SAINT PAUL – As part of his ongoing commitment to get Minnesota working again, Governor Mark Dayton will kick off a statewide economic development tour tomorrow in Fergus Falls. The tour is aimed at gathering the best ideas on job creation from Minnesotans and to highlight Minnesota’s strong business climate and economic development opportunities. The Governor plans to do several stops in the coming weeks, culminating in a statewide jobs summit in October.

About the tour, Governor Dayton said:

“Getting Minnesota working again has been and will continue to be the top priority of my administration. Our commitment to a strong and growing economy is the cornerstone of everything that we do.”

“The next step is to tap our greatest resource for innovation and ideas – the people of Minnesota. In the coming weeks I’m looking forward to hearing about what’s working, and what’s not, from the people who are working everyday to create jobs and opportunity in Minnesota.”

The roundtable conversations will include local elected officials, representatives from regional economic development groups, business owners, higher education and workforce training professionals and workers. The discussion will focus on the specific challenges each region is facing in job creation and growing Minnesota’s economy.

Governor Dayton also encouraged Minnesotans to weigh in with their best ideas on how to keep our economy strong. Minnesotans are encouraged to go to the Governor’s Idea Center at http://mn.gov/governor to share their ideas, and to visit regularly for highlights of the best ideas received.

Governor Dayton will began his tour in Fergus Falls with a visit to the Pioneer Care Center’s newly re-opened facility to speak with employees. By leveraging both public and private funds, Pioneer Care was able to build a state of the art assisted care facility that will serve the needs of the region for years to come. A roundtable discussion on jobs and economic development will follow in the afternoon.