New Senate bill to help in UAS growth of North Dakota Published May 18, 2009 By 2nd Lt. Anastasia Wasem 319th Air Refueling Wing public affairs GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- Gov. John Hoeven of North Dakota signed a $185 million commerce bill today at a press conference in Grand Forks. The bill, Senate Bill 2018, is an investment in economic development for the state to help grow and diversify North Dakota's economy. Among the attendees were area legislators, University of North Dakota officials and Col. John Michel, 319th Air Refueling Wing commander. "One of the changes we have to make is support of our outstanding Air Base in the transition to the unmanned aerial systems, the mission of the future," Gov. Hoeven said of Grand Forks Air Force Base. He continued to say that now, more than ever, the community and the base must work together in order to encourage research activities between the Air Force and the region in the rapidly growing UAS industry. The state hopes to dramatically increase the amount of research, development and awareness of the UAS activities already taking place in the region. Of the $185 million this bill will provide, $20 million is designated for Centers of Excellence grants, $5 million of which will be used to support base realignment activities for Grand Forks AFB. "The word that comes to mind is 'unprecedented,'" said Col. Michel about the new bill. "The amount of effort put forth by this community is unprecedented. We could not be happier at Grand Forks AFB to be a part of making this dream come true," he continued.