Economic Activity in GF

[GeauxSioux]

We were driving around the south end of GF on Friday and couldn't believe all of the people out and about on a Friday morning. The hotels all seemed to be booked solid. Is this the norm for economic activity or was it because all of the Canadians were down for the weekend?

[watchmaker49]

We were driving around the south end of GF on Friday and couldn't believe all of the people out and about on a Friday morning. The hotels all seemed to be booked solid. Is this the norm for economic activity or was it because all of the Canadians were down for the weekend?

Canadians. Since the dollar has been at pretty much par for the last couple of years they have been flocking down. Now they can bring back like $800 duty free. Heck Menards and Lowes are sending trucks to Canada even with purchases.

[82SiouxGuy]

Hotels are pretty much full almost every weekend. Stores and restaurants are very busy on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A lot of local people avoid the 32nd Avenue corridor on the weekends and do their shopping during the week, which helps business for those days. That's also why there are 2 more hotels being built along 42nd Street.

[fightingsioux4life]

So much for the myth of Grand Forks "declining".

[fightingsioux4life]

Hotels are pretty much full almost every weekend. Stores and restaurants are very busy on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A lot of local people avoid the 32nd Avenue corridor on the weekends and do their shopping during the week, which helps business for those days. That's also why there are 2 more hotels being built along 42nd Street.

I am one of those.

[GeauxSioux]

Hotels are pretty much full almost every weekend. Stores and restaurants are very busy on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A lot of local people avoid the 32nd Avenue corridor on the weekends and do their shopping during the week, which helps business for those days. That's also why there are 2 more hotels being built along 42nd Street.

We arrived on Tuesday and had reservations at Canad that didn't work out for us. We then looked for another hotel. Places were booked even on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but we found rooms at the Sleep Inn, in which we were impressed.

[Cratter]

So much for the myth of Grand Forks "declining".

Last I heard GF was declining was about the flood of 97.

[tnt]

Economic activity has been pretty good for a while now.

http://www.wdaz.com/event/article/id/14928/

[fightingsioux4life]

Last I heard GF was declining was about the flood of 97.

I agree with you, but according to the "experts" at the ND State Data Center at NDSU in Fargo (big surprise there, right?) keep insisting that Grand Forks is losing population. But with all the houses and apartment buildings being built on the south end year after year, the brisk commercial activity and increasing enrollment at UND, it's hard to believe that. No one is going to sink millions into an apartment building if there isn't a demand for housing, which there is.

[82SiouxGuy]

I agree with you, but according to the "experts" at the ND State Data Center at NDSU in Fargo (big surprise there, right?) keep insisting that Grand Forks is losing population. But with all the houses and apartment buildings being built on the south end year after year, the brisk commercial activity and increasing enrollment at UND, it's hard to believe that. No one is going to sink millions into an apartment building if there isn't a demand for housing, which there is.

Apartment occupancy is in the mid 90's or higher in Grand Forks even with all of the new apartments. Most houses sell almost as fast as they go on the market. You're right, it is hard to believe that population can be decreasing when every indicator would point to growth. Grand Forks just set a new record for sales tax revenue in a month. Things aren't going so bad in Grand Forks.

[watchmaker49]

Amazing how the weak American dollar benefits North Dakota and Grand Forks.

[82SiouxGuy]

Amazing how the weak American dollar benefits North Dakota and Grand Forks.

It benefits a lot of border communities across the northern tier, not just Grand Forks.

[watchmaker49]

It benefits a lot of border communities across the northern tier, not just Grand Forks.

You are forgetting the oil aspect.

[82SiouxGuy]

You are forgetting the oil aspect.

Not forgetting anything. The stronger Canadian dollar along with higher prices in Canada lead Canadian shoppers across the border to shop all across the US-Canada border. You don't actually believe that it is isolated to this area, do you? Grand Forks is lucky to have a large city in Canada less than 3 hours away. But a lot of Canadian citizens make the trip across the border looking for deals and vacation time from Maine to Washington state.

[watchmaker49]

Not forgetting anything. The stronger Canadian dollar along with higher prices in Canada lead Canadian shoppers across the border to shop all across the US-Canada border. You don't actually believe that it is isolated to this area, do you? Grand Forks is lucky to have a large city in Canada less than 3 hours away. But a lot of Canadian citizens make the trip across the border looking for deals and vacation time from Maine to Washington state.

I am not talking about that. Go back to what this thread was about, economic activity in GF, not the rest of the country. What is the driving issue that makes it so good for Canadians to shop here? The weak American dollar. I remember going to Canada and getting $1.57 Canadian per American dollar. Their dollar grew stronger as ours grew weaker. Why? Because the Canadian government did not let the banks go wild like they did in the US creating a market collapse.

[82SiouxGuy]

I am not talking about that. Go back to what this thread was about, economic activity in GF, not the rest of the country. What is the driving issue that makes it so good for Canadians to shop here? The weak American dollar. I remember going to Canada and getting $1.57 Canadian per American dollar. Their dollar grew stronger as ours grew weaker. Why? Because the Canadian government did not let the banks go wild like they did in the US creating a market collapse.

And I pointed out that the same exchange rate affects a lot of other communities across the northern part of the United States. Then you brought up oil, which really has little to do with Canadians shopping in Grand Forks. They shop because they pay higher prices in Canada for the same products, but can come down to the United States and pay a lower price using currency that is approximately equal to the American dollar. They can save enough money on their purchases to pay their travel expenses, and get a mini vacation out of the trip.

Canadian visitors are just one prong of the economic activity in Grand Forks. The ag economy is doing well. Farmers have had several good years in a row. The University is doing well. They are setting records for enrollment which brings more people to town. The small manufacturing segment is doing well. There is some bleed off benefit coming from the oil patch. Just about all segments of the Grand Forks economy are doing well. The Canadian traffic adds to the success, but it isn't the only factor. If it were the only factor then you would see other border communities across the United States doing as well because Grand Forks isn't the only place where Canadians shop. That would be my point. There are many places that are gaining a benefit from the Canadian traffic, but not all of them are doing as well economically as Grand Forks. Grand Forks is fortunate that multiple economic segments are doing well at the same time. Not all of the other border communities across the United States-Canadian border are that fortunate.

[watchmaker49]

And I pointed out that the same exchange rate affects a lot of other communities across the northern part of the United States. Then you brought up oil, which really has little to do with Canadians shopping in Grand Forks. They shop because they pay higher prices in Canada for the same products, but can come down to the United States and pay a lower price using currency that is approximately equal to the American dollar. They can save enough money on their purchases to pay their travel expenses, and get a mini vacation out of the trip.

Canadian visitors are just one prong of the economic activity in Grand Forks. The ag economy is doing well. Farmers have had several good years in a row. The University is doing well. They are setting records for enrollment which brings more people to town. The small manufacturing segment is doing well. There is some bleed off benefit coming from the oil patch. Just about all segments of the Grand Forks economy are doing well. The Canadian traffic adds to the success, but it isn't the only factor. If it were the only factor then you would see other border communities across the United States doing as well because Grand Forks isn't the only place where Canadians shop. That would be my point. There are many places that are gaining a benefit from the Canadian traffic, but not all of them are doing as well economically as Grand Forks. Grand Forks is fortunate that multiple economic segments are doing well at the same time. Not all of the other border communities across the United States-Canadian border are that fortunate.

You are also forgetting that North Dakota was not affected to the extent, if it all, from the 2008 economic crash and housing collapse. Hence, why the economy is roseier in North Dakota than elsewhere. Furthermore, you did not even understand my comment about how the weak American dollar benefits the state with oil drilling.

[Teeder11]

You are also forgetting that North Dakota was not affected to the extent, if it all, from the 2008 economic crash and housing collapse. Hence, why the economy is roseier in North Dakota than elsewhere. Furthermore, you did not even understand my comment about how the weak American dollar benefits the state with oil drilling.

Nobody does. Sometimes I think you argue crap just for the sake of arguing.

[watchmaker49]

Nobody does. Sometimes I think you argue crap just for the sake of arguing.

Pay attention then if I am going to fast for you I could slow down.

[82SiouxGuy]

You are also forgetting that North Dakota was not affected to the extent, if it all, from the 2008 economic crash and housing collapse. Hence, why the economy is roseier in North Dakota than elsewhere. Furthermore, you did not even understand my comment about how the weak American dollar benefits the state with oil drilling.

Didn't forget that either. I wrote a couple of paragraphs, not exactly enough room to do a thorough explanation of all the economic factors in play. You're right, North Dakota was affected less by the economic crash than most. North Dakota banks had been more conservative. They didn't make the risky housing loans or play with risky investments. The North Dakota legislature had been more conservative. Historically, North Dakota's economy has had fewer of the highs and lows than the United States economy. Plus the highs don't normally get as high and the lows don't normally get as low. As a matter of fact, the North Dakota economy has followed the ag economy much more than the national economy. If ag is good, North Dakota is usually pretty good. Throw in the fact that the ag economy was already getting strong when the 2008 crash happened and North Dakota was in pretty solid condition.

And I agree with Teeder, no one understood that comment about how the weak dollar benefits the state with oil drilling. Unless you are somehow relating the dollar to the price of oil. Drilling in North Dakota is dependent on the price of oil being high enough because it is less expensive to drill in some other places. The new procedures like fracking, and the price of crude being over $50 a barrel make if profitable to drill in North Dakota. The oil companies will continue to drill as long as they are making enough profit.

But you can lose the snide comments if you really want to communicate with people.

[Vegas_Sioux]

Back on point. Lowes is now designing stores based on the grand forks store for other similar sized and smaller cities on the Canadian border because even with delivery charge excise and import taxes and the night or two in the hotel plus food costs are cheaper then buying construction supplies in Canada.

[moser53]

How big a roll does the ND State Bank play in ND's economy? It must be working or the privatize everything crowd would have gotten rid of it years ago. Especially in a red state. It has something to do with GF's economy so I brought it up.

[watchmaker49]

Didn't forget that either. I wrote a couple of paragraphs, not exactly enough room to do a thorough explanation of all the economic factors in play. You're right, North Dakota was affected less by the economic crash than most. North Dakota banks had been more conservative. They didn't make the risky housing loans or play with risky investments. The North Dakota legislature had been more conservative. Historically, North Dakota's economy has had fewer of the highs and lows than the United States economy. Plus the highs don't normally get as high and the lows don't normally get as low. As a matter of fact, the North Dakota economy has followed the ag economy much more than the national economy. If ag is good, North Dakota is usually pretty good. Throw in the fact that the ag economy was already getting strong when the 2008 crash happened and North Dakota was in pretty solid condition.

And I agree with Teeder, no one understood that comment about how the weak dollar benefits the state with oil drilling. Unless you are somehow relating the dollar to the price of oil. Drilling in North Dakota is dependent on the price of oil being high enough because it is less expensive to drill in some other places. The new procedures like fracking, and the price of crude being over $50 a barrel make if profitable to drill in North Dakota. The oil companies will continue to drill as long as they are making enough profit.

But you can lose the snide comments if you really want to communicate with people.

Hello pot meet kettle.

[Cratter]

Maybe with all these visitors Grand Forks could actually build something "touristy". Waterpark. Mini golf. Rollercoaster. Ski jump you name it.

Need lots more "ecolab type" businesses.

[Teeder11]

Maybe with all these visitors Grand Forks could actually build something "touristy". Waterpark. Mini golf. Rollercoaster. Ski jump you name it.

Need lots more "ecolab type" businesses.

How about an outlet mall like the one near Albertville, Minn.? Oh yeah, and another off-ramp south of 32nd would be nice, too, Santa!