Free Republic stands for God and Country!!
Stand with Free Republic.
Please Donate today!
Posted on 05/17/2013 5:36:28 PM PDT by rhema
FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota is promoting its business climate at Minnesota's expense, and some politicians east of the Red River are not happy about it.
The Greater North Dakota Chamber has started a campaign that mocks proposals in the Minnesota Legislature, including bills that would raise certain taxes. A chamber release said Minnesota politicians are "making a strong case for business to come across the border to North Dakota."
The first billboard went up Thursday along Interstate 94 in Moorhead, Minn., which borders Fargo. It reads "North Dakota" on the top line and "Open for Business" on the bottom.
Moorhead City Council member Mark Hintermeyer said Friday he considers the message unproductive and confrontational, and wants the sign taken down immediately. He said it could make local and state officials less interested in backing a proposed Red River diversion project that would move water around Fargo and Moorhead in times of serious flooding.
"It's very unfortunate that the city of Fargo, which needs our cooperation for a diversion project, would want to poke us in the eye," Hintermeyer said. "I have had a conversation with two other council members and they are just as upset as I am."
North Dakota Chamber President Andy Peterson said in an interview that in addition to promoting the state's booming economy, one of the campaign's objectives is to help Minnesota improve its business environment. He noted that a competitive states' index lists North
Dakota 15th for a favorable business climate and Minnesota is 40th. "That doesn't play well for our regional economy," Peterson said. "We're hoping that Minnesotans take notice of this that the government in Minnesota is taking more of their money and they will probably have less to spend."
Hintermeyer is not buying that approach.
"There are policy considerations at the state level in St. Paul. This is not that way to get that message across," Hintermeyer said. "I don't see how this advances any goal here. I don't know why they would want to pick a fight."
Craig Whitney, president and CEO of a combined chamber of commerce for Fargo, West Fargo and Moorhead, also called for the billboard to be removed and said his group wants to distance itself from the North Dakota effort.
"We find this appalling," Whitney said Friday. "I pointed out to Andy (Peterson) the trouble that this is causing for frankly any of the border chambers. This is not the way to do business."
Whitney said he doesn't agree with many of the tax and policy proposals from Minnesota lawmakers, which he believes are not attractive to business. But the North Dakota chamber should take a different approach, he said.
Peterson told The Associated Press that he has no plans to stop the campaign.
"As much as the Fargo and Moorhead people think this is about them, it is not about them. It has nothing to do with them," Peterson said. "It's about what's happening in Minnesota that continues to suck the air out of the room."
A member of Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton's staff would not comment specifically on the North Dakota campaign, but said a chamber release jumped the gun on some Minnesota tax proposals.
"There are no gas or alcohol tax increases in our final tax bill, nor were they ever a part of the governor's tax proposal," Dayton spokeswoman Katharine Tinucci said in an email to The Associated Press. "The budget we expect the legislature to pass and the governor to sign in the next several days makes significant investments in education and job creation, that we know will help Minnesotan businesses grow, and the economy to continue to grow."
North Dakota has been bolstered in recent years by an oil boom that shows no signs of slowing down. A recent North Dakota State University study found that the economic impact of the state's oil industry has increased nearly sevenfold between 2005 and 2011, from $4.4 billion to $30.4 billion.
Charley Johnson, president and CEO of the combined Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitor's Bureau, said his group tries to promote both states and doesn't take a stand on which state is better for business. However, he said he understands why North Dakota would want to tout its prosperity.
"I'm a Moorhead resident and I'm not offended by it," Johnson said. "I recognize it as the kind of back and forth that happens between states and other entities as they try to bolster their own economies."
I love it when normal, decent people tell the scumbag liberals to go play in the street.
“There are policy considerations at the state level in St. Paul. This is not that way to get that message across,” Hintermeyer said.
It sure seems to be getting across.
You Texans and North Dakotans: Please stay in your God-forsaken hellhole states.
Minnesota will solve its problems without your help.
Good for you, North Dakota!!
(and I’m a Minnesotan)
If only it were more convenient, I’d certainly pick up and move there, but... not gonna happen. I’d like to fight to have my state back... somehow... maybe a fool’s quest, but I love this state, I just wish it had more sensible people in it.
“The budget we expect the legislature to pass and the governor to sign in the next several days makes significant investments...”
Yeah, “investments” with other people’s money. And if people don’t want government “investing” their money, they can move to North Dakota, which respects peoples rights to invest their money in what *they* want to invest *their* money in.
How about if NW MN simply diverts the Red River to flow 100 or so miles to the east and then applies for annexation to North Dakota?
I like it.
TX Governor Perry has really enjoyed playing this game. With some success.
On the CEO’s survey, TX was number 1 for the past 2 years. We like to win.
There is no reason that ND cannot take some businesses from ComDem Country and entice them to move to ND.
My mother was from MN. She took a job in DC out of telegraphy school and met my father in Union Station on his way to Europe during WWII. They both arrived in DC the same day.
On his way home from the War he had my grandfather send her a train ticket. They were married in my grandparents home the evening she arrive in TX.
Everyone here knew he as Swede.
They were married 66 years. We lost her in August.
When I was growing up we would go to MN to see her family about every 3-4 years. MN is beautiful country. Loved the fishing. None of my mother’s folks were Lefties, all were Republicans. They had immigrated through Finland to the US. Mom’s grandfather served in the White Russian Army (conscript).
The problem with MN is the mindset of the mining community and ComDem POLs.
I live in Minnesota (formerly grew up in Wisconsin).... and I support North Dakota. I hope the damn liberal demturds destroy the MN state & the economy. Socialism has NEVER worked in anything.... at the program level, local, county, district, state or the federal level. The only thing that socialism does is to kill, stifle, tax, regulate, spend & ultimately go bankrupt! RAT bastard demturd liberals! I hate ‘em all!
MAke policy and then B**** about the neighbors that more mentality to grow business!
When will the stupidity end, Business is the key to prosperity!
Drive it out and you have nothing but the shell you made!
Go back to the polls and regain the State from the Libturds and ankle biters that sellout to Unions and high taxes! You can only suck so much blood out of a State then it’s death!
Jobs equal tax base! Not the Dole!!
Obummer has only so many trillions to pass out and guess what Minnesoooooooooooooooooota is not on the list for Domestic aid! I think I just made a new entity!
Change your state name to Islamistan and apply for foriegn aid!
Nobody offered you any help, loser.
Call Mark Dayton. Call Amy Klobuchar. Call Al Franken. Call Keith Ellison, or Barack Obama, only not on Fridays 'cause that's venom day at the mosque.
What's that? They're the ones who caused your problems??
As I said:
NO ONE IS OFFERING YOUR F'D UP STATE ANY HELP, LOSER.
“Call Mark Dayton. Call Amy Klobuchar. Call Al Franken. Call Keith Ellison, or Barack Obama, only not on Fridays ‘cause that’s venom day at the mosque.”
Looks like a telephone tree for the Somali action line.
I love the smell of competition early in the morning!
I agree 100%.
I’ve spent a lot of time in Minnesota. It’s a beautiful state and I would love to live there, but I won’t because the liberals are turning it into a cesspool. The welfare laws have made it a magnet for riffraff. With all the riffraff on welfare, they have to tax the daylights out of the productive citizens.
I’m pretty confident that it’s only the liberal crybabies who are complaining about this.
It is the same stupid problem throughout this country—the big cities rule the electorate. We need to change voting to geographical area, such as one vote per county.
“I’m pretty confident that it’s only the liberal crybabies who are complaining about this.”
Obama and the Dems can’t thrive in an environment where people (and companies) with WASP ethics can flee to business-friendly environments; this leaves welfare hives without funding (NJ, NY, CA). They have to “nationalize” the socialism to ensure that TX and ND taxpayers are feeding welfare recipients in NJ, CA, and NY; without the freebies they can’t buy votes.
Every taxpayer is required to feed one welfare “family”, one illegal alien and her anchor baby, one public school teacher, and one other government worker.
The state police in Maryland were doing something similar, they’d stake out Costco’s in Northern Va and follow the Maryland cars back over the state line, trying to catch people buying tobacco products lol
That's right, it is horrible here. Maniac drivers, blood in the streets, crappiest weather in the lower 48, no jobs, high rents, no scenery and not even a tree to hide the fact.
Whatever you do, don't come here...
Us B'rer Rabbits be jus' fine is dis heah briar patch.
Only if we can give Fargo to Minnesota.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.