What do you think of our new look?
The first issue of the new redesigned Prairie Business magazine has been mailed out. The stories from the January issue have also been added to the website.
What do you think of the changes? We were trying to create a more professional, cleaner look and tweaked some of the monthly features. For a complete breakdown of the content changes, read my From the editor's desk column in the January issue.
What do you like about the new format? Is there anything you miss from the old design? How else can we improve the magazine?
Posted by: Prairie Business on January 11, 2010 at 12:36 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: from the editors desk, prairie business, ryan schuster
How can rural communities attract business growth?
What can smaller communities do to stand out in economic development? Many larger companies and bigger factories tend to avoid rural areas, small towns and geographically isolated area. So what are those communities to do when trying to grow their business base, increase employment and attempting to grow their economies?
Some say the key is to focus on a community's strengths, make sure workforce training is available, there is shovel-ready land or industrial parks ready for development (some even say communities that do their homework ahead of time should build spec buildings in an attempt to lure companies). Some say the best way to grow local economies is from within by helping, promoting and offering financing assistance to local entrepreneurs and giving local business owners the tools to expand their businesses. Location can also be a big key is a community is located near one or more major highways, on a key railroad track or near oil and natural gas development.
What do you think? What advice would you offer smaller communities to help them compete economically?
Posted by: Prairie Business on November 10, 2009 at 9:00 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: economic development, economy, great plains, prairie business, rural development, small towns, workforce development
Do incentives help economic development?
Aggressive use of economic development inducements ranging from temporary property tax exemptions or reductions to tax increment financing and loan pool programs is becoming more common, escalating the national economic development arms race. But does the use of financial incentives help or harm economic development efforts? The answer I found from interviewing a number of economic development officials and a few companies varies in the region, with EDCs in metro areas like Fargo, Sioux Falls and Grand Forks in the region perferring a more conservative approach of not offering big packages to companies looking to relocate (beyond state and local programs that may help with property taxes, etc.). Other communities in the region, like Bismarck, Minot, ND, and Aberdeen, SD, look at incentives as a way to attract companies that may not have considered the community otherwise.
Incentives, or course, are not the only or often the deciding factor of companies looking for new locations to locate customer support, manufacturing plants or other facilities. But an attractive financial incentive package can help companies defray the high start-up costs of opening new facilities.
What do you think? Should communities offer economic development corporations and communities in the region offer financial incentives to companies to locate facilities in their areas? How can communities ensure the new facilities will stay once the incentives run out?
Posted by: Prairie Business on October 05, 2009 at 9:34 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: economic development, incentives, prairie business
Blue Cross Blue Shield clarifies its position on health care reform
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota has released a statement (text included below) to explain its stance on potential health care reform in response to criticism and to explain how potential health care reform being debated in Congress would affect North Dakota's largest insurance company (as well as other insurance companies). Here's a more complete breakdown of where Blue Cross stands on health care reform.
What do you think? Do you think the bills being proposed in Congress will lead to meaningful reform? Will health care reform harm business?
BCBSND explains potential impacts of health reform
Potential for a government-run plan to severely damage North Dakota’s health infrastructure
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota this week issued details explaining the company’s position on national health reform. BCBSND supports proposals that assure every person in North Dakota is covered with appropriate health insurance. The company opposes a government-run plan that would pay hospitals and doctors in North Dakota at Medicare rates.
“Today, Medicare pays North Dakota hospitals and doctors at some of the lowest rates in the country,” said BCBSND President and CEO Paul von Ebers. “We are concerned that if a large number of North Dakotans are covered by a government plan that paid at Medicare rates, we would actually drive hospitals out of business and cause many physicians to leave the state. So, we cannot support a plan that would severely damage the health care system of the state.”
BCBSND also believes a government-run health plan would unravel the existing business-based system, and a government-run plan would hinder much-needed delivery system reforms critical to controlling costs. The business-based model works because the private sector is free to innovate and is already successful with programs such as centers of excellence, pay-for-quality and chronic care management.
BCBSND supports coverage for everyone, including the 75,000 uninsured North Dakotans. The company favors state exchanges that would help consumers compare a variety of health insurance plans. And the company favors state regulation of the insurance industry, rather than federal insurance regulation.
BCBSND believes reform is needed focusing on compensating providers for quality of care and moving away from fees for service, or compensating providers for the quantity of services provided. BCBSND supports technologies that help consumers and providers be more efficient and informed, and the company backs prevention and wellness programs.
“We all need to play a key role in taking personal responsibility for better health, ultimately helping reduce medical procedures and treatments,” according to BCBSND’s position paper.
Posted by: Prairie Business on September 25, 2009 at 12:01 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: adam hamm, blue cross, blue cross blue shield of north dakota, health care, health insurance, north dakota
American Airlines adding Chicago service to Fargo, Sioux Falls
American Airlines will be adding direct flights from Fargo and Sioux Falls to and from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport starting next spring. This comes on the heels of announcements from leisure carrier Allegiant Air that it will add weekly service between Grand Forks, ND, and Phoenix-Mesa and Duluth, MN, and Orlando-Sanford.
The new American flights, which will be on its regional carrier American Eagle, should be a big boon to business, offering companies direct daily flights to and from Chicago, with connections to airports east, south and beyond from the Chicago hub. Allegiant's flights are more geared toward tourists and their frequency weekly on Mondays and Fridays aren't necessarily ideal for business, but could provide some opportunities for cheap business travel or access to connections to other airports if the scheduling works out. Local officials in Fargo and Sioux Falls believed the additional American flights will also help lower fares a bit as well.
While the national airline industry has been cutting capacity and slashing service at many regional airports in midsized cities, air service has generally been staying the same and even getting better in parts of the Northern Great Plains, with Fargo, Sioux Falls and Bismarck prime examples. Here's a Prairie Business story I wrote about the state of the region's air service that ran in our April issue.
How good is air service in the region? Has the increase in flights and destinations made it easier for you to fly out of Fargo, Sioux Falls, Bismarck and other area airports and reduced the number of times you have had to drive five-plus hours to Minneapolis to catch a flight? What new carriers and flights would you like to see added to the region? What airports could use increased service?
Posted by: Prairie Business on September 18, 2009 at 10:58 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: air service, airline, airservice, allegiant air, american airlines, bismarck, duluth mn, fargo, grand forks nd, sioux falls
Addicted to e-mail
OK, I admit it. I have a problem. I'm addicted to e-mail. In my former life as a sports writer I used to check my e-mail once a day when I arrived at work. No more. As a business writer and editor I'm constantly plugged into e-mail, checking details for stories with sources, scanning press releases, receiving photos for layouts and commuticating with freelancers.
It always amazes me how much more quickly I can receive a response to a question posed a source or decision maker via e-mail then picking up the phone and calling them. In this age of immediacy, there is something to be said for getting an answer right away and multitasking (or trying to multitask). Social media platforms like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter are helpful, but generally don't do as well for back and forth communication and I never got too far into Instant Messaging (which allows for communication between two people, but isn't as useful of a business application). E-mail does have its downfalls. How many times do we send two or three e-mails back and forth about a simple question to nail down an exact answer, something we could have likely cleared up in a 5-minute phone call (if the person was at the office or picked up their cell phone).
As someone who is always trying to get ahold of executives and busy business leaders and movers and shakers, I am always thankful to receive e-mails sent by Blackberry from a car, a meeting, an airport (the golf course?). It's always funny to see how much of an impact it has on the office when the internet is down for a short period or if e-mail isn't working, especially for those of us who predate both. By the way, am I the only one who seems to always be in the middle of something when my e-mail gets over its size limit and forces me to spend time I don't have to delete e-mails so I can continue sending and receiving e-mail.
How can we use technology to stay current and get things done in real time without letting it take over our lives? How do you limit your use of e-mail and other technology applications to ensure you can still get things done in a timely manner?
Posted by: Prairie Business on September 15, 2009 at 10:36 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: business, e-mail, office, technology
Fargo ranked nation's 15th best college town
A new report by the American Institute for Economic Research ranked Fargo as the 15th-best college town among cities of 250,000 or less residents in terms of job opportunities for students and recent college graduates, according to a Fargo Forum story. Criteria used in the report included student concentration, cost of living, unemployment rate, research capacity and degree attainment.
Fargo had the highest entrepreneurial activity (net increase in total number of business establishments per capita) among the 20 college towns with less than 250,000 that were examined. Fargo also had the second-cheapest cost of living (based on average rent cost of a two bedroom apartment) and one of the lower unemployment rates in its population category. Fargo also had the third-highest earning potential among the 20 cities (2007 per-capita income of $36,459).
Minneapolis-St. Paul ranked ninth among major metropolitan areas in the report.
What do you think of the rankings? What do the rankings say of the influence North Dakota State University, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Concordia College and other higher education institutions have on the city?
Posted by: Prairie Business on September 09, 2009 at 10:20 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Tags: business, college town, fargo, ndsu, north dakota state
Bismarck featured in BusinessWeek
The strength of the Bismarck economy has been featured in an article posted to the BusinessWeek website last night. BusinessWeek reported that Bismarck's metro unemployment rate of 3.6 percent is the nation's lowest. The story mentioned the Bismarck-Mandan economy's strength in government employment, higher education, health care and energy sectors. The story also said there are rumors that West Fargo-based Bobcat Company might relocate its Bismarck production plant.
This morning I was chatting with Russell Staiger, the President and CEO of the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association, who was quoted in the story. Staiger says the growing positive publicity about the local economy, which has also included pieces in Forbes magazine and on MSNBC (which said the city is the largest U.S. metro that has has remained above its recession line), are helping to get out the word about the area.
“We’ve had a growing list of these kinds of articles," he said. "Every one of them puts out a little bit more on the street about Bismarck. We’re starting to hear from people who have read these articles. You couldn’t buy good news like that.”
What do you think about the BusinessWeek story? Will the national media go back to ignoring Fargo, Bismarck, Sioux Falls and the rest of the region again when the economy starts to recover? How strong is the Bismarck-Mandan economy? What are your thoughts on the regional economy as a whole? Earlier this spring there appeared to be little effect of the national recession in North Dakota and South Dakota, but the last six months have brought a slew of layoffs that have increased unemployment rates and brought with them some muted effects of what is happening nationally, although I think we're still much better off than most places. When will the recession end?
Posted by: Prairie Business on August 31, 2009 at 12:08 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink
Tags: bismarck, businessweek, economic development, economy
5 facts from IRS on the home office deduction
From the IRS:
Five Facts about the Home Office Deduction
With technology making it easier than ever for people to operate a business out of their house, many taxpayers, entrepreneurs and small business people may be able to take a home office deduction when filing their 2009 federal tax return next year.
Here are five important things the IRS wants you to know about claiming the home office deduction.
1. Generally, in order to claim a business deduction for your home, you must use part of your home exclusively and regularly:
As your principal place of business, or as a place to meet or deal with patients, clients or customers in the normal course of your business, or in the case of a separate structure which is not attached to your home, it must be used in connection with your trade or business.
For certain storage use, rental use or daycare-facility use, you are required to use the property regularly but not exclusively.
2. Generally, the amount you can deduct depends on the percentage of your home that you used for business.
Your deduction for certain expenses will be limited if your gross income from your business is less than your total business expenses.
3. There are special rules for qualified daycare providers and for persons storing business inventory or product samples.
4. If you are self-employed, use Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home, to figure your home office deduction.
Report the deduction on line 30 of Schedule C, Form 1040.
5. Different rules apply to claiming the home office deduction if you are an employee.
For example, the regular and exclusive business use must be for the convenience of your employer.
For more information see IRS Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home, available on IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
Posted by: Prairie Business on August 27, 2009 at 8:33 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: irs internal revenue service tax taxes business taxes
Companies try to keep up with social media
The use of social media networking sites has increased by 73 percent in the last year in the U.S., with some of those activities happening while at work either with or without their employers' knowledge or approval. A new survey from the Minneapolis-based Russell Herder law firm and Ethos Business Law shows that while business leaders are beginning to recognize the possibilities of social networking as a communication and outreach tool, 8 in 10 businesses in the survey also expressed concern about the use of social media. Here are some of the results of the survey:
-- 51 percent said they fear social media might be detrimental to employee productivity
-- 49 percent said its use could damage their company's reputation
-- 81 percent believe social media use can enhance relationships with customers and clients and build brand reputation
-- 69 percent said networking activities could help recruitment
-- 69 percent said use could be a good customer service tool
-- 46 percent said it could help enhance employee morale
The most popular social media vehicles according to the survey are Facebook (80 percent), Twitter (66 percent), YouTube (55 percent), LinkedIn (49 percent) and blogs (43 percent). Most of senior management (74 percent) said they personally visit social media sites at least weekly to read what customers are saying about their company and 47 percent said they monitor competitors' use of social networking. One in three said they search social media sites to see what info their employees are sharing and one quarter said they use it as part of background checks of prospective employees.
Those not using social media cited security issues (40 percent), lost employee productivity (37 percent) and lack of familiarity with it (51 percent). The study found that 40 percent of companies technically block employees from using social media while at work, while 26 percent of companies surveyed said they use social media to further corporate objectives. But only one in three executives surveyed said they have a policy in place to govern the use of social media and only 10 percent have conducted employee training for social media use at work.
What do you think of the survey? Do you think the use of social media at work is a problem? Do you regularly check social media sites like Facebook on company time for non-work related reasons? Has your use of social media at work affected your productivity? How much social media use is too much? Have you noticed any benefits from your company increasing its social media preference?
Posted by: Prairie Business on August 25, 2009 at 7:29 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Tags: business, networking, prairie business, productivity, social media, social networking web sites, social networks, workplace, workplace issues
