prairie business january 2012

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Be prepared for 2012!

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January 2012

Huron, SDTurning the Corner

4 Prairie Business January 2012

Volume 13 No. 1CONTENTS

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30343644

6 From the Editor’s Desk

8 Matthew Mohr

10 Prairie News

14 Prairie People

16 Economic Development -General observations of ruraleconomic development

18 Money - Being prepared for 2012

20 Technology - How technology attractsmore technology

22 Leadership/ Management -Chamber as a community leader

Company Spotlight:Running a 50-year-old business ina small communityRunning the day-to-day operations in a smallcommunity has its challenges, but also has its rewards

26 NDSU Innovation WeekMeeting future entrepreneurs

28 Unique innovation keepscandles burning

Cover Story: EnergyRegion packed with energy potentialEnergy sources are abundant in the three state region ofNorth Dakota, South Dakota and western Minnesota.

Cover Story: BiotechMore biotech activity occurring inthe regionHealing, feeding and fueling the world.

Cover Story: One thing is certainabout health care exchangesNo one knows for certain what will happen in thenext 2 years

Community Spotlight: Huron, SDTurning the cornerWhen Dakota Provisions came to Huron, S.D., in 2005,many business leaders will say that was the turningpoint for the community.

48 Precision Agriculture SummitHighlighting agricultural innovation

52 South Dakota: PHITAll about improving health care

54 Western North DakotaBusiness incubator provides valuable resources forarea entrepreneurs

58 Viewpoint

62 By the Numbers

Investing back into Western North DakotaWestern North Dakota is finding that those who have ties and a

love of North Dakota are investing back into their home state.

South Dakota couple develops solarenergy trailerA Trent, S. D. truck-driving couple is using solar energy to assist

in cooling their trailer as they travel across the country.

Next MonthIn the February issue of Prairie Business magazine with the new wave of marketing ideasfloating in the region, we will be asking the question: "Are traditional business marketingtechniques becoming obsolete?" Also, an effort is being made to provide broadband torural areas around the region. Prairie Business will look at the impact this has oneconomic development. Finally, it has been more than six months since the ConsumerProtection Financial Bureau opened to promote fairness and transparency for mortgages,credit cards and other consumer financial products. Our cover story will ask experts howthe bureau is impacting the financial industry.

On the airJoin Prairie Business magazine Editor Alan Van Ormer and host Merrill Piepkorn onTuesday, Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. on any Prairie Public radio station to hear more about theupcoming Precision Agriculture Summit and NDSU Innovation Week.To listen to Prairie Public, visit www.prairiepublic.org/radio/hear-it-now.

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Mike Jacobs, PublisherAlan Van Ormer, EditorZach Ahrens, General ManagerTina Fetsch, Production ManagerBeth Bohlman, Circulation ManagerJen Braaten, Marketing ManagerJoe Greenwood, Multi-Media ConsultantKris Wolff, Layout Design, Ad Design

GGEENNEERRAALL MMAANNAAGGEERR::Zach Ahrens [email protected]

SSAALLEESS::Brad Boyd [email protected] western ND/western SD

John Fetsch [email protected] eastern ND/MN/eastern SD

EEDDIITTOORR::Alan Van Ormer [email protected]

EEddiittoorriiaall AAddvviissoorrss::Dwaine Chapel, Executive Director, Lake Area Improvement Corporation;Bruce Gjovig, Director, Center for Innovation; Lisa Gulland-Nelson,Communications Coordinator, Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC; Dave Haan,Director of Public Relations and Digital Development at Lawrence &Schiller; Dusty Johnson, Chief of Staff for South Dakota Gov. DennisDaugaard’s office; Brekka Kramer, General Manager of Odney; MatthewMohr, President/CEO, Dacotah Paper Company; Nancy Straw,President, West Central Initiative

Prairie Business magazine is published monthly by the Grand ForksHerald and Forum Communications Company with offices at 3752nd Avenue North, Grand Forks, ND 58203. Qualifyingsubscriptions are available free of charge. Back issue quantities arelimited and subject to availability ($2/copy prepaid). The opinionsof writers featured in Prairie Business are their own. Unsolicitedmanuscripts, photographs, artwork are encouraged but will not bereturned without a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Subscription requests:Free subscriptions are available online to qualified requestorsat www.prairiebizmag.com.

Address corrections:Prairie Business magazine PO Box 6008 Grand Forks, ND 58206-6008 Beth Bohlman: [email protected]

Online: www.prairiebizmag.com

An SBA Award Winning Publication

For daily business newsvisit prairiebizmag.com

As I said in one of my past columns there is a lot ofexcitement brewing for this business magazine that hasalways thrived to be a catalyst for growth in the Northern

Plains. In fact, in this month’s issue we have a couple of specialsections: one focusing on a Precision Ag Summit being held inJamestown, N. D. later this month, and another focusing onNDSU’s Innovation Week, also later this month.

In another innovation, readers will start to see variousemployers utilizing Prairie Business beginning with the Januaryissue to reach their high end professional audience and takeadvantage of trying to entice those who are already employed tomake a career change. An estimated 76 percent of people aren’tlooking for a new job but have said they would consider it if theright opportunity was put in front of them. Prairie Business is agreat opportunity for many of our employers to get in front ofthese highly skilled professionals reading the magazine eachmonth. This is a very desirable audience for them.

And also in 2012, I hope to focus each month on 50-year-oldcompanies that have survived over the years.. My hope is to havefour companies featured from each of the states throughout theyear. The first one in this issue details M&M Manufacturing, asmall manufacturing company in the small community of Viborg,S. D. If you would like to submit an idea for a story on a 50-year-old company, please send it to me [email protected]. Please make sure it is eitherincorporated in 1962 or started in 1962. I am focusing specificallyon 50-year-old companies, not 51 nor 49.

And of course, this issue has three cover stories. The maincover story focuses on energy: in particular, coal in NorthDakota, wind in western Minnesota, and ethanol in SouthDakota. The other two discuss health care exchanges andbiotechnology.

So we all hope you enjoy this issue of PrairieBusiness magazine. And from all of us,

As Prairie Business moves into 2012, the staff would like to wish everyonethat has been supportive of this magazine and those who we have met inour travels around the region the best in the coming New Year.

From the Editor’s Desk

An ‘innovative’ New Year


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Employee goals, customer needs, product offerings, selling prices, as well as expectedprofitability are just a few components of a good plan.One year I was approached to commit to selling a new broad line of products from a

very energetic seller. Realizing we had a potential opportunity we met with the seller toreview products and talk about how we could go to market. The enthusiastic sellerpresented us with a bunch of really good stuff which he thought we could sell for him, buthe had no plan. We decided to not sell these products as a result of the lack of cohesiveplan presented to us. Really good stuff is available anywhere, but a warehouse full of stuff,regardless of how good it is, doesn’t insure success.

The plan of attack a business owner chooses is based on what the expectations are inregards to competition, the economy in general, employee expectations, and the needs ofthe business. It is very hard trying to figure out how to be the most successful over time ina competitive environment. Monday morning quarterbacks always seem to tell what playsshould have been called, but making the plan and calls during the action is tough.

Like an athletic coach, a business owner needs to go into “the game” with a plan ofattack which is geared to success for the New Year. No professional sporting team would gointo a season without a strong commitment from all players to their coach’s plan of attack.Likewise, a coach would not survive the scrutiny of the team owners if a specific approachfor winning could not be articulated. PB

Business Advice

MATTHEW D. MOHR

GAMEPLAN?

With the start of each year,most business leaders createa plan for success.

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SDN COMMUNICATIONS OPENINGDATA CENTER

SDN Communications is opening a multi-million dollar data center on 65 acres alongSouth Dakota’s two major Interstates in 2012.The building will serve as a switch site location,co-location facility, data center, disasterrecovery site, and point of presence.

The 25,000-square-foot facility will consistof 10,000 square feet of data space. Features ofthis high-tech data vault include: redundantpower feeds, concrete facility with 12 inch wallsbuilt to withstand tornadic conditions andother weather hazards, temperature-controlled environment that willbe monitored 24-7, battery back-up and generator power, access toSDN’s network and Internet service, superior redundancy and self-healing circuitry and state-of-the-art fire protection.

AWARD-WINNING RAPID CITY REGIONAL HOSPITAL Rapid City Regional Hospital (Rapid City, S. D.) has earned awards

in Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Premier healthcare alliance value-based purchasing (VBP) project that rewardshospitals for delivering high quality care in six clinical areas.

Based on year six results from the Hospital Quality IncentiveDemonstration™ (HQID) project, RCRH received four AttainmentAwards in the clinical areas of: acute myocardial infarction; heartfailure; pneumonia; and surgical care improvement project

Attainment Awards are given to hospitals that attain or exceedmedian level composite quality score (CQS) performance. Theattainment median benchmark is the median level CQS from year fourof the project. The CQS is adjusted to compare only measures thatwere effective in both years.

$1.5 MILLION GRANT ASSISTING WESTERN NORTHDAKOTA

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)has awarded a $1.5 million grant to assist western North Dakotacommunities with housing and infrastructure development.

The Sustainable Communities Regional Planning grant wasawarded to the Rural Economic Area Partnership Investment Fund.The HUD grant program supports planning efforts that integratehousing, economic and workforce development, transportation, and

infrastructureinvestments

The grant wasawarded by the U.S.Department of Housingand Urban Developmentwith funds appropriatedby Congress.

ARVIG COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS (ACS) SIMPLIFIESNAME AS GROWTH CONTINUES

Arvig Communication Systems has changed its company name toArvig. The name change allows for easier name recall and positionsthe company for continued expansion including services intoMinnesota metro areas, increasing services to current communities,and growth into other commerce.

While the name is changing, there has been no change inownership or management; and Arvig will continue to provide thesame high-quality products and services customers have come toexpect from the company.

The transition to Arvig, including an updated logo andcorresponding materials, will take place over the course of the comingyear in all Arvig markets. This includes changing the name of Arvig-owned Diversicom and Home Telephone to Arvig. Diversicom’s officesand dedicated employees in Melrose and Sauk Centre will continue toprovide great local service to the customers in that area. Likewise, HomeTelephone’s offices and local employees in Grand Meadow will continueto provide the same great local service to the customers in that area.

EIDE BAILLY RELEASES MOBILE APP FOR IPADEide Bailly LLP, a regional certified public accounting and business

advisory firm in Fargo, N. D., announced the availability of its EideBailly Mobile App for the Apple iPad. The app is free and offersinsights and updates, calculators and learning events.

The Eide Bailly Mobile App provides the latest updates on generalbusiness insights, as well as industry-specific data. Its limited graphicsand text-based format make accessing information fast andconvenient. The Firm regularly publishes updates from the IRS andalso tracks legislation important to taxpayers and businesses – whichare available through the app. Financial planning calculators are builtinto the app for at-your-fingertip reference. Additionally, the appfeatures announcements of the Firm’s public seminars and otherlearning events.


Press releases and photos about business news and events in North Dakota, South Dakota andwestern Minnesota can be e-mailed to [email protected] for considerationPrairie News

MEDCENTER ONE MANDAN LIVING CENTER EARNS NATIONAL QUALITY AWARDThe Medcenter One Mandan Living Center (Bismarck, N. D.) was recently awarded a 2011 National

Quality Award from the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living. The award recognizes facilities in the long-term healthcare sector that have met rigorous criteria as a

result of focusing on quality service while encouraging continuous learning and development to achieveperformance excellence.

Wade Peterson, Medcenter One Mandan Living Center administrator, holds the 2011 National Quality Award the living center earned from the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held opening the SDNCommunications Data Center.

prairiebizmag.com 11

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DAKOTA RETAIL TECHNOLOGIES EXPANDS TO NEWSIOUX FALLS LOCATION

Dakota Retail Technologies, a provider and integrator of retailsoftware and technology solutions, has graduated from the SouthDakota Technology Business Center (SDTBC) and expanded to anew location in Sioux Falls, S. D.

Along with their new 1,500 square feet. location, nearly twice as largeas their previous office, Dakota Retail will hire an additional technicianto help support customers as the company continues to grow.

THE RTLS+ VALUE ANALYSIS PROVIDES ROADMAPIntelligent InSites Inc., (Fargo, N. D.) the leading provider of

enterprise RTLS software helping hospitals improve patientsatisfaction and operational performance while supporting multipleRFID and RTLS technologies, has announced a new consultingservice aimed to help healthcare organizations identify the impact ofReal-Time Location Systems (RTLS) and related technologies ontheir core processes and workflows.

The goal of the RTLS+ Value Analysis is to understand thespecific challenges facing the organization and put a quantifiablevalue on how RFID and RTLS technologies might help each specificdepartment or workflow. Through deep interviews and extensive dataanalysis, Intelligent InSites’ healthcare solution consultants discoverhigh-impact areas across the healthcare organization for improvedprocesses, improved care, reduced costs, and increased patient andstaff satisfaction.

NDSCS MOBILE LAUNCHESFOR BLACKBERRY® DEVICES

North Dakota State College ofScience (Wahpeton, N. D.)announced the launch of NDSCSMobile, a smart phone application,for BlackBerry® users.

The BlackBerry app, now partof the NDSCS mobile suite thatalso includes apps for theAndroid™, iPhone®, iPodtouch® and iPad®, offersinstant mobile access tocampus maps, the latest news,event calendars and more.

In addition to the BlackBerry version,NDSCS recently updated the iOS (iPod®, iPad® and iPhone®)version to include a robust tours feature. Users can take a self-guidedinteractive tour of campus with videos, photos, maps and audio.

CAPITAL ONE TO ADD 400 NEW JOBS IN SIOUX FALLSCapital One Financial Corporation, a diversified bank and

Fortune 500 company, has announced plans to maintain 400 jobs aspart of the proposed acquisition of HSBC's domestic credit cardbusiness in Sioux Falls, S. D. and will add 400 new jobs in 2012.

In August, Capital One announced its plans to acquire HSBC’sdomestic credit card business. HSBC currently employs 400 people atits domestic card facility in Sioux Falls. On receipt of regulatoryapproval and completion of the acquisition, the 400 HSBC employeeswill become Capital One associates. The 400 new positionsannounced are in addition to HSBC’s existing Sioux Falls teammembers.

AVERA PRAIRIE CENTER IN SIOUX FALLS RECEIVESDESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AWARD

Conceived to promote healing through grace and technology,Avera Prairie Center designed by Saint Paul-based BWBR receivedthe award for Best Project in health care from ENR Mountain Statesmagazine, covering Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, andNorth and South Dakota. Industry professionals representing bothcontractors and the design profession judged projects for their designand construction excellence.

Avera Prairie Center, housing Avera Cancer Institute and AveraMcKennan Hospital’s day surgery center, is a five-story, 260,000-square-foot building designed to serve the needs of residents in theUpper Midwest in a center that connects nature with the healingenvironment and captures the characteristics of the South Dakota’slandscape. The building includes indoor water features with runningwaterfalls; planters crafted and painted to emulate the rockformations in the Black Hills; and columns and 30-foot-long curvedwood beams designed to look like blades of prairie grass.

The building exterior also offers distinct features, such asgroupings of 20- to 30-foot aluminum “grass reeds” set in front of aprairie grass silk screen pattern on the building’s windows and awaterfall in front of Prairie Center modeling a specific section of thefalls at Falls Park, which gives Sioux Falls its name.

INTERNET RETAIL COMPANY, LEIKAS GROUP LANDSIN FARGO

Leikas Group, parent firm of several e-commerce basedcompanies that retail a wide variety of products from basketballhoops to binoculars, is moving operations to Fargo, N. D. The$200,000 expansion will add 10 jobs to the region over the next twoyears.

The Leikas Group recently acquired dozens of premium domainnames that fit within the company’s business model. The companywill use the domain names to create user-friendly sites aroundspecific target industries.

The company has spent the last several months developing thearchitecture and business processes that support the front-end andback-end needs of each site. Current sites include TopHoops.comand NightVisionGoggles.com. Several others are expected to launchthis upcoming year.

Press releases and photos about business news and events in North Dakota, South Dakota andwestern Minnesota can be e-mailed to [email protected] for considerationPrairie News

BORDER STATES ELECTRIC NAMESNEW CFO

Jeremy Welsand has been named chieffinancial officer (CFO) at Border StatesElectric (BSE) (Fargo, N. D.) and appointedto the company’s Executive Council. As theCFO and a member of the ExecutiveCouncil, he will assist the company’s Boardof Directors in long-term planning, settingpriorities and enhancing communicationsacross the management structure of thecompany.

Welsand was an audit partner in theMinneapolis, Minn., office of GrantThornton, LLP. As an audit partner, he ledclient relationships for annual audits, duediligence and transactional engagements forprivate and public companies. He was alsoresponsible for providing U.S. andinternational accounting expertise for avariety of assurance engagements whileserving as the U.S. resident specialist forGrant Thornton UK LLP from 2005 to2007.

LAKEWOOD HEALTH SYSTEMWELCOMES NEW DIRECTOR OFNURSING

Debra Kearns is the clinic director ofnursing at Lakewood Health System inStaples, Minn.

Kearns received her Bachelor of Sciencein Nursing from Jamestown College inJamestown, N. D. She has been a Directorof Nursing for the past five years, where shehas been a direct supervisor to staff in amulti-disciplinary clinic. Kearns has beeninvolved with Quality Improvement andMinnesota Community Measures. She hasworked in Public Health for 14 years.


Please e-mail photos and press release announcements of hirings, promotions, awards and distinctions received by business leaders in North Dakota, South Dakota and western Minnesota to [email protected] for consideration.

JEREMY WELSAND

MILLER NAMED MARKET PRESIDENT FOR SIOUX FALLS, CLARKNAMED SOUTH DAKOTA MARKET MANAGER FOR REGIONALCOMMERCIAL BANKING

Wells Fargo (Sioux Falls, S. D.) announced that Wayne Miller has beennamed business banking manager and market president for Sioux Falls.

Cathy Clark, formerly the Sioux Falls market president, has been namedSouth Dakota market manager for Regional Commercial Banking. In her newrole, Clark will provide credit, treasury management, investment products andfinancial services to middle-market companies with revenues greater than $20million.

Prairie People

STARION FINANCIAL EMPLOYEES ADD SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIESJay Feil will oversee presidents of five Starion Financial markets in addition to his

responsibilities as Mandan, N. D. market president, and senior vice president Jeff Weiler willlead the personal banking, financial services and marketing teams in addition to his currentoversight of mortgage, compliance and audit, and risk management.

Feil will supervise the presidents of banks in Oakes, Ellendale, Dunseith, Rolla andBottineau, including assisting in providing commercial and agricultural lending and bankservices in those markets. He continues to serve as market president in Mandan.

Weiler will oversee the senior vice presidents of retail banking, including personal depositsand loans; and financial services, including insurance and investments. He will also oversee themarketing and communications department. He will continue to supervise mortgage banking,compliance and internal audit, and risk management. Aligning these responsibilities underWeiler helps Starion Financial better coordinate marketing, sales and customer servicethroughout the organization.

DEBRA KEARNS

JAY FEIL JEFF WEILER

WAYNE MILLER CATHY CLARK

Did you Know…A flexible workplace initiative improved employees’ healthbehavior and well-being, including a rise in the amount and qualityof sleep and better health management, according to a new study.

-Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 52(4), December 2011


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North Dakota’s coal industry creates jobs andkeeps the cost of living low. That’s the power of coal.

To learn more how coal keeps North Dakota strong, please visit powerofcoal.com.

Each year, coal provides $3 billionin total business activity.

The coal industry pays $90 millionin state taxes each year.

Coal provides 27,000jobs in the state.

Affordable power supplykeeps the cost of living low.

Noke


What works and is appropriate depends on a number offactors unique to each community. I serve on thegoverning board of the local development agency for

Madison and the surrounding area known generally as the LakesArea. As is common, this agency is a private/public partnership tosupport creation and expansion of jobs and wealth. Much of thesupport for these agencies, including the one I have volunteered toserve, comes from private donations from local businesses andindividuals. For example, in addition to our support of Madison,Heartland provides support for similar efforts in all of thecommunities we serve in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.

There are a number of factors that impact local developmentefforts. These factors include, but are not limited to: 1) proximityto an urban area; 2) location on or near an Interstate or othermultilane highway; 3) adequate water, sewer, and energyinfrastructure; 4) educational facilities, including a university orcollege; 5) housing choices for employees of new or expandinglocal businesses; 6) public access to recreational facilities such asparks, hiking trails, and community centers for all ages; 8) broadband communication technology infrastructure; and 9) culturaland retail amenities commensurate with all of the above. Many ofthese factors require local commitment and support if they are tobe useful tools for development.

Omitted from the above list are various incentives offerednearly everywhere as recruitment and/or expansion tools used bylocal development agencies. These incentives are a necessary partof the local development tool box in order to compete withsurrounding communities and states with similar incentives.However, without the existence of the quality of life factors listedabove these incentives have a limited impact.

The 800 pound gorilla in every community is the performanceof the national economy. Although each community will have its

own specific impacts, a faltering national economy leaves no placeimmune from its effects.

The local Madison/Lakes Area development agency is comingto the end of its first five year funding program aimed at creationof jobs and wealth. The collapse of the national economy in late2007 was a major contributing factor in moving some of our goalsbeyond reach. We did some things well, some things not so well,and missed on some things that needed attention. Our recentefforts assisting the expansion of four local businesses and onenew business resulted in adding 100 new jobs in the past year. Onthe other hand, growth of the total local job numbers from fiveyears ago did not occur. Although we pursued new retail growth inlodging, clothing, and restaurant business, that also did not occur.The core area of Madison has declined in recent years and weintend to address that decline in the next five year program.

We spent a good deal of time last fall seeking out business andcommunity leaders’ views as well as their suggestions for the nextfive years. The results of those conversations are being assimilatedand a second five year funding effort will begin in early 2012 basedon revised goals and objectives coming from those conversations.

Local development agencies earn and keep support and trustby building on successes and learning from failures, as well asdemonstrating a willingness to revise goals and objectives basedon feedback from community and business leaders. It is ofteneasier said than done to seek this feedback and then act on it, but acommitment to improved quality of life and broad based creationof wealth trumps ease. Economic development is often two stepsforward and one step back. The key is to keep moving. PB

Mike McDowell is the General Manager and CEO of HeartlandConsumers Power District in Madison, S.D. He can be reached [email protected].

Economic Development

MIKE MCDOWELL

Generalobservations ofrural economicdevelopment

Economic development efforts inrural communities are not a ‘onesize fits all’ process.


Icould bore you with a lot of details of tax law changes, but willtouch only briefly on that subject later on. The Internal RevenueCode (IRC) is a huge volume of tax laws that have been enacted

by Congress. If you have trouble sleeping at night, print off asection of the IRC and start reading. This will induce sleep as fast asanything that I have tried.

A visit to the IRS web site (www.irs.gov) will lead you to a linkto the IRC. The IRC is a section of the U.S Code that lists all of thelaws of the United States, not just the tax laws. The tax code hasgrown so large that the version posted on the IRS web site is currentonly through the second session of the 110th Congress convened in2008. To find the most current version of the laws, you have tocheck the U.S. Code Classification Tables published by the U.S.House of Representatives to verify that there have been noamendments since that session of Congress. Are you confused yet? I

point all this out so you can see how complex our taxcode really is, and how big that our federal governmenthas gotten. It is no wonder that politicians like to talkabout tax simplification every time an election yearcomes around.

The tax laws change constantly when Congress is insession. The “final” tax laws for 2011 are not all passedyet, and may not be until close to Christmas. Thismakes it hard to do all of your end-of-the-yearplanning for tax purposes. We used to see most of thechanges get done by October, but it seems to happenlater and later each year. One of the biggest changesthat most people will see this year is that withholdingfor Social Security tax is set at 4.2 percent, down from6.2 percent. If you get a pay check, it has been 2 percent higher all

year than it was last year if you had noother changes to your pay status. If youare self employed, you will see the extra 2percent when you file your 2011 taxreturn during tax season 2012. For a lotof people who qualified for the MakingWork Pay Credit (MWPC) in 2010, this 2percent will be offset by higherwithholding since that credit expired atthe end of 2010. The MWPC was arefundable credit of up to $400 ($800MFJ) per qualified tax payer.

The standard deduction amounts andthe amount you receive for eachdependent exemption have been indexedfor inflation, so those amounts will beslightly higher than last year. As I statedearlier, Congress can still make changesin the tax laws up until the end of theyear so keep checking your local mediafor updates. PB

Matt Fitting was raised in NorthDakota and now resides in Rapid City,S.D. He owns and operates four H&RBlock tax offices in the Rapid City area,and has been in the tax business for 22years. Before buying the H&R Blockfranchise in Rapid City, Fitting held severalmanagement positions around the countrywith H&R Block, Inc. Fitting holds aBachelor of Business Administration degreefrom the University of North Dakota inGrand Forks, N.D. He can be contacted [email protected].

Being Prepared for 2012When I was asked to write an article for the January issue of PrairieBusiness magazine, my first thought was, “How am I going to writean article about taxes without putting the readers to sleep?”

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Technology

How technology attractsmore technology

Have you ever considered the magic of cake?

Avariety of ingredients – some of them not particularlyappealing on their own - are measured and mixed andpoured in a pan. With the addition of the right amount of

heat for the right amount of time, magic occurs and a deliciouscake emerges – not similar to any of the individual ingredients.

Throughout American history, there have been many examplesof dynamic technology clusters that have formed because crucialingredients have been available in sufficient quantities. Whenmixed with abundant levels of commitment and energy and forgedby emerging opportunity, amazing examples of technologicaladvances and economic development have emerged.

One such example is Microsoft Corporation and its influenceon the city of Redmond, Wash. and the State of Washington. Whenthe company moved from New Mexico in 1979 it was a 30-

employee $3 million company. Today, it employs 91,000 peopleworldwide and has revenues of $60 billion. In addition to the directemployment by Microsoft, more than 260,000 jobs in WashingtonState have been due to the presence and growth of the company. Itsphenomenal growth resulted from the convergence of factors – theavailability of an educated workforce, the brilliance of Bill Gatesand Paul Allen and the emergence of demand for software.

Silicon Valley grew into a powerhouse of technology innovationand development because of the mixture of Stanford University’sresearch in solid state electronics, a pool of highly educatedengineers and scientists, Department of Defense contracts, anetwork of venture capital firms and the opportunity provided bythe emergence of demands for computer technology.

Today, there may be a similar opportunity and availability of the

RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY COMMEMORATES COMMITMENT TO MINOTAt a ribbon cutting ceremony in Minot, N.D. recently, Eid Passport® President and COO Jim Robell says the company is

ahead of its hiring schedule and pleased with the dedication, skill, and quality of the Minot workforce.“With my roots here in Minot, North Dakota, it is a great pleasure to be actively involved in the City and to have

the opportunity to witness the incredible work ethic of our Minot employees despite the incredible challenges theyhave faced over the past year,” says Steve Larson, Chairman and CEO of Eid Passport.

Not only is Eid Passport bringing high tech jobs to Minot, it is renovating the historic five-story St. Leo’sCommunity Center (formerly the Minot YMCA).

Once the renovation is complete the building will house four new businesses. GeneralManager of Eid Passport’s Minot location, Steve Carrigan, says he is excited to see Minot’sdowntown district beginning to thrive. “It’s great for our community, it’s great for Minotand I’m happy we are a big part of it.”

Minot Mayor Curt Zimbelman notes that the City of Minot’s confidence in EidPassport continues to grow as the city develops a long term relationship together. “EidPassport has exceeded the expectations of our city” he says.

Jay Fisher, Chairman of the Board for the Minot Area Development Corporationadds, “Eid Passport is a wonderful example of how the city of Minot and the state ofNorth Dakota can partner with industry to create jobs and opportunities for thecitizens of Minot.”

EID PASSPORTEid Passport, Inc. (www.eidpassport.com) integrates leading-edge

products and services into solutions that combine identityauthentication, background screening and access management. Eid Passport’s productsand services make facilities, assets, and people safer and more secure. By using EidPassport’s RAPIDGate® Information System, highly secure facilities — such as militaryinstallations, government buildings, federal agencies, manufacturing and distributionsites, ports and commercial buildings — can increase security and streamline access for avariety of authorized personnel.

RAPIDGate and Eid Passport are registered trademarks of Eid Passport, Inc.


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“right” ingredients in the Upper Red River Valley.Unmanned Aerial Systems provides a unique evolving

opportunity. Particularly, as this technology emerges frommilitary applications to civilian and commercial applications, thepotential for growth is immense. The crucial ingredients include:

The new mission for Grand Forks Air Force Base is the GlobalHawk, the largest unmanned aerial vehicle, developed byNorthrop Grumman and used for high altitude surveillance.

The University of North Dakota’s School of Aerospace Sciencehas been a leader in preparing aerospace professionals for manyyears and has recently created The Center for Unmanned AircraftSystems Research, Education and Training, with generous fundingfrom the State of North Dakota.

In Minnesota, Northland Community and Technical Collegehas been awarded two Department of Labor grants totaling nearly$10 million to develop the nation’s first training programs forUAS maintenance and imagery analysis.

The Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corporationhas invested in a UAS business development specialist to workwith businesses and industries eager to locate into this vibrantcrucible for innovation and development. To date, severalbusinesses and 147 employees are working on UAS initiatives inthe Greater Grand Forks economic development area.

Two necessary ingredients have yet to be added to the mix. TheFederal Aviation Administration is developing rules to allow forthe co-mingling of unmanned and manned vehicles in theNational Airspace. And, by the end of 2012, Congress intends todesignate 4-5 regions of the country as test sites for integration,

research, and development. The Upper Red River Valley isworking diligently and aggressively to acquire this designation.

All the right ingredients are available in abundance. Now, wewait for the magic to occur. PB

Anne Temte is thepresident of NorthlandCommunity andTechnical College, withcampuses in EastGrand Forks and ThiefRiver Falls, Minn.Northland is one of 31institutions of highereducation thatcomprise the MinnesotaState Colleges andUniversities system.She is an activemember of the Board ofDirectors of the GrandForks Region EconomicDevelopment Corp. andthe Leadership Team ofIMPACT 2020, aNorthwest Minnesotaorganization dedicatedto increasing economic development opportunities. She can bereached at [email protected].

ANNE TEMTE


WHY SHOULD CHAMBER BE A LEADER?

Chambers represent business interests in your communityand leaders are needed in every community. A chambercan provide leadership for the continued development of a

viable economic and environmental climate. In order to competeand thrive in a worldwide economy, communities need well-educated and well-trained workers. The chamber is able todevelop leaders to gain appreciation of history in its communities,network with political and community leaders, learn howgovernmental issues impact our communities, hear from a varietyof industries and learn how to make a difference in yourcommunity. The chamber is able to help you gain the knowledgeneeded to be a strong leader. The purpose of chamber leadershipis to identify, generate and perpetuate a feeling of involvementwithin existing and potential community leaders. According toThe Chamber of Fargo Moorhead West Fargo, “The Chamber hasthe ability to connect and develop leaders who greatly impact thecommunity through dedication and service”.

LEADERSHIP 101: HOW A CHAMBER DEVELOPS LEADERS.

Talent is our natural resource and strong leadership is vitalto drive economic growth, build a better community andultimately make it a better place to live and work. In order

for a chamber to develop leaders they must first engage theirmembership. An active chamber is a viable chamber and it willin turn benefit the business community. The Chamber ofCommerce of Fargo Moorhead West Fargo’s website pointedlysays it best with its program overview. The leadership programhas given its graduates the opportunity to build a diverse networkof like minded people with a shared commitment to thecommunity and personal growth. It fosters the development ofan elite network of engaged and well-informed leaders.Leadership Fargo Moorhead West Fargo (LFMWF) is centered on

creating leaders through community training and leadershipdevelopment. The program is designed to expose emerging andexisting community leaders to the issues that face our regionwhile challenging and engaging participants to strengthen thecommunity through service and leadership.

As a result of chamber leadership programs, its graduates willdevelop long lasting relationships with other leaders, discover theinner workings of their community and the challenges facing theirregion as well as defining their individual role and responsibilityas a leader within their community. PB

Kristi Ulrich has been general manager for the Moorhead CenterMall in Moorhead, Minn., since 2002. After serving as a Chamberof Commerce of Fargo-Moorhead Ambassador for several years andas Chair of the Ambassador Committee, Kristi joined the Board ofDirectors in 2006 becoming Board Chair for the Fargo-MoorheadWest Fargo Chamber of Commerce in September 2011. She can bereached at [email protected].

Chamber as a community leaderLeadership is not a one-day thing.It is a constant commitment toexcellence, a habit

. . . a daily practice.- John F. Kennedy

Leadership/Management

KRISTI ULRICH

A new research study co-authored by an Indiana University professor suggests that interactive applications for mobile phones such asApple's iPhone and Google's Android may be some of the most powerful forms of advertising yet developed. The study confirms that usingbranded mobile phone apps increases a consumer's general interest in product categories and improves the attitude that they may havetoward the sponsoring brand. -Journal of Interactive Marketing—Indiana University

Did you Know…

M&M ManufacturingCompany Spotlight

Profit margins are less because of the competition and theeconomy,” states Mike McIlvenna, the owner of the smallmanufacturing company. “The end user doesn’t have that

type of money.”Throughout 2012 Prairie Business is featuring 50-year-old

companies that continue to thrive and grow throughout thethree-state region. M&M Manufacturing was incorporated inJanuary 1962 by McIlvenna’s father, Patrick, and uncles John andMilford Bickett, as well as a good friend, Merle Tweet.

The company started in Beresford, S. D., making pressurewasher components and space heaters. Mike McIlvenna has beenworking with the company for at least 30 years and has been theowner for the past 15 years. Today, M&M Manufacturingemploys anywhere from six to 15 people in its building in theindustrial park.

M&M Manufacturing manufactures steel components andsupplies them to manufacturers. The manufacturers in turnassemble the product and sell that end product to the customer.The company is involved in various product lines including:coils, coil modules, complete frames, vertical andhorizontal oil fired units, self-contained skidunits, gas fired units, cold water pump bases,and units ranging from below 2 gallons perminute to more than 20 gallons perminute.

In addition, M&M Manufacturing provides replacement coilsfor all brands, as well as being capable of fabricating any coil sizeup to 48 inches in diameter. The company can design andproduce products to a customer’s need. M&M Manufacturingalso does general metal fabrication and powder painting.

M&M Manufacturing’s products have been developed foragriculture, cooling and heating, automotive and construction.Specific products that have been designed include cold watercarts, fire pits, hot boxes, vertical oil fired and vertical gas units,and frames and skids.

Although at the start, M&M Manufacturing focused on spaceheaters and pressure washer components, it has always focusedon working with coils. M&M Manufacturing was one ofthe pioneers of the high pressure washerindustry, McIlvenna states. Highpressure washers can beused for car

Running a 50-year-oldbusiness in a small communityA second-generation owner of M&M Manufacturing, a family-ownedbusiness in Viborg, S.D. is finding that running the day-to-day operationsin a small community has its challenges, but also has its rewards.

“



washes, to wash off decks, as well as farmers using pressurewashers for different aspects of the farm economy.

Originally, the company was located in Beresford, S .D.and manufactured various different products includingreplacement parts for farm equipment.

“We made anything we could to make money,”McIlvenna notes.

Then six years ago, a building opened up in theindustrial park in Viborg and M&M Manufacturingmoved to the 20,000 square foot building on 4.5 acres inthe industrial park on the east side of Viborg. There wereseveral expansions throughout the year, but the companycontinued to revamp its coiling operations to make itmore efficient.

“The last 10 years we found a niche in coils and stuckmore with that,” McIlvenna explains.

Today, M&M Manufacturing averages 2,000-2,500units on an average year. A couple of years ago thecompany manufactured more than 5,000 units. Theproducts are shipped to other parts of the United Statesand exported around the world.

McIlvenna estimates that over the past 20 years 75percent of the sales have been exported around the world.

He also notes that the pressure washer industry istrending toward more mid-size units (3.5 to 4 gallons and2,000 plus pressure pounds per square inch.) Anotherchallenge is the advertising part of the business.

“In the past we relied on word of mouth to sell ourproducts,” McIlvenna states. “Now we have to invest inmarketing.”

Then there is the difficulty of finding the rightpersonnel.

McIlvenna believes that Viborg is a good town todo business in and looks forward to continued

success in the future. PBAlan Van Ormer -

[email protected]

Chenega Logistics, LLC in Sioux Falls is partnering with Dakota StateUniversity to conduct cyber security assurance research that will provideglobal benefits to Internet clients.

The partnership will be funded with $80,000 awarded to DSU through aspecial performance improvement fund created by state lawmakers duringtheir last legislative session. That fund allocated $920,000 for improvingresearch capacity at six South Dakota public universities.

A matching $80,000 fund (for a total of $160,000 from the two sources)provided by Chenega Logistics will support two post-doctoral researcherswho will split their time between Chenega Logistics in Sioux Falls and DSUin Madison.

“We just placed advertisement for the post-doctoral positions,” Dr.Douglas Knowlton, DSU President, says. “Once we make the hires we’ll workwith our staff to finalize details of the research projects.”

The Chenega Logistics/DSU partnership is a “natural fit” for bothentities since technology is at the center of their activities. DSU has beenrecognized regionally and nationally as a leader in the integration oftechnology in the learning experiences of all their students. In every area ofstudy learning is enhanced by access to cutting-edge information.

DSU offers six masters and one doctoral program. Approximately 1,000DSU undergrads are involved in technology related majors. Other DSUprograms are heavily infused with technology.

“Dakota State is South Dakota’s ‘New University for a New Era and wetake this role very seriously,” Knowlton notes. “Information assurance is astrong focus for us. We’ve been designated as the lead institution in SouthDakota’s implementation of electronic health records in the state, which fitswith our focus on health information technology. We’re also a leader incomputer game design. Partnering with Chenega Logistics is important tothem. It’s also important to us as a major connection to private enterprise.”

Dan Hindbjorgen, Director of Commercial Solutions at ChenegaLogistics says DSU’s recognition as a nationwide leader in informationassurance and cyber security research provides his company with a highlyvaluable resource.

“We eventually hope to gain business activity out of this partnership,”Hindbjorgen states. “DSU hopes to gain opportunity for students to stay inthe state and work in good paying technology jobs. All in all, it’s a goodpartnership.”

Established in 2006, Chenega Logistics, LLC was founded with thepurpose of – and has remained committed to – bringing informationtechnology careers and opportunities to the Sioux Falls region. ChenegaLogistics, LLC (CL), started as a joint-venture between ChenegaCorporation and Horizon Lines in 2006. Since May 2010, CL has beenwholly-owned by Chenega and today is a fully compliant, certified 8(a)company, offering services in a wide range of core competencies, includinginformation technology, software development, systems integration,intelligence, and cyber solutions.

Chenega Corporation is an Alaska Native Corporation (ANC) foundedin 1974 in accordance with the Alaska Native Claim Settlement Act(ANCSA), which allows special provisions for tribally-owned corporations.

Chenega Logistics is headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD with additionallocations in the Washington, D.C. metro area, Tampa, FL and Anchorage, AK.PB

Loretta Sorensen, Owner, Prairie Hearth Publishing, [email protected].

Technology at center of partnership


Innovation Week

New frontiers for economic development

Innovation is a vitalcornerstone of economicdevelopment. New conceptspush the frontiers ofknowledge and bringpositive results.

That important ingredient to business success will be celebrated at the third annualInnovation Week at North Dakota State University Jan. 23-27. It’s an opportunityto emphasize the value of innovation and technology to our business community.

“Innovation Week showcases our activities at NDSU and allows us to bring in peoplewith new ideas to brainstorm and share,” explains NDSU Provost J. Bruce Rafert, notinginnovation and leading research are high priorities at NDSU. The Carnegie Foundationlists the institution among the top 108 research universities in the nation.

A main feature of Innovation Week is the “Innovation Challenge ’12” competition.Teams of NDSU students compete for cash prizes as they present creative research anddevelopment projects underway on campus and at the NDSU Research and TechnologyPark.

In addition, renowned businessman Tom Walter will present the keynote address. Aserial entrepreneur from the Chicago area, Walter has started 29 ventures and acquiredthree more. He is a member of the Chicago Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.

“We live in a global knowledge economy and higher education is on the front lines,”Rafert says. “At NDSU, innovation is everywhere.”

Rafert, who joined NDSU in July, is a nationally recognized astrophysicist and formervice provost at Clemson University, Clemson, S.C. He suggests a fourth mission isevolving for land-grant universities, with economic development joining the traditionalmissions of teaching, research and service. According to Rafert, higher education hasmoved from being seen as a “public good” to an enabler that helps the United Statesmaintain its prominence in the world.

He sees Innovation Week as a chance to put the spotlight on outstanding, innovativestudents at NDSU. “Our students continue to be thought leaders and global citizens,”Rafert states. “We land-grant universities have been innovating for 100 years. In a worldwhere food, energy and health are becoming major issues, it’s a great and exciting time tobe in North Dakota and at NDSU.”

For a schedule of Innovation Week activities, visithttp://www.ndsuresearchpark.com/about/Pages/Events.aspx.

NDSU Provost Bruce Rafert is the former vice provost at Clemson University. Aprofessor of physics and astronomy, he has a research portfolio of more than $9 millionin multidisciplinary research activities, spanning industry, state and federal agencies,including the National Science Foundation, National Park Service, United States Air Forceand the private sector.

Rafert also was chief scientist at the U.S. Air Force Malabar Test Facility and was thefounding director of the Southeastern Association for Research in AstronomyObservatory, located at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.

He earned his bachelor’s degree at Case Institute of Technology, Cleveland, anddoctorate in astronomy at the University of Florida, Gainesville. PB

J. BRUCE RAFERTNDSU PROVOST


Future entrepreneurs will be meeting other futureentrepreneurs at the third annual InnovationWeek on the North Dakota State Universitycampus in Fargo, N. D. on Jan. 23-27.

Meeting future entrepreneurs

�� Tuesday, Jan. 24: A kick-off Breakfast with President Dean Bresciani will be heldat Richard H. Barry Hall. During the breakfast, the innovationteams will be available to discuss their projects and answerquestions. Some members of the innovation teams will also beinterviewed during a morning radio show.

�� Wednesday, Jan. 25:Oral presentations for Innovation Challenge 12 will be heldfrom 10 a.m. to noon in the Century Theatre in the MemorialUnion. The entire campus and the public are invited to attendthe oral presentations.

�� Wednesday, Jan. 25: Poster judging will take place between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. inthe Prairie Rose room in the Memorial Union. The entirecampus and public are invited view the posters.

�� Thursday, Jan. 26:The awards ceremony and keynote speaker will be held in theGreat Room in the Memorial Union beginning at 4 p.m. Thekeynote speaker is Tom Walter. Walter is the CEO of Chicago-area Tasty Catering and is a serial entrepreneur. He has beena business owner for over 40 years and has started 29companies and acquired three. Walter is a national speaker on topics that include leadership, employee engagement,entrepreneurship and brand image. After the keynote speaker,the awards ceremony will conclude the activities for the week.The entire campus and public is invited to attend the awardsceremony.For additional information on Innovation Week 2012, go to:http://www.ndsuresearchpark.com/about/Pages/events.aspx

Schedule of events

The #1 thing entrepreneurs seek when starting a new company is notlawyers, accountants, or even finances….its other entrepreneurs,” statesJames Burgum, co-founder of Arthur Ventures, a venture capital firm

located in Fargo, N.D. Burgum’s experience includes angel investing, venturecapital, government policy, international trade, agribusiness andentrepreneurship. “Creating the right environment will help foster anentrepreneurial culture and it’s great to see NDSU working to facilitate that.”

Another innovator, Howard Dahl, President and CEO of AmityTechnology in Fargo, believes one of the greatness of America is the passionto make thing better, innovate and create. “For us, if we don’t continue toinnovate, we will get run over and lose out in the long turn,” says Dahl, whoseAmity Technology is a fourth generation company that follows in the proudtradition of a family that has been involved in the manufacturing business inNorth Dakota for more than 60 years. Howard and Brian Dahl, the foundersof Amity, are grandsons of E. G. Melroe, the founder of the Melroe Company,which developed the Bobcat Loader. “You have to have continuous innovationto succeed.”

This year, Innovation Week is being expanded to include an innovationcompetition, Innovation Challenge 12. Student teams will compete on theinnovative work being done on campus. Students will prepare poster andoral presentation for judging. Criteria for both the poster and presentationwill focus on the attached areas of innovation. Three prizes will also beawarded: First Prize - $5,000, Second Prize - $2,500, Third Prize - $1,000.

Tom Walter, the Chief Culture Officer (CEO) of Tasty Catering, acorporate catering company based out of Chicago, Ill., will address thestudents. He notes that innovation and technology is critically importantbecause market place changes drastically. “You have to stay on top ofinnovation and technology,” says Walter, who has been in business for 40years. The company is now being directed by younger employees whounderstand market change, technology and innovation and bring it into theworkplace, Walter comments.

Because of his involvement with young entrepreneurs, includingmentoring young people, Walter’s talk will focus on different aspects ofentrepreneurship.

He also says that innovation and technology means survivability andsustainability for business. “If you don’t understand technology andinnovation within your market and how to apply technology to your productand organization, you will not survive,” he says.

Dahl believes the week-long event will allow students to “rub shoulders”with business people who have been innovative in their business. “This reallygives some inspiration to students. I think it can provide encouragement forthem to see that they can do this too,” Dahl adds. “The biggest value to thestudents is inspiration.”

Burgum agrees that businesses need to stay on the forefront of innovationand technology. “Technology can disrupt, it can enable, and it can be a majorcompetitive advantage for businesses. Because of that, innovation andtechnology needs to be front and center as part of business strategies,” hestates. PB

TOM WALTERCEO, TASTY CATERING


Driving through Arkansas, Aaron and SaraMcWilliams stopped at a winery and noticedwax taking shape around bottles. As thefamily continued their travels, AaronMcWilliams started to hypothesize about howto control the flow of wax to make the waxtake any shape it would need to take.

That started the McWilliams conducting several tests beforefinding the right ingredient for starting Spiral Light Candle,a candle with a twist, in their garage in Hillsboro, ND.

“After trial and error, we came up with the spiral candle,”Aaron McWilliams states. “It took awhile to repeat that success.”

Spiral Light self-filling candles when first lit uses thehorizontal wick on the upper edge. The candle burns around thehollow center with the wooden wick allowing the wax to draininward, filling the center. The horizontal spiraling wick selfextinguishes when the inside wax level reaches the top of the spiralto prevent any spilling. It then creates a solid pillar candle.

The spiral candle is patent-pending. Earlier this year, the first600 small candles were delivered to a trade show in Philadelphia,PA, where 15 clients took a chance on the product. The spiralcandles are now in more than 45 stores across the country. Thecandles are available in two styles, eight colors, and six differentscents including lavender, hot apple pie, lemon grass, frankincense,scandal wood, and cinnamon.

McWilliams focuses on the Christian market, as well as shippingto pharmacies and flower shops. Sixty percent of those whopurchase the candles are independent Christian retailers, accordingto the McWilliams.

“What we have noticed is that they selling out very quickly,”McWilliams states. “It is not something they have seen before.”

In their garage space on an acreage west of Hillsboro, threeemployees are able to make 25 candles a day. Currently, theproduction has increased to more than 100 products per day. Thecompany is also looking for two more employees to expand capacity

gearing up for the tradeshow season in the first quarter of 2012.McWilliams notes that a 10,000 square foot facility with rail

access in Hillsboro has been located. The plan is to move to thatlocation in May. “This space will give us the capacity to offer 20-30full time jobs in the summer and make our products availableinternationally,” he states.

Development of a new website is also underway.“If we manufacture in Hillsboro, our overhead goes down

because there is less cost being in North Dakota,” he explains. “It isalso more stable.”

The major challenge in producing the candles is managinggrowth and knowing how fast and when to grow. “The demand forthe product isn’t a problem and selling the product isn’t a problem,”he explains. “We’ve overcome so many hurdles in manufacturing.”PB

"Editor's Note: The article entitled 'Unique innovation keepscandles burning' is being reprinted in its entirety because the photo ofthe candles pertaining to our December story in the Red River Valleysection are not the type of candles that Spirit Light Candle provides itscustomers." Alan Van Ormer - [email protected]

Unique innovation keeps candles burning

Innovation

Sara and Aaron McWilliams have developed Spiral Light self-filling candles out of theirgarage in Hillsboro, ND. (Photo by Alan Van Ormer)


While all three states dabble in many different parts ofthe energy industries, South Dakota is developing anethanol industry, North Dakota has a strength in coal,

and western Minnesota is using its wind to develop thatresource.

In Minnesota, at the start of last year, the state had almost2,200 megawatts installed of wind energy capacity, according tothe Minnesota wind facts website. The current wind energycapacity under construction is an estimated 297 megawatts andthe total wind potential is 657 billions of kWh per year.

The impact of the recession has affected wind developers andturbine equipment manufacturers with low energy prices andlow demand for new energy capacity. Due to the buyer’s market,

the cost of new wind power is competitive with conventionalfossil fuel energy generation and can be an attractive way forutilities to hedge their energy costs.

A big issue is the Federal Production Tax Credit and whetheror not it will be extended or allowed to lapse. Another challengein Minnesota is addressing strengthening the capacity andreliability of the transmission grid to bring wind-generatedpower to needed areas.

SOUTH DAKOTA’S ETHANOL INDUSTRYWhen Hunter Roberts, South Dakota’s Director of Energy

Policy came on board 4 ½ years ago, ethanol was in the boonand new plants were being constructed. But then, in 2009 during

EnergyCS

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the economic downturn, the price of ethanol dropped and cornwas expensive, during plant production.

“The downturn caused the industry to take a moreconservative focused approach. It caused numerous consolidationsand acquisitions ultimately making many of our ethanol plantsstronger and more viable.”

Today, Roberts notes that the ethanol industry directly employs900 people in South Dakota, with many working in rural jobs insmaller communities that add another value to those towns.

“The ethanol industry is creating opportunities and wealth.This is especially important in rural agriculture communities,”Roberts states. “The industry is helping create competition forproducer products, giving producers more leeway to invest in theethanol industry and other business ventures which in turncreates more jobs.”

It is estimated that 25 percent of those jobs are tied to POET inSioux Falls, S. D.

“It is a nice feather in our hat for the state to have POET asone of our companies,” Roberts says. “POET is the world’s largestethanol producer and is widely regarded as a progressive companythat is leading technological advances in the industry.”

Trends show that at least near-term the ethanol industryshould remain profitable, Roberts notes, adding that SouthDakota is focusing on how to increase demand for ethanolproducts. The state is also looking at ways to make people awareof ethanol and support ethanol.

The major challenge is federal policy, as well as volatility incommodity markets that provides concerns for those in theethanol industry.

“The ethanol industry is certainly large and important toSouth Dakota,” Roberts says. “The state supports ethanol, andreasonable regulations, but believes strongly in staying out of theway of private enterprise. To that end, state efforts are focused onincentivizing infrastructure build out to help meet the growingdemand for ethanol products.”

The state is nearing the launch of an expanded program toincrease blender pump availability in South Dakota.

Roberts says the next important phase for the ethanol industryis cellulosic. “POET has a pilot plant in Scotland but that needs tobe fully developed to provide more of an energy boom to theMidwest,” he says. “The other part is bio-products. There is a greatresearch opportunity to identify how ethanol products can beused more diversely – especially in product development for otherindustries.”

NORTH DAKOTA’S COAL INDUSTRYNorth Dakota’s four lignite mines produce about 30 million

tons of coal every year. About 80 percent is used to generateelectricity and the other 20 percent is used to make syntheticnatural gas and other valuable byproducts such as fertilizer. Theelectricity serves about two million customers in North Dakotaand surrounding states. More than 50 percent of the electricitygenerated in North Dakota is used in Minnesota.

The state of North Dakota is one of 11 "clean air" states, whichmeans it meets all of the federal government's clean air standards.

The state receives more than $90 million in tax revenues everyyear from the lignite industry, and the mines and plants representsome of the best paying jobs in the state with salaries averagingabout $80,000.

“Both the mines and the power plants are constantly workingat being cleaner and more efficient. For the mines, this meansimproving production levels based on employee levels,” statesSteve Van Dyke, Vice President – Communications for the LigniteEnergy Council. “Some of the lignite today is buried deeper thanlignite that was mined 10 or 20 years ago, so the mines need toincrease their efficiency to keep production and reclamation levelsequal to or better than in years past.”

One major challenge is that the lignite industry is heavilyregulated by a number of different federal, state and local entities.“Keeping up with changing regulations is a major challenge.Regulations are a cost of doing business so the mines work toensure that all the regulations are met as a regular part ofeveryday mining activities,” Van Dyke explains.

The state of North Dakota and the lignite industry formed aresearch and development partnership in the late 1980s that ishelping the industry operate more cleanly, efficiently andeconomically. The state money comes from a tax on each ton ofcoal produced. This money is leveraged with investments fromother sources, including the utilities and mining companies, tosolve challenges facing the industry. Since 1987, the state hasinvested more than $60 million in lignite research funds. Totalindustry investment for the 150-plus R&D projects is in excess of$570 million. The continuation of the R&D partnership is criticalas the industry faces new regulatory challenges.

The lignite industry also continues to provide an annualteachers seminar every June that provides educators in NorthDakota and surrounding states with information about theindustry that can be taken back into the classroom to provide reallife educational opportunities for their students. Approximately130 teachers take part in the seminars every year.

“The lignite industry has helped diversify the state's economy.The industry provides direct employment to about 4,000 peopleand indirect employment to about 23,000,” Van Dyke says.“Generation and Transmission Cooperatives (Basin Electric PowerCooperative, Minnkota Power Cooperative and Great RiverEnergy) account for about 90 percent of the lignite-basedgeneration in the state. So the vast majority of the electricitygenerated by lignite is used by rural electric cooperatives whoserve farms and ranches in the Upper Midwest.”

Van Dyke notes that compared to the vagaries of agricultureand oil and gas production, the lignite industry has been the "OldFaithful" of the North Dakota economy. “The coal production hasbeen fairly stable since 1988. The number of jobs and the wageshas boosted the state's economy along with annual taxes paid bythe mines and plants,” he says. “Finally, the industry continues toproduce affordable and reliable electricity in an environmentallycompatible manner. The reclamation at the mines has won severalnational awards and the plants meet all federal ambient air qualitystandards.” PB

Alan Van Ormer - [email protected]

EnergyCS


There is good momentum and more and more biotech activity,” states MichaelChambers, President and CEO of Aldevron in Fargo, N. D. “Small companiesare growing up and there are 100s of small biotech companies looking for

new homes.”And many believe that biotech activity can occur right here in this region. This

is the reason that the North Dakota State University Center for BiopharmaceuticalResearch and Production has been started in Fargo, N. D. The major goals are tocreate biotech jobs in North Dakota, foster business development, provide supportfor companies and initiate workforce development programs.

“We’re building a group and trying to develop an economic engine of creatingbiotechnology jobs,” says A. Satish Menon, Associate Director and ResearchProfessor for NDSU Center for Biopharmaceutical Research and Production. “InNorth Dakota, there are very few biotechnology companies. This area can bedeveloped because North Dakota has a strong agricultural sector. Agriculture candrive biotechnology.”

ALDEVRON DEVELOPING VACCINESAldevron was one of the very first biotechnology companies in North Dakota.

The company‘s DNA technology is used to engineer new organisms or design newmedicine or plants. Aldevron is known for manufacturing the world’s first DNAvaccine for West Nile Virus. Since then Aldevron has worked with other companiesto develop novel drugs. The largest part of the business involves health care.

“Relative to other industries biotechnology is small, but it is growing,”Chambers says. “We can have a much larger impact in the coming years and NorthDakota can play a major role in the field.”

It could take as many as 8-10 years to develop a new drug and the companiesmust go through various processes including discovery, the pre-clinical phase,toxicology phase and three other phases before the drug is developed.

And in order for biotechnology to flourish in this region, Chambers believes ittakes the right people and giving them a platform where they can do good science.And the Center in Fargo is one of those platforms.

Chambers notes there are at least two challenges. One is that North Dakota hasa perceived quality of life that is different than other parts of the country. Second,there is a challenge in getting the story out and making sure people know thatbiotechnology companies can have great success in the state.

There are also strengths. First, there is a network that people can tap into.“Companies moving to our state can find critical resources,” Chambers says. “Forinstance, there are regional investment groups that are interested in biotech. Peoplecan find capital here.”

Chambers notes the most important factor is the extremely high quality ofemployees to be found in places like Fargo. This is due in large part to the regionaluniversities.

BiotechCS

For some who are investing in biotechnology, it is all about healing, feeding, andfueling the world. And that is what is happening with several companies in NorthDakota, South Dakota and western Minnesota.

“

A pond filter canisteremployed as an anaerobicfermentation chamber.

More biotech activityoccurring in the region


EPITOPIX FOCUSES ON VACCINES FOR ANIMALSEpitopix is an affiliate of Life-Science innovations. The company

started as the laboratory and R&D division of Willmar PoultryCompany, a large, family-owned turkey breeding and hatcheryoperation founded in Willmar in the 1950’s. The SRP® vaccinetechnology was originally developed to help reduce or eliminatesalmonella and E. coli in turkeys. In 2002, the company separatedthe biotech functions into a new company in order to branch outinto vaccines for cattle and other species of food animals.

The Epitopix SRP technology was developed by an agriculturecompany for “feeding” purposes, but a spin-off biotech company(Syntiron) was started to develop a technology for making humanvaccines (“healing”).

“We have a special interest in vaccines which contribute tohuman food safety, but we are also working on multiple vaccines tofight animal diseases, improving health and well-being, andreducing reliance on antibiotics in food production,” states JimSandstrom, General Manager, Epitopix. “For example, our cattlevaccine against salmonella reduces sickness especially in dairycattle, and also reduces environmental contamination by one of themost important bacterial species causing food-borne illness inhumans. Epitopix has invested tens of millions of dollars intodeveloping these SRP vaccines and as a result the company hasgrown to 50 employees even during a difficult economic period.”

Epitopix has entered a business partnership with Pfizer AnimalHealth to market the E. coli-SRP vaccine. “It takes a company with theresources, expertise, and relationships of Pfizerto complete the investment began by WillmarPoultry,” Sandstrom notes. “The beef industryincludes a complex chain of independent andsophisticated business interests, which willrequire coordination before wide-spreadadoption of this biotechnology is possible.”

Sandstrom believes that 10 years into thefuture, food safety through biotechnologywill become commonplace and broadlyaccepted, possibly even demanded, byproducers, consumers, and even by federalregulatory agencies.

“New biotech products will reduce therisk of food borne pathogens and antibioticresistance, and will increase food animalwell-being which is a huge concern to theaverage urbanite these days,” he says.“Biotech applications in animal genetics willimprove food quality and productionefficiency, allowing more food to beproduced with less impact on theenvironment.”

GAEA BIOFUELS DEVELOPINGBUTANOL PRODUCTION SYSTEM

In Brookings, S. D., Eugene Butler isdeveloping a butanol production systemfrom a laboratory scale (2 liter culturevolume) to a 200 liter culture volume inorder to demonstrate its utility forproduction of practical amounts of biofuel.

Butler, President of GAEA, believes thatthe development of small-scale “bio-

refineries” will permit decentralization of fuel production. “Thedecentralization of fuel and biochemicals production may lead tothe proliferation of networks of “cottage industries” and expandopportunities for self-employment,” he states.

Butanol, a valuable industrial solvent, is a four-carbon alcoholthat is superior to ethanol as a replacement for gasoline, or as asupplement to gasoline or diesel fuel. It can be mixed in any ratiowith gasoline, without significant engine modification, and itsenergy content is closer to gasoline, Butler notes. Butanol is lessflammable than ethanol, having a lower vapor pressure and a higherflash point than ethanol. Butanol has less affinity for water thanethanol, which allows it to be shipped and stored via existinginfrastructures (tanks and pipelines) that are used for gasoline.

GAEA, Inc. (Genetic Architecture, Education, and Analysis) wasestablished in 1995 to focus on the isolation and engineering ofmicrobes to meet energy requirements. Butler started work onenergy-efficient microbial systems in order to develop a distributedsystem of local fuel and chemical production. He has discovered acontinuous system for butanol production and other high valueproducts, according to the GAEA Biofuels website.

GAEA also provides molecular biology services to plant andanimal scientists around the world. PB



Health CareCS

No one in the industry knows for sure what will happenin the next two years.“It remains to be seen what will be happening in 2012,”

states Cindy Morrison, Vice President of Public Policy at SanfordHealth. “Almost three quarters of the states have taken first stepsand laid the cornerstones to be prepared for state exchanges.”

If there are no changes to the Health Care Law, states arerequired to have something in place or something available tocitizens by 2014. They must be certified for operation by theUnited States Department of Health andHuman Services by Jan. 1, 2013 andfully operational by Jan. 1, 2014.

A health care exchange provides amarket place for consumers to shop forand purchase insurance.

Darla Pollman-Rogers, who is anattorney and contract lobbyist forseveral health insurance groups, out ofher Riter Rogers Wattier and Northrupin Pierre, S. D., says it is impossible topredict how health care exchanges willchange the way business will beconducted.

“If we would implement anexchange, there would be a potential forsome changes how business is done,” shesays. “One of our instructions from thegovernor was that if we had an exchangeit would not take the place of privatemarketplace, rather the goal wouldprovide more exchange options for consumers. There would beopportunity for different products within an exchange.”

At its simplest form, Morrison says that a health careexchange is a marketplace for consumers to shop for andpurchase insurance. “They would compare policies by differentcompanies,” she states. “The benefits will be standardized soconsumers can easily compare cost and quality.”

The law allows the states to design their own health careexchanges. An estimated 48 states have received 1 million dollarplanning grants to look at creation of statewide exchange. Stateshave also started planning.

For example, Minnesota has started health exchangetechnical work groups that are looking at such things asgovernance, financing and IT and operations. Minnesota hasalso set up a website providing information about healthinsurance exchanges.

In addition, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard appointedthe South Dakota Health Insurance Exchange Task Force –comprised legislators, state officials, individuals from key privateagencies – to prepare a recommendation on state health

exchange. The task force has yet todetermine if they would recommendthe state developing an exchange.

The America’s Health InsurancePlans (AHIP) supports creating aseamless, simplified system ofcoordinated eligibility and enrollmentin Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) andinsurance affordability programsincluding advanced payments of thepremium tax credit, cost-sharingreductions, Medicaid, the Children’sHealth Insurance Program (CHIP) andany State-established Basic HealthProgram, if applicable, according to aletter drafted in October.

In the letter, among the concernsthe AHIP address are workability ofeligibility determinations; ensuresmooth transitions between coverageprograms through the use of

structured eligibility determinations and redeterminations; anddesigning an eligibility determination and redeterminationprocess that does not increase costs for consumers andpurchasers.

Pollman-Rogers also asks how can you begin to look atdevelopment of a plan inside the exchange if you don’t knowwhat the essential benefits are going to be. “That hasn’t beendetermined yet,” she states. “Another big issue is the cost withestablishing an exchange.” PB


One thing is certain about health care exchanges.

No one is sure whatwill happen withhealth care exchanges

If there are nochanges to theHealth Care Law,states are requiredto have something

in place orsomething availableto citizens by 2014.

38 Prairie Business Energy January 2012

Investing back into westernNorth DakotaWestern North Dakota is finding that thosewho have ties and a love of North Dakotaare investing back into their home state.

It is a good investment,” states George Gaukler, President ofValley Realty in Valley City, N. D. “In order to grow theeconomy we need to put money back into North Dakota.”Gaukler has been in the construction development

business since 1964 and does a lot of developmentthroughout Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Hewas born in Lidgerwood, N. D., attended Valley City StateUniversity (graduating in 1962), got his real estate licenseand opened offices in Fargo and Valley City. He built his firstapartment houses 35 years ago. Today, he manages more than3,000 apartment houses and commercial properties.

In western North Dakota he constructed 48 units in 1984 andstill operates them. He will have built 360 units by next spring.These include 1-3 bedrooms, 36-plex housing units. Gauklerworks with the city of Williston renting units to them for housing.

“It is a business transaction,” he explains. “They do needhousing and we are able to provide housing. We put the first onesup there when no one else was doing it.”

As for the future, Gaukler states that what people don’tunderstand that is if you take drilling out of the equation, it takesfive people to service the life of that well. “They will be drillingover 1,000 wells in the Williston trade area this year,” he explains.“That means 5,000 new employees will be needed. That doesn’tcount the other supply people. The wells will run from 25-50years, so this is long term growth.

“This is not going to come and go,” he adds. “We will manage500 units in Williston by next spring.”

Jim Lund, who was born in western North Dakota, but nowlives in Fargo, N. D., has a love for his western roots. “The peopleare survivors – they get knocked down and get back up again witha smile on their faces,” he says.

It was five years ago when Lund ventured into two differententities, C.A.M., LLC (Combined Asset Management) and WeDak,LLC. C.A.M. consists of approximately 90 single family dwellingsin the Fargo-Moorhead area and WeDak was birthed when hepurchased an abandoned 225 unit mobile home park in Williston.One and a half years later the company purchased a 70-unit parkin Tioga. C.A.M. currently has lots with infrastructure in thefollowing areas: approximately 150 lots in Williston, Dickinson,Belfield and currently constructing a 58-unit single family

development in Ray N. D., WeDak is constructing a 100-unitmobile home park.

Lund was born and raised in Minot, N. D. His parents’ familyare all from the Williston area, so he spent time there as a child.“With family still living in the area, I’ve stayed in touchthroughout the years, making trips back to visit. I moved to Fargoand went into the transportation industry, which I sold out ofabout 12 years ago,” he states. “I then began my successful realestate career in residential sales. Over time, The Jim Lund Teamhas developed into ateam of buyersagents with me andmy wife, Shawn, asthe listing agents.”

His father was anindependent oilproducer and died in1984 from a stressrelated heart attackat 57. “Afterbecoming asset richand cash poor fromthe last crash in the“oil patch”, he toldme then “the oil isthere and no cheaperplace to store it.”Now that dailyconsumption of oilis up, plustechnology to findoil is so much better,

George Gaukler

Jim and Shawn Lund


Jeff Stockert

but he felt it would be a good investment.As for North Dakotans investing back into western North Dakota, Lund says

in the 1980s, the voting population was on the eastern side of the state andNorth Dakota was so quick to vote in taxes on the oil companies. “I feel all ofthe publicity the western side gets now is very important to make all of usrealize what it contributes,” he explains. “Just look at our state’s financial status!”

Another North Dakota native, Jeff Stockert, who along with his partner, RonRivett, have been hotel developers, owners and operators since 1993, is investingin western North Dakota. They are developing 64-unit extend-stay suite hotelsin Dickinson, Minot and Williston. MyPlace, the newly-launched economyextended-stay brand, is slated to open first in Dickinson in February.

“There is clearly a demand for quality, consistent lodging in these threevibrant communities experiencing tremendous growth today and into theforeseeable future,” Stockert says.

Stockert grew up in Dickinson and moved to Aberdeen, S. D. in 1986. “I stillhave family in Dickinson, so it is kind of neat to go back to invest in my hometown,” he says. “We’ve done hotel projects in Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Utah,Arizona and California which makes it interesting to note that none of thoseprominent states are experiencing the economic success that North Dakota is.”


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South Dakotacouple developssolar energy trailer

A Trent, S. D. truck-driving coupleis using solar energy to assist incooling their trailer as they travelacross the country.

We have permanently placed solar slim film to theroof of the trailer. The underbelly of the trailer hoststhe necessary components to transform the solar

power to AC electric power to run the compressor that coolsthe trailer,” explains Kathy Baty, who along with her husband,Larry, have been driving truck together over the road for thepast 6 ½ years. “With the use of solar electric power, there areno emissions released into the air. Clean Air!”

The Batys have developed a platform technology forutilizing solar energy to power over the road refrigeratedtrailers. Currently, the refrigerated trucking industry usesdiesel powered refrigerated systems.

The platform technology enables the creation of productsthat support present or future development. “We are expectingour invention of the solar electric power to assist intransforming the trucking industry by using less foreign oiland also helping with the elimination of emissions into theair,” Kathy Baty says.

Baty notes that this is the same compressor that is run bythe diesel motor. It enables the reefer unit to properly coolfrom solar the same as from diesel. The front of the trailerhosts a soft start component to help with the starting of theelectric motor.

“


The process allows solar to create electricity and an electricmotor will run the compressor to cool the reefer unit the same asthe diesel unit does.

Diesel has always been the way of refrigeration for thetrucking industry, Baty says. The cost of the diesel is now at $4-$5 a gallon. On an average, a trailer use 20-30 gallons of diesel aweek, depending on the load.

“By adding 50’ x 8’ of solar panels to the top of a reefertrailer, it will take in enough energy to run the compressor onthe reefer unit for up to one half of the time the trailer is beingcooled,” Baty explains. “I believe that in the future, this solarenergy on the roof of the trailer can be implemented to usage onthe tractor attached to it for cooling and heating the tractor froman electrical source run from solar.”

Baty notes that the solar industry in California andthroughout the United States has exploded in the past few years.“This industry is exploding because of the large pushes fromWashington to make our country less dependent on foreign oilsand to improve our air qualities,” Baty says.

Larry Baty has been driving for more than 30 years. KathyBaty joined him 6 ½ years ago. The couple has four growndaughters with families of their own, so Kathy Baty left her officejob to join her husband on the road.

“I personally have always been fascinated with solar energy,”Baty says. “I have watched the solar industry growth along thefreeways, from billboards lit by solar to solar fields to generateadditional electricity for communities.”

The Batys had a regular pickup for produce at a business inLos Angeles. “At their dock, there was a trailer plugged intoelectricity. As Larry did investigating into this trailer, it had itsdiesel motor along with an electric motor,” she says. “On our wayhome that trip, as I was putting in some windshield time, and athought crossed my mind as why wouldn’t solar run the electricmotor that was on that semi trailer. With the ever changingindustry, we have had to do many emission upgrades.

“As you drive along the freeways, there are numerous truckstops that you see the tops of trailers baking in the sun, if theyhad solar panels on them, they would be collecting a lot of sunpower,” she continues. “This would implement green energy,lesser usage of foreign oils, eliminate emissions, and help to

create jobs.”Using her laptop, Baty started investigating into the solar

industry and if this quest would be possible. “After many weeksof research, I learned that yes it would be possible. I became verypassionate about the idea,”she says. “We asked aroundto some of our friends, andthey all thought it was agreat idea.”

The Batys then took theidea to the EnterpriseInstitute at South DakotaState University inBrookings, S. D. The Batysalso approachedshareholders, who providedthe start up funding. TheBatys then started Be Solar,because as Kathy Baty states,“I just wanted somethingsimple and to the point.”

The Batys have just one

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unit in operation, so have not made that large of an industry in the solar industry. “Thepossibilities of impact on the solar industry are tremendous. There are approximatelythree million trailers on the roads, in shipyards, and at docks,” Baty says. “If each of thesetrailers were equipped with our solar innovation, the solar industry would create many

jobs as the demand of solar panels would increase tremendously, not tomention these trailers are replaced on a regular basis.”

Baty says at this time the product is working wonderfully and hasgreat potential for this country. “My husband and I have researched,developed, tested this product and have a patent pending,” she says. “Wehave taken an idea and created a very valuable product. Our challenge atthis time is to find an investor or partner to take Be Solar to its fullestpotential.”

As for trends, Baty states there are all kinds of lighting by solarenergy, from street lights to yard decor lights and to the larger scale, frombill board lighting to Solar Electric Generating fields just outside ofBarstow California, Primm, Nevada and Bakersfield, California. “We areseeing more and more of the solar products all around us.

“Be Solar is a 100 percent American Company. Everything wasdesigned and developed locally. Be Solar has what Washington has beenshouting for,” she adds. “Our Innovation is currently patent pending andwe are in search for Investor Angels to take our company to its fullestpotential.”



Huron, SD

“It has generated excitement,” states Jim Borszich, ExecutiveDirector of the Greater Huron Development Corporation.

Since the 1980s, Huron had seen a decline in its population.However, that changed after the 2010 Census when the community,located in central South Dakota, saw almost a 6 percent increase inpopulation to almost 12,600 people.

In the late 1990s, Huron had a major layoff and loss of jobs.However, the community, which has a history with the meatpacking industry, turned it around when Dakota Provisions openedits facility east of Huron on Highway 14.

Borszich says this new industry revitalized Huron. For example,the city of Huron took the former Huron University and Si TankaUniversity campus and is putting together a $15 million project tobuild a large aquatic park. Community members have raised morethan $4 million of that sum. In addition, the community is usingbuildings on the former campus for enhancing higher educationopportunities.

“We’re becoming more revitalized (a community) that has achanging of the guard,” Borszich explains. “People are a lot moreactive. There are more risks being taken than you used to see.”

The main goal is retaining and recruiting a workforce.And Dakota Provisions has been one of the leaders in retaining

jobs and recruiting people to Huron. The turkey-processing planthas more than 800 employees, processes 100,000 head of turkeysper week and produces 1.2 million pounds a week of Ready to Eatproduct. A 70,000 square foot expansion is slated for 2012 whichwould push Ready to Eat production to 3 million pounds per week

and add an additional 225 employees.“I don’t think Huron has experienced the serious economic

issues that the rest of the country has,” says Kenneth R. Rutledge,President and CEO of Dakota Provisions. Rutledge is concernedabout a housing shortage in the community. “We have formedJames Valley Housing and are looking at finding ways to bringlower cost housing into Huron. It is a major issue, but it is fixingitself. People are beginning to step up and are seeing the need foradditional housing.”

NEWCOMERS SUPPORTING THE AG COMMUNITYThe seven-year-old Lankota Group is a privately-owned

company with distinctive product lines, each with a distinctivemarket.

“Growth has been phenomenal,” says co-owner MarvieTschetter, adding that the company’s success is based on providing aquality product, not being overly priced, and providing the productwhen the customer wants it. “We’re blessed to be in the ag market.Prices for crops are very good.”

Lankota provides a line of agricultural products, primarily forthe combine, through a dealership network throughout the UnitedStates and Canada. In 2008, the Red Devil Snow Blower productline was added. The snow blower was designed for tractors and skidsteers. Another new product is the Lankota Hydro-Boom that isoperated via a wireless hand held remote control device. LankotaIndustrial Cabs builds the custom cabs for one of a kindapplication. Lankota Custom Truck & Trailer will customize and

TurningthecornerWhen Dakota Provisions came to

Huron, S.D., in 2005, many business

leaders will say that was the turning

point for the community.

Community Spotlight

HURON STATE FAIR


install truck bodies and trailers to meet the customer’s specifications.Tschetter says that there is a noticeable lack of skilled labor in

manufacturing. “I think the fabrication manufacturing companies arestruggling to grow because of the lack of skilled labor that is needed tomeet the requirements for the job,” Tschetter says.

AgSense is another company that is in business because of what ishappening in the agriculture sector. The ag technology company hastechnology equipment that monitors and controls such items astemperature inside the grain bin and monitors and controls irrigationpivots.

“The technology cuts expenses, increases efficiency, and allowsfarmers to deploy their workers in a more efficient manner, and helpsincrease productivity,” says Terry Schiltz, President of AgSense. “SouthDakota is an ag state, so therefore even though a technical company,our design and software engineers and technical people understandfarming. That gives us a better insight in developing software.”

Schiltz says it helps that Huron is becoming a progressivecommunity with a lot of growth, making it relatively easy to recruittechnical people. “Many of our technical people are born in SouthDakota and have ties to the community,” Schiltz explains.

The company has seen its growth double each year since 2008. “Thebiggest thing that I have noticed is that producers are technology savvyand the younger generation is coming back, which means morebusiness for us,” Schiltz says.

HEALTH CARE STILL ONE OF THE PILLARS OF THECOMMUNITY

Huron Regional Medical Center has seen significant changes overthe past five years. Five physicians have joined the medical staff. Toprepare for these new physicians, HRMC engaged in severalconstruction projects to build or remodel clinic space.

Other significant projects over the last five years include theaddition of advanced technology in the medical imaging departmentincluding a 64-slice Volume CT scanner in 2007 and a completesoftware upgrade in June 2010.

Jim White, Chairman of the Hospital Board, says quality health careis a basic need for each person in the community whether it is forroutine, preventative care, illness treatment, diagnosis or emergencycare. “Health care reform will continue to change the way healthcare isdelivered. HRMC is well-positioned to respond to the changes and isfocused on staying abreast of the changes and how they impact theorganization, and more importantly, the patient,” White states.

Horizon Health Care is opening a new facility in Huron to assist thehealth care systems with serving the medical underserved and underinsured population or those who have no medical service at all.

Currently, there are three exam rooms and two providers, butwithin the next six to eight months, the new facility will increase to 13exam rooms, 4-5 providers, two RNs and nursing staff. Horizon HealthCare received a grant for more than $200,000 to open up the clinic toserve the underserved population.

“We are a good fit because we bring affordable health care tocommunities with populations that don’t have access to it. Huron has apopulation that needs medical care,” states Kristi Atkinson, MarketingCoordinator for Horizon Health Care. “That is where Horizon comesin by focusing on a phase of the population that doesn’t have access toquality health care they can afford.”

CHANGES AND CHALLENGES INTO THE FUTUREMany business leaders believe that Huron is experiencing growth

and many attribute much of it to Dakota Provisions.Borszich says when a community brings in a big company like

TERRY SCHILTZPRESIDENT, AGSENSE

JIM BORSZICH

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GREATER HURONDEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

KENNETH R. RUTLEDGEPRESIDENT/CEO, DAKOTA PROVISIONS


Dakota Provisions it generates excitement, but also brings inconcerns about handling large growth with a single company. “Thecommunity has become very adaptable to the various cultures thatare out there,” he notes. “The community as a whole has done aphenomenal job in embracing them and making them part of ourcommunity. It has provided revitalization for our overall economy.”

In addition Dakota Provisions has provided other economicdevelopment including spin-off companies like Unisource, apackaging company that supplies Dakota Provisions. In addition,Butler Machinery is building a multi-million dollar retail outlet forCaterpillar and TrueNorth Steel has a new growth and vision.

While housing still remains an issue, the Pheasant RunApartment Complex is being constructed and the James ValleyHousing has raised seed money and is working with the Governor’shousing program. To date, seven houses have been built in Huronand at least another five are under construction.

“There are a number of locations for development, but thechallenge is finding developers,” Borszich notes. “Developers todaywho have survived the recession are focused in on where they areat.”

In addition, with the ag industry still doing well, Borszich says ithas reflected on Huron’s main street. Gross sales tax is up morethan 8 percent. In September alone, sales tax was up 17 percentover a year ago.

“Economically we are doing well,” he states. “The major issue isthat we don’t have enough people to fill jobs.”

To help with recruiting employees, Huron has joined Aberdeen,Yankton and Mitchell, as well as other communities, to form theJames Valley Initiative Group. The main focus is job retention and

in particular working with companies already in the community sothey can remain in the community. In addition, Huron has postscompany jobs on the worldwide web.

Schiltz has been in the community since 2004 and notices thatculturally, Huron is more diverse than when he first arrived. Thepopulation growth is noticeable,” he says. “The business climateseems to be improving with the growth in retail you see going on.”

Overall, Borszich says there has been a significant change inpeople’s attitudes. “There is a lot of excitement in Huron. We’recycling through new leadership, young people coming up, and thegeneral feeling of Huron is much stronger and better than has beenin many years,” he says. “Therefore, I think people are more excitedabout investing and living here.” PB


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HURON EVENT CENTER

For more information contact the Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau or GreaterHuron Development at 800-487-6673 or check us out at www.huronsd.com.

It’s hard to identify one specific thing that has called attentionto this rural South Dakota community – but only because thereare so many to talk about! While most communities across thecountry have experienced some of the toughest economictimes in generations during the past half-decade, Huron hasbeen quietly beating the odds. In the past five years alone thecommunity has witnessed:

" 10% population growth" 33% growth in retail sales" An double-digit increase in home values and the housing market" Expansion in university and vocational educational opportunities" The addition of over 1000 jobs in the private sector

There is no question there’s something special about Huron. If you’re still not convinced, here’sanother staggering statistic. In 2011 Huron experienced the largest percentage growth of retailsales of all first class cities in South Dakota. And, the outlook for the future continues to lookbright. Developments already underway for 2012 include:

" $18 million city-center redevelopment that includes a new waterpark, a community education and recreation center, and the buildingof South Dakota’s premier city park

" New construction and expansion of multiple agri-business companies" Continued growth in the construction of new single and multi-family

housing units" Expanding business climate with 500 additional jobs coming on line

in 2012-2013

Whether you are an individual in search of a new career opportunity, a family looking for a place tocall home, a small business start-up, or a company looking to expand or relocate - you best take alook at Huron. There’s just something special about this place!


This is a very unique event, arguably, the first of its kindin the nation. The focus is specific with all sessionstargeted toward agricultural producers,” states Dr. Paul

Gunderson, President of the Dakota Precision AgricultureCenter located on the Lake Region State College campus inDevils Lake, N. D. “Other meetings have been held that havegathered engineers, soil scientists, human factor ergonomists,etc., however this meeting provides a singular opportunity forproducers from the Midwest and high plains to explore thesetechnologies and their potential application within agriculturalenterprises. “

Lanny Faleide, President of Agri ImaGIS Technologies incentral North Dakota, will emphasis the future of agricultureadapting technology through a mobile environment. “We’rewaiting for the ag industry to embrace the mobilephenomenon,” he says. “I am not sure that growers understandwhere it is going. It will be an interesting change.”

Faleide started Agri ImaGIS Technologies almost 18 yearsago. The company’s main focus has been remote sensing, inparticular, accessing imagery from satellites and aerial sensorsto take images of a farm field to evaluate the growth potentialof crops and what is going in that field throughout the year.

“Precision ag is about targeting the different areas in thefield by using technology managing areas in most efficient rolethat you can,” he states.

Dr. Gunderson has had a long career conducting researchinto the human health impacts of North American agriculture.He has held tenured faculty posts at Ball State University(Muncie, Indiana) and the School of Public Health within theUniversity of Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minnesota). Otherfaculty engagements include The University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Colorado State University, Fort Collins,Colorado. He is currently conducting research into themovement of agricultural inputs such as fertilizer andantimicrobials within calcareous high plains soil intogroundwater, and the fiscal, environmental, and human healthimpacts of adoption of precision agriculture technologieswithin agricultural enterprises.

The Center was established under North Dakota’s Center ofExcellence initiative to foster high quality research, respond toprivate-sector need for product-related research anddevelopment, and contribute to a quality environment for

technologicaljob developmentwith North Dakota.

His research suggeststhat precision agriculturetechnologies, when systematicallyimplemented, can contribute positivelyto the functioning bottom line of highplains agricultural enterprises, precisionagriculture technologies could reduceNorth Dakota agricultural producer’s useof nitrogen fertilizer by as much as 16percent, depending on soil, crop, andmanagement conditions, thereby lesseningthe environmental impact of nitrate movementinto our nation’s streams, lakes, and rivers, and precisionagriculture technologies hold the promise of reducing fatigue,spinal exposure, and stress associated with day-to-dayoperation of agricultural equipment (and trucks) within cropfield conditions.

Another extension specialist, John Nowatzki, a NorthDakota State University Agricultural Machine SystemsSpecialist, notes that technologies are catching on quicklybecause of the savings. “Precision ag has an impact on society,”he states. “The impact for farmers is either more profit orconvenience. There is also an environmental protection forsociety.

As an extension specialist, Nowatzki takes the research tothe farming community. More than two-thirds of his work isspecifically related to agriculture machinery, in particular,focusing on the applications of fertilizers, section control andnozzle control on sprayers for farmers in the field.

“The summit is a good idea. Farmers will attend as long asthe information shared is something they don’t already know,”Nowatzki states. “Secondly, they will look at the presenters andsee if they are experts in the field. I think that is importantbecause these farmers are well educated and technologicallyadvanced.” PB



Precision Agriculture Action Summit

Highlighting agriculturalinnovationAgricultural innovation will be one of thehighlights at the inaugural Precision Ag Summit onJan. 16-17 at the North Dakota Farmers Union(NDFU) Conference Center in Jamestown, N. D.

DR. PAULGUNDERSON

“



The first ever Red River ValleyResearch Corridor Precision AgricultureSummit is being co-organized by the RedRiver Valley Research Corridor, NorthDakota Farmers Union, and Lake RegionState College’s Dakota Precision AgCenter and NDSU's Department ofAgricultural and Biosystems Engineering.

Attendees will hear from experts andpresenters on a number of topics,including the state of precisionagriculture, upcoming trends,technological applications, andopportunities for successfulimplementation. Attending the summitoffers hands on and technicaldemonstrations of precision agriculturetechnologies and applications andexplanations of applications, procedureand tools designed to lower producercost and create a more efficientenvironment for farm production.

Precision agriculture consists of the“art” of exploring options andimplementing agronomic practices thatare required by a plant species to attainits yield potential in accordance with thespatial and temporal conditions of thefield where it is grown. Hence, precisionagriculture is not merely aboutstrapping a satellite signal receivingglobe on the top of a tractor or combineand coupling that to a microprocessorin the operator station/cab. Rather,precision agriculture is a methodologythat, if implemented successfully,integrates three key elements: (1)grower/agronomist information andinsight about her/his crop fields andplant species, (2) technology and (3)management practice capable ofintegrating findings and implementingdecisions. The emphasis should notsingularly focus upon the technology,but should represent upon the overallmethodology.

This event is open to the public andagriculture producers, researchers,agronomists, manufacturers, businessleaders, economic developers, andstudents who are interested in hearingfrom experts, exchanging ideas, andlearning more about precisionagriculture technology, methods, andpractices are encouraged to attend. PB

First-everPrecision Ag Summit

Agriculture has, and always will be, a driving force ofour regional economy,” explains DeloreZimmerman, executive director of the Red River

Valley Research Corridor. “Precision Agriculture is anevolution in agronomic practices, and it is fitting that wefind so many companies and researchers in our regionleading the movement. This summit is designed tohighlight developments and provide producers withhands-on exposure and information that they can takehome and integrate into their operations.”

Every aspect of precision agriculture is based on theGlobal Positioning System (GPS). A decision by farmers toincrease adaption to this high tech agriculture isincreasingly determined by impacts on increasedproductivity and profitability for their individualoperations.

NDFU President Woody Barth adds, “Agriculturecontinues to change and our farmers are interested in newand emerging technology. As an organization that puts a



PrecisionAgricultureSummit providesevolution ofagronomicpracticesThe increasing use of technology inproduction agriculture will be thetopic of the first-ever PrecisionAgriculture Action Summitscheduled for Jan. 16-17 inJamestown, ND at the NorthDakota Farmers Union (NDFU)Conference Center.

Day 18:45 – 9:30 Registration and continental breakfast (in exhibit area)

9:30 – 9:50 Welcome and Opening Remarks- Dr. Delore Zimmerman, Woody Barth, Dr. Paul Gunderson, Dr. Sreekala Gopalapillai Bajwa

9:50 – 10:45 Keynote Speaker-Lowell Catlett

10:45 – 11:00 Networking Break (in exhibit area)

11:00 – 12:00 Industry Solutions in Telematics: Communication from Office to Equipment Moderator – John Nowatzki, Shannon Cameron, Denton Schwiesow, Marlin Melander

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch (In Exhibition Area)

1:00 – 1:10 Remarks and Introduction of Keynote speaker - Mark Watne

1:10 – 1:45 Keynote Speech:Food Security and Implications on AgricultureColonel Stephen J. Lynch, JCS, J5 SIAD, DoD Pentagon

1:45 – 2:45 Equipment for Precision Applications (Sprayers, Planters, Moderator – Dr. Scott Shearer, Darryl Justesen, Denton Schwiesow, Guy Swanson)

2:45 – 3:00 Networking Break

3:00 – 3:30 Featured Speaker – Future development in Precision, Geospatial, and Remote Sensing Technologies - Moving to Mobile!! Tracking your Farm on the Phone - Lanny Faleide

3:30 – 4:30 Critical Challenges and Obstacles to MappingModerator: Dale Enerson, Shawn Kasperick, Kelly Sharpe,Paul Overby, Shannon Cameron

4:30 – 5:15 GPS and Guidance technologies Moderator: Paul Aakre, Aaron Seifert, John Pointon, Shannon Cameron

5:15 – 6:30 Networking Social (In Exhibit area)

Day 2 – Technical Session8:15 – 9:00 Registration and continental breakfast (in exhibit area)

9:00 – 9:15 Welcome and Opening Remarks - Jasper Schneider, Doug Goehring

9:15 – 10:00 Featured Speaker – The Economics of Precision AgricultureTerry Griffin

10:00 – 10:15 Networking Break

10:15 – 11:30 Producer and Practitioner panel(Moderator – Melinda Martin) Eric Halverson, Gary Wagner, Paul Overby, Paul Backstrom

11:30 – 12:45 Lunch (In Exhibition Area)

12:45 – 1:45 Remote Sensing Applications Satellite - Aerial - UAV - ISS - Ground based - LIDAR (Moderator – Doug McDonald )Maynard Herting, Bob Nutsch, Doug Olsen, John Nowatzki

1:45 – 2:45 Near Earth SensorsJohn Nowatzki with NDSU

2:45 – 3:00 Closing session – Where do we go from here? Dr. Paul Gunderson

“

JANUARY 16 & 17, 2012FARMERS UNION CONFERENCE CENTER - JAMESTOWN

NORTH DAKOTA FARMERS UNION & THE RED RIVER VALLEY RESEARCH CORRIDOR


Precision Agriculture Action Summithigh priority on education, we’re proud to be a co-host of thePrecision Ag Summit and to be a leader in bringing new ideas,technology and information to our members and friends.”

Subjects covered at the summit will include the state ofprecision agriculture, emerging trends, technologicalapplications and demonstrations for successfulimplementation. Attendees can expect hands-ondemonstrations of precision agriculture technologies,applications, procedures and tools designed to lower producercost and increase farm efficiency.

The summit will feature keynote speakers Lowell Catlett,Futurist and Dean of Agriculture at New Mexico StateUniversity, who will discuss trends that could drive bothproducers and consumers toward new technology. Col. StephenLynch from the Department of Defense, will speak to theincreasing role of food security as it relates to national security.Session panelists include industry experts, producers,practitioners and technology developers. An exhibition areawill feature demonstrations of products and techniques byindustry leaders in telematics, precision applications, software,seed and other areas of the industry.

Support for the summit is being provided by event co-organizers North Dakota Farmers Union, Red River ValleyResearch Corridor, the Dakota Precision Ag Center at LakeRegion State College and North Dakota State University’sDepartment of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering. PB

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NDFUPRESIDENTWOODYBARTH

The grant will fund the Prairie Health Information Technology(PHIT) Network Project which includes not only Horizon’s 17medical and dental clinic locations but also two other rural

FQHC organizations for a total of 24 rural medical and dental sitesacross the state. Prairie Community Health, Inc. with clinics in centraland northwest South Dakota and allPoints Health Services, with clinicsin southeast South Dakota, will also participate in the PHIT Network.The grant will allow the three organizations to share electronic medicalrecord resources among its members as well as provide professionaldevelopment for clinical staff associated with the health care systems.

The PHIT Network is partnering with Dakota State University inMadison, S.D., HealthPOINT, also located in Madison, and SouthDakota’s eHealth Collaborative to achieve its project goals. DSU’sHealth IT Workforce Development program will provide customizedtraining for PHIT Network staff to help with new knowledge and skillsin Health IT. The training will be delivered across the state usingvarious technologies used by the Network.

HealthPOINT, South Dakota’s Regional Extension Center, offersmeasureable and sustainable solutions to aid healthcare providersachieve meaningful use and will play a pivotal role in helping the PHITNetwork achieve its goals. In addition, working with the state’s HealthInformation Exchange initiative known as the eHealth Collaborative,PHIT Network members will exchange health informationelectronically with hospitals and other specialty healthcare clinics in thelarger, urban health systems.

“The hope and desire is that we can learn from those who have runinto barriers and make the process smoother,” states Mike Knutson, whois the PHIT network director. He will be working on the educationcomponent that applies directly to electronic health care records. “My roleis to identify resources for health care professionals to help them useelectronic health records in a meaningful manner by capturing data thatcan be used to improve the quality of care. We will also be able to sharethat information and best practices with other health centers in the state.”

Meaningful use means providers need to show they are using EMRtechnology in ways that can be measured significantly in quality and

quantity. This means including electronic prescribing of prescriptions,exchanging health information electronically among other health careproviders and submitting clinical quality and other measures to showimprovement in quality of care.

Horizon Health Care was awarded the Health InformationTechnology Grant through the HRSA’s office of Rural Health Policy. Formore than 30 years, Horizon has been providing personalized,affordable, high-quality primary health care through a rural,community-based network of 17 medical and dental clinics in the state.Horizon serves more than 63,000 patients in medically underservedareas of South Dakota.

The grant is a three-year project and is in its early stages ofadoption. The network is working toward achieving meaningful use in2012.

Prairie Community Health, located in Isabel, S.D., consists of clinicsites in Bison, Eagle Butte, Faith, Isabel, and McIntosh in the northwestregion of South Dakota. allPOINTS Health Services, with sites in ElkPoint and Alcester, provides comprehensive medical and mental healthcare and has recently added state-of-the-art radiology equipment toenhance the care provided at the clinics.

The technology grant will help the three organizations byidentifying gaps in their use of the EMR , as well as identify additionalresources that can benefit individual health care providers and establishconnections between the health care systems.

Scott Weatherill, Chief Information Officer for Horizon Healthcare,helped draft the grant and will be overseeing the technical aspects ofthe project.

“This is about using information technology and leveraging existingresources to help providers improve the quality of care in rural SouthDakota,” he notes.

Weatherill believes the technology grant will help the health caresites meet its meaningful use commitment, as well as help withtechnology needs at the Prairie Community Health and allPOINTSHealth Service sites.

Weatherill also notes there is an education component. “We canidentify resources and technologies to help educate clinic staff andproviders on health info technology in the workplace,” he says. SDPB

Alan Van Ormer - avanormer@prairiebizmag,.com

52 Prairie Business South Dakota January 2012

It’s all about South Dakota

PHIT: All aboutimprovinghealth careIn an effort to improve health care in rural South Dakota,Horizon Health Care, Inc., headquartered in Howard, S. D.,has been awarded a three-year, $900,000 HealthInformation Technology Grant.

Since its inception in 2006, the Strom Center (Dickinson, ND)has focused on making a difference in the small businesscommunities of southwestern North Dakota. They are a Center

of Excellence with a mission to serve aspiring entrepreneurs andsmall businesses by inspiring leadership, developing businesses, andadvancing the business community as a whole.

“Starting out is scary,” Executive Director Steve Glasser says.“Entrepreneurs have to take risks by digging into their life savings orborrowing money to start up. Having access to coaches who havebeen in their shoes is invaluable.”

The Strom Center is a part of Dickinson State University and wasthe vision of Jerry Strom and his late wife, Rosie. In 2010 the centerwas granted support by the Economic Development Administrationthrough their University Center program. This support is what ledto the launch of the recent Business Incubation Program specificallydesigned to enhance regional entrepreneurship. The Incubatorfocuses on four main areas:

- Business coaching- Virtual Resource Library- Training seminars- Consulting servicesThe business coaching part of the program is designed to pair

new business owners with experienced coaches and mentors in thebusiness community. Coaches are there to listen and give ideas tonew entrepreneurs.

“The Incubator Program placed me into a mentorshiprelationship that assisted my expansion into the business world,”explains Cheryl Planert of Dakota Lights Center for HumanDevelopment. “Their coaching helped me with languaging and tookme from a soft wellness approach to a more structured businesswording for my marketing. It kept me motivated with literature andlinked me to both the Human Resource and the Safety ManagerAssociations in order to educate and market the Yoga/Movementaspect of Dakota Lights Stress Reduction Consulting Services.”

On Nov. 3, 2011 the website for the Virtual Resource Library waslaunched. The website, designed for clients and coaches, is a one-stop resource that includes articles and website links to tips on taxes,

accounting, HR, marketing, financials, and training opportunities. “They have provided ingenious online resources such as training

and software for business plans,” says Thiel, owner of FrontrunnerTechnologies, a company that provides web and mobile appdevelopment services for Western North Dakota and beyond.

Training Seminars are an integral part of the Incubation programas well. Local experts teach on various business subjects such asQuickBooks, marketing, website development, social networking,and diversity in the workplace. They are currently working withStephen MR Covey’s office in regards to bringing Stephen MR toDickinson for the Strom Entrepreneurship Conference scheduled forApril 17, 2012. This annual conference is a full day event that drawsin hundreds of people from the business and college community.

In addition to business coaching, the resource library, andtraining opportunities, the Strom Center offers consulting servicesto assist business owners with marketing, website development andbusiness support.

“The Incubator program afforded me the excellent advantage ofClay Kraby’s marketing services. He guided my website presence andgave numerous tips to transform it to a more operational formatstill in progress,” describes Planert. Kraby is the Marketing Specialistfor the Strom Center.

The knowledge and support that the Strom Center gives to eachclient is an important piece of the growing economic puzzle that isbuilding in Western North Dakota.

Planert notes that Strom Center personnel and services havebeen invaluable in developing his business. His goal was to move hispersonal motivation groups and his yoga classes to Beach, Medora,Belfield, Dickinson, and Bismarck (all in North Dakota) within fouryears.

“I accomplished this and am now in the next phase ofdevelopment, bringing Dakota Lights Stress Reduction ConsultingServices to the corporate world,” Planert continues. “If youincorporate their guidance into your business plan it will be nothingbut a win-win situation. No Dickinson region start-up should bewithout this service. It will help your business prosper - the rest isup to you.” WNDPB

Mandy Anderson is a Bismarck, ND-based freelance writer. She canbe reached at [email protected].

54 Prairie Business Western North Dakota January 2012

“The Strom Center played an integral role inthe launch of our company. They are a one-stop shop for any kind of business start-up.”

- Kyle Thiel, Frontrunner Technologies

Business incubatorprovides valuableresources for areaentrepreneurs

STEVE GLASSEREXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STROM CENTER


It’s all about Western North Dakota

United Pulse is a perfect fit forMinot and its Value-Added AgComplex. The strategic advantage

provided through the services of BNSFRailway and the infrastructure providedin the Ag Park area will provide UnitedPulse a great opportunity to reach itscustomer base worldwide,” says MinotMayor Curt Zimbelman.

United Pulse Trading, has indicatedthat the planned facility will include theinstallation of pulse processingequipment for beans, chickpeas, peas andlentils to augment its U.S. processingcapacity at its Williston, ND productionfacility. The new facility in Minot willalso add additional capacity for value-added pulses production of foodingredient pulses flours, proteins, starchesand fibres. It is expected by United PulseTrading that the new facility, oncecommissioned in August 2012, willfeature an annual capacity ofapproximately 100,000 mt per year and

United Pulse Trading Inc. expands to MinotUnited Pulse Trading Inc. (“UPT”), a North Dakota based pulseprocessor and exporter focused on the buying, processing andexport of lentils, beans, chickpeas and peas, will be expanding intothe Minot, ND Value-Added Agricultural Complex.

“

56 Prairie Business Western North Dakota January 2012


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provide origination reach into central and eastern North Dakota,which is a region of substantial acreage of beans, peas and pulses.

The planned United Pulse Trading facility will be located at Minot’sValue-Added Agricultural Complex, which features North Dakota PortServices Inc. (“NDPS”) as an anchor tenant. NDPS provides, through

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (“BNSF”) Logistics and BNSF’sNorthern Tier Intermodal line, container services to the complexthrough its facility adjacent to BNSF’s main-line switch yard featuringdaily service and four-lane highway access.

This expansion into Minot brings our company a tremendousamount of opportunity not only due to the city’s strategic locationwithin a strong production area for pulse crops, but also becauseMinot is an important regional transportation hub,” says Murad Al-Katib, President and CEO of United Pulse Trading. “The recentdevelopment of the container yard at the Port of North Dakotaprovides tremendous opportunity to efficiently distribute our productsglobally, with a focus on food ingredient and value-added pulses forthe U.S. domestic market, as well as for European shipments. The factthat the building is already built, the storage is constructed and theequipment is ready for installation gives us a timing advantage andmeans it will be ready for the 2012 harvest season.”

Al-Katib adds that with this expansion in Minot, along with ourpresence in Williston, we feel we are well positioned to effectively carryout its mandate of taking value-added food products from ‘Producer tothe World’.” WNDPB

MINOT VALUE-ADDED AGRICULTURALCOMPLEX

The Minot Value-Added Agricultural Complexencompasses approximately 800 acres with accessiblerail, water, and sewer. The Port of North Dakota,Minot’s intermodal transportation hub, transportswestbound agricultural commodities on BurlingtonNorthern Santa Fe’s (BNSF) dedicated rail line.

UNITED PULSE TRADING INC. PROFILEUnited Pulse Trading Inc. is a subsidiary of Alliance Grain

Traders Inc. (AGT) a value-added pulse, staple food and ingredientprocessor for export and domestic markets. United Pulse Trading isa leading pulse processor in the U.S. processing and exportinglentils, beans, chickpeas and peas from its’ facilities in Williston andMinot, ND, the heart of the U.S. pulse growing region. AGT officesand processing facilities are located in some of the best agriculturalgrowing regions in Canada, the U.S., Turkey, China, Australia andSouth Africa and merchandising and sales offices in the U.K., theNetherlands and Spain, AGT produces a full range of pulses andspecialty crops including lentils, peas, chickpeas, beans and canaryseed as well as food ingredients such as pulses flours, proteins,starches and fibres. Through its subsidiaries in Turkey, the ArbelGroup, AGT also produces staple foods such as Arbella Pasta, rice,and milled wheat products, including bulgur and semolina.



NORTH DAKOTA PORTSERVICES INC.

North Dakota Port Services, Inc.(NDPS) is a privately-owned,intermodal service company located in

Minot, ND, linking the world’smarketplace to and from NorthDakota and its neighboring states andprovinces. Located in the region’sagricultural and energy sector, NDPSwill serve all areas 250 miles or morearound Minot — including easternMontana, northern South Dakota,northwestern Minnesota, southernManitoba, and southeasternSaskatchewan. NDPS is serviced byBNSF’s Northern Tier IntermodalLine, and is adjacent to BNSF’s main-line switch yard with daily service andfour-lane highway access. NDPS alsohas more than 140 acres conducive toexpansion and storage facilities.

Bismarck MSA maintains #2national ranking as “bestperforming city” - Thenationally recognized MilkenInstitute released its annualnational ranking of Small andLarge Metropolitan StatisticalAreas (MSA). The BismarckMSA is included in the SmallMetro category (whichincludes 179 cities) andBismark MSA retained itsposition as #2 which wasachieved in 2010 also. Fargohad been #1 in 2010 butdropped to #7 in 2011.Grand Forks was ranked #25in 2010 and rose to #24 in 2011.

BMDAHighlights


ViewPoint

We are reminded that the sluggish economy still hasissues from the housing market meltdown. Theworld and our economy are more complex than

ever. It is essential that we provide future generations withthe skills to function in a global economy.

2011 marked the 50th anniversary of the MinnesotaCouncil on Economic Education. The Council along withits affiliated Centers for Economic Education has beenassisting high school teachers in Minnesota and NorthDakota to educate our children about economics andpersonal finance. Their goal needs to be trumpeted loudly.Economics and financial education are the best investmentsto strengthen the nation’s economy and to bolster our localcommunities.

While economic literacy and personalfinance do not receive the same attentionas reading literacy or STEM initiatives,we need to elevate its importance.Young people cannot function in oureconomy without at least a rudimentaryunderstanding of how it works.Expecting young adults to be able tonavigate student loans and 401Kswithout providing personal financetraining is unreasonable.

The Centers for Economic Educationare the frontline for providing qualitystandards-based education materials toour local high schools. Each Centerhouses a library that holds K-12economics and personal finance lessonplans. The highlight for the best highschool economics students is the chanceto participate in one of the EconomicsChallenges. Our region has fared well inthese and has sent representatives toregional and national competitions. Wehave won the national competition onmultiple occasions.

The prairie states have been leadersin economic education, but state budgetsare tight. We need to be vigilant and bewilling to sacrifice to provide for futuregenerations. I encourage you tovolunteer your time and skills or donateto support these causes. Contact your

local school, community college, oruniversity. Many are looking formentors and guest speakers. Mostimportantly, teach your own kids. Thenews may be scary, but their future canbe even better than our own. PB

Gregory W. Stutes is the Director forthe Center for Economic Education atMinnesota State University inMoorhead, Minn. He can be reached [email protected].

Economics, financial education good investmentto strengthen economy and bolster communitiesAs I watch the news I am bombarded with a host ofconcepts that just a few years ago were limited tocollege economics classes.

GREGORY W. STUTES


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EMPLOYMENT (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED)

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE EMPLOYMENT

CANADIAN EXCHANGE RATE

NORTH DAKOTA OIL ACTIVITY

Sweet Crude ProductionPrice/BBL Oil-BBL/day

SEPT 2011 $81.38 464,100 AUG 2011 $80.71 446,100SEPT 2010 $68.52 341,400 AUG 2010 $66.78 328,000

Drilling Producing Rig Permits Wells Count

OCTOBER AIRLINE BOARDINGS

Source: Bank of Canada Data provided by Kingsbury Applied Economics

11/25/10 11/25/11 10/25/11

U.S. to Canadian Dollar- $1.0191 or $0.9813 $0.9942 or $1.0058 $1.0487 or $0.9536

U.S. to Euro $0.7552 or $1.3242 $0.7057 or $1.4171 $0.7551 or $1.3243

U.S. to Chinese Yuan $6.6695 or $0.1499 $6.3608 or $0.1572 $6.3828 or $0.1567

U.S. to Japanese Yen $84.0842 or $0.0119 $75.84 or $0.1319 $77.6815 or $0.1287

U.S. to Mexican Peso $12.56 or $0.07958 $13.17 or $0.7591 $14.2525 or $0.0702

BOARDINGS % CHANGE/2010-2011

OCT % CHANGE OCT % CHANGE 2011 /OCT 2010 2011 /OCT 2010

CANADIAN BORDER CROSSINGS

Source: US Customs and Border Protection

AUTOMOBILES TRUCKS

MINNESOTAIntl Falls-Rainer 39571 0.90% 1769 0.11%Grand Portage 27079 13.56 1496 - 4.41 Baudette 14067 - 19.03 566 3.10 Warroad 11664 3.63 948 - 13.19 Roseau 3913 4.07 927 37.74NORTH DAKOTAPembina 27602 - 9.02 18508 7.69 Portal 8227 - 3.76 7759 27.89Neche 4237 - 0.31 682 - 39.05 Dunseith 5394 3.21 2215 8.68 Walhalla 3644 - 5.79 946 -13.19 Noonan 3117 10.14 535 73.14

By the Numbers

Source: NDOMB &NDIC

Minneapolis-St. Paul 1,392,840 4.26Fargo 27216 - 3.33% Sioux Falls 40836 23.40 Rapid City 22355 - 5.50 Bismarck 18001 6.63 Duluth 12677 - 1.83 Grand Forks 10231 0.78 Minot 14543 52.59 Pierre 1860 -00.16Source: US Customs and Border Protection

PB

SEPT 2011 176 6,071 197AUG 2011 207 5,951 192SEPT 2010 167 5,197 143AUG 2010 138 5,115 140

Dec. 2011 Dec. 2010 Dec. 2011 Dec. 2010North Dakota 2.6% 2.9% 369,040 358,958Fargo MSA 3.1 3.3 115,654 114,735Bismarck MSA 2.4 2.8 59,475 61,084Grand Forks MSA 3.8 3.3 53,848 55,213Minot MiSA 2.7 2.6 32,242 32,497Dickinson MiSA 1.5 1.8 17,943 16,232Williston MiSA 0.9 1.3 23,646 18,255 Jamestown MiSA 2.7 3.1 10,627 11,125 Wahpeton MiSA 2.8 3.4 23,646 12,061South Dakota 4.0 4.1 433,145 427,095Sioux Falls MSA 3.9 4.3 124,640 122,625 Rapid City MSA 4.1 4.4 64,570 63,585Aberdeen MiSA 3.1 3.1 22,930 22,765 Brookings MiSA 3.3 3.5 18,830 18,560 Watertown MiSA 3.4 3.8 18,830 18,245 Spearfish MiSA 4.0 3.7 12,830 13,020 Mitchell MiSA 3.2 3.4 13,065 12,755 Pierre MiSA 2.9 2.9 12,270 12,120 Yankton MiSA 3.9 4.1 11,355 11,165 Huron MiSA 2.9 3.3 9,775 9,510 Vermillion MiSA 3.4 3.4 7,705 7,555 Minnesota 5.4 6.4 2,809,538 2,780,196Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA 5.4 6.5 1,749, 726 1,726,852 Brainerd MiSA 6.5 7.7 44,716 43,734Winona MiSA 4.9 6.0 27,986 26,924Fergus Falls MiSA 4.8 5.6 29,218 28,999Red Wing MiSA 5.0 6.0 25,076 24,533Willmar MiSA 4.3 5.2 23,341 22,862Bemidji MiSA 6.7 6.8 21,291 19,944Alexandria MiSA 4.6 5.3 19,408 19,341Hutchinson MiSA 6.3 7.8 18,859 18,909 Marshall MiSA 4.2 4.6 14,280 14,388 New Ulm MiSA 4.4 5.3 14,281 14,097Worthington MiSA 4.2 4.7 10,878 11,169Fairmont MiSA 5.3 6.0 10,878 11,052MSA — Metropolitan Statistical AreaMiSA — Micropolitan Statistical AreaSources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Minnesota Department of Employment and EconomicDevelopment, Job Service North Dakota, South Dakota Department of Labor

prairie business january 2012

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