All systems are go O

ne of these days, the upward trends will peak. They’ll hover at their summit and then reverse, starting to slide: employment rates fall, companies retrench, the regional economy contracts.

That has happened in the Dakotas and western Minnesota before, and it’ll happen again. One of these days.

But not today.

I continue to be impressed by the “sweet spot” that the economy occupies in Prairie Business’ circulation area. And in this issue of the magazine, there’s evidence that the trends will continue, possibly through 2018 and even beyond.

Our story about the impact of the corporate tax-rate cut makes that plain. Companies aren’t offering many specifics yet; the federal government’s new tax rates are complicated, and CFOs around the region still are figuring out what the changes mean.

But to a person, everyone we asked said the tax-rate cut is likely to give local companies, and thus the region’s economy, a boost. And the thing is, of course, the economy in Fargo, Sioux Falls, Bismarck and elsewhere already is going strong. That’s reflected in other stories in this issue, such as the one showing engineers’ excitement over constructing “smart buildings,” and the report about the North Dakota Safety Council’s opening a state-of-the-art safety-training center – a project that would have been much harder to complete in a depressed economy.

We know winter here in the upper Midwest, so when summer comes, we appreciate it. LIkewise, we’ve long known economic winter.

So now that the sun of the market is shining (as it has been for several years), this winter feels a lot like spring. There’s snow on the ground, sure, but there also are construction cranes swinging, oil rigs pumping and ribbon cutters cutting, as this month’s issue reports. Enjoy. PB

Good reading, Tom Dennis

I welcome your feedback and story ideas. Call me at 701-780-1276 or email me at tdennis@ prairiebusinessmagazine.com.

PUBLISHER KORRIE WENZEL

AD DIRECTOR STACI LORD EDITOR

TOM DENNIS

CIRCULATION MANAGER BETH BOHLMAN

LAYOUT DESIGN, AD DESIGN JASON MAGSTADT KRIS WOLFF

ACCOUNT MANAGER NICHOLE ERTMAN 800.477.6572 ext. 1162 nertman@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

JENNIFER LEROUX OLSZEWSKI 800.477.6572 ext. 1167 jlolszewski@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

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.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subscriptions are free www.prairiebusinessmagazine.com

ADDRESS CORRECTIONS

Prairie Business magazine Box 6008 Grand Forks, ND 58206-6008 Beth Bohlman: bbohlman@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

ONLINE www.prairiebusinessmagazine.com