Civil Municipal - May 2024

all the resources they need to make that decision, and then kind of taking the concierge approach to getting them to land here,” says Teigen. The post-COVID work-from-home culture has people prioritizing where they want to live and then determining what work they can do. That culture benefits North Dakota’s economy, as new residents could live in the state and benefit from lower taxes while working for a company in Silicon Valley, for example. NEW RESIDENTS, NEW HOUSES As the local economy booms and North Dakota’s workforce grows, an affordable housing crunch is inevitable. Teigen outlines a couple of elements to combat that problem, starting with the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency. This agency helps augment the housing market in certain areas by bringing more units online and making them more affordable. The state also has the Bank of North Dakota, which Teigen calls his “secret weapon.” It’s the only state- owned bank in the nation, which originated over 100 years ago when local farmers were upset about how banks in Minneapolis were treating them. The Department of Commerce is currently considering how this $10-billion bank can help put North Dakota ahead of the competition in housing affordability, interest rates, buy-downs, increased lending, and solutions for appraisal gaps in rural areas. The exact strategic science isn’t perfect yet, Teigen says, but he’s certain the state commerce team is weighing multiple solutions for 2024 as the state looks to accommodate home buyers. INVESTMENTS AND PARTNERSHIPS As Teigen points out, there are other states in the country uninterested in new business or actively outsourcing projects, such as Minnesota or California. North Dakota, however, is hungrier than ever. Firstly, North Dakota has primacy with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) thanks to its air quality, water quality, and carbon sequestration permitting, among other elements. Engaging with a state is faster and more reliable than engaging with a federal government agency, Teigen says. Overall, North Dakota has the natural resources (oil, gas, corn, soybeans, and 14 other crop varieties), a favorable tax landscape, and a regulatory environment that makes the state second to none for investment and development. So far, everyone is reaping those benefits. “Right nowwe’re seeing capital just pouring through our borders like we never anticipated,” says Teigen. Notable success stories include a company called Denbury, which produced the first carbon-negative barrel of oil. A different $5-billion gas-to-liquids project chose North Dakota as its landing spot over Alberta, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana, and has since been an overwhelmingly positive project for the state. The governor of North Dakota has also pledged that the state will become the first carbon-neutral state in America. The area’s unique geology allows scientists to harness all the carbon dioxide produced in North Dakota and store it for approximately 8,000 years. 23 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 05 NORTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE