Minot Area Chamber EDC staff are, from the left, L. John MacMartin, Lisa Moldenhauer, Chanda DeCent, Jaime Hauge, Carla Dolan, and Mark Lyman.

The Minot Area Chamber of Commerce and Minot Area Development Corporation merged the two organizations into one on Jan. 1, 2021, after recognizing the overlap and opportunities for the organizations to work together. In the first year of the new organization, the focus remained on combining resources and refocusing efforts to serve the business community as one organization.

In 2021, the Minot Area Chamber EDC was proud to support big initiatives for our community while continuing to focus on the future of Minot and supporting Minot Air Force Base.

The Minot Area Chamber EDC’s newly defined mission is to advocate for and invest in business activity by being a collaborative partner in the community, focused on improving quality of life for all.

Minot Public Schools

The Minot Area Chamber EDC supported the Yes for Students Committee, a coalition of community supporters who helped advocate for the passing of the Minot Public Schools Realignment Project. The Minot Area Chamber EDC board of directors passed a resolution of support and represented the business community and Minot’s Military Affairs Committee in strong support for the bond referendum.

Voters in Minot approved all three questions on the referendum with the first measure to create a second 9-12 high school on North Hill and turn Central Campus into a third middle school passing with roughly 84 percent of the vote. This success was the first bonding measure to create a new high school in the district since 1969.

Celebrating One Year of Intermodal Operations

October 2021 marked the first anniversary of North Dakota intermodal rail service – a culmination of more than two decades of effort to gain access to intermodal transportation to reduce shipping costs for the state’s agricultural producers and other industries. Intermodal service is the movement of international containers so producers and processors can directly load containers on rail in Minot to ship to international destinations.

Rail Modal Group (RMG) is operating the facility. In cooperation with BNSF Railway, RMG operates other intermodal ramps throughout the United States.

The introduction of intermodal service creates a dramatic economic benefit to producers, processors, miners, and shippers of everything from grain and minerals to industrial and manufactured products. All of these businesses benefit from this newly created transportation option.

Next steps for the Minot Area Chamber EDC will be focused on a track expansion project. The North Dakota State Legislature approved $2 million for the Intermodal Transportation Assistance Program for the stable operation of intermodal service in North Dakota.

Start Up Minot Program Launch

A regional coalition of support is now in place for entrepreneurs, start-up companies, and anyone with an idea for growing or starting their own business. The mission of Start Up Minot is to invigorate, encourage and entice entrepreneurs in the Minot region to execute their novel business idea through education efforts, de-siloing support agencies, connecting resources and referrals, and community success stories.

Start Up Minot is two-pronged, with a cohort-based 10-week class called Start Up Minot Academy powered by CO.STARTERS and a monthly business showcase/networking event under the name Start Up Minot that will focus on sharing the story of new and growing companies while connecting likeminded business leaders.

Organization members include Minot Area Chamber EDC in partnership with ND Small Business Development Centers, Minot State University Severson Entrepreneurship Academy, Strengthen ND, Creedence Energy, Souris Basin Planning Council, Dakota Business Lending, and others.

The exciting successes achieved in 2021 have created momentum for continued developments and success in 2022. The Minot Area Chamber EDC is more focused than ever on its vision of being the go-to organization for the business community to drive critical initiatives that build and strengthen our economy.