Perhaps it should have been expected. The governor graciously gave the speech at the Chester Fritz Auditorium in Grand Forks; it’s only the second time the annual event has been held outside of Bismarck. Some local references were bound to be included in the two-hour speech.
Nonetheless, we appreciate the governor’s work to include so many local references and compliments, which are great advertising for the city and add weight to the successes happening in the city and region.
Among the local references:
● Burgum pretended to lose his “clicker” – the small handheld device needed for his presentation – and had one brought in via drone. That’s important locally because of the Grand Sky UAS facility and all of the work done to push the drone industry.
● He referenced making North Dakota the “most military friendly state.” That is relevant because of efforts made by local lawmakers to ease the state’s professional restrictions on military spouses.
● He mentioned state Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread, who is verified as the world’s tallest politician. Godfread is from Grand Forks.
● He mentioned UAS applications for pipeline and infrastructure inspection.
● He noted the emergence of wind energy and referenced Grand Forks wind-blade factory LM Wind Power.
● He discussed value-added agriculture and Red River Biorefinery. “We need more projects like that,” he said of the local company.
● He discussed the growing UAS industry in statewide terms, but included local flavor throughout.
“We have great things going in terms of what we’re doing in our state – we’re really becoming the nation’s proving ground for UAS. Great leadership on this, led by the lieutenant governor … and the aeronautics team, the folks that are here in Grand Forks at the test site, the College of Aerospace Sciences, great stuff happening (at) Grand Sky. …”
He also discussed the $28 million investment for the first statewide air-traffic control in the world that supports beyond-visual-line-of-sight UAS.
● He introduced Everett “Ev” Dunnick, from the local office of General Atomics, who moved to Grand Forks from Los Angeles and “has made a commitment here.”
● He introduced Blake Riewer, a UND graduate and state game warden, who gave aid to an accident victim on a freezing day earlier this winter. “He saved the person’s life,” the governor said.
● He talked about a $7.6 million Health and Human Services grant to UND for research in mental health services and to combat drug abuse. He also said “history was made last week” when the State Board of Higher Education approved the first doctoral program in indigenous health at UND.
● He discussed the Pure Development project in downtown Grand Forks.
Having the State of the State here was a coup for the city and UND. The governor took it another step and, with so many references to the happenings here, made it a truly special event.
2020-01-31 12:00:00Z
https://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/editorials/4888759-Our-view-Was-that-a-State-of-City-speech
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