FMWF Chamber Attends Chamber Day at North Dakota Legislature

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) — Local business leaders are in Bismarck to meet with the governor and lawmakers during a two-day trip.

Things did run a little long today, but everyone left that conference room with smiles on their faces, saying that they were just so busy having positive conversations about business in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

The Chamber Day at the North Dakota Capitol began around 1 in the afternoon on Tuesday, uniting business leaders with state legislators, all sharing the goal of economic advancement.

Both sides seemed heartened by the discussion, with the politicians present saying they were impressed by the Chamber delegation.

“A large group of people that I think are fantastic leaders and I get motivated by them,” said Republican House Majority Leader Rep. Mike Lefor of Dickinson.

While leaders from the chamber say that North Dakota is a uniquely friendly place to do business.

“We’re just very fortunate.”

Lefor said the state’s economy is strong – a sentiment echoed by Mike Arntson with Cardinal Glass Industries.

“I’ve seen some projections where the legacy fund could get up to 30 billion dollars within 12 years,” said Lefor.

“We have this dynamic economy that many say is recession-proof due to its diversity,” said Arntson.

With the only downside really being that there’s simply not enough bodies available to work the open positions companies need to fill in order to grow.

“That’s a theme that I’ve heard over and over again. We’ve got a lot of companies that want to move to North Dakota, invest in North Dakota, but we have to get the workforce,” said Lefor.

Arntson agreed, saying that’s a primary topic of discussion at this summit –

“talk to our legislators about programs that would attract people to move to North Dakota.”

But it’s even more important to show gratitude for their working relationship.

“Well, that’s the great thing about living in North Dakota and working in North Dakota, is that we have such tremendous access to our elected officials,” said Arntson.

Make sure you tune in Wednesday for a report of all the action on day two, which should include a meeting with Gov. Kelly Armstrong.