Why North Dakota?

Beyond the Buzz - Why North Dakota?  

June 9, 2026, 2:02PM 

Meza, Victor M.   0:33 

Good morning everyone and welcome to the 23rd episode of Beyond the Buzz and this month's topic. We're going to talk about why North Dakota. 

We just had a good response back from a UV SI exponential is Becca and Landon will attest to today of her AUVSI. 

We had a good feedback about our North Dakota row that we hosted at exponential. 

And people just didn't realize what all we have to offer so. 

When I came up with this idea of why North Dakota, you know, what do we have here? 

What do we have to offer since we can offer so much things for business and industry coming to that? Wanna come work here in North Dakota? When what we have to offer? 

So when this idea came up, I reached out to Landon. 

Who was with the Department of Commerce? 

And Becca Kruger with Grand Forks regional EDC. 

Do you guys wanna take a little bit? Landon, if you would like to start just kind of again yourself. Kinda. What's your job? Your role is, and then we'll and then and then, Becca, you can kind of go in there a little bit. 

Johnson, Landon T.   1:48 

Sure, victor. 

Happy to and thanks for having us on today. 

I love that this is into the 23rd episode now. 

That's great. 

I remember when we started it at the test site. 

So everyone, my name is Landon Johnson. 

I'm a senior business development manager for North Dakota Department of Commerce and so My Portfolio specifically is, is UAS and defense. 

Why North Dakota victor? Why not? 

You're right. 

We do have we do have a ton of things to offer and you know instead of spending a lot of time going through the incentive program. 

Grams. I mean, I've got over 100 in the state that we can bring to the table for different companies in different situations, but some of the more intangibles and specifically within the UAS sector, I mean our airspace is fantastic for all of your R&D testing. 

Needs we've got Deeg airspace and obviously above 10,000. 

That are all accessible to us through the Northern Plains test site and they're 44803 privileges that they carry. 

We have incredible access in North Dakota as well. When I say access, I mean to our different partners both in industry, academia, government. 

I don't think a lot of people realize this about North Dakota. 

Is that we have a population about 800,000 people and so a lot of our state representatives, senators, legislators, they work in this industry right along with us, which really gives us some really unique opportunities compared to some of the larger states, which is great we. 

Also have an incredible speed to market capability. 

We've really been working hard in the state to. 

You know, make sure our permitting processes go smoothly and in a timely fashion. And so we've got good coordination between water Commission, the local, city and county. 

Political subdivisions, and I think we can really bring that to bear in a neat way and just for everybody's example, we were able to. 

Permit and break ground on a 1.2 million square foot distribution center. 

And just a little shy of four months, which I'm pretty proud of and I think that's a that's a good testament to speed, to market in North Dakota. 

We are business friendly. Like I said, we've got a number of incentives. 

We've got a very low tax rates. 

We've got opportunities for property tax relief, income tax relief. 

A number of different you know, loan and Angel investment funds depending on. 

Where businesses for some of our more you know, established clients. 

I think on the on the tax side, we can really bring some good incentives to bear. But for those just really getting into the industry still in the lower TRL and even the the mid TRL levels, I think we've got a lot of opportunities in terms of low. 

Interest loans gap finding, everything that we can bring to bear. 

And so we've got some useful tools there. 

We have something called the North Dakota Development Fund, which really specializes in GAAP financing. 

You know, typically up to about two to $3,000,000 we have a Bank of North Dakota, which is the only state-run bank in the nation that I'm aware of. 

And having that is a really cool tool in our toolbox as they're able to do some pretty, pretty neat things over at Bank of North Dakota. And I don't want to get out over my skis on that, but happy to provide more information for anybody who wants to. 

Reach out. 

Other than that, we've been making a lot of strategic investments. 

Throughout the last 10-15 years here in the state, I think to date we've invested somewhere in the neighborhood about $160 million of state taxpayer money. 

What we've been doing with this, we've been developing vantis which if you pay attention to this, this podcast, you'll probably be fairly aware of, but that is our statewide ground based sense and void. 

Evie loss network. So that is up and running and we are continuing to forge ahead. 

With Vantas, we've got Grand Sky which is fully operational commercial UAS Park. It's got tenants including General Atomics, Northrop Grumman and is an incredible test environment coupled up with the Grand Forks Air Force Base in the 319th wing up there. 

And then we've got. 

Really good relationships and partnerships across the state, like I said, with academia, with our industry partners, we have a UAS Council. 

I meet regularly with our workforce development professionals and you know with UND, it's got an incredible aerospace school UAS program. 

So I think those are real high level of some of the really cool things North Dakota can bring to bear for companies that might be looking to expand their business operations. 

Relocate. Yeah. 

Meza, Victor M.   6:45 

OK. 

That was a very long introduction. 

Thank you, Linda. 

Johnson, Landon T.   6:50 

Well, you know me, brevity. 

Meza, Victor M.   6:54 

Becky, you wanna give a little introduction? 

Kinda. You know about a little bit about you and your job and kind of where you how you can help. 

Becca Cruger   7:03 

Yeah, absolutely. 

Thanks for having us on, Victor. 

I'm Becca Kruger. 

I'm the director of economic development here at the Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corporation. 

I've been working here for 9 years and it's been an absolute dream to watch this sector grow. 

When companies look at Grand Forks, they're not just looking at a location. 

They're really looking at an ecosystem that has been built over multiple years. My boss likes to say it's a 15 year overnight success story. 

Landon brought up the fact that we have a very active Codel who has really leaned into the unmanned and autonomous systems sector, and we've watched it grow from just a few 100 employees to now. We have major primes in the UAS market. 

And close to 2000, jobs in the sector in the Grand Forks region and I think one of the things that makes Grand Forks unique is if you are a UAS company or a counter UAS company or a global defense company, we have one of the most mat. 

Unmanned aircraft systems in the entire nation. 

And you can access research. 

We have R1 research institution we have. 

Of Ncat just over the border, a National Center for Autonomous technologies workforce talent. 

One of the best colleges of engineering and mines. 

One of the best aviation schools in the entire nation. 

Regulatory expertise, infrastructure industry partners, you want to do testing. 

We have grant Sky. As Landon mentioned, the first of its kind. 

Park in the nation. 

Situated on an air base. 

So think about what that does in terms of your ability to plug into different systems. 

You might not have access to, and Gorman field, of course, so if you're stuck as a company trying to get the flight hours trying to get your aircraft up in the Air, North Dakota, as Landon mentioned, has about 800,000 people. 

Well, that works in our interest that that leaves some wide open air space. 

So Grand Forks is a great place to be. 

It's an exciting time in our region and I'm looking forward to this conversation today. 

Meza, Victor M.   9:44 

Well, and plus you have the best test site in the nation right here in Grand Forks. So can't forget about that, right? 

Becca Cruger   9:48 

Of course, I'm sorry. 

I did forget about that, didn't I? 

Meza, Victor M.   9:52 

So. 

Becca Cruger   9:55 

Yes, no, the UAS test site, one of the first seven in the nation to happen right here and we are the first state that has gotten the FAA radar data and that's a huge thing. 

So we're doing some very unique and cool things that no other state is positioned to do and that's largely due to our test site. 

So thank you for that, Victor. 

Meza, Victor M.   10:19 

Linden, we're going to transition back to you. 

We have something I hear that most states don't have. 

We have access to our legislators. 

You know how, how important is that? 

I know it used to be on our side and you know now you're up on the commerce side. 

Like, how important is that for us to get with those that are in charge of our state funding to help us with, you know, with funding these activities like fantas the test site, et cetera? 

Johnson, Landon T.   10:53 

It's a great question, Victor. 

I think it's incredibly important to be able to have those interactions with the legislature. 

You know, it's always good to interact with those who hold the purse strings. 

But what I have found in what North Dakota has been doing is that for a long time, North Dakota's economy was centered on energy and agriculture. 

Two great sectors in and of their own, but being commodity based that has in the past. 

Been a little bit difficult for the state's economy when egg prices are down, oil prices are depressed. 

So again, going back to that strategic investment is what is another sector that North Dakota really wants to stand up. And when we began it, it was UAS. And I think for those of us in this sector now, we've realized it's expanded into more of a global. 

Defense, which is great supporting the modern warfighter. 

Diversifying our economy and within that global defense, I mean there's food security and egg tech, there's. 

Like I said, actually you know supporting. 

Tactical capabilities for the warfighter, there's counter UAS, there's a number of different. 

Sub sectors there, but I think. 

OK. 

So I went off on a tangent. 

I forgot your original question. I was about to answer it. 

Meza, Victor M.   12:18 

Well, it's just it's, you know, talking with, you know, other BV laws companies, right, they are. And other test sites. 

Johnson, Landon T.   12:23 

All the legislatures. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

OK. Yep. 

Meza, Victor M.   12:29 

Having access to our local government, having access to our Codel is few and far between. 

Johnson, Landon T.   12:36 

Oh, it's great. 

My representative lives a block down from my house and we have very strict ethic laws and non lobbying laws in North Dakota. 

Meza, Victor M.   12:38 

So. 

Johnson, Landon T.   12:46 

So I am working for the executive branch, so I was a little careful when I have those conversations. But. 

You know, for a company coming in, I think the opportunity for you to talk to, you know, someone on the Appropriations Committee in the House to talk to one of the Senators who's maybe a little bit more in terms of, you know, state policy and and where we. 

Going to go. 

It's really great and I just think, you know, I've seen companies come into North Dakota. 

Open Access to me, you know, sit you down with with the director of our economic Development Finance Division, Commerce Commissioner. 

And you. 

Just you don't that in other states you don't. 

You know, to get a meeting with the Governor of California is orders of magnitude more difficult and expensive than it is to get. 

A meeting with the Governor of North Dakota. 

And that's not because he brings any less to the table. 

It's just weird that much more accessible. 

And likewise to your legislature or your legislators, what's really cool about is North Dakota goes on a on a biennium schedule. 

So every two years. 

And so I think particularly right now in the UAS sector with 108 and 146 pending being able to move with some alacrity and really being able to real time educate the legislators because of the access we have to them. 

Is really great. 

And North Dakota is really well positioned, I think to to continue this into the future. 

Meza, Victor M.   14:10 

Hmm. 

Yeah, and we hope so too. 

So it's a we're all working. 

We're all working together to make that happen. 

That's the best part. 

And then back to you back there, so. 

Say company companies looking at north. 

North Dakota, they settled on North Dakota. 

What are some of? 

What are some of the exciting things that's attracting people to Grand Forks? 

What are? What are some of the local attributes that we have that? 

Are really bringing UAS companies here keeping people here? 

Becca Cruger   14:50 

Yeah, absolutely. 

So Landon talked about a good number of them. 

I've mentioned a good number of them. 

I'm gonna start by saying one of the things that people have been attracted by is our UAS test site, the Northern Plains UAS test site. 

I'm not sure if you've heard about it. 

But we're really building out a statewide beyond visual line of site network, but companies across all spectrums. 

All sizes. 

Are interested in our region because we have supports for all sizes of companies. So if you're a company who is making a product, the UAS space is a relatively new industry and you're designing a project. 

We have the hive tech accelerator UAS Tech accelerator downtown. This is specifically for. 

Uas counter UAS global defense companies. 

Who want to meet others within their network, be supported through growth programs, and then we have all the way up to the big primes. We've got Northrop Grumman and General Atomics, who are out at Grand Sky interacting with the Grand Forks Air Force Base. 

Really, keeping our nation safe. And so whether you're a small operator or you're someone who is playing in the big leagues. 

This is a space for you to be, and the other thing is Landon mentioned we have unique financing tools. 

I'm going to talk about that a little bit later, so I'm not going to belabor that at the moment. 

But we also have that supportive Codel and local decision makers as well. 

There's a number of resources depending on where a company is at in their journey. 

So we have office industrial technology focused space options. 

We've got facilities that support aerospace. We've got a research institution. 

If you're working on research and I think another thing that I'm seeing that is starting to attract some large growth is our air base owns the mission set for the point defense Battle lab. So this is a counter UAS mission. 

That's been placed in Grand Forks, one of the strategic Northern tier bases, because of our positioning. And if you're a counter UAS company and you're not here, you are doing it wrong. 

I am going to say that because they, on behalf of the entire U.S. military, are testing platforms, how do we prevent? 

Low altitude small UAS from overtaking a base. 

We're doing that testing here and companies are invited to be a part of that. So if you're interested, please reach out. 

I'd be happy to talk through that. 

So whether you're in your aerial autonomy, whether you're in counter UAS or whether you're part of space operations, this is a really great place. 

Meza, Victor M.   18:12 

Can you talk about again? 

I think even in Grand Forks we have something that. 

Groups you know and large cities don't normally have, but, but our community like our UAS community and how close we are. 

You know, it's more of a pick up the phone. 

Can you can you talk about a little bit about how easy it is to work with one sector? 

But then if you want to get into another sector, it's literally next door. 

Can you kind of talk about that interactions that we have all the time? 

Becca Cruger   18:45 

Yeah, absolutely. 

So at the ADC we have 150 private sector members and I think what's really interesting in North Dakota that people are constantly surprised by is the relationality of the Grand Forks ecosystem. 

So we have something that is led by our mayor, Mayor Bachenski, who is very strong at leaning in on the UAS sector. 

And it involves our county. 

Again, without our County, Grand Sky doesn't happen. 

But it's all the key industry in UAS. 

It's legislative representation. It's our code. 

So our senators and our representative have representation and all of our public entities are there. 

And once a month, we get together in something called the brick or the base retention and investment committee. 

And we talk about what's happening in UAS and we say what challenges are you running into? 

And then we attack them. 

We don't just sit on our heels. 

We had a recent company. 

Who from? Huntsville, AL. 

Who was visiting happened to be on one of these break days and they sat down in in a meeting and afterwards we visited in my office and they said, Wow. 

I have. 

We don't have this and we need to. 

And wow, how does everybody talk to each other? 

The fact that I can pick up the phone or really anyone a college student, can pick up the phone and get our mayor the next day. That doesn't happen. 

And we're a large, large community. 

We're not, you know, a small, small rural town. 

The fact that you could, you know, be in a meeting with someone who with legislative representation. 

And then if you want to work in the egg space, well, let's call up the phone and talk to John Onken over at true north. 

He's very open to innovation and I think that's how Grand Forks works is where a hub and spoke model, you know, one person, you know, 12 people. 

So it's really easy to get business done. 

We're a low regulation state and you know, of course we want safe, smart regulation, but. 

We're not putting up barriers to company growth. 

Meza, Victor M.   21:14 

You know that's fantastic. 

We're gonna transition a little bit to. 

Workforce, talent and things like that. 

Becca, I know we got some cool things here, but what are some ways Grand Forks is recruiting and trying to keep that talent here within the state. 

Becca Cruger   21:37 

Yeah, absolutely. So. 

I think what's really interesting at the state level is they're very much investing in talent attraction. 

How do we get the right people here and within our office? 

We run something called greater Grand Forks way cooler than you think. 

Or Grand Forks is cooler com. 

It's our talent attraction initiative. 

We actually started it nine years ago when Northrop Grumman decided they were coming to town. 

They said we want to hire 50 people from our other locations and 50 people locally. And so we really had to help them bring those folks from California. 

From Utah and their other sites. 

And to Grand Forks, ND and the first thing that you think of when you think of Grand Forks, ND is probably not a sunny beach. 

So, but it's an amazing and attractive. 

Place to live. 

Amazing quality of life, cost of living. Not only do we have low corporate income taxes, we have very low state income taxes. 

So your cost of living is going to be really, really much lower than most of the rest of the nation. 

And you know, when we're recruiting talent that matters. 

So we launched a talent attraction initiative. 

We've talked to our UAS employers. 

And we have put together a strategy to target individuals in that sector and bring them here. And then our university really has partnered with us in terms of how do we build out the programs that are industry. 

Saying that they need, we've had the strongest growth in any college at UND is in College of Engineering and Mines. 

And it's very cool to see that happening. Really, cybersecurity, aerospace engineering, we launched the 1st in the nation UAS business program. 

So we're really responding to this growing and emerging sector. So hitting it on two fronts. 

Attracting from outside and developing our talent here. 

Meza, Victor M.   24:01 

Yeah, I was talking to. 

David O'Neill from General Thomas. 

Who's our AUVSI chapter president? 

And he was one of those that came from California. And he was like California's not home anymore. Grand Forks is so. 

Just so impressed with everything. 

So it was good to hear, you know that when people are locating from larger states, large populations states that they are really enjoying the community, the, the, you know, the livelihood that we have here and then they wanna stay. 

You're not trying to get out, so. 

Becca Cruger   24:32 

I think my favorite. 

One of my favorite people in Grand Force. 

I got to be careful of saying my favorite, but one of my favorite people in Grand Force right now is Mike Friedaf. 

He's the he's the site director for Northrop Grumman, and if you've ever met Mike, you will think he spends. 

23 out of 24 hours in a gym. He's just this burly beach bro from California got told he was coming to North Dakota to stand up this side. 

Well, nine years later, he's on our City Council. 

He's embedded in our community. He loves it. 

He and his wife and it's just that's it. If we can get people to Grand Forks to see it for themselves, which, by the way, come out to the UAS Summit in October and you can experience it yourself. 

But if we can get you here, you're going to want to stay. 

Meza, Victor M.   25:27 

Oh, that's great, Landon. 

How about the state level? 

What is? 

Maybe some of the things that we're working on to attract, you know, more jobs, more workforce development type activities. 

Johnson, Landon T.   25:42 

Sure. Well, actually, Victor, I'll piggyback on, do a couple things Becca said. 

Here it's so we have a office of global talent. So we have our whole workforce Division, Workforce Council and I think for us, particularly in this sector, it's not so much about more people, it's about the right people. And so like what Becca was saying is we've you. 

Meza, Victor M.   25:47 

Mm-hmm. 

Johnson, Landon T.   26:06 

Know I'll be honest with you. North Dakota is not for everybody. 

I say that as somebody who's lived here most of my life moved twice and moved back twice. 

But we all really love it. 

And we think it's great. And I think within the context of the UAS and the defense sector here, I've seen it more times than I can count people coming up to North Dakota seeing what we're actually doing. 

It's not smoke and mirrors, it's real. 

It's on the ground and it's in the air and I've seen a number of companies, a number of individuals come up here to check a box and literally go home saying how do we get up here? 

Which is fantastic and I love to see that. 

So again, it's we have a campaign called find the good life. 

You can find it through North Dakota Department of Commerce. 

I'd encourage you, if you're at all interested, feel free and reach out, but also go look at it online. 

It's quite good. 

Becca's obviously in in Grand Forks, ND. 

It's a beautiful city. 

We've got more than one. 

So across the board between Fargo, ND, Minot, ND Bismarck, ND, which is where I'm based out of. 

Really have a lot of lot of good, a lot of good opportunities. 

In the state and specifically within UAS. 

What I've been working on with Beck and others is just continuing to grow this sector, and so I think in the next five years, you're going to see. 

Uas and autonomous systems really explode out of Grand Forks. 

Which right now is the beating heart of it, with the North Dakota. 

And you're going to see that pretty much statewide. 

Meza, Victor M.   27:44 

We're kind of getting a little close to time here. 

So what I kind of want kind of what I'd like you guys to is kind of maybe give a quick sum up of why North Dakota, why Grand Forks, Landon will just start with you since you've been rambling on. 

But no, but with all the great things we have going on North Dakota, you know, if you can give that that. 

One last pitch to some of those that are that are just getting ready to pick up the phone and make that phone call. Just kind of what is you know, what would you tell them? 

What? What? What would be that, that, that pitch about North Dakota? 

Johnson, Landon T.   28:27 

I think for from a business standpoint, Victor, it's a great question. From a business standpoint, it's a really, really friendly place to do business. And with what we've got going on and UAS spec earlier, you know we've got a national security corridor hypersonics. 

U&D is really breaking into. 

You know, all things space. 

The market's not. 

It's not going to go away. 

In North Dakota, we're continuing to build. 

We've got strong momentum. 

Becca touched on it earlier. 

We've got great leadership. 

Come and be a part of this economy. 

I I think it's a. It's a no brainer. Like I said, your taxes are low. 

We've got good incentives we can bring to the table and honestly a good business plan doesn't rely on incentives. 

We all know that, but they always help sweeten the pot. 

So from a from a personal perspective, coming to North Dakota, what's really great and it doesn't really matter where you're at in your career. 

You could be just starting out. 

You could be a seasoned 20 year professional. 

The opportunities that you get, North Dakota. 

Are excellent at every stage in your career, and that's mostly because we don't have. 

You know, you're not competing against a 54,000,000 population base like you would out in California, and I don't know what the new numbers are in Texas, but they're rising. 

You get to do things. You get to be a part of really cool things, and whether it's our project Ultra, which is a mid range logistical delivery, flying from our Grand Forks Air Force Base to a Space force station. 

Whether it's point defense, battle lab that Becca touched Jordan earlier. 

Whether you're in the egg sector, wherever it is, the opportunities I think are golden. 

Meza, Victor M.   30:09 

Sure. Thank you. 

Becca Cruger   30:09 

I'm gonna add on to that. I think you talked about how the opportunities are going aren't going away and North Dakota has a significant head start. 

I talked about how we're we have so many firsts in the nation, including the first one of the first UAS test sites. 

First UAS Business Park located on a military installation. 

First in the nation UAS business program, but with all of these head starts, what gives me confidence is that the state continues to invest. 

In the future. 

Rather than relying on past success, the CODEL continues to lean in and say how can we bring new things for our industries? 

Research vorbecker ideal Aerosmith. These folks are growing in Grand Forks because of Senator Cramer and Hoeven. 

And I think that what's really exciting about right now if you're. 

For someone who is in a component manufacturing space, we need you. 

We need you here in Grand Forks. 

We're growing that sector. 

We can talk about how do we get you 2% financing through that only bank owned state owned bank in the entire nation here in North Dakota. 

If you're someone who's stuck in aerospace limbo and you can't get on your test site for. 

Four months. 

Six months. 

Call us. 

We can probably get you up. 

I'm not going to make any promises, but you know, couple weeks, right. And I think that if you're someone who's looking at research and research applications, well, we've got a pretty darn good university for that. 

We've got some excellent commercialization spaces here with UND Center for Innovation. 

And. 

You know. 

So just thinking about wherever you are in your journey, we have something to support. 

And not only do we have it, we are willing to go to bat for you. 

Our legislators are willing to go to bat for you. Our local leaders are willing to go to bat for you. Our university, our state, our economic development agencies are willing to be in your corner and that. 

Kind of leaning in collaborative ecosystem. 

It's really hard to replicate. 

Meza, Victor M.   32:54 

No, that's great. 

Just one last thing if. 

Anybody watching this wanted to reach out to you to ask questions to either of you? 

Beck, if you want to go first, is how it's a good way to contact you or find out more information. 

Becca Cruger   33:12 

For me it's beccac@grandforks.org. 

BECCAC at Grand Forks org. Org. Find me on LinkedIn. 

It's really good, good place to connect and or come to the UAS summit. We can meet in person on October 13th and 14th. 

It's one of the largest UAS conferences in the nation, and it's happening right here in Grand Forks, so you can see it all for yourself. 

Meza, Victor M.   33:42 

Landon, how about you? 

What's a good? 

What's a good way to connect with you or you know, find out more information about North Dakota? 

Johnson, Landon T.   33:49 

Becca, that's a great plug for the UAS 7. I'm gonna echo that UAS and defense October please. 

By all means come on up to the Grand Forks. 

We'd love to see you. 

You can find me all my information is online at the North Dakota Commerce site, but it is Lt. Johnson at ND Gov. 

Please reach out like Becca said, LinkedIn is also a great way to get a hold of me, and if you're a fan of this podcast, you can also reach out to Victor who can put you in touch with either of us. 

Becca Cruger   34:20 

Victor's great. 

Meza, Victor M.   34:22 

All right. 

Well, thank you both. 

I thank you both for coming on. 

I really appreciate both your perspectives on the state and an individual city level, but we just want to reiterate again, it's North Dakota, has that ecosystem that not many places have, you know and that pick up the phone mentality just to get ahold of a. 

Decision maker or someone else in the community. 

So we again like both Landon and Becca said. Please come. 

Please come visit North Dakota. 

Come take the tour. 

We can get you a tour of GA Northrop Grumman things along those lines. 

So really feel what the ecosystem is all about. 

So but again, thank you those who hopped on to watch this month's edition of Beyond the Buzz, and we look forward to seeing you next month. 

On what we look forward to seeing you next month on beyond the buzz. 

So thanks again everybody. 

Johnson, Landon T.   35:18 

Thanks, victor.