Governor's Office of Economic Development
RELEASE DATE: Tuesday, November 6, 2001
For More Information Contact: Mary Lehecka Nelson, 773-5032

Belle Fourche Starts Planning Economic Development Campaign

Pierre – Belle Fourche wants economic development and it plans to work hard to get it. The town kicked off its new economic development campaign by meeting with officials from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development in late October.

The purpose of the meeting was to help the community assess its strengths and weaknesses and determine its next plan of action. "It’s important for communities to really look at where they are at today," said Chris Braendlin, commissioner, GOED.

"What we encourage communities to do is take a good hard look at available buildings, available labor and available infrastructure," Braendlin said. "These are things that determine what type of industry a community will want to try and recruit."

Braendlin said Belle Fourche is on the right track. "One thing the community plans to focus on is retention and expansion of existing industries," Braendlin said. "Any community that understands the importance of retention and expansion is definitely on the right track."

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