Business News: Digital billboards…job openings & new Twining School

The number of available job vacancies in North Dakota declined slightly last month.  The Labor Market Information Center says the state had a total of 15,061 open and available online job openings in May.  That’s down -4.6 percent (-725) from the prior month and -22.3 percent (-4,335) from the same month one year ago.

Shawn Dobberstein, Hector International Airport’s executive director, has been appointed to a two-year term on the American Association Airport Executives Board of Directors alongside nineteen other individuals.  Dobberstein will represent the Great Lakes Region, an 11-state area as well as Manitoba and Ontario in Canada.

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar is a co-author of legislation designed to address aviation workforce shortages.  The  so-called Aviation Workforce Development and Recruitment Act would provide grants for eligible projects to support the education and recruitment of pilots, aviation maintenance workers, as well as the aviation manufacturing workforce of the future.

UND is launching a national search for its next vice president for research and economic development. UND is being assisted in the process by Academic Search, a Washington-based company that offers executive-search services to higher education institutions and organizations.  The deadline to apply is August 22nd.

The Grand Forks School District will release a Request for Proposal this Wednesday on preliminary design and engineering for a new Twining Elementary and Middle School.  The district is among ten nationwide invited to apply for some $650 million dollars under a Military Installations Grant program to fund 80% of new construction cost.  The GFAFB School Board has approved the RFP process.

Another digital billboard could soon be dotting the landscape in Grand Forks.  A request from iDigital, Inc. has been filed with the city for a monopole design at 910 South Washington.  The sign will span eleven feet wide by 27 feet tall.  The Grand Forks P & Z has approved the request.  The city council will take a look at the plan June 19th.

The North Dakota Parks & Recreation Department announces the Park System Renovation Grant (PSGP) program.  This is a 50/50 matching grant that is available to city, county, and tribal park systems. The grant application cycle will be open until July 16, 2023. The PSGP provides grants for recreation projects such as ball fields, pools, campgrounds, playgrounds, and other recreation facilities utilized to support local park systems.

Electric vehicles made by General Motors will be able to use much of Tesla’s vast charging network starting early next year. In addition, GM will adopt Tesla’s connector, the plug that links an electric vehicle to a charging station. GM joins Ford in shifting its vehicles to about 12,000 of Tesla’s chargers, and both Detroit automakers are pushing to make Tesla’s connector the industry standard.

The Supreme Court is giving whiskey maker Jack Daniel’s a reason to raise a glass. The justices handed the company a new chance to win a trademark dispute with the makers of a dog toy that mimics the whiskey’s signature bottle. The justices unanimously said a lower court’s reasoning was flawed when it ruled for the makers of the Bad Spaniels toy. The court did not decide whether the toy’s maker had violated trademark law with their toy, which squeaks and resembles the whiskey’s signature bottle.