SQM is no small potato for Idaho

Such is the state of the North Idaho economy that news of another McDonald's coming to town warrants some notice. And it did, when Nils Rosdahl led his new-business column last Sunday with the scoop that Riverstone's grand entrance will soon be graced by the omnipresent fast-food joint.

So when Coeur d'Alene actually lands a full meal deal - dozens of new jobs with decent pay and benefits - is it cause for a ticker-tape parade?

In the case of SQM Group, maybe it does.

As today's front-page story explains, SQM is a Canadian-based company that uses its own call center to help other call centers around the world improve their customer service and lower their costs. The courtship of Coeur d'Alene and SQM's principals lasted more than two years, just under the average three years it takes from first contact to closing the deal with a company expanding or relocating here.

How that courtship culminated in 80-plus jobs here with tons of room for growth is why the party hats and colored confetti should be prepared.

At the risk of dangerously generalizing and perhaps over-politicizing, western Canada and the western U.S. have much in common, and not all of it's good if you own or run a business. Unlike Oregon and Washington, Idaho's an attractive place to set up shop for an affordable, skilled workforce and predominately pro-business infrastructure. Mike Desmarais, the entrepreneurial brains behind SQM, says employers will find a workforce like North Idaho's more attractive than one in, say, Spokane or Seattle.

"The work ethic here tends to be higher and people tend to appreciate having a job," he said.

But what really makes our area click is what Desmarais referred to as an attitude of getting things done, rather than getting mired in the quicksand of bureaucracy. Two local professionals he lauded most, Steve Griffitts and Steve Meyer, are very different in some ways but invaluably similar in others - economically, they get things done right and they make good things happen for others.

Desmarais, the two Steves and strong legal help have combined to create a blueprint for trans-national enterprise that other Canadian firms can now follow. Who knows? We could be in the early stages of North Idaho's economy being super-sized by friends from the Great White North.