I-94 towns in midst of growth: Economic buzz in eastern part of state not necessarily tied to energy

CASSELTON, N.D. - The oil boom in western North Dakota gets a lot of attention.

But follow Interstate 94 from Valley City to the cities of Mapleton and Casselton, and what you find might surprise you.

For a community the size of Casselton and Mapleton, you could call it a boom, said Mark Vaux, executive vice president for business development for the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corp.

The story is similar in Valley City, said Jennifer Feist, director of the Valley City-Barnes County Development Corp.

Feist and Vaux say the economic buzz in the eastern part of the state isnt necessarily tied to energy.

It is value-added agriculture and technology and advanced manufacturing, those kinds of things, said Feist.

She said some of the things happening in Valley City population about 6,500 include:

A $20 million expansion of the John Deere seeding group facility in town.

The project resulted in the hiring of about 80 new employees over the past year, according to Feist.

A thriving software company called Eagle Creek Software Services, which provides software support and development services to Forbes Global 2000 companies.

Read the rest here:
I-94 towns in midst of growth: Economic buzz in eastern part of state not necessarily tied to energy