Taxable sales and purchases - Taxable sales and purchases numbers for the first quarter of 2012 were released by the State Tax Department last week. Burleigh and Morton Counties, as well as the cities of Bismarck and Mandan, saw significant increases over the same 3-month period in 2011. The table below shows the taxable sales and purchases recorded in the first quarter of both 2012 and 2011, and the increase in that number for both counties and cities.

 

	Q1 2012	Q2 2011	% increase
Bismarck	$ 386,319,728	$ 301,731,297	28.03%
Burleigh	388,798,874	303,446,421	28.13%
Mandan	50,317,126	36,934,019	36.24%
Morton	54,716,247	40,897,582	33.79%
MSA	443,515,121	344,344,003	28.80%

 The full news release and 1^st Quarter 2012 report can be viewed HERE on the website of the Office of State Tax Commissioner.

 

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Small business credit initiative - The BMDA continues working with the cities that make up the consortium making application under the Small Business Credit Initiative.  The BMDA is supportive of the efforts to create additional financing tools that will make it possible to finance business opportunities which will continue the strong economic growth the Burleigh and Morton County region has been enjoying.  The effort is being spearheaded by the City of Mandan, and under their able guidance hopefully all of the supporting communities will see successful a funding program in the not too distant future.

 

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On the job hunt:  boom in oil industry creates wealth of jobs in North Dakota (posted Thursday, 7/19/12, Fox News) – “When it comes to jobs, they say they need everything from A to Z, just like the Yellow Pages.  The once rural town of Williston, N.D., is projected to double -- and maybe even triple -- in the next five years because it is in the heart of what the locals refer to as the rockin' Bakken, an oil and gas rich swath of western North Dakota.  Technical advances in energy exploration and production have made it possible to get much more out of the ground here. As North Dakota has outrun Alaska and leaped into the No. 2 spot for production, it's feeding all sorts of demand in the state with the lowest unemployment in the nation.”  Click HERE to view “On the job hunt” story.

 

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Save the date – BMDA, the Chamber and the Mandan Tomorrow – Economic Opportunity and Prosperity Committee are working together to coordinate a free panel presentation about franchise opportunities for entrepreneurs.  The workshop will be held the evening of Thursday, September 27^th, at the Seven Seas Hotel & Waterpark in Mandan. Mark your calendars now, and look for more details to come.

 

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Training seminar for expanding small business presence online – Google will be holding a free training session in Bismarck for small businesses interested in making better use of the internet for marketing. The event will be held at the Bismarck Civic Center starting at 8:30 am on July 27, 2012. Register for the event at www.northdakotagetonline.com.

 

The North Dakota SBDC is one of the local sponsors for the training session.  SBDC’s around the country have participated in similar events and have found that attendees have appreciated the content and the technical assistance.

 

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North Dakota rig count stabilizing - North Dakota State Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms said the number of rigs working in Western North Dakota's oil fields is leveling off in an Associated Press (AP) article last week. Helms said the number of rigs has ranged between 205 to 215 during the months of April, May and June and that it "appears the rig count...has leveled off." Helms went on to say that's OK because the pause "will allow infrastructure and various other things to catch up." Despite this, oil production is still rising as companies produced an average of almost 640,000 barrels a day in May from nearly 7,000 producing wells in the State.

 

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Oil activity in ND - The number of active drilling rigs in North Dakota on Friday was 207.  The Wall Street Journal crude oil price for Friday was $91.44. 

 

The top four oil producing states are:

 

1.     Texas – 1,770,000 barrels per day (April 2012) 

2.     North Dakota – 639,000 barrels per day (May 2012)

3.     Alaska – 552,000 barrels per day (April 2012)

4.     California – 523,000 barrels per day (April 2012)

 

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