Growing North Dakota
With crude oil and farm prices continuing to fall, the state's chamber of commerce, the Greater North Dakota Association, undertook a remarkable statewide effort of town meetings and planning session to create a strategy to improve North Dakota's future. Of the eight Flagship Initiatives that comprised the Vision 2000 plan, the number 2 initiative was to remake the culture of the Bank of North Dakota.
The Vision 2000 committee saw the Bank as the "primary agent for coordinating and achieving the site's economic development goals making North Dakota more competitive with other states." To the business people and agriculture producers involved in the Vision 2000 planning process, the Bank of North Dakota had become too conservative, placing too much emphasis on profitability, leaving North Dakota capital rich but investment poor.
The Industrial Commission did not agree. The commission and Bank of North Dakota President Joe Lamb were opposed to taking too many risks with the state's revenue, stressing that the bank was a public institution with special responsibilities. However, there was clearly room for change. Governor Sinner called together a group of legislators, bankers, agriculture producers and economic development professionals to create an agenda christened Growing North Dakota. Approved by the 1991 Legislature, the $21 million dollar plan created well-funded financing and technical assistance programs to create new business opportunities in the state.
For perhaps the first time in its history, the Bank of North Dakota had been given both the mandate and the funds to accomplish the mission envisioned by the Non Partisan League of "encouraging and promoting agriculture, commerce and industry" in North Dakota.