North Dakotans have reason to be proud. Recognition of our accomplishments and the desire to achieve even greater results is evident in these brief items of interest about our state, people and businesses.

The news briefs are items brought to our attention about notable individuals, businesses and events around our state. At the bottom of this section you will find one-page "Success Stories" that appeared in the Prairie Business Magazine. These items demonstrate, in part, our accomplishments as an agency.

Bobcat Company Opens New Headquarters October 28, 2000 - The Bobcat Company hosted an open house in its new corporate headquarters along Interstate 94 and the Sheyenne River in West Fargo, North Dakota. Their $5 million, 40,000-square-foot headquarters sits at the end of Beaton Drive on a 17-acre tract of land. The two-story building sits atop an indoor parking garage with a stall for each of the building�s 76 employees. Bobcat is a business unit of the New Jersey-based Ingersoll-Rand Co. Bobcat is North Dakota�s largest manufacturer employing more than 2,100 with a payroll that exceeds $100 million annually. Bobcat manufactures skid-steer loaders and attachments and compact excavators and track loaders at its plants in Bismarck and Gwinner, N.D. The West Fargo headquarters houses the company�s sales, advertising and marketing and product support staffs for North American, Asian and Latin American markets.

Bismarck Sykes Receives International Designation Sykes Enterprises' Bismarck call center has met the Customer Operations Performance Center Standard (COPC-2000). This is a customer service designation used to recognize companies that adhere to high-quality, industry standards. The Bismarck call center is the first Sykes' center, and the first work center in North Dakota, to receive this designation. Normally a year-long process, they completed their work in eight months and are now helping other Sykes call centers seeking certification throughout the U.S.

Fisher Flying Products Expands Fisher Flying Products of Edgeley, ND has acquired Fisher Aero Corporation of Portsmouth, OH. The combined companies will operate from North Dakota. The acquisition will enable them to add the Celebrity, Horizon I & II, Avenger and the Youngster to the FFP list of product offerings. Fisher Flying Products is a manufacturer of ultralight/experimental aircraft.

Award Name for ED&F;'s Cornelius Grant When Cornelius Grant went to Colorado recently to present an economic development award, it wasn't until he was at the podium that he learned the award was named for him.

Fargo Makes Top 10 for Women Fargo, ND, ranked eighth in the nation in a Ladies Home Journal rating of best places for women to live. The magazine's rankings, released in January 2000, were based on criteria for crime, lifestyle, education, jobs, child care, health, politics and economics. The city ranked third in the jobs category behind Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Huntington Beach, Calif. Of particular note was Fargo's commute time, on average 14.3 minutes. The city also received high marks for lifestyle, economy and crime.

High Tech Company Seeks Rural Advantages The Cross Consulting Group has a great idea. It wants quality employees succeeding at high technology jobs while living in comfortable, rural settings. The company's new Watford City office fits that description to a T. The Minnesota-based information technology firm, established in January 1998 by Nicholas Debronsky and William Wolff, performs high-level strategic and information technology consulting, technical services support and software application development. It also has a commitment to doing this cutting-edge work in rural communities. "We found a large number of people who are interested in returning to their roots," said Ross Graba, who manages the Watford City office and another in Sebeka, Minn. "We have an acronym called ROOTS _ Rural Office of Technology Services. The premise is that we are trying to bring jobs back to areas where people want to live or where they were from."

Maah Daah Hey Trail Gains National Reputation Winding through 100 miles of the beautiful and pristine North Dakota Badlands is the hottest thing to hit the mountain biking world in years. It's the Maah Daah Hey Trail, and it's drawing interest from mountain bikers nationwide.

ND launches Internet Site for New Businesses State government launched a new web site designed to simplify the process of starting a business in North Dakota. �Starting a business is hard work, and dealing with government shouldn�t make it harder,� Gov. Ed Schafer said. �I�m excited about this new online service because it streamlines the process. It moves government agencies out of Bismarck and into homes and communities throughout the state via the Internet." The site, which can be accessed through the state�s home page at www.discovernd.com includes all the major forms an individual must complete for business registration, licensing, sales taxes, unemployment insurance and workers compensation. It also includes step-by-step instructions for writing a business plan, accessing capital, protecting ideas and offers information about labor laws, sales tax requirements, government procurement opportunities and much more.

State Chamber Looks to the Future The Greater North Dakota Association (GNDA), North Dakota's Chamber of Commerce, is facilitating a new initiative to identify a realistic vision and build a successful, technology-driven economy for North Dakota. During a two-day strategic planning session earlier this year, members of GNDA�s Board of Directors, along with state-elected officials and representatives from chambers of commerce, education, development corporations, and convention and visitor bureaus, charged GNDA with facilitating a new vision process. They asked GNDA to exhibit bold, courageous leadership in building a successful model economy for North Dakota that encompasses new wealth creation and technology. The initiative is expected to be complete by the end of 2001.

Skills and Technology Center Is under Construction The Skills and Technology Center in Fargo, ND, held its grand opening celebration in May. Located in the former north Fargo Kmart building, the 55,000 square foot state-of-the-art center is designed to meet the short-term customized training needs of business, industry and health care in North Dakota and western Minnesota. It uses the latest technology and equipment, including modern training bays, computer rooms, satellite down-links and video- and teleconferencing to provide training in such areas as computer training, diversity training, team building, customer service, supervisory and sales skills, electrical, auto CAD, blue print reading, welding and sheet metal.