Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., announced today that he wants to double by 2015 the number of jobs created in North Dakota by the Red River Valley Research Corridor.
A study done by North Dakota State University researcher F. Larry Leistritz, stated that between 2002 and 2006, 10,600 jobs paying an average of $56,000 a year were created because of the research corridor initiative.
The study also showed that the research corridor has created $759 million in economic impact in the region.
Dorgan said at a news conference during the Red River Valley Research Corridor conference in Fargo today that his goal is to work to create 10,000 additional jobs from high-tech research and development that will attract and build new jobs and industries.
Dorgan has directed a total of $532 million in federal research dollars to work in the research corridor so far.
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A study released in June by the Milken Institute, a national economic think tank, showed that the North Dakota research industry is the fastest-growing in the nation, Dorgan said.
The conference, "Milestones and Horizons," was set up to review achievements in the research corridor since its inception in 2002 and to explore future opportunities for the corridor.
The conference is co-hosted by Dorgan and the Red River Valley Research Corridor at Ramada Plaza Suites and Conference Center from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.
Read more on the conference at inforum.com throughout today and in Tuesday's Forum.
