Tennessee Attracts High-Quality Companies and Jobs

By Rachel Hamilton

Tennessee has been a hotbed for foreign direct investment. The “2014 Global Location Trends” report from the IBM Institute for Business ranked Tennessee first in the nation for the number of jobs created by foreign-owned companies in 2013. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development…

Illinois Growing Rapidly in Diverse Directions

By Rachel Hamilton
The economy in Illinois is growing rapidly, and businesses and economic development entities are diversifying quickly to pull themselves out of the hard times that started in 2008.
“The Great Recession hit us really hard,” says Dave Roeder, communications director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and…

West Virginia Putting Its Shale to Work

By Rachel Hamilton

The Marcellus and Utica shale formations under the Appalachian region of West Virginia and parts of surrounding states are enormous. The Marcellus Shale alone is the largest source of natural gas in the United States.

West Virginia has historically exported natural gas and now “The volumes of…

Oklahoma: Strengths in Oil and Wind Energy

By Rachel Hamilton

“If the U.S. decides to become energy independent, this is going to be the best place to be,” says Larry Parman, secretary, Oklahoma Department of Commerce.

“For Oklahoma in general, the oil and gas sector is doing really well,” says Lyle Roggow, president, Duncan Area Economic…

Montana Thrives in the Oil Supply Chain

By Rachel Hamilton

The Bakken oil formation lies on the border between Montana and North Dakota, and while Montana may have the shallower portion of the oil, it controls a very deep portion of the supply chain because it can also service the activity underway in the oil sands in…