Most of the nation's governors use the winter months to publicly lay out their agendas, visions and budget requests for the coming year. The text of State of the State Addresses, Budget Messages and, to a lesser extent, Inaugural Addresses, often reveals each governor's legislative priorities and new initiatives to be pursued over the coming months.

In an effort to increase the economic impact of the state's university-based research, Gov. John Hoeven has included $50 million in his 2005-07 budget request to create Centers of Excellence on each of the North Dakota 's college campuses.

Jim Petell is the first director of technology transfer and commercialization for the University of North Dakota.

Investments in science and technology (S&T) – from higher education to industry research and development (R&D) – are the decisive factors in creating a sustainable economic future, a new study finds.

Richard Baier has been appointed director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

Securing the multi-year funding needed to properly ramp up technology-based economic development (TBED) initiatives can be difficult in states with annual budget cycles and tight revenue streams. Fortunately, there is one federal agency that provides financial assistance increasingly toward local and regional projects matching the interests of the nation's TBED community.

North Dakota Governor John Hoeven dedicated the lion's share of his State of the State Address to promoting a vision of economic growth for the state based entirely on technology-based economic development. The proposals centered on more than a dozen new university-based Centers of Excellence and new tax credits.

The Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corp. has named Klaus Thiessen as its new president.

Nebraska Governor Mike Johanns has appointed Richard Baier as the state's first rural development director. Baier will work closely with the new Nebraska Rural Development Commission.

The University of Nebraska Technology Park has named Steve Frayser as president.

In the final week of its 2003 Legislative Session, the North Dakota State Legislature passed sweeping legislation that favors tech-based economic development in the state. The Greater North Dakota Association (GNDA), serving as the state's Chamber of Commerce, subsequently issued a summary of those bills targeted toward job growth. Some highlights of GNDA's summary are presented below:

To build the state’s economy and create opportunity, North Dakota Governor John Hoeven is launching Smart Growth, a host of programs linking education, job creation and career development to build the state’s economy and communities. The Governor announced his plan with release of the 2003-2005 executive budget.

Smart Growth includes funding for these initiatives:

Chuck Henderson has announced he will retire as president of the University of Nebraska's 130-acre Technology Park next June.

Carla Patterson is the new director of the Nebraska Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Dan Curran is the new director of the Business Development Division of the Nebraska Department of Development.

A wake-up call. That's what the final report of the Lincoln Technology Council said the city received after learning one of its top employers was expanding its operations in a nearby city instead of Lincoln because of perceived weaknesses in Lincoln's telecommunications infrastructure.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has named Heath Copp as the Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Mr. Copp, 24, is a resident of Grand Forks, North Dakota.