North Dakota warms up to Colo. workers

Little-known state has message to tell: Plenty of jobs there

James Paton, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, November 9, 2007

Hint: It's the Peace Garden State, birthplace of basketball coaching legend Phil Jackson and home of the Fighting Sioux.

Give up?

You're not alone.

It's not that people have the wrong idea about North Dakota. Many don't have any idea at all.

"A lot of times, when I meet people in my travels, they say 'Gee, you're the first person I've ever met from North Dakota,' " said Shane Goettle, commissioner of the state's Commerce Department. "It's not so much that there are misconceptions about North Dakota because they don't really know anything about us."

Facing a labor shortage, Goettle and North Dakota business leaders will host an event in Denver on Nov. 17 to sell the state and try to persuade Coloradans to trade the 303 area code for 701.

Economic developers are getting increasingly aggressive in crossing state lines. Nebraska, Kansas and New Mexico are among the states that have promoted themselves in Colorado.

North Dakota is just one competitor. The state also has a global network of "ambassadors" who bill it as "a great place to live, work, play and do business."

Here's the pitch: The jobs are plentiful. Microsoft and Eagle Creek Software are set to hire hundreds of new workers. Engineering, energy, manufacturing and bioscience companies are dangling help-wanted signs.

The homes are cheap. The high school graduation rates are high, crime rates low. Traffic is light.

In one ad, a three-year Watford City, N.D., resident who used to live in Colorado said he felt "like the loneliest guy surrounded by 2 million people" while working at a Denver auto dealership. Though being one out of only nine people per square mile in North Dakota can feel pretty lonely, too.

Goettle said there might be one misconception. "People assume it's colder than it is. We're no colder, windier or snowier than Minnesota," he said.

Wait. Isn't Minnesota frigid?

OK. But those who move to North Dakota will surely be able to handle the climate, he said.

And "we didn't have any airports shut down last winter," he said, alluding to Denver International Airport closing for 45 hours last winter amid snow storms.

More than 70 businesses are scheduled to tout the state during the "Experience North Dakota" gathering at the Tech Center Marriott. While economic development officials and CEOs hope to impress those who watched the 1996 movie Fargo but are otherwise clueless about the state, they also plan to target folks familiar with North Dakota.

Colorado has one of the highest concentrations of North Dakota expats, organizers said. Colorado residents who grew up in North Dakota are the most likely to listen. So North Dakota is concentrating especially hard on those groups.

The gathering also has been held in St. Paul, Minn., and Chicago. Attendance in Denver is expected to exceed the participation in those two cities, Goettle said.

North Dakota understands that wooing sun- and mountain-loving Coloradans away won't be easy. State officials there just hope to be heard.

In the past, North Dakota lacked enough attractive opportunities to keep its youth from fleeing as fast as they could. These days, the jobs picture is much brighter, Goettle said, and the scene should lure people. The events, including the one in Denver next week, are aimed at speeding up the process, he said.

"The economy is producing jobs at a faster pace than our natural population can supply," he said. "So we have to reach outside our borders."

The Centennial State

Population: About 4.8 million

Capital: Denver

Biggest companies on Fortune 500 list: Qwest, 178; Echostar, 252; Swift, 268; Liberty Media, 281; First Data, 331

Median single-family home price in Denver: $255,200

State unemployment rate in September: 3.7 percent (not seasonally adjusted)

Ski resorts include: Vail, Beaver Creek, Winter Park, Aspen

Highest point: Mount Elbert, 14,433 feet

State GDP: $199 billion

Mean travel time to work: 24.3 minutes

The Peace Garden State

Population: About 636,000

Capital: Bismarck

Only business on Fortune's annual list of largest U.S. companies: MDU Resources, No. 519

Median single-family home price in Bismarck: $151,400

State unemployment rate in September: 2.6 percent (not seasonally adjusted)

Ski resorts include: Bottineau Winter Park, Huff Hills, Frost Fire

Highest point: White Butte, 3,506 feet

State GDP: $22 billion

Mean travel time to work: 15.8 minutes

patonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2544