Grand Forks Looking to Encourage Bakken Companies

Link here.

The City Council is expected to vote next week on a proposal to spend $75,000 in city sales tax dollars on the effort.

The city's Bakken Initiative — named for the geologic formation that is churning out oil and drawing companies and workers from across the nation — also calls for another $50,000 to be raised from private and other sources for the public relations campaign to convince oil companies to set up shop in Grand Forks. The money would be used for such things as a video, mailings, and to send Grand Forks officials to an oil conference in Bismarck in late May.

"These companies can expand into Montana or Canada," Gershman said. "We want to keep them in North Dakota."