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rom the trading post where the Missouri River enters North Dakota, down through Bismarck, Pierre, Omaha, Kansas City and points south, commerce in the central plains keeps flowing. Dotted by a flurry of medium-range

A 2003 photo shows Charlie DiSalvo preparing for the new 2004 Chevy Malibu at the General Motors Fairfax Assembly Plant in Wyandotte County, Kan. Now the plant is receiving another $200-million, 280-worker investment to support production of a Saturn mid-size car.

investments and a few major ones, the region's corporate real estate profile is characterized by phenomenal cost-of-living and cost-of-doing-business savings, a renewed interest in small-town locations and infrastructure as sturdy as its labor force.
      Just as many individuals are making the move from expensive coastal locations to inland locales, so too does the region's affordability and security draw investment from a wide range of companies looking to the spine of the country for stability and savings.