Celebrating 80 Years of Economic Development Success
GFMEDC 2026 Annual Meeting
This year’s “UnAnnual Meeting” was a great opportunity to showcase more than a dozen of our partners and the primary-sector companies we supported with recent projects. The energy in the room was palpable, and the updates of our future-focused programming was well received.
A handful of initial comments from folks right after the meeting that stuck with me were:
People love the format of the event and said we should continue with it because it provides everyone an opportunity to engage directly with our work by having an opportunity to meet with the companies we support and the partners we work with to achieve our mission.
The fact that our work with primary-sector companies over the past seven+ years has generated more than $9 billion directly back to local businesses was a stat people were impressed with and said supported their continued investment in our work.
Several people said they loved learning that our region is the 11th most diverse economy amongst all metros in the country. We were told this is a very helpful statistic they will use in conversations in their business as they work with people across the country because it shows how competitive and vibrant our market is.
Even with slow national and international economic conditions, the economic impact of our work in 2025 is helping generate more than $660 million in economic activity in the next two years.
A fun positive externality of our work people said they were happy to learn was our work with the company Immersive Reality, which led to an immersive reality room being built into the expansion at the Fargo Hector International Airport.
I want to thank our meeting's lead sponsor, Alerus, for their continued support of this important event. Keep reading our newsletter to learn more about the successes of 2025 in our Annual Report and feel free to share the link.
All the best,
Joe
By the way, we invited several companies and organizations to join us as showcased companies (two were unable to join us last minute due to weather); check them out below:
Supporting 17 primary-sector projects that will pump more than $660 million of purchases into our local economy in the next two years alone. A couple of examples of these impacts are the generation of nearly $29 million to the real estate sector, and $12.5 million to area hospitals. And our local taxing bodies will see a boost of more than $8.6 million in local taxes to support our cities, counties, schools and park districts.
When completed, these projects, and their indirect and induced impacts, are expected to add more than 700 new jobs to the regional economy. You can find more information in our Results section.
To support filling the thousands of open positions in our region, the GFMEDC has been implementing a strategic workforce recruitment strategy that in 2025 helped us to capture more than 19,000 individuals who have shown an interest in learning more about our region as a place to relocate.
Congrats to VerumGen Labs, LLC a new biotech company that has opened an independent biotechnology laboratory in the Fargo–Moorhead region, expanding access to professional research infrastructure and analytical expertise.
According to the company, a central focus of the laboratory’s work is the development of analytical tools that support gene therapy products, including the Universal AAV Standard, a technology intended to improve reliability and standardization in the gene therapy field.
The GFMEDC is honored to support VerumGen in establishing a presence in the market. We work hard every day to help build an ecosystem that encourages entrepreneurs like Andrzej to take their passion and expertise in bioscience from idea to commercialization.
GFMEDC Releases 2026 SmartBook: Guide to FM Area Business Incentives & Resources
The Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation (GFMEDC) recently had the privilege of presenting the most recent edition of its biennial SmartBook to Gate City Bank’s commercial lending team. The SmartBook is the region’s go-to resource for business incentives, workforce programs, and economic development tools across North Dakota and Minnesota.
More than just a booklet, the SmartBook is a strategic guide designed to help local businesses, entrepreneurs, site selectors, and community partners understand and navigate the array of state and local business programs that support key company growth and expansion. Whether you’re exploring capital investment opportunities, workforce solutions, or incentive programs, this resource brings clarity to complexity.
Thanks to the generous support of our SmartBook sponsor, Gate City Bank, we’re able to provide this valuable tool to the business community at no cost.
“The GFMEDC’s SmartBook is an amazing resource for businesses of all sizes – new, growing, and mature. Having worked closely with businesses across our region, I’ve seen firsthand the real power that thoughtful economic support can have in helping companies take the next step and thrive. The SmartBook does a great job of bringing those opportunities together in one place, referencing many helpful programs that support smart financing structures, client customization, and strong business planning. It’s truly our starting place when we’re working alongside customers to help them grow their businesses with confidence. Thank you to the EDC team for publishing such a valuable and practical resource for our business community!” Rammie Olson, Senior Business Banker, Gate City Bank.
GFMEDC Breakfast Highlights Workforce Tools for Talent Attraction
The GFMEDC recently hosted a Workforce Tools You Can Use to Attract Talent breakfast meeting designed to equip HR professionals with practical resources for recruiting and retaining talent. The event opened with a discussion about GFMEDC’s Company Culture Program and a conversation with attendees about how organizations are beginning to use AI in their talent attraction efforts.
Participants then joined breakout sessions covering several topics, including regional branding tools and the Concierge Program from our GFMEDC and the FMWF Chamber; insights from North Dakota Department of Commerce on Cherokee Federal; EnGen and the Technical Skills Training Grant; work-based learning strategies from Golden Path Solutions, and an update on CareerViewXR from Be More Colorful.
The goal of the breakfast meeting was to provide HR professionals with actionable tools and resources they can use as they work to attract talent to their organizations and the region.
While the Entrepreneurs section of GFMEDC’s website does a great job of aggregating common startup resources, if you'd like to get a snapshot of varying startup activity and resources happening in the region, check out the biweekly Techstars Startup Digest Fargo newsletter that is curated by GFMEDC. For example, the "Featured Startups & Shout-outs" section of the recent issue was chock-full of things to celebrate within our ecosystem.
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