The ND Department of Commerce received an appropriation from the 69th North Dakota Legislative Assembly to provide support to organizations addressing workforce challenges and barriers to employment through the ND Regional Workforce Impact Program (RWIP). The program provides grants to regional entities to plan, design, and implement innovative strategies that help businesses find workers and connect jobseekers to opportunities and communities. Each proposed solution had to align with a sector strategy related to a prominent regional industry and involve either:
- Sector strategy planning or
- The implementation of sector strategy plans completed in the last five years
Projects could also enhance existing talent attraction strategies.
In Region 4, Manufacturing (MFG) and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) were identified as key industries. A Region 4 2025 MFG/UAS sectoral study outlined workforce challenges, opportunities and strategies to strengthen talent attraction, development and retention. Using insights from this study and current talent attraction efforts, five grant applications were submitted:
- External Marketing: Launch a joint external marketing campaign between Real. Good. ND and Grand Forks is Cooler targeting prospective manufacturing and UAS employees in regions of the country where Region 4 holds a competitive advantage, as identified in the MFG/UAS Workforce Study.
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Website Enhancements: Improve RealGoodND.com and GrandForksisCooler.com with a job scraping tool to compile all employment opportunities from multiple sources along with enhanced quality-of-life content for relocators.
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Real. Good. Talent Attraction Enhancements: Implement a lead-nurturing process for employment candidates; develop a pathway packet for underrepresented groups; create targeted ads for entrepreneurs and transitioning military personnel; provide outreach to cities, counties, and property owners to expand a real property website targeting entrepreneurs; and launch a podcast featuring quality of life amenities and career opportunities.
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Career & Technical Education Awareness & Opportunities: Expand local marketing and CTE programming for advanced manufacturing and UAS careers. Initiatives include student- and parent-focused campaigns, weeklong summer camps for grades 6–9 at North Valley and the Career Impact Academy, career pathway mapping, and employer training on internships, recruitment, retention, and place branding.
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Housing: Hire a housing development project manager to coordinate SPARK Build and other housing initiatives across communities including Cavalier, Crystal, Fordville, Grafton, Grand Forks, Hoople, Lakota, Larimore, McVille, Michigan, Minto, Park River, and Pembina. This effort is expected to result in at least 16 new single-family homes—housing up to 96 people, factoring in ripple effects.
The Red River Regional Council convened weekly meetings for approximately three months of the eleven workforce partners in the region to develop this five-prong strategy. The eleven regional partners leading these initiatives include: Red River Regional Council, Nelson, Pembina and Walsh Job Development Authorities, Grand Forks Career Impact Academy, North Valley Career and Technology Center, Red River Community Housing Development Organization, Grand Forks Region EDC, The Chamber of Grand Forks/East Grand Forks, Red River Valley Education Cooperative and Job Service North Dakota.
Grant applications 1-4 are currently under review by the ND Department of Commerce, and a funding decision is expected the week of February 9, 2026. The Housing grant application was submitted in December 2025 and was fully funded in January 2026.