North Dakota’s Economy
North Dakota residents and businesses are enjoying the largest cut in personal, corporate and property taxes in state history, while most other states are raising taxes. In fact, they are among only a few states with a budget surplus! They have the lowest unemployment rate in the nation; 3.5% in September 2011. North Dakota ranks 4th on Forbes annual Best State for Business and Careers list, up seven spots from last year. The state ranked 4th in business costs and 2nd in economic climate. In another recently released study 24/7 Wall St., an online financial site, ranked North Dakota the 3rd best-run state. According to the 2010 Gallup Job Creation Index, North Dakota ranks first in the country for best job market.

Recreation
Most of our citizens enjoy spending time in the great outdoors. Whether it’s hiking, biking, camping, snowmobiling, ATV riding, skiing, snowboarding, fishing or hunting your family will have it available. We believe you will love calling our area home!

Agriculture
Agriculture plays a very important role in North Dakota’s economy. Most farm operations are diversified with crops and livestock

Crops
The major crops are spring wheat, durum, barley, and canola. Spring wheat and durum used to make up a majority of the planted acres, but due to weather related disease problems, canola production is rapidly on the increase. Some of the lesser grown crops in are oats, sunflowers, alfalfa, soybeans, corn, rye, and winter wheat.

Live Stock
Beef producers are mainly cow/calf operations. Most of the calves are weaned in the fall and then backgrounded until after the first of the year. There is a large abundance of feed barley that is used to grow these calves. There are also several seed stock producers that produce outstanding Black Angus, Red Angus, Gelbvieh, Charolais, and Simmental bulls and heifers.

North Dakota State Nicknames
• Peace Garden State
• Flickertail State
• Roughrider State
• Dakota
• Peace Garden State
• Sioux State
• Land of the Dakotas

Peace Garden State
The International Peace Garden straddles the international Boundary between North Dakota and the Canadian province of Manitoba. In 1956 the North Dakota Motor Vehicle Department, on its own initiative, placed the words Peace Garden State on license plates; the name proved so popular that it was formally adopted by the 1957 legislature (North Dakota Century Code (NDCC), Section 39-04-12).

Flickertail State
Flickertail refers to the Richardson ground squirrels which are abundant in North Dakota. The animal flicks or jerks its tail in a characteristic manner while running or just before entering its burrow. In 1953 the Legislative Assembly defeated Senate Bill (S.B.) No. 134 that would have adopted the Flickertail facsimile as the official emblem of the state.

Roughrider State
This name originated in a state-supported tourism promotion of the 1960s and 70s. It refers to the First US Volunteer Cavalry which Theodore Roosevelt organized to fight in the Spanish- American War. In fact, the “Roughriders,” which included several North Dakota cowboys, fought dismounted in Cuba due to logistical problems. In both 1971 (House Bill No. {H.B. No.} 1383) and 1973 (G.B. No. 1443) the Legislative Assembly defeated bills intended to change the words Peace Garden State on state license plates to Roughrider Country