Elevating and Promoting the Regional Brand

Economic growth does not happen by chance—it is built through preparation, strategic engagement, and strong collaboration. Throughout the year, GFMEDC focused on positioning the Fargo–Moorhead region to compete for transformational investment by ensuring development-ready sites, proactively engaging target industries, and strengthening partnerships across the states. Together, these efforts create the conditions companies need to move quickly, invest confidently, and grow sustainably.

And we have proof that not only does our region boast industry diversity, but over the past couple years, our region’s industries have become even more diverse, thereby supporting an increasingly stable economy. In 2023, we ranked 72nd for industry diversity while ranking 192nd in population out of 387 metro areas across the country. Now in 2025, our metro ranks 11th out of 387 metros for industry diversity.

Industry diversity is high for Fargo, ND-MN. This means that employment is distributed more evenly between the 11 industry clusters compared to the typical Metro MSA. A region with high diversity can signal economic stability and more easily withstand economic pressures, while a region with low diversity can signal economic instability.

Building Readiness. Attracting Investment. 

GFMEDC’s Certified Sites Program positions the region with document-ready land that accelerates development and attracts billion-dollar opportunities. 

When national and international companies look for a place to land their next big project, speed and certainty matter. That means having land that has been vetted with the appropriate documents to prove it is ready for development.   

The GFMEDC-led Certified Sites Program (shovel ready) allows our region to stay competitive. After launching the region’s certified–ready site program in 2022, the region is seeing success. Some notable highlights include: 

DG Fuels announced the selection of the MCCARA site for a roughly $5 billion Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) facility in Moorhead, Minnesota, that will produce 193 million gallons per year of low-carbon aviation fuel (SAF) using agricultural and wood waste as feedstock. MCCARA is one of the largest certified-ready (shovel-ready) sites in the region. 

Across the remaining four certified sites in our portfolio, over 37 acres have been acquired for various projects and the GFMEDC is currently working on two sizable value-added agriculture and food processing projects looking at two potential certified site locations.   

The GFMEDC also started the process with leaders in Kindred, ND to develop a 64-acre site just west of Kindred as part of the community’s future growth strategies. The site is expected to be certified sometime in first or second quarter of 2026.  

Once the Kindred site is certified, the region will have six document ready sites totaling more than 555 acres available with two additional sites in the pipeline for certification later in 2026. 

 Laying the Groundwork for Faster Investment 

In a partnership-driven effort, the GFMEDC has established the Certified-Ready Sites program to accelerate development by certifying properties that have completed key pre-development work such as utility identification, soil surveys, and environmental assessments.  

“Site selectors don’t want to waste time,” Ryan Aasheim, Chief Business Development Officer at the GFMEDC, said. “If there’s missing information, they’ll move on to another location that has it. Even if our site is objectively better, if it takes too long to prove that we may never get the chance to make the case.” 

Sites are rated bronze to platinum based on the depth of technical reporting, with certifications reviewed by global site consultant, Phil Schneider, with Global Location Strategies (GLS). This program ensures faster project timelines, and a diverse inventory of sites tailored to a range of industry needs.  

The GFMEDC along with a collection of regional stakeholders began evaluating certified (shovel ready) site programs in early 2019. Using Xcel Energy’s Certified Site Program as a model, the regional stakeholders agreed to engage with Phil Schneider, an internationally recognized site selection consultant, to help build a new regional program covering both Cass and Clay Counties.  

Having marketable business and industrial sites has always been important to a company’s site selection process, and to economic development in general. It has become more critical than ever both because so many communities around the country have rapidly upped their game in preparing and marketing ready-to-go sites to companies considering expansion. Also, since the pandemic, companies’ have had to double down on their speed-to-market which in turn has made the availability of document-ready sites an integral part of their location decision process – therefore, now essentially table-stakes for economic development efforts

Phil Schneider, GLS

For more information, Check out the program 

Strategic Industry Outreach and Lead Generation

Targeted engagement through marketing, events, and site consultant outreach to attract investment and innovation 

Industry-focused conferences are more than networking opportunities—they are strategic investments in visibility, credibility, and long-term relationship-building. By engaging directly with industry leaders and decision-makers, we are able to showcase the region’s competitive advantages, generate qualified business leads, and position the Fargo–Moorhead region for future business expansions and relocations. 

GFMEDC advances this work through a coordinated approach that includes strategic marketing, trade shows, investment missions, and proactive outreach to site consultants. These efforts span both domestic and international markets and are designed to attract anchor employers and high-growth startups aligned with the region’s targeted industry sectors. Our targeted sector profiles further strengthen our ability to clearly and consistently tell the region’s story. 

This strategy blends participation in locally hosted, partner-led industry events with engagement at national and international conferences aligned with priority sectors—ensuring sustained visibility, meaningful relationship development, and a strong pipeline of business development leads. 

Key Events Included

• Cultivate Conference – Fargo (hosted by Grand Farm) 

• Autonomous Nation Conference – Casselton (hosted by Grand Farm) 

• Prairie Capital Summit – Fargo (hosted by Emerging Prairie & 50 South Capital) 

• Bioscience Summit – Fargo (hosted by GFMEDC) 

• SelectUSA Investment Summit – Washington, D.C. 

• World AgriTech Innovation Conference – San Francisco, CA 

• XPONENTIAL (UAS & Autonomous Systems) – San Diego, CA 

• Site Selectors Guild Conference – Nashville, TN (2024) and San Antonio, TX (2023) 

• UAS Summit & Expo – Grand Forks, ND 

 

Building Statewide Partnerships 

Connecting Communities to Support North Dakota’s Economic Future  

Collaboration, shared priorities, and strong cross-regional relationships are essential to building a resilient and vibrant economy. In July, GFMEDC staff traveled across western North Dakota—visiting Bismarck–Mandan, Medora, Williston, and Dickinson—to meet with economic development, higher education, and community leaders. 

The trip’s purpose was twofold: to gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing western communities and to identify ways to better align efforts around shared statewide priorities that support long-term economic growth. 

The visit included participation in the Second Annual North Dakota Governor’s Cup in Bismarck, an event celebrating the state’s strong business climate while raising funds for the ND Career Builders Scholarship & Loan Repayment Program. The event provided an opportunity to connect with statewide partners, elected officials, and fellow economic developers and to exchange insights on regional priorities and workforce needs. 

Conversations throughout the week reinforced a shared commitment to building strong, resilient communities. While regions may differ in scale or industry focus, the trip highlighted the many commonalities between eastern and western North Dakota—and the importance of continued collaboration across the state. 

The trip also included tours of two Fargo–Moorhead–based primary-sector companies with operations in the region: Hebron Brick’s manufacturing facility in Hebron, ND, and Signum, an embedded systems company with locations in Fargo and Richardton. 

Following the visit, GFMEDC leadership shared key insights with the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce as part of the Innovate28 partnership, helping inform ongoing relationship-building and public policy efforts. 

This experience reaffirmed the importance of face-to-face engagement and cross-regional collaboration. For the GFMEDC, the trip underscored that while regions may differ, North Dakota’s economic future depends on unity, cooperation, and continued dialogue across the state.