Wieffering, Star Tribune
by Morgan Brennan, Forbes Magazine
Downtown Fargo makes Forbe's List of America's Most Transformed Neighborhoods
by Helmut Schmidt, Fargo Forum
|
|
Your News
If you have news items you would like included in an upcoming newsletter, please send the ideas or articles to lgnelson@gfmedc.com. Thank you! |
|
|
The mission of the GFMEDC is to grow and diversify the economy in Cass County, ND and Clay County, Minn. through the attraction, retention and expansion of primary-sector employers.
A primary-sector company is one that brings new wealth into the community through the sale of its goods and services outside the trade area. This new wealth circulates and supports all other sectors of the local economy, thus making the primary sector the principle driver of economic growth.
Thank you for your continued support of the Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC and economic development. We look forward to your feedback.
|
|
|
