VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum held a roundtable discussion with community leaders and residents in Valley City and Jamestown to give a presentation on his Main Street Initiative.

Burgum gathered input from educational, community and business leaders about his initiative in the Vault Coffee Shop in downtown Valley City on November 21st.

Burgum has a three legged stool approach to revitalize downtown districts across the state.

One leg is to build safer biking and walking paths. He said it may create a healthier community and would cut back on the cost of healthcare as more people would have an incentive to walk or bike to work.

Another leg is to have employers partner with local schools to create opportunities for people to work toward better paying jobs. His goal is to fill 13,000 jobs in the state. Burgum said workforce shortages exist in nursing and educational fields in the state and more incentives are needed to get and keep quality workers in those fields.

And finally, he urged city leaders to pursue paths to build efficient infrastructures in the city that would reduce property taxes for residents. Burgum talked about his Main Street Initiative philosophy briefly with reporters after the presentation.

The Governor’s remarks and public input from a few community leaders during his visit to Valley City are available for viewers to watch and listen to below.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum hold a discussion about his Main Street Initiative plan for North Dakota. Photos by Steve Urness.