This past Friday, Gov. Hoeven recognized the top five stories from a set of 150 stories submitted to a ‘Why I Luv North Dakota’ contest that began in August.  The winning stories will be used by the Department of Commerce to help promote the state. 

For those unfamiliar with LUV ND, it’s associated with the North Dakota ambassador program.   Summaries of the top five stories can be viewed on the ambassador web site (previous link) and at Gov. Hoeven’s web page.

Summaries of the top five stories, taken from the press release put out by Gov. Hoeven’s office:

Bismarck Dad Appreciates Seven-Minute Commute
Justin Data is a recent transplant who relocated to Bismarck from the New York City area where he lived with his wife and two young children. In New York, Data was forced to live two hours from work due to the high cost of housing. Living and working in Bismarck saves him 19 hours per week that he previously spent commuting.

“My favorite activity that I couldn’t do in New York City is spending ample time with my wife and two young children,” Data wrote. “With just a seven-minute commute in Bismarck, I have 19 more hours a week I can spend being a dad — no place on earth can offer me anything better than that.”

Schools, Safety, Values Bring California Couple to Bismarck
Dessie Baxter relocated with her husband and children to Bismarck from California last May and said it’s the best decision they’ve ever made. They wanted to give their children a safe, clean and fun place to live that still had core family values. “North Dakota is all of that and more. We were able to move here and find affordable housing, good values and we feel safe,” Baxter wrote. “I love working here. I received a job with better pay and better benefits.”

“The fact that you can go to the park with your kids and leave 30 minutes later with a dinner invitation at someone’s home” is something Baxter said is unique about North Dakota.

Maryland Woman Falls in Love with North Dakota
Sarah Wilson is a Maryland native who fell in love with North Dakota and a North Dakota farmer while in graduate school at NDSU. She is passionate about agriculture and she and her husband, Jeremy, recently won the national “Paint Your Barn” contest.

“There is an innovative, pioneering spirit that runs deep in North Dakota. I see in North Dakota more potential for the development of agriculture, specifically the livestock industry, than any other state in our great nation,” she wrote. According to Wilson, she has the best of both worlds: a good job in Jamestown that allows her to network in the international agriculture community while raising a family on her farm.

Entrepreneurs Building Business Legacy in Fargo
Sara and Eric Watson moved to Fargo in 2003 to start their own upscale catering company after living in Minneapolis for six years and Colorado for four. Their business, Mosaic Foods, employs six to eight full-time people and 20 part-time staff. “What a great state to start a business in,” Sara Watson wrote. “My family is here and they provide a great support network that we need to run our business and help with our three kids.”

Watson said, “The opportunities within Fargo are immense – great dining, art museums, theatres, concerts, opera, symphony – everything big cities have but North Dakota never feels overcrowded.” She also appreciates that she can access the great outdoors with her family in just 10 minutes flat.

Authenticity Lures Minot Man Away from Wall Street
John Zimmerman recently moved to Minot after completing a graduate degree at Dartmouth and working for six years on Wall Street. Having traveled the world, Zimmerman said people outside the state don’t fully comprehend how genuine and special North Dakota people are. “People the world over crave the sort of authenticity North Dakota has to offer,” Zimmerman wrote.

Zimmerman started his own energy holdings company based in Minot and said he has been surprised at the business opportunities available in North Dakota. “There are a lot more opportunities here – more than I thought,” he said.