Community vitality is one of NDSU Extension’s four key programming areas.

The NDSU Extension Service is celebrating 100 years in 2014.

A new program helps small-business owners make use of e-tailing.

Fraudsters are very effective at reaching and enticing vulnerable populations into turning over their money.

The CHS contribution will enable the center to expand the reach of graduate and undergraduate courses and improve efforts to develop and disseminate cooperative educational materials through electronic and social media sources.

Growth will require school districts to add classrooms and teachers and perhaps school buildings, depending on circumstances and existing infrastructure within individual school districts.

Marketing Agritourism Online helps agriculture-based operations attract customers.

The population of Williams County could go as high as 70,000 by 2017.

It will provide a very positive environment for teaching students with interests in commodity marketing, and is the first of its kind that specializes in agricultural commodities.

Farm gross cash revenue has increased by more than 150 percent in the past decade.

A new program will help entrepreneurs sell their specialty foods directly to consumers.

For now, employment will be driven more by short-term or temporary jobs, such as those associated with construction, drilling and fracking. Long-term employment will be more closely associated with maintenance and oil field services.

Some “facts” about starting a business are untrue.

After adjusting for inflation, North Dakota’s real-dollar GDP grew 7 percent from 2009 to 2010.

More and more people use the Internet to search for places to shop, eat and find entertainment.

Twenty-six people were chosen for Rural Leadership North Dakota’s 2011-13 class.

["Strong food systems contribute to local economies and enable residents to have access to a variety of healthy produce, meats and dairy products that might otherwise be unavailable.", ""]

Current energy development activities in western North Dakota are affecting the age distribution in a way that counters the overall state trend.

In 2010, single-family homes were approximately half (54 percent) of the new authorized housing in North Dakota and averaged $173,424 in value.

Employees of small businesses account for more than 60 percent of North Dakota’s private-sector workforce.

A $10,000 grant will help cover program costs for RLND’s 2011-13 class.

A new website can help entrepreneurs start their small business and make it successful.

The major losses are $57.6 million to the crop sector, $50.9 million to households and $42.9 million to the retail trade sector.

["Out of the 3,141 counties in the nation, Oliver County in west-central North Dakota had the 30th highest average compensation per job ($75,267) in 2009.", ""]

The North Dakota metropolitan counties of Burleigh, Cass, Grand Forks and Morton, along with the western counties of Stark, Ward and Williams, are the largest contributors to growth in housing since 2000.

Encouraging existing customers to buy more is an effective way to increase business sales.

Networking helps home-based business owners form ties with other professionals and create awareness of their company.

A tracking system finds that 63 percent of North Dakota college graduates were either employed in North Dakota or re-enrolled within the state one year after graduation.

As global markets grow and technology changes the way business is done, thoughtful leadership from cooperative business directors and managers is more important than ever.