As the Nevada Legislature concluded its biennial session last week, Gov. Jim Gibbons signed several bills relating to renewable energy.

Decreases in the number of young adults in the state are more a result of fewer children being born 25 to 35 years ago, and not because of a substantial brain drain or outmigration of talent from New Hampshire, according to a task force convened by New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch. However, attracting and retaining younger workers to the state is imperative because of the large share of baby-boomers in the workforce that will be retiring in the next decade.

The fourth installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs' series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Illinois, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Rhode Island. The first three installments are available in the Jan. 11, Jan. 18 and Jan. 25 editions of the Digest. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, State of the State Address, Feb. 1, 2012 "Today, I'm announcing a $2.3 million dollar investment in '1871,' a new technology center at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago to foster and launch digital start-ups.

In response to an economic development study calling on the state to diversify its operating system, support regionalism and invest in innovation, Nevada's newly established Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) released a plan of action to align resources and establish partnerships for meeting those goals over the next three years. The statewide plan builds on legislation passed last session to unify economic development efforts through a regional approach and private sector engagement.

SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series has returned for its 13th annual edition. The series highlights new and expanded TBED proposals from governors' State of the State, Budget and Inaugural addresses across the nation. The first edition includes excerpts from speeches delivered in North Dakota, New Hampshire, New York, and Virginia.

The second installment of SSTI's Tech Talkin' Govs series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. Our first installment was in the Jan. 9 Digest.

Governors in several states recently unveiled spending proposals for the upcoming fiscal year or biennium. While fiscal conditions in most states remain fragile, new or continuing investments focused on science, technology and innovation were introduced as pro-growth measures to aid in states' recovery efforts. With the exception of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's ambitious economic development plan (see the Jan. 9 issue of the Digest), most of the proposals were on the modest side.

Tony Grindberg, executive director at the NDSU Research and Technology Park, has announced his resignation effective Sept. 30. He has accepted a position as the business unit manager for the Aerospace Business Unit of Appareo Systems, LLC. Appareo Systems is headquartered in the NDSU Research Park on the NDSU campus. Grindberg has been with the NDSU Research Park for the past 10 years.

The Department of Commerce announced the winners of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) Challenge, the Economic Development Administration-led competition seeking to help cities and regions develop a comprehensive economic development strategy. Greensboro, North Carolina, Hartford, Connecticut, and Las Vegas, Nevada each were awarded $1 million to assist in the refinement and implementation of their respective plans.

On November 6, in addition to the presidential election, eleven state and two territorial gubernatorial contests will be decided. Seven of these races (Delaware, Missouri, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia) include a sitting governor running for re-election, while the remaining six (American Samoa, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Washington) are open races.

Borealis Ventures and the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority recently announced the creation of the Borealis Venture Fund, an early stage venture capital fund that will support the states's high-tech startups. Borealis Ventures will manage the fund, which is being backed by $4.5 million through the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative. The firm plans to raise an additional $25.5 million from private investors.

New Hampshire's University System and Community College System recently committed to increasing the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates 50 percent by 2020, and then doubling that number by 2025. Currently, the two systems together graduate about 1,120 STEM students each year. Specific steps include the creation of new transfer pathways, cross-institutional sharing of facilities, staff and faculty and partnerships with the state's employers.

This week, the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development announced the ten organizations that will serve as local partners in state economic development initiatives. The new Regional Development Authorities (RDA) will lead regional economic development efforts by linking partners in their respective communities. Gov. Brian Sandoval introduced the RDA concept in his State Plan for Excellence in Economic Development earlier this year (see the Feb. 8 issue).

Jeffrey Brancato has recently joined NorTech as vice president. Prior to joining NorTech, Brancato was the associate vice president for Economic Development at the University of Massachusetts.

Randal Charlton has announced his retirement as executive director of TechTown, the Wayne State University research and technology park. Leslie Smith, the general manager of TechTown has been appointed to fill the position beginning Nov. 1.