KTRV Fox 12 City of Trees Makes Forbes List
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Boise, Idaho --- Beside the Broncos, the city of trees is making national headlines again.
Boise has been ranked second on the "Forbes list of best places for business and careers".
The profile in Forbes magazine highlights "Mobile-Data-Force", a local software company.
CEO Kevin Benedict says they were impressed with the opportunities here.
Mobile-data-force employees enjoy what the treasure valley has to offer.
Since 2000, most of the company's 47-workers came from surrounding states.
Kevin Benedict is chief operating officer and Forbes wanted to know why he would have a mobile company in the middle of the desert and against the mountains.
"We took at look at Boise, Montana, Colorado, Utah and decided Boise was the place we wanted to be and a month later we moved", said Kevin Benedict.
His employees have a view of the Boise River, can fly fish and view Bogus Mountain right from their offices.
"That's combination that's very attractive and Forbes magazine that was very appealing life style for our company", said Benedict.
Forbes considers solid job growth, educated labor supply and low business costs...among others in ranking the 200 largest metro areas with populations more than 240-thousand residents.
The Idaho Department of Labor says the ranking keeps Boise on the national map.
"The two metro areas with Raleigh, north Carolina continually have been in the top 10, they've been doing this for about 10 years so they are the only two regions to have always been up there", said Idaho department of labor business development manager Alan Porter.
State business developer Alan porter says despite an economic slow-down in the Treasure Valley...the national profile could turn things around.
"I think it's beneficial for economic development and trying to recruit high quality businesses they can say well, this is a high quality area", said Porter.
That's want Benedict believes about having his company here, creating business applications for mobile devices with a lifestyle that leaves Forbes envious.
"When the reporter from Forbes magazine came and looked at the wall and saw the fishing gear, the said it can't get better than this", said Benedict.
The Forbes article should be hitting news-stands in the next few days.
The magazine will also profile the Treasure valley lifestyle more in depth in another issue, possibly out next month.
