2014. The MAGIC Fund has a rich history of aiding economic development in the Minot region, and study after study shows the local economy has benefited drastically from its availability. Historically MAGIC Funds have been used in three main areas of primary sector economic development: knowledge-based employment, agriculture and energy. Five of the ten largest employers conducting business in Minot today were recruited using MAGIC Funds. Choice Hotels International was one of the first businesses to be recruited using the MAGIC Fund in November 1990, selecting Minot as the location for the company's largest reservation center. Eight years of particularly high productivity later, Choice capitalized on the advantages of the area again and began construction on a $1 million expansion to bring the number of year-round employees in Minot to over 400. Once again, the MAGIC Fund played a big role. In the years between, other service centers such as Sykes in 1996, were attracted to Minot. Drawn also by the MAGIC Fund, Sykes Enterprises came to North Minot's technology park to offer technical support to customers of major companies such as Fortune 500 firms. Sykes notes the level of technology-based education in local schools such as Minot State University have proven extremely important to Sykes’ success in Minot. In 1998, after searching 29 cities nationwide, Minneapolis-based ReliaStar (now ING Service Center) made the decision to expand its financial services company to Minot, ND with a new service center employing 400 full-time workers. In February 2000, the company expanded its Minot work force from 450 to 600 workers thanks to the financial assistance provided by the City of Minot's MAGIC Fund. MLT Inc., a Northwest Airlines Corporation company, was offered one of the most aggressive incentives packages at the time and it soon followed suit by coming to Minot in 1999 and a year later expanded their workforce to approximately 600 as well. Local businesses such as Midwest Telemark International (MTI) have also flourished with the help of the non-provincial MAGIC Fund. Started by two entrepreneurs in Mohall, ND, MTI now has employs over 450 people in seven centers in rural communities including Bottineau, Kenmare, Stanley, Beulah, Langdon, and Grafton.2002 annual report Companies often cite an available, quality workforce and infrastructure for why they chose Minot to conduct business and expand. In the communications world, this necessary infrastructure is seen in the form of a sophisticated telecommunications network, offering fiber