Oct 14, 2008 - 10:03:30 CDT
FARGO (AP) - Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., says he wants to bring 10,000 more high tech research related jobs to the region by 2015.Dorgan announced the goal Monday at a conference he sponsored to promote the area's economy.
Dorgan said a study by North Dakota State University economist Larry Leistritz found 10,600 jobs were created between 2002 and 2006 through his initiative. He said they paid an average of $56,000 per year, with a $759 million economic impact in the region.
"We have just laid the foundation but it is significant and I think it will grow," Dorgan said. "My goal is that we would add another 10,000 jobs by 2015."
Dorgan was joined at the press conference by inventor Dean Kamen, the founder and president of DEKA Research and Development Corp. Kamen holds more than 440 patents, including the first wearable insulin pump for diabetics and the Segway two-wheeled transportation device.
"The process of trying to invent things is full of surprises. Almost all of them are bad. But every once in a while you get good surprises," Kamen said.
He said he is working on ways to bring water and power to the poorest countries in the world.
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