It’s All About Money

Banking and finance are on the editorial calendar as focuses for this month’s issue, but they became a running theme, beyond the borders of the feature article dedicated to them. That wasn’t intentional; they’re just tremendously relevant right now.

While the financial outlook for North Dakota gets continuously worse, the effects are far-reaching. Everybody who’s paying attention knows oil and ag tanked at the same time. If we’re aware of that, we’ve no doubt heard that it means revenue from sales tax is down significantly and the general fund is floundering. And nobody has missed the well-publicized news about higher education cuts.

Why higher education? The feature on page 28 delves into that, with input from the North Dakota Office of Management and Budget, the chancellor of the North Dakota University System and a couple of higher education institutions. Valley City State University filled us in on the detailed process of deciding whom or what gets cut, and how the school plans to help any laidoff employees find new jobs. I wrote a little longer on that feature than I intended to, but the topic warrants it.

The actual banking and finance feature focuses on business loan consolidation. The experts we talked with share their insights into when and why businesses explore options to lower payments, simplify payments or extend the lives of loans. Again, oil and ag markets come into play, prompting cycles in consolidations, too. It starts on page 32.

That’s just a taste of the news and trends reported in these pages. Enjoy. PB

PUBLISHER KORRIE WENZEL

AD DIRECTOR STACI LORD EDITOR

LISA GIBSON

CIRCULATION MANAGER BETH BOHLMAN

LAYOUT DESIGN, AD DESIGN JASON MAGSTADT SARA SLABY KRIS WOLFF

Prairie Business magazine is published monthly by the Grand Forks Herald and Forum Communications Company with offices at 375 2nd Avenue North, Grand Forks, ND 58203. Subscriptions are available free of charge. Back issue quantities are limited and subject to availability ($2/copy prepaid). The opinions of writers featured in Prairie Business are their own. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork are encouraged but will not be returned without a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

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