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News Release — Byron Dorgan, Senator for North Dakota

DORGAN RELEASES STUDY DETAILING ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF RED RIVER VALLEY RESEARCH CORRIDOR

Study shows Research Corridor has brought $759 million to North Dakota

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or  Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551

(FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA) --- The Red River Valley Research Corridor initiative, a concept created by Senator Dorgan in 2002, has generated $759 million in positive economic impact and added thousands of jobs to the regional economy. North Dakota State University researcher Dr. Larry Leistritz shared Tuesday the results from an economic impact study of the Red River Valley Research Corridor that shows the growth of the high-tech industry in North Dakota.

The study by Leistritz, professor of agribusiness and applied economics at NDSU, concluded that the Research Corridor initiative has created 562 direct jobs per year with an average salary of $56,000. That dramatic impact is multiplied throughout the regional economy to support an additional 1,570 indirect jobs per year.

“The Corridor is providing viable employment opportunities for North Dakota’s university graduates, as well as for well-qualified individuals from around the country,” the report says.

“I created the Research Corridor in 2002 as a way to develop a high-tech economy in North Dakota so our kids could find jobs close to home. This study provides strong evidence that the initiative has so far been successful,” Dorgan said. “I think this report will be a valuable tool as we move forward with the Research Corridor and find new ways to bring good-paying jobs and cutting-edge research and development to our state.”

Since Dorgan launched the Research Corridor in 2002, the amount of high-tech research and development being conducted North Dakota businesses, universities and other research institutions has skyrocketed. The Research Corridor has led to the establishment of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering at NDSU, the Neurosciences Research Center at UND’s School of Medicine, the National Center for Hydrogen Energy Technology at UND’s Energy and Environmental Research Center, the National Energy Technology Training Center at Bismarck State College and the Center for Nanoscience Technology Training at NDSCS.

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