The Find the Good Life initiative aims to attract people to North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – A new iteration of the Department of Commerce’s “Find the Good Life” initiative is focused on bringing people who left North Dakota back to the state, not only to ease labor shortages but also to help small businesses help grow and thrive.

The program focused on different groups. One of these is the groups referred to as “boomerangs” by the Department of Commerce. These are people who lived in the state of North Dakota and are now thinking about returning.

“The idea is to attract talent and workers and help our businesses grow and succeed,” said Sara Otte Coleman, director of tourism and marketing at the Department of Commerce.

Boomerangs like Brooke Leno are making a big impact on North Dakota’s small business culture. She left the state to go to school and returned to start a business, a retail store called Out of Town. She has now owned her store in Bismarck for 13 years and owns another in Dickinson.

She said North Dakotans are very supportive of small businesses.

“We have been very fortunate to have a small business that our customers continue to come back to and support,” Leno said.

Otte Coleman said North Dakota’s unique small businesses and their growth are an important factor in encouraging people to return home.

“Everything from cafes to restaurants to retail stores to different studios and different accommodations that are really unique, that’s really what people are looking for,” Coleman said.

She said 10,000 more people are working in North Dakota since the program began in 2022.

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