pbjune 2013
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Northern Plains Business ResourceTRANSCRIPT
June 2013
A Day With GatesBill Gates shares insight with college students, community as part of Concordia College celebrationpg. 26
ALSORetention Strategies
How to hire and keep the best employeespg. 30
Check Your MoralsWhy social morals matter in business
pg. 22
North Dakota. Doing Business Better. With support from North Dakota’s entrepreneurial programs, StopSensor makes semi-trailer unloading easier, reducing waste and risk of injury for farmers and other businesses. Learn how North Dakota is doing business better at www.NDBusiness.com
4 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|INSIDE|June 2013 VOL 14 ISSUE 6
FEATURES DEPARTMENTS6 Editor’s Note
BY KRIS BEVILL
The little things
8 Business Advice BY MATTHEW D. MOHR
Selling from the top
10 FinanceBY JOE WITT
Banking industry consolidation continues
12 Research & Technology BY DWAINE CHAPEL
Training programs essential for workforce development
14 Economic Development BY HAROLD STANISLAWSKI
‘Talent Community’ being developed to connect workers, employers
16 Prairie News
20 Prairie People
22 Business DevelopmentEncouraging entrepreneurial values
32 South DakotaRapid City startup sets sights on safe water
34 Western North DakotaThe price you pay
36 TechnologySeeing is believing
37 Business to Business
38 Energy
42 By the Numbers
Next MonthThe July issue of Prairie Businessmagazine will evaluate the increasingly high cost of landthroughout the region and its impact on local economies and businesses. The issue will alsohighlight a unique financing approach used by a local organization to bring its project to fruitionand will provide readers with a first-hand account of a day spent touring the Bakken region.
Bill Gates discusses his passion for technology, education and philanthropyduring a question-and-answer session at ConcordiaCollege in Moorhead, Minn. PHOTO: JOHN BROSE
26 EVENTA Dedication to Remember Bill Gates speaks to students, public atConcordia College business school dedication
WORKFORCEGet Them and Keep ThemTips to finding and retaining the right workers for your business
30
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Atlassian co-founder and co-CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes entertains attendees ofCultivate.you with a light-hearted look at his company’s straight-forward core values.PHOTO: KRIS BEVILL, PRAIRIE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
6 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|EDITOR’S NOTE|
The little things
Few things are as important to a business as hiring and keeping quality employees, partic-
ularly in this region, where unemployment is low and businesses are steadily expanding
their workforces. Competition for workers is fierce and, in some cases, there simply aren’t
enough workers available to fill demand. If your business is not aggressively addressing its recruit-
ment and retention strategies, you may soon find that you’re not able to fill open positions, if you’re
not already. So how do you attract and retain the best staff possible?
There is no silver bullet answer to that question, of course. The specifics depend on your indus-
try, your location and the age of your workers. Generally, though, the most successful employers
have put in place a solid, consistent interview process to identify the best candidates and follow up
at the early-employment stage with frequent check-ins, providing identifiable and achievable goals,
and utilizing a mentoring system that ensures both the employer and employee’s job expectations
are met. From there, companies that appreciate the need for employees to manage a work/life bal-
ance and recognize their professional achievements are likely to retain the best staff. We highlight a
few examples of this in the article, “Get Them and Keep Them" (page 30). Each company is unique,
and what works for one business may not fit with another, but more often than not, it’s the little
things that make the difference between a decent place to work and a great place to work. It may be
half-day Fridays, or frequent get-togethers to celebrate work achievements, or allowing employees
free time to dedicate to community projects. It’s up to each company to determine what works with
its culture and industry, but employee retention should be a work in progress, and needs to be reg-
ularly re-evaluated to make sure it matches current employee needs.
This month’s issue also addresses several current trends in desirable workplaces. Access to tech-
nology is increasingly important to all workers, but specifically for young workers who are accus-
tomed to incorporating technological advancements into all aspects of their lives. In “Seeing is
believing,” we highlight the use of video communications to bridge the gap between dispersed
workers and allow opportunities for employees to work remotely. This month’s Business
Development article, "Encouraging entrepreneurial values," (page 22) provides insight on the
importance of moral values and social entrepreneurialism in business today. Those topics were per-
fectly addressed during a public event held in Fargo by Arthur Ventures which included inspiring
and entertaining presentations from Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard and global technology firm
head Mike Cannon-Brookes.
Finally, our cover story offers an overview of Bill Gates’ recent visit to Concordia College in
Moorhead, Minn., to commemorate the college’s newly renovated business school. Gates spent
more than an hour on stage answering student questions on nearly every topic imaginable, from
technology to agriculture and vaccine distribution in third-world countries. I think everyone was
impressed with the poise and intelligence of the youth who shared the stage with the man recently
named the richest person in the world. In turn, Gates was engaging, surprisingly funny, and gen-
uinely enthusiastic about answering each question he received, leaving little doubt that he truly
believes in the innovation of youth and the next generation’s potential to positively impact the
world. It’s up to the business world to embrace them and let them shine.
KRIS [email protected]
7www.prairiebizmag.com
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An SBA Award Winning Publication
MIKE JACOBS, PublisherRONA JOHNSON, Executive EditorKRIS BEVILL, EditorBETH BOHLMAN, Circulation ManagerKRIS WOLFF, Layout Design, Ad Design
Sales Director:JOHN FETSCH701.212.1026 [email protected]
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Editorial Advisors:Dwaine Chapel, Executive Director, ResearchPark at South Dakota State University; BruceGjovig, Director, Center for Innovation; LisaGulland-Nelson, Vice President, Marketing andP.R., Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC; Tonya Joe(T.J.) Hansen, Assistant Professor of Economics,Minnesota State University Moorhead; DustyJohnson, Chief of Staff for South Dakota Gov.Dennis Daugaard’s office; Brekka Kramer,General Manager of Odney; Matthew Mohr,President/CEO, Dacotah Paper Company; NancyStraw, President, West Central Initiative
Prairie Business magazine is published monthlyby the Grand Forks Herald and ForumCommunications Company with offices at 3752nd Avenue North, Grand Forks, ND 58203.Qualifying subscriptions are available free ofcharge. Back issue quantities are limited andsubject to availability ($2/copy prepaid). Theopinions of writers featured in Prairie Business aretheir own. Unsolicited manuscripts, photo-graphs, artwork are encouraged but will not bereturned without a self-addressed, stampedenvelope.
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Online www.prairiebizmag.com
8 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|BUSINESS ADVICE|
Selling from the topBY MATTHEW D. MOHR
Most individual business owners believe
strongly in the products and services they
provide. Businesses are started and usually
operated by the people who believe in what they are
doing, which often makes the work a “labor of love.”
Along with believing in what you provide, a busi-
ness owner is often placed in the position to sell what he
has. Customers will question the business owner in ways
which put the owner in the position necessary to prove
or sell the business.
Some business owners are great sales representa-
tives for their businesses, others lack sales skills.
One of the criticisms I had early in my career was
not selling enough. It was hard for me then, and still is
today, to understand why anyone would choose to pur-
chase any product from my competitors. I knew, and
believe my business entities treated customers the very
best and acted fair and honestly in all dealings. Why
would someone consider any competitor when we are
the best? My beliefs were obvious and as a result I
appeared arrogant, so I was critiqued as not selling very
well and was told to learn to sell better many times.
An early Internet start-up asked me for funding to
get his enterprise going, but upon meeting him I could-
n’t see how he could sell his product. I did not invest, he
attracted sales talent and has been very successful. His
investors must have advised him he needed sales talent.
His product and company are well known and his angel
capitalists were well-rewarded for their advice and
investment.
A business owner should believe in his organiza-
tion, but needs to develop skills to present his products
and services in a manner which entices people to want to
deal with the business. PBMatthew D. Mohr
CEO, Dacotah Paper [email protected]
10 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|FINANCE|
Banking industry consolidation continuesBY JOE WITT
Many industries have seen significant con-
solidation over the past few decades. Look
at the airline industry. In the Midwest we
had lots of carriers that have now merged out of exis-
tence. Republic Airlines was taken over by Northwest
Airlines. TWA was purchased by American Airlines.
Both Western and Pan Am became part of Delta.
Northwest and Delta then merged to create the
world’s biggest airline. Later, Continental and United
merged to become the world’s new biggest airline.
Now, US Airways and American Airlines might
merge, which would create the latest version of the
world’s biggest airline.
That same type of industry consolidation is also
hitting the banking industry. In 2000, Minnesota had
502 bank charters. That is not the number of bank
branches; it was the number of separate financial
institutions. As of year-end 2012, the number of
Minnesota charters had dropped to just 379. In those
12 years, 25 percent of the Minnesota charters were
merged out of existence.
The percentages in South Dakota and North
Dakota are similar. South Dakota saw a 22 percent
reduction, from 101 in 2000 to 79 in 2012. North Dakota
saw a 20 percent reduction, going from 113 in 2000 to 90
in 2012.
What are the main factors driving banking indus-
try consolidation, and is it likely to continue? There are a
couple main drivers. First, banking is a heavily regulated
industry. Bank owners, bank boards of directors and
bank senior management all understand that they oper-
ate within an intense regulatory environment. But the
current regulatory burden on banks, and especially on
small banks, has become extremely difficult to manage.
Over the past 15 years, there have been dozens of new,
extremely costly regulations with which banks must
comply. Most recently, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank
Act, which was originally intended to reign in Wall Street
abuses and prevent future federal government bailouts.
While the small community banks dotted across the
Midwest were never the intended targets of this law, they
now must comply with thousands of pages of new, cost-
ly regulations. Small banks have an especially difficult
time absorbing these new costs.
The second driver of banking industry consolidation
is unfair competition. Two entities which the banks direct-
ly compete against, credit unions and the Farm Credit
System lenders, have significant marketplace advantages.
Credit unions are completely exempt from both
federal and state income taxes, and federal credit unions
do not pay state sales taxes. That’s an incredible advan-
tage. Credit unions are also exempt from several impor-
tant laws with which banks must comply, saving them
additional overhead expenses. A mutually owned feder-
al savings bank just completed a conversion to a credit
union charter. The president of the new credit union
estimated that changing from a tax-paying, more heavi-
ly regulated bank to a credit union would save the credit
union over $2 million in tax expenses and operating
costs per year. The institution did not change its cus-
tomer base or its products and services in any way. The
savings simply came from changing its charter.
Farm Credit System lenders also have significant
advantages over banks. They, too, have tax advantages.
They pay federal income taxes on just a small fraction
of their operations, and they are exempt from state
income taxes and state sales taxes. They and their bor-
rowers are exempt from state mortgage registry taxes.
Farm Credit System lenders also have funding and
regulatory advantages.
The combination of increasing regulatory burden
plus intense pressures from competitors that have signif-
icant competitive advantages will mean that further
banking industry consolidation will occur. I do not like
the idea of further consolidation, as it limits choices for
consumers, small businesses and farmers. But it is easy to
understand why consolidation is happening. At this
point, Congress is picking winners and losers in the mar-
ketplace through tax and regulatory policy decisions.
And the local banks are clearly not the winners. It is sad
to see, but you can understand why the owners of sec-
ond-, third- and fourth-generation family banks are
deciding to get out of the business. PBJoe Witt
President/CEO, Minnesota Bankers [email protected]
12 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY|
Training programs essential for workforce developmentBY DWAINE CHAPEL
Workforce recruitment is an ongoing con-
cern for our growing economy. In South
Dakota, local, regional and statewide
programs have been developed to provide workforce
training and development.
Dakota Seeds is an internship and assistantship
program established to create a pipeline of employees.
The internship is directed at undergraduate students
whereas the assistantships focus on creating opportu-
nities for graduate students. The program has had
excellent success, creating 384 opportunities for stu-
dents since its inception in 2008.
The Governor’s Office of Economic
Development has also created a training program that
encourages wage increases for employees through
skills enhancement training. The application is
extremely user friendly, allowing the businesses to
partner with the state in a dollar for dollar match for
its training program. The training is available for new
and existing employees. The state may provide up to
$1,000 per employee.
Regional community colleges and tech schools
have also provided accessible development opportuni-
ties for business and industry. As an example,
Madison, S.D., partnered with Lake Area Tech Institute
to develop a community welding lab. This lab has been
responsible for certifying over 100 welders, enhancing
their skills and increasing their wages.
Looking into the future, communities may need
to look at a combination of different industry sectors to
develop its workforce. A community may need to gath-
er its business and industry leaders to determine com-
mon skill sets needed across industry sectors. The
process can help determine what skills the available
workforce may be lacking and how to raise the skill sets
above industry standards. Once the common needs are
determined, a baseline of those skill sets can be estab-
lished. As the data is collected over time, trends can be
monitored to assist in continued improvement of the
process. Initially this may appear to be an overwhelm-
ing task. However, if data is systematically gathered, the
workforce needs of the community can be monitored
and aggressively developed. For example, occupational
skills training and educational skills training are two
key areas of need for most communities. Technical
skills to operate computerized equipment are another
priority skill set. Workforce software programs exist to
assist in the development of this process.
One way to understand the workforce develop-
ment process is to compare it to baseball’s minor league
development system. The minor leagues provide edu-
cation, skills training and development of its players
(employees) so that they perform more effectively and
efficiently in the major leagues. The minor leagues are
divided into several classifications: Triple-A, Double-A,
and Single-A. Each classification depicts a level of
knowledge and ability to play the game. Each classifica-
tion may represent a progressive increase in responsi-
bility and pay for business and industry employees.
A community would also be able to classify its
skill set needs accordingly. Training and education can
be developed to adhere to each defined classification.
The baseline can be developed by business and indus-
try. Community economic development corporations
can assist by systematically collecting the data. This
type of strategy would provide a clear path to success
and long-term recruitment processes.
Workforce recruitment is a continuous work in
progress for communities. Taking a lesson or two
from different industry sectors can enhance a com-
munity’s ability to develop long-term plans, and uti-
lization of existing training programs, such as Dakota
Seeds, can help provide processes to develop a work-
force pipeline. PBDwaine Chapel
Executive directorResearch Park at South Dakota State University
14 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT|
‘Talent Community’ being developed to connect workers, employersBY HAROLD STANISLAWSKI
The cities of Fergus Falls, Brainerd, and
Crookston, Minn., are the recipients of a
“Talent Grant” being administered by the
Minnesota Department of Employment and
Economic Development (DEED) with financial
support from the Otto Bremer Foundation. With
the ongoing challenge of connecting job seekers
and employers, the grant will be used to develop
and house a Talent Community. The key to this
community is using the National Career
Readiness Certificate, an on-line method of
assessing individuals’ reading, math and problem
solving skills and connecting those skills to iden-
tified occupations.
John Newhouse, president of Lakeland Mold,
saiys his company understands the importance and
value of the NCRC in assessing current and future
employees, adding that it is a tool which can be used
to assess potential employees’ skills and focus on
what is right for the employee in terms of growth
and support.
Lona Bach, human resources director at
PioneerCare in Fergus Falls, says the health care organ-
ization uses the NCRC, along with job shadowing, to
assess certified nursing assistant candidates before they
enroll in PioneerCare’s training program. “Not only do
we have a measurable outcome of their reading, math
and problem-solving abilities beforehand, but we
believe candidates who earn their certificates are more
serious about starting their careers with us,” she says.
Job seekers who have earned their NCRC can
market that asset to businesses that recognize the cre-
dential. The Talent Community project will benefit
both employers and job seekers around the west-cen-
tral Minnesota region. Future workforce for the region
is critical to the success of our communities and the
Talent Community concept is an attempt to define the
existing talent better for our employers. For many
there is a very real lack of understanding about what
type of skills that exist in our communities, available
local workforce and how to close the gap between the
skills needed by businesses and our local labor supply.
Understanding this problem is our first challenge, fol-
lowed by growing our local supply of labor to meet
our future workforce needs.
Goals of the Talent Community include:
- Identify talent and build on the assets of the
local area by connecting job seekers with employers
- Warehousing the project with local organizations
to allow for flexibility and agility as technology changes
- Allow job seekers and employers to have two-
way, real-time communication
- Give local economic development organiza-
tions the ability to identify the talent available in their
communities, giving the community a unique tool to
expand or attract new businesses.
- Allow individuals and employers to brand
themselves
- Build consumer confidence for job seekers and
businesses for employment opportunities and the
opportunity to live and succeed in their regions
- Include all job seekers, high school students,
college students and individuals from the community
In future columns, I will keep you posted as these
three communities initiate the “Talent Community”
model and relate our experiences with NCRC. In the
meantime, job seekers who want to educate them-
selves on which jobs are in demand can consult iSeek
Solution’s overview of West Central Minnesota careers
at www.iseek.org/westcentral/index.html. PB
Harold StanislawskiExecutive director,
Fergus Falls Economic Improvement [email protected]
15www.prairiebizmag.com
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16 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
Prairie News Industry News & Trends
Fargo software technology firm opens
Stoneridge Software, a technology firm sell-
ing and servicing Microsoft Dynamics business
software, recently opened in Fargo. Led by
founder and president Eric Newell, the firm sells,
implements and services Microsoft Dynamics AX
and CRM products for mid to large businesses.
Prior to founding Stoneridge Software,
Newell was employed at Microsoft in Fargo for
13 years, serving most recently as a premier field
engineering manager for Dynamics. He spent the
last three years focusing on Dynamics AX and
has extensive background working with
Dynamics GP and Dynamics CRM. He founded
Stoneridge Software after discovering a gap
between customer expectations and what was
being delivered in the market, he says.
Other principal owners in the company are
Cody Marshall, chief financial officer, and Becky
Newell, chief technology officer.
ND delegation visits Iraq to discuss agribusiness
A small group of North Dakotans visited
Kurdistan, an autonomous region of northern
Iraq, in April where they met with Iraqi and
Kurdish leaders to discuss agribusiness coopera-
tion, according to the North Dakota Trade Office.
“Kurdistan wants to replicate North
Dakota’s farming operations, complete from
farm to market,” Dean Gorder, NDTO executive
director, says. “The collaboration will provide
fantastic opportunities for our state’s exporters
and training facilities.”
While there, the North Dakota delegation
met with sheikhs from the Barzani tribe, one of
the oldest and most prominent Kurdish tribes.
The sheikhs plan to visit North Dakota this
month and tour facilities in all aspects of
agribusiness. The Iraqi and Kurdish delegation
will return to North Dakota in September for the
Big Iron Farm Show in Fargo.
G & R Controls expands to Bismarck
G & R Controls, along with Balancing
Professionals, has opened an office in Bismarck,
N.D., to better serve new and existing customers
in the area. The companies provide temperature
controls, building automation and testing and
balancing for commercial heating, ventilation
and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Trent
Jongetjes will serve as the Bismarck division
manager and sales engineer. A Canton, S.D.,
native, Jongetjes holds an electrical engineering
degree from the South Dakota School of Mines
and Technology and has worked for the compa-
ny for more than eight years. He previously
served as a project engineer in the company’s
Sioux Falls, S.D., office.
G & R Controls serves as an independent
field office for Siemens Industries. Balancing
Professionals is certified by the National
Environmental Balancing Bureau. Both compa-
nies are locally owned and operated. They also
have offices in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, S.D.,
and Fargo.
Northwest MinnesotaFoundation backs local fish market
The Northwest Minnesota Foundation
recently approved a loan through its business
development program to support a unique local
fish restaurant and market concept in Bemidji,
Minn. The Marvelous Fish House and Market,
owned by Marvin Hanson, is a casual dining facil-
ity and market serving products from the Red
Lake Fisheries and Red Lake Nation Foods, owned
by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. It will
specialize in the sale of walleye and wild rice.
“This restaurant is a win-win for Red Lake
and The Marvelous Fish House and Market
because we are buying product from Red Lake
Nation Foods and, in turn, helping my people in
every way possible,” Hanson said in a statement.
“It’s a dream come true.”
NMF is a public, charitable foundation
serving 12 counties in northwest Minnesota.
Sanford launches centralizedclinical trials website
Sanford Health has created a website —
Fixes for Kids Inc. has developed a system designed to treat broken elbows in children,dubbed the E-Fix, which eliminates the current practice of manually pulling on the arm,thus reducing additional risk to the patient. PHOTO: FIXES FOR KIDS INC.
Medical device manufacturer attracts ND investorsFixes 4 Kids Inc., a Salt Lake City-based developer of products to treat pediatric
orthopedic fractures, is relocating its manufacturing operations to Wahpeton, N.D., to
work with Wahpeton-based ComDel Innovation after receiving financial support from a
number of local investors, including Linn Grove Ventures and the Bank of North Dakota.
The state also provided economic development incentives to the company. In early April,
the company had already hired 10 people to work in its Wahpeton location and intends to
continue to grow, according to a company spokesperson.
“We invested in Fixes 4 Kids as a group of North Dakota investors because we saw
significant common values, especially a strong respect for cash efficiency, a strong man-
agement team that had a clear understanding of the path forward and the ability to exe-
cute, and an opportunity to add value through North Dakota manufacturing and prod-
uct development at ComDel Innovation as well as employment in North Dakota,” says
Dan Hodgson, managing director of Linn Grove Ventures.
17www.prairiebizmag.com
www.sanfordhealth.org/clinicaltrials — to help
potential participants identify trials they may
enroll in to gain access to innovative treatments
and help advance research surrounding their dis-
ease. Website users can search trials by category,
read a description of each trial and see who the
principal investigator is.
Sanford has more than 150 open trials and
more than 350 ongoing clinical studies at its loca-
tions throughout the Midwest. The organiza-
tion’s network currently includes 35 hospitals,
140 clinic locations and 1,360 physicians in 81
specialty areas of medicine.
IDEA competition announces 2013 winners
The IDEA competition, a northwest
Minnesota entrepreneurship award program
funded by the Blandin Foundation and the
Northwest Minnesota Foundation with contri-
butions from several local partners, named its
2013 award recipients at an awards banquet held
April 24 in Thief River Falls, Minn.
Winners include: Brian and Coreen
Berdahl of Red Lake Falls, for Spot-Knot — a
first-of-its-kind slip knot tie device for the fishing
industry; Jack Lundbohm of Roseau for Stand
Alone Game Calls — a remotely operated elk
hunting call; Tim and Jenny Slukynsky of
Warroad for Lamplighter Hockey — a hockey
stick weight meant to offer an improved hockey
stick training tool compared to other tools on the
market, and Jerry Titera of Bagley for Hubmaster
Inc. — a tool that helps remove the tapered
wheel hub from Bobcat skidsteers for routine
maintenance and repair.
Each winner receives $10,000 in cash to
advance their business idea, plus additional spe-
cialized technical assistance.
Paper examines onlinereviews’ influence on rural buyers
Paulsen Marketing, an agri-marketing firm
located in Sioux Falls, S.D., has released a thought
paper reporting the results of a survey recently con-
ducted to gauge the level at which online reviews
impact rural lifestylers’ purchasing decisions.
Of 500 acreage owners surveyed who recent-
ly made a major purchase, more than 42 percent
ranked online reviews or testimonials as “least
influential” while about 36 percent of respondents
said they were influenced to some degree by online
reviews. However, the survey found that the
importance of online reviews increased to 58 per-
cent when reviews are attributed to peers, and 51.6
percent when attributed to experts.
To see the survey results and complete
thought paper, visit www.agribranding.com/cat-
egory/thought-papers.
Bank of ND records 9th consecutive year of record profits
The 2012 annual report of Bank of North
Dakota shows a ninth consecutive year of record
profits with $81 million in net earnings. Total
assets increased to $6.1 billion in 2012, up from
$5.3 billion in 2011. BND ended the year with
capital of $463 million. The state’s return on its
investment at the bank was 17.6 percent.
BND is the only state-owned bank in the
nation. It is overseen by the Industrial
Commission of North Dakota, which consists of
Gov. Jack Dalrymple, Attorney General Wayne
Stenehjem and Agriculture Commissioner Doug
Goehring.
SBDC assistance results in$100 million capital infusion
North Dakota Small Business Development
Centers provided complimentary one-on-one
consulting to 284 small business owners in 2012,
resulting in more than $104 million in capital
infusion, according to a recently completed
annual report.
North Dakota SBDC representatives spent
more than 8,500 hours assisting entrepreneurs
with loan applications, cash-flow management,
business plans, government contracting and
other needs at seven regional service centers and
17 sub-centers located throughout the state. As a
Northland Community and Technical College automotive instructors Norman Halsa, left,and Mark Johnson with the plaque received from the National Automotive TechniciansEducation Foundation in honor of the program’s master level accreditation. PHOTO: NORTHLAND COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
NCTC auto service techprogram receives master accreditation
Northland Community and Technical
College’s automotive service technology pro-
gram has received the National Automotive
Technicians Education Foundation master
automobile service technology accreditation.
The master level accreditation is the
highest level of achievement recognized by
NATEF. Northland’s program is the first in
Minnesota, and second in the nation, to
receive this level of accreditation from
NATEF under its new standards.
|PRAIRIE NEWS|
18 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|PRAIRIE NEWS|
result, small businesses created and retained more
than 1,500 jobs and 145 new firms were estab-
lished, according to the report.
The SBDC is primarily funded by the U.S.
Small Business Administration, with matching
funding in North Dakota provided by the state
commerce department and local economic devel-
opment groups, colleges and other partners.
Border States Electric to open Duluth branch
Border States Electric, an employee-owned
electrical distributor headquartered in Fargo,
recently opened a branch in Duluth, Minn., bring-
ing the company’s total number of branch loca-
tions to 57. The Duluth branch will operate out of
a 16,400 square foot facility and will employ eight
people initially. The branch will serve construc-
tion, industrial and utility customers and will be
managed by Marc McLennan.
“We are delighted to bring our innovative
product and supply chain solutions to northern
Minnesota,” CEO Tammy Miller said in a news
release. “Our expansion in Minnesota will allow us
to fully serve our customers and provide opportu-
nities for our employee-owners.”
AGCO to expand Minnesotamanufacturing facility
AGCO has begun a three-year $42 million
expansion project at its Jackson, Minn., manufac-
turing facility to increase production capacity and
efficiency in order to help meet growing demand
for the tractors and application equipment built
there. The first phase is scheduled to be complete
this fall and includes a 30,000-square-foot expan-
sion of the component manufacturing area, which
will increase capacity by 20 percent and improve
efficiency. The entire project is expected to create
75 jobs, bringing the total number of employees to
more than 1,200, and will increase production
capacity by 25 percent.
USD gets $1 million donationThe University of South Dakota College of
Arts & Sciences and the USD Foundation have
received a $1 million gift from alumnus
Lorraine Hart, which will be used to create three
funds in the College of Arts & Sciences — a stu-
dent enrichment fund to help students gain
learning experiences outside of the classroom, a
student and faculty fund for the department of
mathematical sciences and a named professor-
ship in the psychology department.
Currently a resident of Minneapolis, Hart
was raised in Vermillion, S.D., and received a bach-
elor’s degree in mathematics from USD. She also
serves on the USD Foundation board of directors.
SUPPORT FOCUSED ON THE ENTREPRENEUR
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19www.prairiebizmag.com
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North Dakota is booming – bringing the opportunity for both business growth, and to build a better and healthier state for generations to come. As Engineering News Record’s top firm in the region, Bismarck-based KLJ has more than doubled in size in the past few years. These new jobs mean more payroll dollars that will stay in North Dakota to boost the local economy, which will later be returned to KLJ in the form of new work…keeping KLJ strong well into the future.
PROFOUND GROWTH
KLJ Corporate HeadquartersBismarck, North Dakota
20 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|PRAIRIE PEOPLE|
Wilson to lead SD School ofMines and Technology
Heather Wilson, a former member of
Congress, Rhodes Scholar and small business
owner who has worked with large defense and sci-
entific companies, has been named the 19th presi-
dent of the South Dakota School of Mines and
Technology. She is the first female president in the
school’s 128-year history.
Wilson will assume her duties on the Rapid
City campus this month. She succeeds the late
Robert Wharton, who passed away in September.
Duane Hrncir, provost and vice president for aca-
demic affairs, had served as acting president over
the past several months.
Finken re-elected to U.S. Chamber board
Patrick Finken, majority owner and president
of Odney, a full-service marketing firm with offices
in North Dakota and Idaho, has been re-elected to
the U.S. Chamber of Commerce board of directors
for a second three-year term.
“I’m honored to serve a second term on this
board,” Finken said in a statement. “The U.S.
Chamber is taking a lead role in the country’s eco-
nomic recovery, and I’m looking forward to work-
ing with them to strengthen the business environ-
ment, allowing businesses to create the jobs
Americans need.”
SBA names Warberg Block NDsmall business person of year
Kari Warberg Block, CEO of Earth-Kind Inc.
in Bismarck, N.D., has been selected as the U.S.
Small Business Administration’s 2013 North
Dakota Small Business Person of the Year.
Nominated by The Center for Technology &
Business, Warberg Block was selected following a
statewide competition. The award recognizes excep-
tional small business owners who demonstrate the
entrepreneurial spirit in starting and growing a suc-
cessful business, according to the SBA.
Warberg Block 's business began selling earth-
friendly rodent repellent products in 1995. In 2007,
Earth-Kind’s Fresh Cab rodent repellent gained
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registration
as the first rodent repellent certified for indoor use.
Earth-Kind now occupies a 7,000 square foot facil-
ity and achieves $5 million in annual revenue.
Warberg Block will be among the nation’s top
entrepreneurs honored at SBA’s National Small
Business Week events June 17-21 in Washington, D.C.
SBA hires ND economic development specialist
Brittany Sickler has been selected as an eco-
nomic development specialist for the North
Dakota District Office of the U.S. Small Business
Administration in Fargo.
Sickler is a returning Peace Corps volunteer
with her most recent assignment as a volunteer
leader in the Sustainable Community Tourism
program in Guatemala. Prior to serving a three-
year term with the Peace Corps, Sickler worked as
a marketing and outreach specialist for ACCION
USA in Miami, Fla. Her duties at the SBA will
include marketing and outreach in southeastern
North Dakota.
Thomas joins Cornerstone BankJeff Thomas recently joined Cornerstone
Bank, Fargo as senior vice president and business
banking manager. In this role, he will oversee the
overall operations and management of the busi-
ness banking department, including maintaining
and generating new business.
Thomas has more than 26 years of experience
in the financial services industry in the Fargo area.
He currently serves as the 2013 United Way
Campaign chairman, board member of the
American Diabetes Association and serves on the
investment committee of the Friends of Chimbote.
He is a past chair of the Fargo Moorhead West
Fargo Chamber of Commerce.
NDITC recognizes outstanding achievers
The Information
Technology Council
of North Dakota rec-
ognized three of the state’s IT providers for out-
standing achievements during the group’s 13th
annual awards program, held May 1 in Fargo.
Fargo-based Sundog received the Premier IT
Business award for its success in developing and
providing IT business solutions to its clients.
Minot-based Eid Passport Inc. received the
Technology Innovator award for its use of innova-
tive technology to serve its primary customer.
Randall Thursby, chief information officer
for the North Dakota University System received
the North Dakota IT Champion award for his use
and development of IT in the academic realm.
Heather Wilson Brittany Sickler
Patrick Finken
Kari Warberg Block
From left: Jim Robell,president and chiefoperating officer, EidPassport Inc.; SteveCarrigan, generalmanager, EidPassport; JohnathonRadamacher, chieftechnology officer,Sundog; ITCNDPresident GaryInman and RandallThursby, NorthDakota UniversitySystem chief information officer.
Jeff Thomas
21www.prairiebizmag.com
|PRAIRIE PEOPLE|
Bismarck-Mandan YP elect new leadership
The Bismarck-Mandan (N.D.) Young
Professionals Network recently elected Heather
Welle, a Bemidji, Minn., native who has lived in
Bismarck for 10 years, as its next vice president.
Welle will serve one year as vice president before
assuming the role of president. Joe Fink, a
mortgage consultant at Wells Fargo, currently
serves as president. Angil Wanner of SIA
Marketing/Schmidt Insurance moved from
president to chairwoman of the network.
Heather Welle
General Steel & Supply Co.
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22 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT|
Arthur Ventures Growth Fund LLC co-founder Doug Burgum, left,Forbesmagazine publisher Rich Karlgaard, center, and Atlassian co-founder and co-CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes answer attendee ques-tions during an event held April 26 in Fargo to inspire and encour-age entrepreneurship in the community. PHOTO: KRIS BEVILL,PRAIRIE BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Rich Karlgaard is on a bit of a self-described rampage
about jerks. The Bismarck, N.D., native, Forbes mag-
azine publisher, entrepreneur and investor says he’s
been noticing a trend that young people, particularly in the
Silicon Valley, think they must be jerks to succeed in business.
The problem, he says, is that they don’t realize their early jerky
Encouraging entrepreneurial values Event brings community together to inspire entrepreneursBY KRIS BEVILL
23www.prairiebizmag.com
behavior will come back to haunt them in later years.
“People will work for a hard-nosed CEO if it’s not
about his ego, but about maintaining value of the com-
pany, serving customers, innovating, keeping on a hard
pace,” he says. “People will work for [those kinds of
CEOs]. They won’t work for the ego-driven jerk. I’m
just shocked at the profound misunderstanding people
have about that.”
Karlgaard was in Fargo to take part in
Cultivate.you, a public event hosted by local venture
capital fund Arthur Ventures Growth Fund LLC on
April 26 with the goal of inspiring and encouraging
entrepreneurship in the community. In a conversation
prior to the event, Karlgaard spoke at length about the
factors paving the way for Midwest communities like
Fargo to stake their claim as leaders in returning the U.S.
economy to acceptable annual growth rates. He noted
that not only is Fargo less affected by the egotistical
behavior on display among young entrepreneurs else-
where, it also boasts available startup capital through
firms like Arthur Ventures, a solid base of existing role
models with a history of successful business experience,
and a density of technological talent supplemented by
thousands of new prospects at nearby universities. Add
to that the fact that technology development tools are
now widely available and affordable, and that the cost of
living in places like Fargo is ridiculously low compared
to cities in Silicon Valley, and the potential for a technol-
ogy hub to emerge in Fargo is supreme.
“All the forces are lining up for a community like
Fargo,” Karlgaard said. “You can have the best software
developers in the world and you can have access to bil-
lionaire venture capitalists, but if the playing field has
been leveled and you can develop technology cheaper,
you don’t need billion-dollar venture capitalists. What
matters is domain expertise.”
The technological transformation of health care,
manufacturing, agriculture and education will be key in
returning America to a 4 percent annual growth rate,
compared to its current lackluster 2.9 percent econom-
ic growth rate, and the Midwest holds domain expertise
in all of those areas, according to Karlgaard. But it will
take more than domain expertise to succeed in what he
says is the most binary economy he’s ever seen. “Average
doesn’t cut it anymore,” he says. “You have to be good,
striving for great, or you’re going to be in trouble.”
Karlgaard believes the most successful companies
will continue to be those built upon strong moral values
with a deep sense of purpose — characteristics which
also help retain the best employees. “I’m a huge believ-
er in the value of culture and that culture springs from
a profound purpose – not a purpose that is written as a
corporate mission on a wall but something deeper,” he
says. “If you don’t get that right then you’re off on a
wrong track and you will never be able to attract the
right kind of people.”
Arthur Ventures co-founder Doug Burgum
echoed that sentiment and said the fund is focused on
supporting companies with the right combination of
values and ideas. “If the CEO and the founder don’t
have the right values, then it’s a nonstarter no matter
how good the idea is,” he says.
About 750 people attended the morning-long
event, which included speeches from Karlgaard and
Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder and co-CEO of
Australian software development company Atlassian, as
well as a question-and-answer session with both speak-
ers and Burgum. Attendees included Arthur Ventures
partner companies, college students, young profession-
als and entrepreneurs of all ages, including 100 eighth
graders from West Fargo’s STEM center, who were wel-
comed by Burgum as being “future entrepreneurs.”
Cannon-Brookes, likely unknown to many in the
crowd prior to his speech, captivated the audience with
an entertaining look at how he and fellow company co-
founder Scott Farquhar grew Atlassian from a startup
launched on a shoe-string budget a decade ago by two
young 20-somethings to the 700-employee global soft-
ware development firm that it is today. He, too, stressed
the importance of values and innovation in the work-
place, but through a slightly different approach, reflect-
ing that of the young professional generation. He drew
laughs from the crowd with a slide displaying
Atlassian’s five straight-forward core values: Open
Company, No Bullshit; Build with Heart and Balance;
Don’t #@!% the Customer; Play, as a Team and Be the
|BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT|
24 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT|
Change You Seek.
Cannon-Brookes offered several examples
of Atlassian’s innovative approach to the work-
place, including company-wide “ShipIt” days
held every quarter, which consist of a 24-hour
period given over to brainstorming and deliver-
ing pitches for anything related to company
products.
Some of the ShipIt ideas become new fea-
tures for company products, but the true moti-
vation behind the activity is simply to foster cre-
ativity and make the workplace a little more fun.
Atlassian also gives employees five work days
each year to devote to nonprofit projects. Cannon-
Brookes said the nonprofit work allowance wasn’t
created as a public relations strategy, but it has
proven to draw in employees, reducing Atlassian’s
recruitment and training load. “So if you need a
P&L [profit and loss] reason to do good, that’s
one,” he told attendees.
During the question-and-answer session,
one of the eighth-graders asked for advice for stu-
dents interested in starting a business. The trio
advised that the first rules of entrepreneurship are
to break the rules, be curious, be passionate and
challenge the status quo. Karlgaard then suggested
that would-be entrepreneurs ask themselves to
identify and utilize their unfair advantage.
“Passion and stick-to-itiveness can be unfair
advantages,” he said. “An unfair advantage can be a
good thing. It means the thing that you do that no
one else can do.” PB
Kris Bevill
Editor, Prairie Business
701-306-8561, [email protected]
Atlassian co-founder and co-CEOMike Cannon-Brookes entertainsattendees of Cultivate.you with alight-hearted look at his compa-ny’s straight-forward core values.PHOTO: KRIS BEVILL, PRAIRIEBUSINESS MAGAZINE
25www.prairiebizmag.com
26 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
A Dedication to RememberBill Gates speaks to students, public at Concordia College business school dedicationBY KRIS BEVILL
Anticipation was high on April 27 as nearly 4,000 people
buzzed about the campus of Concordia College in
Moorhead, Minn., awaiting a question-and-answer session
with Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates. Outside the
auditorium, ticket holders milled about, soaking up the sun on one of
the first 70-degree days of the spring before heading through tight
security at the building’s entrance and making their way to their seats.
All of the auditorium’s 3,800 seats were spoken for, filled with stu-
dents from Concordia, Moorhead State University at Moorhead,
North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota,
Concordia faculty and staff and quick-thinking citizens who were
able to snap up complimentary tickets in their short time frame of
availability. Hundreds of others watched the event via live stream at
various locations.
Gates was on campus as part of a daylong dedication event for the
newly renovated Grant Center, home of the Offutt School of Business.
The school’s namesake, Ron Offutt, chairman and CEO of R.D. Offutt
Co. and RDO Equipment Co., is a Concordia alumnus and provided a
substantial donation for the $16.2 million project, which included the
addition of a new story to the Grant Center and the installation of envi-
ronmentally friendly features to qualify the building for LEED
Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist BillGates speaks to a crowd of about 4,000 people atConcordia College in Moorhead, Minn., as part ofa dedication celebration for the school’s renovat-ed business school. PHOTO: JOHN BROSE
|EVENT|
27www.prairiebizmag.com
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. The
project also included the construction of a 200-seat auditorium,
named the Barry Auditorium in honor of alumnus D. John Barry,
founder and chairman of MidAmerica Capital Partners.
Concordia’s business program is liberal arts-based and focus-
es on global understanding, entrepreneurship, ethics and leader-
ship, fundamentals which dove-tail well with Gates’ history of lead-
ership, innovation and a philanthropic focus on global issues with a
goal of improving lives around the world. In his introductory
remarks, Offutt said the dedication event was an “epic” day for him
and for the college. “[Gates’] creativity has opened doors to the
world,” he said, adding that it would now open the doors to the
Offutt School of Business.
Prolonged applause welcomed Gates to the stage, after which
he addressed the crowd for about 10 minutes, offering a brief histo-
ry of what he called his “two careers” — Microsoft and philanthro-
py. He noted that the two paths are different in that Microsoft focus-
es on selling software to people who can afford computers while phi-
lanthropy focuses on providing for those in need, but they also share
a common underpinning. “At its core, it’s basically the same thing,
which is finding innovators, be willing to back them, understand
what they’re working on, measure what they’re coming up with, try
to make sure that when it’s delivered it really has the impact it’s sup-
posed to have, and getting into a feedback loop, driven by very pre-
cise measurement,” he said. “I feel like all of the things I learned at
Microsoft really just prepared me, as well as providing the resources,
to do the work that I do now.”
Gates commended Concordia for its efforts to send students
out into the world as part of the higher education learning experi-
ence and said that being aware of global issues will help students bet-
ter decide which area of work to pursue. He also noted the ability of
technology to assist in providing richer learning experiences. “I envy
kids growing up today,” he said. “When I was young, I had to read the
World Book [Encyclopedias] alphabetically. It didn’t have any videos
you could click on. It’s weird to learn things alphabetically. The
empowerment now, the opportunity to see what’s going on, has
never been so great.”
The first student to pose a question to Gates asked for his input
on which global issues are the most critical for students to address.
Gates settled on three: the economic divide between the rich and
poor, energy and health care in the U.S. “We have a [health care]
model in the United States that’s an unaffordable model,” he said,
adding that determining solutions for each of those three complex
issues will require “all of the ingenuity that all of you have.”
Several of the questions presented to Gates related to his dedi-
cation to philanthropy through the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation. Concordia President William Craft, who joined Gates
on stage for the duration of his 70-minute appearance, asked how
the couple decides where to focus its funding efforts. Gates said he
and Melinda determined that education is a key issue in the U.S. and
therefore have dedicated about $1 billion each year, which amounts
to one-quarter of the foundation’s annual philanthropic budget,
toward improving education in America. The remaining three-
fourths of the foundation’s financial contributions are dedicated to
The Grant Center at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., is home to the Offutt School of Business. PHOTO: JOHN BROSE
|EVENT|
28 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
helping improve the lives of poor people, often through the
invention and distribution of vaccines. He said the cost of
essentially saving a life through deploying those types of health
care improvements is surprisingly low, often less than $1,500
per person, and yet prior to the Gates Foundation, many of
those research areas were not being adequately funded. “That
was kind of stunning to me,” he said. “I thought when I came to
philanthropy that all of the really ‘good’ stuff, the really high
impact stuff, somebody would have done and we would just get
to do the next marginal thing. Unfortunately for the world,
some of these great opportunities weren’t being worked on.”
As an example, he said that when the foundation con-
tributed $40 million for malaria, it equaled just 10 percent of
the amount that had been donated by others to research a cure
for baldness. He also pointed out that the treatment for most
types of worms in humans today is derived from a treatment
developed in the U.S. for dogs. “Somebody just said, ‘Let’s try it
on the humans in Africa,’ and it happened to work perfectly,” he
said. “It was donated, which is a fantastic thing, but it never
would have been created except for these rich dogs that needed
to be de-wormed.”
The free market often overlooks worthy issues, such as
malaria, because their consumers are poor and don’t have a
voice in the marketplace, he said. Therefore, he believes philan-
thropy should be willing to take on those types of risky projects.
“It has to pick things that the market won’t do for some reason
and the government won’t do for some reason,” he said.
Philanthropic ConnectionsConcordia was able to obtain Gates as a speaker for the
event through connections made via the college’s Global
Leadership Council. Harold Hamm, CEO and chairman of
Continental Resources and member of the council, introduced
Gates at the event and said he came to know Gates through the
Giving Pledge, a group comprised of billionaires who have
publicly committed to giving away the majority of their wealth
to philanthropy.
According to Gates, the idea of the Giving Pledge, which
was developed by the Gateses and Warren Buffett, was to bring
together people who were already doing philanthropy or think-
ing about doing philanthropy, so that they could share their
knowledge on how best to contribute their wealth. He said the
public pledge to commit the majority of one’s wealth ensures
that Giving Pledge members have “some skin in the game” in
terms of philanthropic contributions. Currently, 105 people are
members of the group, which has recently been expanded to
include billionaires outside of the U.S. who may be interested in
joining. Gates said that while it’s hard to measure, he believes the
Giving Pledge is having a positive impact and that it will contin-
ue to have an impact for generations.
Eye Toward Education Regarding education reform, Gates noted that one of the
key differences between countries that are doing well in K-12
education and the U.S. is a feedback system for teachers. “They
invest in having other teachers sit in the classroom or training
the principals,” he said. “They have career ladders where at an
early stage as a teacher you are given a lot of guidance and if you
achieve a certain level of skill you move up. Our system has fall-
en into a mode where teachers basically get no feedback. I think
it’s important that we build that feedback system. Exactly how
you do that, how much you connect that to the pay system …
we need experimentation and we can look at these other coun-
tries that have done it.”
As for higher education, Gates said the largest issues facing
the U.S. are the cost of higher education and student graduation
rates. He cited technology as a possible solution to the current
high costs of higher education. “There’s a lot of excitement
about this,” he said. “There’s these massive online open courses
(MOOCs) that various people are doing and our foundation is
the biggest funder of those.” However, he added that it is not yet
clear how online education can be best blended into brick-and-
mortar curriculums.
Gates’ vast knowledge of world issues was apparent
throughout the event as he easily addressed questions relating to
concerns over vaccine distribution in parts of the Middle East,
agricultural education in India and China’s view toward person-
al wealth. He also displayed a rather unexpected sense of humor,
responding to a question on the negative impacts of great wealth
by saying, “As far as I can tell it’s had no negative effect on me.”
He followed that statement with a display of humility, by noting
that he believes any kind of success has the potential to be dan-
gerous. “You can think that whatever your success was, [it] was
because you were magically gifted in understanding things,” he
said. “Whereas of course any success, particularly a gigantic suc-
cess, is a huge number of factors, including hard work and
understanding, but timing, other people who came to work with
you, people who might have done the same thing but somehow
messed up in doing it. Often you have too much confidence
about what you understand.” PB
Kris Bevill
Editor, Prairie Business
701-306-8561, [email protected]
|EVENT|
29 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
30 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|WORKFORCE|
Get Themand KeepThemTips to finding and retaining the right workers for your businessBY KRIS BEVILL
Have you taken time recently to thank your employees for a job well done? Is company
culture a top priority for your company? Does your leadership team value work/life
balance for all employees? Would you want to work for you?
If you were able to answer these questions affirmatively, chances are good that you have a satisfied
staff. If not, you may be finding it difficult to recruit and retain workers. And considering the region’s
enviably low unemployment rate, business owners must place new emphasis on not only recruiting the
right employees for the jobs but also on providing an atmosphere that makes them want to stay.
Because recruitment and retention has been a recurring concern among area businesses, the
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development recently held workshops in
six northwest Minnesota communities to provide employers with advice related to those issues. Ted
Schick, corporate trainer and owner of Schick Corporate Learning, offered participants tips on hir-
ing, early-stage employment review processes and long-term motivation and retention strategies.
Schick pointed out that despite the high cost of employee turnover many organizations don’t
keep track of those expenses or even know how to calculate the cost. Multiplying the employee’s
salary by 1.25 factors in expenses associated with lost productivity, temporarily filling a vacant posi-
tion and time spent hiring and training a new employee, he said.
RecruitmentOrganizations should of course strive to hire the right person for the job the first time in order
to lessen the likelihood of turnover and provide a solid base for a successful retention strategy. In
Minnesota, the DEED collaborates with employers to evaluate their interview process and provides
job profile data to help identify the skills needed for workers to fill a position. The department active-
ly promotes the use of ACT’s National Career Readiness Certificate by employers to evaluate a poten-
tial employee’s skill set and compatibility for a position within the company. Schick, who likens the
interviewing process to a first date, recommended that a test such as NCRC be one part of a com-
prehensive interview process that includes thoughtfully prepared questions to effectively screen
Gov. Dennis Daugaard promotesSouth Dakota job opportunities toa visitor at the state’s recruitmentkiosk in the Mall of America inMinnesota on May 13. PHOTO:SOUTH DAKOTA DEPARTMENT OFLABOR AND REGULATION
31www.prairiebizmag.com
|WORKFORCE|
applicants. Adequate skills for the job are important, but possessing
the ability to learn — aptitude and attitude — can be the most
important quality in a new hire, he said.
In this region, sometimes simply locating potential applicants to
interview can be a struggle. South Dakota, which currently has more
than 10,000 job openings in various fields, recently took its statewide
recruitment efforts on the road, enlisting Gov. Dennis Daugaard to
serve as a job recruiter during an hour-long visit to the Mall of
America in Minnesota. Minnesotans have shown the greatest interest
in moving to South Dakota and the trip was meant to create aware-
ness of the state’s ample job opportunities and to provide informa-
tion so that people could make educated decisions regarding reloca-
tion, according to Dawn Dovre, director of public affairs at the South
Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. She says the trip gen-
erated media interest and boosted traffic to the state’s job recruitment
website, DakotaRoots.com, by more than 86 percent.
“Many people the governor visited with had ties to South
Dakota and were interested in the area,” Dovre says. “Active
Minnesota job seekers who had already registered with
DakotaRoots.com received a special invite and were thrilled the gov-
ernor wanted to visit with them.”
RetentionLike MN DEED, the South Dakota labor department also pro-
vides job retention advice to businesses in the state, and tries to set
an example through its own high worker retention rates. The
department employs about 450 full-time workers and boasts one of
the highest longevity rates among the state’s offices, but like many
businesses in the state, South Dakota’s labor department employs an
aging workforce. Almost one in three staff members are eligible for
retirement within the next five years, according to Dovre. Knowing
this, the department launched an initiative last year to further
improve upon its retention strategy, beginning with an employee
satisfaction survey. “We learned departmental pride, teamwork and
meaningful public work ranked high,” she says. “However, there was
room for improvement as far as equipment, resources, career
advancement and training.”
The department took action by developing a list of strategies to
focus on improving internal communication, and providing
employee recognition and professional development opportunities.
Smaller items were addressed immediately, such as updating office
furnishings, allowing for additional casual-dress days and emphasiz-
ing employee recognition efforts by supervisors. The initiative is an
ongoing effort and will include regional meetings to provide updates
to staff on the initiative’s progress. Additionally, a workgroup has
been formed to identify ways to best train new staff members.
Culture and RecognitionJustin Welk, talent coordinator at Sundog, a marketing and tech-
nology firm headquartered in Fargo, says the company enjoys an
extremely low turn-over rate, in part because the firm conducts a
comprehensive hiring process but also because the firm emphasizes
work/life integration and company culture. “We spend a significant
amount of time in our interview and selection process to make sure
that we’re hiring for not only the right skill set and technical ability, but
we also want to find a person who is going to be a culture fit in our
company,” he says. “We want to avoid at all cost hiring culture misfits.”
Culture is so important to the firm that it has established what it
calls a “culture club.” The club includes representatives from every
aspect of the company and exists to organize activities and events for
employees as a way to encourage camaraderie and recognize compa-
ny and employee achievements. “One thing we found is that while the
big events we do are exciting, they’re surprising, they’re fun, it’s the
small, frequent activities and recognition pieces that are really critical
to our culture and our retention,” Welk says. One example of small
but appreciated measures is a peer-to-peer award which allows
employees to nominate co-workers for a job well done. “It’s been
amazing to see how receptive people have been to that award and how
excited they get for each other when people do good jobs,” he says.
An atmosphere of camaraderie is also a key component of
Basin Electric Power Cooperative's employee retention strategy. The
organization, which employs more than 2,000 people in various
skilled and professional trades, has a 2.3 percent turn-over rate, com-
pared to a national average of about 3.5 percent. It was also recently
selected by the Bismarck-Mandan Young Professionals Network as
one of the Top 10 places for young people to work. About 35 percent
of Basin Electric’s current staff members are under the age of 40.
Daryl Hill, media relations supervisor, says that while the salary and
benefits are important, camaraderie among co-workers plays a key
role in the cooperative’s workforce retention rates. “Coming to work
with my friends, people who I trust, that is a big factor,” he says.
Basin Electric also readily supports employee participation in
community events, which simultaneously promotes team building
and social awareness. Employees serve meals at a local homeless
shelter once a month and participate in other community activities
as needed, such as clean-up after river flooding. “Those kinds of
things are not uncommon around here,” Hill says. PB
Kris Bevill
Editor, Prairie Business
701-306-8561, [email protected]
Basin Electric Power Cooperative sponsors an annual childhood cancerresearch fundraiser called “Brave the Shave," during which volunteerssolicit donations in exchange for shaving their heads. This year’s shaveesincluded CEO and General Manager Andrew Serri, shown here. PHOTO: BASIN ELECTRIC POWER COOPERATIVE
32 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|SOUTH DAKOTA|
CalxAqua LLC received thisyear’s top honor at theannual South DakotaGovernor’s Giant Visionawards, held during theGovernor’s Office ofEconomic Development con-ference April 16 in SiouxFalls. From left, David Owen,South Dakota Chamber ofCommerce and Industrypresident; Mat Peabody,CalxAqua LLC president andGov. Dennis Daugaard.PHOTO: CHAD COPPESS,SOUTH DAKOTA DEPART-MENT OF TOURISM
Since 2005, the state of South Dakota, the South
Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry and
private industry members have come together once
a year to reward innovative new business ideas with the
Governor’s Giant Vision awards. Created to honor ideas
that will spur economic growth, create employment and
spawn opportunities for future entrepreneurs, the awards
program offers entrants the opportunity to compete for
seed money provided through public and private funds.
Twenty-two applicants entered the business competition
this year, of which 12 were selected to compete for prize
money. A total of $47,000 was awarded to businesses and
students whose ideas met judging criteria for innovation,
uniqueness, market potential and solid management and
financial planning.
Mary Anne Boyd, vice president of program services
at the South Dakota chamber office, says Gov. Dennis
Daugaard committed $40,000 in public funds for the pro-
gram this year, to be used in prize money as a match to pri-
vate funds raised by the chamber for the program.
Citibank N.A. of Sioux Falls served as the corporate spon-
sor for the program. Other sponsors included Black Hills
Power and Black Hills Corp., Christiansen Land & Cattle
Ltd., Dacotah Bank, Daktronics Inc., South Dakota
EPSCoR, Toshiba America, U.S. Bank, Wheeler
Manufacturing and Xcel Energy.
“The goal of this program is to encourage people to
explore being a business owner and to create an exciting
future while also expanding South Dakota’s economy,”
David Owen, president of the South Dakota Chamber, says.
“While the prize money will help the finalists, the contacts
and rigor required to be a qualifier will prepare each entre-
preneur to advance their business idea.”
This year’s top prize, $20,000, was awarded to Rapid
City-based CalxAqua LLC, a South Dakota School of Mines
and Technology startup focused on providing an affordable
and environmentally friendly system to remove hazardous
heavy metals from drinking water.
Rapid City startup sets sights on safe waterCalxAqua receives Giant Vision award to help commercialize water treatment system BY KRIS BEVILL
33www.prairiebizmag.com
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“Potable, safe water is paramount to good health worldwide,
and there are regions of the world where arsenicosis (arsenic poison-
ing) is endemic and a huge health issue,” CalxAqua President Mat
Peabody says. “The problem has been around for quite awhile and the
current solutions tend to be quite expensive. Our system is consider-
ably less expensive and just as effective, if not more effective, than cur-
rently practiced technology.”
CalxAqua’s proprietary technology uses limestone as well as
limestone coated with iron to remove arsenic and other unwanted
heavy metals from water. The company utilizes technology originally
developed by SDSMT and Rohm and Haas in 2005. SDSMT’s first
effort to commercialize the technology, a startup known as
Hydrotech Engineering, focused on using pure limestone, but it failed
to gain traction. Last year, after the school brought in SDSMT alum-
nus Peabody, a chemical engineer and serial entrepreneur, to serve as
its entrepreneur-in-residence and commercialize some of the tech-
nologies created at the school, it was determined that the limestone
technology deserved another chance. CalxAqua was born as the
result.
Peabody says the technology’s cost effectiveness when com-
pared with similar technologies and ability to provide safe drinking
water worldwide made its potential for commercialization very
interesting. However, rather than focus on pure limestone, as
Hydrotech did, CalxAqua’s focus will be on using treated limestone.
After determining to move forward with CalxAqua, Peabody negoti-
ated an exclusive worldwide license
from Dow (owner of Rohm and
Haas) for the patented technology
to use treated limestone. He also
formed a partnership with Rapid
City-based mining company Pete
Lien & Sons Inc. “They have the
limestone and they know how to
process and handle limestone in
industrial commercial situations,”
Peabody says. “They are an ideal
partner because we’re adding con-
siderable value to limestone and
certainly we will benefit from their
expertise in this area.”
CalxAqua’s offices and lab will
be located at Pete Lien & Sons’ site in
Rapid City. The company is also
moving ahead fairly rapidly with
plans to build a manufacturing
plant at the site and will complete
the project by later this year, accord-
ing to Peabody. The company is
expected to initially employ about
15 people and will market its tech-
nology to municipalities, homes and
businesses. Pilot sites have been
identified in South Dakota, Arizona, Michigan and Texas. The com-
pany is also looking for sites in California, Colorado, New Mexico and
Wyoming. In the future, the technology could also be used in the
remediation of mine tailings and fracking fluids. “My initial thought
is to leverage the [award] money along with the Dakota Seeds pro-
gram, and matching funds from industry and SDSMT to sponsor one
or two Ph.D.-level students to do some additional studies to continu-
ally improve on a good thing and make it even better,” Peabody says.
Because arsenic poisoning is a worldwide issue, Peabody envi-
sions CalxAqua becoming a global provider of water treatment sys-
tems from its base in Rapid City. He credits the state, SDSMT and Pete
Lien & Sons for providing support to launch the company and says
the result is an example of what can be achieved when academia, gov-
ernment and industry cooperate and communicate. “It has really
been a collaborative effort,” he says.
Boyd says the chamber will begin promoting next year’s Giant
Vision program in September. The deadline for applications will be
sometime in February 2014. Winners will be selected during the
Governor’s Office of Economic Development conference, scheduled
to be held April 15, 2014, in Sioux Falls. For more information on the
program, visit www.southdakotagiantvision.com. PB
Kris Bevill
Editor, Prairie Business
701-306-8561, [email protected]
34 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
The price you payProperty values continue to climb in oil patchBY KRIS BEVILL
The active construction market and high selling prices for
properties in western North Dakota continues to impact
the value of both residential and commercial properties
in the area, some more than others.
In Williston, residential property assessments increased by up to
35 percent this year, while commercial properties values were deter-
mined to be up to 10 percent higher than last year.
Meanwhile, Dickinson’s commercial property assessments sky-
rocketed. The average increase for existing commercial properties in
Dickinson this year was 42 percent, according to city assessor Joe
Hirschfield. When including new construction, the assessed value of
commercial properties in the town increased this year by a staggering
108 percent compared to 2012.
Building permit data illustrates the frenzied rate of growth in
Dickinson over the past year compared to other western North Dakota
communities, offering an explanation for the jump in property assess-
ments. The value of residential and commercial building permits
issued by Dickinson last year topped $400 million, representing a near-
ly 200 percent increase over the prior year. The city issued 120 new
commercial building permits in 2012, triple the number issued in
2011, which accounted for nearly half of the total permit values.
To compare, Williston’s building permit valuations last year came in
at $470 million, compared to about $358 million in 2011. The city issued
106 new commercial permits in 2012, valued at about $209 million.
Hirschfield says that because assessed values reflect the previ-
ous year’s sales and must remain between 90 and 100 percent of
median sales prices, if market values continue to climb, property
owners can expect increased assessments again next year. That sce-
nario appears likely as the city prepares for an extended period of
growth, driven by oil and gas-related activities. Eighteen new com-
mercial structure building permits had been issued by the city
between January and April this year, compared to 14 during the
same time frame the year prior. The number of new single-family
home permits is down significantly so far this year compared to
2012, however, with 76 permits issued during the first four months
of 2013 compared to 209 last year.
The downside of higher property values is seemingly inevitable
tax increases, but Hirschfield says he doubts whether assessed values,
|WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA|
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and potentially higher taxes, will have a neg-
ative impact on new business projects in
Dickinson. “I anticipate that increased valua-
tions will have minimal, if any, effect on
potential business owners,” he says. “Any
potential buyer will weigh property taxes as a
cost of doing business.”
It’s not yet known how much
Dickinson’s commercial property taxes
might increase as a result of this year’s high-
er assessment values. Hirschfield anticipates
there will be an increase, which he says is due
to commercial properties being undervalued
historically, but the actual amount will not
be determined until the city undertakes its
budget process in the fall. He says the most
concerned property owners are those with
long-term lease agreements in place because
they may not be in a position to increase
rental rates in order to recoup additional
property tax expenses. PB
Kris Bevill
Editor, Prairie Business
701-306-8561, [email protected]
|WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA|
36 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
|TECHNOLOGY|
Seeing is believingVideo conferencing as an alternativeto travel, phone meetings BY KRIS BEVILL
There’s a lot to be said for the value of face-to-
face conversations when interacting with co-
workers and business associates, but hectic
schedules and distances between offices can some-
times make in-person meetings difficult to arrange.
But as technology has improved and expanded to
include more options for video communication at
more affordable prices, a growing number of compa-
nies are turning to visual communication systems to
bridge the gap between workers and replace the stan-
dard conference call, according to Mike Werch, presi-
dent and CEO of video conference systems and serv-
ices company Video Guidance.
“As the technology has evolved, we find that it’s a
logical extension to have video anywhere,” he says.
Video Guidance is headquartered in Bloomington,
Minn., and has offices and video demonstration facili-
ties in Wisconsin, Fargo and Bismarck, N.D., and Sioux
Falls, S.D. The company provides services for a variety of
entities, typically with multiple locations and a dis-
persed workforce, including banks, educational institu-
tions, government offices, manufacturers and health
care providers. It currently serves more than 50 mid- to
large-sized customers in the Dakotas, according to
Werch. While the company has done business in South
Dakota for years, it expanded its focus there last year
through a strategic partnership formed with informa-
tion technology (IT) solutions provider Connecting
Point Computer Center, which has locations in Sioux
Falls, Watertown and Pierre, S.D., and Bismarck. Video
Guidance expanded to North Dakota last summer as
well and has a strategic partnership with Fargo-based IT
solutions provider Network Center Inc. Werch says he
expects the company’s cloud-based video services and
strategic partnerships in the Dakotas will allow for con-
tinued growth in the small- to mid-sized markets, par-
ticularly in the “explosive” vertical markets of health care
and education.
Essentia Health began using a Video Guidance-
supported video conferencing system in 2011. Brett
Baker, manager of desktop support and mobile technol-
ogy, says the concept of video conferencing has been
growing in popularity ever since. “We get requests on a
daily basis to be added to our video conferencing capa-
bilities,” he says.
Essentia’s 12,000 employees are spread throughout
many locations, so the ability to connect via video rather
than drive somewhere for a meeting is a major attrac-
tant, according to Baker. “[Demand] is going to contin-
ue to grow and at the rate we’re seeing it, we’re going to
Video communications systems offer a solution for face-to-face meetingsfor businesses with widespread workforces. PHOTO: VIDEO GUIDANCE
37www.prairiebizmag.com
|TECHNOLOGY|
continue to expand our system,” he says. “Video technology
allows us to be much more flexible. It doesn’t matter where the
other person is as long as they have Internet capabilities.”
In the past, the cost of installing a video conferencing system
has been a deterrent, but Werch says that organizations can now
utilize the cloud to use systems without purchasing equipment
up front, which drastically reduces costs. For example, before
cloud services were available, a company utilizing five conference
room systems could expect an average three-year total cost of
about $200,000, he says. With cloud services, that same company
would now pay half that amount.
With the increasing popularity of BYOD (bring your own
device) and use of video in daily lives, Welch says he believes video
will eventually replace phone calls, driven in part by young work-
ers who seek to incorporate video into their professional lives the
same way that they are already incorporating it into their person-
al lives. “A lot of organizations are very nervous that if they don’t
have a platform and a strategy around video there will be rene-
gades — the younger people will bring in video in some fashion
— and organizations want their communication to be secure,
encrypted and with a logical plan around video and usage of the
network so it doesn’t bring the network down,” he says. “Keeping
up on the best way to get this technology into the end-users hands
and getting them comfortable with it is what we do.” PB
Kris Bevill
Editor, Prairie Business
701-306-8561, [email protected]
|BUSINESS TO BUSINESS|PRAIRIE BUSINESS
National perspective.Regional expertise.Trusted advisor.
kljeng.com
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38 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
Technology recently tested at the Energy & Environmental
Research Center in Grand Forks, N.D., could prove to offer
a cost-effective method to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx)
and sulfur oxides (SOx) from flue gases at North Dakota’s lignite-
fueled power plants.
Yuval Davidor, CEO of Israel-based air pollution control com-
pany Lextran Ltd., says his company’s technology is unique in that it
can remove both pollutants simultaneously. Conventional systems
substantially remove only one pollutant, thus requiring multiple
processes and infrastructure to support each process.
To achieve simultaneous NOx and SOx removal, Lextran’s tech-
nology replaces the lime emulsion typically used to absorb SOx with
an organic catalyst mixed with water, which enables the absorption
of both SOx and NOx at the same time. Next, a base material such as
potassium hydroxide or ammonia is added to the oxidized gases to
convert them to a nitrogen-rich fertilizer. Davidor says other pollu-
tant removal methods either convert the gases to lower-value gyp-
sum byproducts or simply dispose of the gases.
Lextran’s technology was initially developed in 2000 and went
through several years of research and pilot testing before its first com-
mercial deployment in 2009 at a 25 megawatt treatment facility in
Romania. Since then, the technology has also been applied at two
commercial facilities in China.
While the technology has been applied at various types of
industrial facilities, Lextran had not tried it on lignite flue gas until a
series of connections resulted in a weeklong test conducted in
January at EERC’s demonstration facility. Davidor says the test was
the result of a meeting between Lextran and Great River Energy exec-
utives at an air quality conference.
“Great River Energy is a very innovative company,” he says.
“They initiated the contact with the vision that this technology is
promising to North Dakota lignite particulars, which make it very
difficult to control NOx emissions with conventional technologies.”
EERC’s testing demonstrated Lextran’s technology is capable of
removing at least 85 percent of both pollutants from lignite-fired flue
gas, with the potential for higher removal efficiency. Davidor says the
results, which showed lower removal levels than at other test site
applications, were likely due to the small size of the facility and the
fact that the test window didn’t allow for facility optimization. Other
tests have shown Lextran’s technology to be capable of removing up
to 99 percent of SOx and up to 90 percent of NOx.
Great River Energy operates North Dakota’s largest power
plant. Coal Creek Station, located near Underwood, N.D., about 50
miles north of Bismarck, has a total generation capacity of more than
1,100 megawatts and uses up to 8 million tons of lignite coal per year.
According to the company, it has invested about $200 million in envi-
ronmental equipment since the plant was built in the late 1970s to
ensure it uses the best available technology to control emissions and
continues to seek ways to further reduce emissions, including testing
novel methods.
Davidor says he is unsure when Lextran’s technology will be
tested at a commercial scale at a North Dakota lignite-fired plant
and that it will likely require either a visionary owner who sees the
potential financial benefit of implementing the technology or a con-
sortium of plant owners willing to share the risk and investment
costs. He noted that research conducted by the Electric Power
Research Institute suggests an operator of a 500-megawatt boiler
could save an estimated 40 percent in combined capital and operat-
ing costs over 10 years by using Lextran’s multi-pollutant control
technology compared to base-line pollution control methods. PB
Kris Bevill
Editor, Prairie Business
701-306-8561, [email protected]
Technology offers coal plants simultaneous pollutant controlGreat River Energy teams with Israel-based firm to test method at EERCBY KRIS BEVILL
Lextran Ltd., an Israel-based air pollution controlcompany, has developed technology to simulta-neously reduce nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxidesat coal-fired power plants. IMAGE: LEXTRAN LTD.
40 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
An analysis recently released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics takes on the complex task of evaluating
employment and wage changes in the Bakken region
over the past few years as a result of the area’s ongoing oil and
gas boom. The report, released in April, compares employment
and wages in specific sectors from 2007, before the boom signif-
icantly ramped up, until 2011, which is the most recently avail-
able annual data.
Analysts found overall employment in the region increased
by nearly 36 percent during that time frame, with Williams County
experiencing the greatest amount of growth. The number of work-
ers in Williams County, which includes the towns of Williston, Ray,
Tioga and Epping, increased by more than 12,500 from 2007 to
2011, more than doubling the county’s employment, according to
the report. As expected, about half of the jobs added were in min-
ing, quarrying and oil and gas extraction.
Report authors Paul Ferree and Peter Smith noted that while
Ward County had just one oil-producing well as of March 2011, that
county also experienced significant job growth from 2007 to 2011.
About 3,200 jobs were created during that time. Ward County, which
includes the city of Minot, holds the largest number of jobs in the
Bakken region and accounted for more than 31,000 jobs in 2011. New
jobs created in the county during the timeframe analyzed for the report
were spread across several sectors, including mining, quarrying and oil
and gas, as well as construction, transportation and hospitality.
Region-wide, the mining, quarrying and oil and gas extrac-
tion industries experienced a 276 percent increase in employment
from 2007 to 2011, accounting for about 14,500 workers in 2011.
However, the report found that other industries actually experi-
enced higher percentages of growth. Employment in the profes-
sional and technical services and transportation and warehousing
industries each grew by more than 300 percent from 2007 to 2011.
The professional and technical services industry employed just 521
workers in 2007, but grew to include more than 2,400 workers in
2011. Meanwhile, the transportation and warehousing sector
increased from 1,465 workers in 2007 to nearly 6,350 in 2011.
Real estate and rental leasing salaries experienced the greatest
increase during the four-year period. Salaries in that sector dou-
bled from 2007 to 2011, up to an average annual pay of about
$72,000 in 2011. The report found that the professional and tech-
nical services industry experienced the second largest increase in
pay, increasing by 85 percent over the four-year timeframe. In
2011, the average annual pay in that industry was about $64,500.
The report also found that while the region’s overall employ-
ment increased, some sectors experienced a decrease in employ-
ment. The health care and social assistance sector lost about 1,350
workers from 2007 to 2011. Administrative and waste services,
which already had a lower concentration of employment in the
area compared to the national average, experienced the second
largest decline, with 727 fewer workers in 2011 compared to 2007.
“These two decreases had an offsetting effect on the region’s
employment growth equal to about 7.4 percent of the size of the
region’s net job increase,” the authors said in the report. The over-
all result of the Bakken energy boom, according to the report, is a
regional economy dominated by oil and gas-related employment,
with a lower percentage of jobs in industries that have not experi-
enced the same amount of rapid growth, including government,
health care and retail trade. PB
Kris Bevill
Editor, Prairie Business
701-306-8561, [email protected]
Breaking down Bakken jobsReport examines employment, salary shiftsBY KRIS BEVILL
|ENERGY|
An analysis conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics highlights thechange in employment levels in counties with Bakken shale oil wells from2007 through 2011. SOURCE: U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
41www.prairiebizmag.com
National Perspective.
Regional Expertise.
Trusted Advisor.
kljeng.com
42 Prairie Business Magazine June 2013
Employment UNEMPLOYMENT RATE EMPLOYMENTFeb-13 Feb-12 Feb-13 Feb-12
North Dakota 3.30% 3.00% 384,327 377,654Bismarck MSA 3.7 3.8 57,690 58,534Fargo MSA 4.2 4.4 114,372 113,805Grand Forks MSA 4.8 5.2 51,183 52,252Dickinson MiSA 1.9 1.9 20,780 19,223Jamestown MiSA 4.5 4.3 9,723 10,287Minot MiSA 4 3.7 34,674 33,802Wahpeton MiSA 5 5.1 10,897 11,216Williston MiSA 0.9 0.9 40,308 31,146South Dakota 4.40% 4.40% 427,634 426,551Rapid City MSA 5.1 5.1 62,143 62,921Sioux Falls MSA 4.4 4.9 126,891 124,476Aberdeen MiSA 3.9 4.1 22,051 22,203Brookings MiSA 3.7 4.2 18,410 18,441Huron MiSA 4.6 4 9,423 9,336Mitchell MiSA 4.4 4.2 12,622 12,557Pierre MiSA 3.7 3.8 11,523 11,588Spearfish MiSA 4.9 5.3 12,064 12,134Vermillion MiSA 4 3.8 7,511 7,596Watertown MiSA 5 4.9 18,079 18,177Yankton MiSA 4.5 4.4 11,273 11,171Minnesota 5.50% 5.70% 2,821,356 2,800,719Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA 5.5 6.1 1,759,979 1,733,113Alexandria MiSA 5.7 6.2 19,345 19,204Bemidji MiSA 8.1 8.5 20,004 20,084Brainerd MiSA 9.6 10.5 39,925 40,162Fairmont MiSA 6.1 6.2 10,091 10,712Fergus Falls MiSA 7.4 7.6 27,543 27,968Hutchinson MiSA 7.7 8.4 17,444 18,021Marshall MiSA 5.6 5.7 13,901 13,984Red Wing MiSA 6.5 6.7 24,097 23,750Willmar MiSA 6.3 6.3 22,274 23,334Winona MiSA 5.3 5.7 27,702 27,411Worthington MiSA 4.8 5.1 10,770 11,013
Jan-13Jan-12
185181
87.8988.09
Average RigCount Price
Feb-13Feb-12
8,4926,726
778,971558,558
218170
ProducingWells
Average DailyProduction
Total Permits
Oil Production
|BY THE NUMBERS| | SPONSORED BY |
Jan2000 Jan2002 Jan2004 Jan2006 Jan2008 Jan2010 Jan2012 Jan2014
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.1
1
0.9
Cana
dian
Dol
lars
to O
ne U
.S. D
olla
r
Jan2000 Jan2002 Jan2004 Jan2006 Jan2008 Jan2010 Jan2012 Jan2014
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Percent
E ective federal funds rate10-year treasury constant maturity rate
Mining M anufacturing Transport
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
# Em
ploy
ed
Regional Employment and Projections
20102020
Jan2005 Jan2007 Jan2010 Jan2012 Jan2014
70
60
50
40
30
20
0
-10
-20
Perc
ent c
hang
e in
em
ploy
men
t fro
m o
ne y
ear a
go
Regional percentage change in employment, three sectors
MiningMnfgHealth
Data provided by David Flynn, chair of the University of North Dakota Department of Economics. Reach him at [email protected].
Exchange Interest Rates
Employment
NOTE: S.D. mining data not available
NOTE: S.D. mining data not available