Grading The Finalists

A look at the communities under consideration for Micron’s computer chip plant:

Boise.

Micron could make its largest stockholder, J.R. Simplot, very happy by expanding here. He owns land and housing developments around Micron’s Boise headquarters campus.

Plant and the people it would draw could choke an already burdened infrastructure, engendering resentment among Boisians.

Butte, Mont.

Special designation allows city to offer tax abatement plan and potentially cheap or free land.

Butte is Butte, no matter how you dress it up.

Jerome/Twin Falls, Idaho.

Close to Boise. Spread the infrastructure burden but stay within earshot of the home office. Community offering $20 million to prepare Micron’s site.

Unemployment around 5.5 percent could make finding thousands of new employees difficult.

Kootenai County, Idaho.

Convenient transportation to potential site, variety of educational choices, room to grow. Exceptionally pure aquifer.

Cost of land could be prohibitive.

Lacey, Wash.

Near largest population base and largest airport of any site.

Site is next to a former landfill.

Nampa, Idaho.

Near Boise but not in it. See Jerome/Twin Falls.

See Jerome/Twin Falls.

Oklahoma City

Large city, great economy, state will offer the moon with an option on the stars.

Micron wouldn’t be the big fish in town. Only 1 direct flight from Boise to Oklahoma, and that with several stops.

Omaha, Neb.

Fast-growing with some hightech already there.

Won’t offer best incentive package. Micron again wouldn’t be the biggest fish in the pond. No direct air service from Boise.

Payson, Utah.

Established high-tech area nestled near to Brigham Young University.

No tax deal from state. Only 3 percent unemployment - where will work force come from? Quad Cities, Iowa.

Strong incentives expected to come from state.

Low unemployment makes it hard to find a work force. No direct air service from Boise.

South Bend, Ind.

Good incentive package expected. University of Notre Dame and engineering giant Purdue University make for ideal educational scenario. Close enough to Chicago for suppliers and resources, far enough away to avoid traffic and crime.

Far from Boise. Low unemployment.

Tri-Cities, Wash.

Layoffs from Hanford could produce pool of high-skilled workers for plant.

Proximity to Hanford nuclear reservation could spoil Micron’s squeaky-clean environmental image. No direct air service to Pasco from Boise.

Waterloo, Iowa.

University of Northern Iowa located there; great incentive package from state.

See Quad Cities. No direct air service to area from Boise.

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