Fargo by Fargo 2017

By

A N I N S I D E R ’ S G U I D E TO FA R G O , M O O R H E A D A N D W E S T FA R G O 2017

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2017

FAR GO FARGO BY

Publisher Mike Dragosavich

drago@spotlightmediafargo.com

CREATIVE

Editorial Director Andrew Jason

andrew@spotlightmediafargo.com

Lead Designer Sarah Geiger Graphic Designers Ryan Koehler, Brittney Richter Photography J. Alan Paul Photography, Paul Flessland

Contributors Heather Siek, Eric Watson, Christian D’agostino, Ryan Nitschke, Cary Carr

Copy Editors Erica Rapp, Ethan Mickelson Web Editor Samantha Stark

ADVERTISING

Senior Account Manager Tracy Nicholson

Marketing/Sales

tracy@spotlightmediafargo.com

Paul Hoefer

paul@spotlightmediafargo.com

Tank McNamara

tank@spotlightmediafargo.com

Jenny Johnson

jenny@spotlightmediafargo.com

Lucas Albers luke@spotlightmediafargo.com

Business Operations Manager Heather Hemingway Administrative Nicole Houseal

SPECIAL THANKS

Amanda Hofland, Kristina Hein, Sarah Arntson, Sherri Hashbarger, Trudy Latozke

Fargo By Fargo is published by Spotlight Media LLC. Copyright 2017 Fargo By Fargo. All rights reserved. No parts of this periodical may be reproduced without written permission of Spotlight Media.

Spotlight Media will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions found in the magazine. Spotlight Media LLC., accepts no liability for the accuracy of statements made by the advertisers.

Spotlightmedia

Spotlight Media Inc. 15 Broadway N, Suite 500 Fargo, ND 58102 or info@spotlightmediafargo.com ADVERTISING: 701-478-SPOT (7768)

My Hidden Favorites

From the publisher Try the Italian Beef Sandwich at Dempsey's with authentic Chicago style giardiniera.

Our FREE gift to you

I

'm pretty sure no publisher has sent a publication of this size and quality out to every residential mailbox in an entire metro area as a free gift. I like to call it a gift because I look at this as a thank you to all of you in the community of Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo. As a Chicago Native and transplant to this area 13 years ago, I’m so proud to call this place home.

At Spotlight Media, we get the honor to produce magazines every month about the positive happenings in our amazing community, and I couldn't be more thankful.

We often get asked by people if we can run articles on certain subjects about our community. Our response is usually that we have run an article like the one they suggested in the past. So, we decided to consolidate many different aspects of our community into one publication with a year shelf-life and send it to all of you.

Get over to Herd and Horns and drink your beverage out of a 24-ounce Das Horn!

This was quite the undertaking for our small company. We had a difficult decision to make as to how many we send out and how wide of an area we mail them to. Fortunately, with the support of our amazing sponsors, we were able to financially reach our goal to send an issue to every residential mailbox in Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo.

That's 93,000 mailboxes!

With that being said, I want to take the time to thank everyone, especially the mail couriers from the United States Postal Service that handled and dropped off all of these issues.

I have several more thank yous to hand out.

Thanks to our local contributors for helping create one of the most

amazing resources I have ever seen.

Thanks to the team at Spotlight Media for all your help in a crazy deadline business.

Special thanks to Andrew Jason and Sarah Geiger.

Thanks to our advertisers for your financial support so we can continue to provide our resources for free to the public.

Thanks to our awesome distribution staff: Mitch, Hal, Nolan and Labor Masters.

They brave the weather to make sure our magazines get distributed.

Fargo's motto is the "Gateway to the West."

Keep an eye on Emerging Prairie. They are doing some big things for our community.

Mike Dragosavich Mike Dragosavich Publisher

Show us what your favorite parts about our community is by using #FargoByFargo. This way, we can use the photos you post in next year's Fargo By Fargo!

12 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

Look up Gigi's Playhouse and make sure you see how much good they are doing and see if there is a way you can show them some support.

Check out burgerfestfargo.com to learn about Fargo Monthly's 2017 Burgers, Bourbon and Beer Festival.

How to read this mag: We put a lot of time, thought and energy into creating this magazine and there are a couple of things you should know about before you dive in.

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1.

Glossary On the bottom of every page, you will find small icons that indicate what type of information is on that page. See a small B on the bottom of the page?

That means there’s some great information about business. Here is a complete list of the icons to look out for: B

B

A

C

Business

Athletics

Community

FD

FA

E

Food & Drink

Family

Entertainment

C

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2.

Fun facts and action items If you look on the bottom of every page, we tried to pepper the magazine full of fun facts and action items. Make sure you tell us what’s your favorite fun fact about the FM area by using #FargoByFargo.

3.

J. Alan Paul Photography & Paul Flessland

Diverse subjects We spent a lot of time discussing who we want to feature in the magazine. Unfortunately, with a community of 224,000, we are only able to get about 40 people in the magazine. However, we believe that we have a diverse array of people that can expose all the different sides of the FM area.

4.

We want to create impact We had one thought in our mind while putting this together: How do we create as much impact as possible? We tried to fill every page with specific action items that you can take advantage of. While reading this magazine, think about how you can get involved in the community.

5.

We want to know what you think We hope we can turn this into an annual magazine. Please tell us what you think about it by emailing info@spotlightmediafargo.com.

From the Editor

This is Your Story to Tell,

My Fargo Resolutions

Fargo-Moorhead

W

Each one of you defines the community. There’s 224,000 of us. 224,000 individual stories of what makes Fargo-Moorhead special.

224,000 of us going through our day to day lives trying to make the world better for us, our kids and future generations. The FM area is at a crucial moment right

Take a Square One Kitchens cooking class.

The class called all about gumbo sounds amazing.

now. We are literally seeing the town change before our eyes. Sanford and the future Block 9 Tower will have changed the skyline of our flat little community.

Hundreds of brave and foolish entrepreneurs are creating the next great companies. New Americans are bringing new flavors with ethnic restaurants. We should enjoy and embrace every little transition our community goes through.

That’s why when we were creating this magazine, we tried to take a step back and let you tell the story.

We looked around the community and realized it’s everyday people who make this community special.

That’s why we tried to give

them a voice to say what is their Fargo-Moorhead.

Most of these people you probably don’t know. Some of them you may. However, we tried to find individuals from varying backgrounds, ages and ethnicities to get an accurate representation of what is happening in our community. So we invite you to sit back and read this representation of what makes Fargo special. After all, this magazine isn’t made for us. It’s made for Fargo By Fargo.

Andrew Jason Andrew Jason

Editorial Director

Join the conversation Don’t let the conversation end here. We want to hear what’s your Fargo-Moorhead. Join the conversation by using #FargoByFargo.

14 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

Fargo the city is never shown in the movie Fargo.

Go to at least one festival or event a month. Watch burgerfestfargo.com for information about Fargo Monthly’s 2017 Burgers, Bourbon and Beer Festival.

Take part in the Furgo dog run during the Fargo Marathon on Tuesday, May 16.

J. Alan Paul Photography & Paul Flessland

ho decides what a community looks like? Who decides how a community interacts? It’s not Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney or Moorhead Mayor Del Rae Williams. It’s not the business leaders. It’s not the media. You are the only person who can define what a community is. How you interact with your neighbor defines how our community interacts. How you help the person stuck in the snow is how our community treats each other. How you patronize the arts is how our community supports one another. Our community is defined by millions of these small acts.

Contents 18 The people and company behind Fargo

By Fargo 55 How to get ahead in business Steve D. Scheel, Mike Allmendinger, Brent Teiken and other local business leaders tell you how to further your career.

71 The hottest restaurants in town, according to the experts The chefs from Mezzaluna, Usher’s, Boiler Room and other local restaurants tell you their favorite restaurant.

77 How to get (and stay) in shape this year 84 Where do we go from here?

Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney, Greg Tehven, David Batcheller and some of Fargo’s other movers and shakers met up for a fascinating roundtable discussion about the future of Fargo-Moorhead.

99 20 things we challenge you to do in 2017 If you do all of these this year, you’re a true Fargoan.

16 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

#FargoByFargo | 2017

108 How to be the best parent in town Heather Siek of The Village Family Service Center gives us some tips on how to rock parenthood in 2017.

113 What should I do this year?

Are you foodie? How about a hopeless romantic? Or a family man? No matter who you are, we have some great suggestions about what to do this year.

126 Businesses with heart These local businesses show that you can make a buck while doing good for your employees and community.

133 Three ways to give back this year Helping out a worthy cause might be easier than you thought. Find out how here.

142 Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo’s Trophy Case We think that this community is great, but don’t take our word for it. Here’s what other national and notable sources had to say about our three great cities.

26

Fargo By Fargo

Nine individuals. Nine different versions of Fargo-Moorhead.

Get to know these people as they tell you what makes our community so special to them.

71

55

133

The People and the Company Behind Fargo By Fargo

Mike Dragosavich President/Owner Favorite hidden spot in town to go to...

Boiler Room for breakfast and the bloody mary bar on Saturdays.

Meet the people who made Fargo By Fargo possible.

Spotlight Media, the publishing company behind Fargo By Fargo, was created with one idea in mind: create positive and impactful content that exposes the great things in our community. For the last six years, we have tried to do that with Fargo Monthly, Bison Illustrated, Fargo INC!, Design and Living Magazine and our various other publications.

Like most startups, Spotlight began with an idea. Mike “Drago” Dragosavich became a household name in Fargo-Moorhead when he was a punter for NDSU. After a brief stint in the NFL, Dragosavich came back to Fargo and watched as all of his friends moved out of town because there wasn’t enough to do here. Well, he set out to prove them wrong.

That’s when he started producing FM Spotlight, a small city magazine that was dedicated to what was happening 18 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

in the community.

Throughout the last six years, we’ve started additional magazines and the team has grown to nearly 20 employees.

However, the mission still remains the same: highlight the happenings of our exciting community.

We created Fargo

By Fargo because we wanted to see what sort of a positive impact we could create in the community. It’s not often that you have the chance to actually reach everybody in a community so we wanted to make the most of it.

This magazine was mailed out to every mailbox in Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo. (That’s 93,000 mailboxes!) It was a daunting challenge for a small company like ours to pull off, but with a dedicated team of trueblooded Fargoans, Moorheadites and West Fargoans, we think we successfully pulled it off.

Brittney Richter Designer Favorite restaurant...

It’s always changing but lately I love Brewtus’ Brickhouse!

Their fried pickles are a top five for me.

Fargo is special to you because...

Fargo is special to me because I feel like I really found myself and grew into who I am here.

I have also met some really great people here.

Erica Rapp

Favorite drink in town...

A Manhattan made by the awesome bartenders at Rustica.

Jenny Johnson Client Relations Manager Favorite restaurant...

Altony’s Neighborhood Italian Cafe and Wine Bar in Moorhead. The food is amazing and you get large portions at a great price.

Favorite hidden spot in town...

Uncorked Winery has a special place in my heart, not only because I love wine but also because that is where my husband proposed.

Rylee Wznick

Fargo Monthly Editor Favorite restaurant...

Wasabi Sushi & Asian Grill

Sales Intern Favorite restaurant...

Granite City

Favorite hidden spot in town...

The used book section in the back of Zandbroz Variety.

One Fargo specific thing you are going to do in 2017...

I've been wanting to go to Sky Zone for the past year, so I hope to get around to that this year!

Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper were on their way to a show in Moorhead on Feb. 3, 1959 when their plane crashed.

That was the day "the music died."

Andrew Jason Editorial Director Favorite restaurant...

Bernbaum’s. You MUST try the lamb meatloaf.

One Fargo specific thing you are going to do in 2017...

This year, I am going to make the absolute most of the Red River Market and buy as much fresh produce from there as possible.

Nate Mickelberg Fargo INC! Editor One Fargo specific thing you are going to do in 2017...

Take my family skating at the Downtown Fargo rink.

Favorite drink in town...

German Martian - Junkyard Brewing Company

Tracy Nicholson

Paul Hoefer

Associate Publisher of Design and Living Magazine One Fargo specific thin​g​you are going to do in 2017...

T​ake a cooking class at Square One Kitchens.

Sales One Fargo specific thing you are going to do in 2017...

Go to the NCAA college hockey 1st round series at Scheels Arena.

Favorite drink in town...

N​uts & Berries Martini - Hotel Donaldson

Favorite hidden spot in town...

Cactus Jacks. It gives me the small town bar feel. You can shoot pool, throw darts, go bowling, play at the casino and they have my favorite pizza in town.

Paul Flessland

Luke Albers

Photographer Favorite restaurant...

Würst Bier Hall

Sales Favorite restaurant...

Romo’s

Favorite hidden spot in town...

Kayak down the Red River.

Favorite hidden spot in town...

Iwen Park, disc golf.

Tank McNamara Sales Favorite hidden spot in town...

The Work Zone One Fargo specific thing you are going to do in 2017...

Play all of the public golf courses.

Joe Kerlin Bison Illustrated Editor Favorite hidden spot in town...

If I told you, it wouldn’t be so hidden anymore. Fine, I’ll give in. The Metro Rec Center.

Grungy, but a great spot to practice summer sports during the winter deep freeze.

Brady Dukart E-Commerce Associate Favorite hidden spot in town...

I really enjoyed going to The New Direction until that closed so now I’d say it’d be the Aquarium, BDS Books or Orange Records.

Favorite drink in town...

Sidestreet Tootsie Pop shots are my guilty pleasure.

Sarah Geiger Lead Designer One Fargo specific thing you are going to do in 2017...

Participate in another mixology class.

Favorite hidden spot in town...

Prairie Rose Meadery

Favorite drink in town...

C’mon, nothing beats a Stone’s Throw at Fargo Brewing Company.

Ryan Koehler Graphic Designer Favorite restaurant...

Taco Shop One Fargo specific thing you are going to do in 2017...

Go to the Bacon & Beer Festival in Fargo.

Heather Hemingway Director of Operations Favorite restaurant...

Lucky's 13 is one of my favorites because of the food and drink selection, but also because they have bingo, breakfast and even toys for the kids.

Favorite hidden spot in town...

I actually get teased about this one but I am old-school and I love the Downtown Fargo library.

Nicole Houseal Office Manager One Fargo specific thing you are going to do in 2017...

Go skating at the downtown ice rink.

Favorite drink in town...

I’m more of a wine person so I’d say a bottle of white zinfandel at Blvd.

Samantha Stark Web Editor Favorite restaurant...

Izumi Sushi & Hibachi is my go-to restaurant, mostly because I’m always craving sushi.

Favorite hidden spot in town...

The Lotus Blossom, an ethnic Asian grocery store on Main Avenue. The place is way bigger than it looks on the outside. They have everything.

Ethan Mickelson Editorial Intern Fargo is special to you because...

As a resident of this state, I never knew Fargo could be so lively. I'm witnessing the growth of a metro.

Favorite hidden spot in town...

Stumbeano's Coffee Roasters.

The place just feels like home.

19

Meet the other mags

We are and

We Do

Get to know us a little better as we take you behind the scenes at Spotlight Media.

The various magazines have won numerous awards from different organizations, including Fargo Monthly as best niche regional magazine, all the mags have won more than 13 ADDY awards and Spotlight Media was recognized as a Small Business of the Year finalist for the 2016 ChamberChoice awards. Pictured here: Bison Illustrated editor Joe Kerlin and Editorial Director Andrew Jason holding the General Excellence award for Fargo Monthly from the Minnesota Magazine Publishers Association.

Design & Living Magazine At Design & Living Magazine, we open the door to the area’s most influential home designs and reveal the talented builders, designers, architects and landscapers that create the looks we long for. 2017 brings a look inside local architects’ personal homes, lessons on how to be a DIY diva, the genius behind ‘tiny homes,’ spectacular lake homes, charming curb appeal, luxe living and historic homes. Design & Living is a local and national award winning publication recognized by the National Federation of Press Woman and the North Dakota Professional Communicators Association of North Dakota in 2015 and 2016.

Design & Living also received a 2015 Silver Addy award.

designandlivingmagazine.com Search: Design And Living Magazine 20 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

Fargo is the most populous city in North Dakota.

Meet the other mags

Bison Illustrated Bison Illustrated is your No. 1 one source for all the behind-thescenes action inside the North Dakota State University Athletic department. With a creative twist and unique storytelling model, Bison Illustrated is here to collaborate with Bison Nation to provide a fresh avenue into NDSU Athletics for every fan.

Every month, Bison Illustrated is developed for the passionate fan who can’t get enough of the Bison.

With a young and energetic staff, we pride ourselves on a work hard, play hard mentality.

After all, things can get stressful in a deadline business. That’s why we are always exploring and engaging in our community.

What makes Bison Illustrated a must-read for anyone with a connection to NDSU is that it’s more than a sports publication.

The magazine goes off the field with the biggest characters, student-athletes and coaches in Fargo to find out what they’re really like outside of the game.

bisonillustrated.com facebook.com/bisonillustrated Twitter: @bisonmag Instagram: bisonillustrated 22 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

Charles Korsmo, the child actor from "Hook" and "Can't Hardly Wait," is from Fargo.

Spotlight Media is actively involved with many nonprofits in the community. We have donated time and money to various organizations, including the United Way, GiGi's Playhouse, the American Advertising Federation and many more .

Meet the other mags

Fargo Monthly Fargo Monthly is an awardwinning publication dedicated to highlighting Fargo-Moorhead and what makes it a truly enjoyable place to live. You'll find stories related to the local dining scene, nightlife, arts, culture, events, guides, human interest pieces, "what's new" and more to keep you updated on our thriving community. Its mission is to show off what Fargo-Moorhead has to offer and the great people that are making it happen, all so that you can love the city you're in.

We recently moved into our new office at 15 Broadway N, Suite 500 in Downtown Fargo. From our new headquarters on the fifth floor of the Bell Bank building, we are growing and expanding. We have recently completed construction of our new studio on the seventh floor. We will be launching Spotlight Studios this year as well. This new creative service company will offer photography, videography and custom design options for clients.

fargomonthly.com facebook.com/fargomonthly Twitter: @fargomonthly Instagram: fargomonthly

Fa

oM rg

onthl y’ s

Fargo Monthly’s Flavor Awards 2017 After the very successful 2016 results, Fargo Monthly’s second annual Flavor Awards is back to find the best of the best in local dishes and drinks. We need you, the people of Fargo-Moorhead, to go online and cast your nominations and votes so that we can declare the winners in our May 2017 issue. Show your favorites some love and give them the recognition they deserve.

GET READY NOMINATE: Monday, February 20 – Monday, March 13 FINAL VOTING: Friday, March 17 – Wednesday, April 5 fargomonthly.com/flavor-awards 23

Meet the other mags

Fargo INC!

Being in a deadline driven business can get stressful. That's why we believe in unwinding from work. Last year, we took a twoday retreat to the beautiful Coteau Des Prairies lodge in Havana, North Dakota.

Fargo INC! is a monthly business magazine dedicated to covering the burgeoning business scene in the greater Fargo-Moorhead area. Each month, it covers a variety of topics, ranging from entrepreneurship and startups to business resources and general economic development. All of the coverage is presented in a fun, engaging and positive manner. A significant percentage of the magazines are mailed directly to business owners and directors across Fargo-Moorhead, and there is also distribution at grocery stores throughout the community.

fargoinc.com facebook.com/fargobusiness Twitter: @fargoincmag 25

"Even with the growth the area has seen over the past several years, our community still maintains its small-town feel and friendly attitude."

Cortnee Jensen Pg. 48

“This is a community that cares about their neighbors, about their schools, about their businesses and about their own.”

"I feel that, even though our community is growing a lot, we still have that smalltown feel and the people in our community are willing to help one another out when someone is in need."

"Fargo-Moorhead isn’t just a city for people who are interested in a few topics or areas of involvement. It’s not a ‘one trick pony’ and it always seems to surprise me with something.”

Frank Pierce Pg. 40

"Coming from the west coast, I grew up in one house for 15 years and didn't know any of my neighbors. We just bought a house in the Brooks Harbor community in West Fargo and we know all of our neighbors."

Haylee Swanson Pg. 44

“I love the downtown area and the diversity of the businesses and the population.”

26 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

Jamar Cain Pg. 52

Diane Miller Pg. 33 Brian Hayer Pg. 37

Fargo was originally named "Centraila."

"Downtown spawns creativity, boosts social living and treasures the active soul's desires."

"To me, the FargoMoorhead area has always been home so I've grown accustomed to it, but I think that even visitors feel like they're right at home by how welcoming the people in this region are."

Kristina Hein Pg. 28

"My favorite part of Fargo-Moorhead is the people. We have a lot of young people who are doing great things in the community."

By Andrew Jason Photos by Paul Flessland and J. Alan Paul Photography

Tony Satter Pg. 45

Noel Kangas Pg. 53

How do you capture an entire community in one magazine?

There are people in the FM community. That’s different versions of this community. different favorite restaurants. different nights out on the town. While we wish we could interview everybody in our little area and talk to them about what Fargo-Moorhead means to them, it’s just not possible. That’s why we found nine Fargoans from various walks of life to tell us what Fargo means to them. What nonprofits are making a difference? What restaurants are hot right now? What should you spend your precious free time doing? These nine people tell us, and hopefully you, what makes our community great.

However, we want to hear from you. What’s your Fargo story? What’s your favorite boutique? Who has the best burger in town? Where do you volunteer? Tell us by using . After all, this is your story to tell, Fargo-Moorhead.

27

Meet the

fargoan

Kristina Hein Marketing and Brand Management Director at United Way of Cass-Clay Lived in the FM area for 14 years

FAVORITE THING ABOUT FARGO-MOORHEAD...

Two things. The people and the variety. The people aren’t just friendly and kind, but they’re genuinely interesting. The people that live here aren’t afraid to crack a joke with a stranger waiting in line at Target, and I like that.

Fargo-Moorhead isn’t just a city for people who are interested in just a few topics or areas of involvement or entertainment. It’s not a “one trick pony” and it always seems to surprise and delight me with something new to go to or something new to be involved with.

Our community is just small enough that you always feel connected but big enough that there are always new and interesting people to meet, and a wide variety of options and opportunity.

I really believe that the people who live here follow one of my favorite quotes: “If you get, give. If you learn, teach.”

People don’t hoard their success. They give. They teach.

And they share in the success of others.

FAVORITE HIDDEN THINGS TO DO...

This is a tough question! But I have three ideas: 1) Did you know that there is a theatre in the back of the old Schumacher Goodyear Tire on Broadway called The Broadway Theatre Garage? It is a fun experience to go to a show there because you are literally walking into an old tire shop and you suddenly walk through this door and you’re in a theater with a stage and seating. The audience is right up next to the stage near all of the actors and actresses and it kind of feels like you’re in the show.

(We had a blast seeing “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” there and hope to go again!)

2) Did you also know that at Lindenwood Park in Fargo, you can rent two or four seater bikes with steering wheels and a fun little roof on the top of them? Google “Single surrey or double surrey bike” and you can see how fun these are. If you rent one, you can cruise around with your friends and family on the beautiful trails under a canopy of trees.

3) I’ve always wanted to go to the Fargo Film Festival and take in that whole experience, but then I found out that there is a 2-minute movie contest that was the perfect solution. On Friday night of the annual Fargo Film Festival, you can go to The Fargo Theatre and, for just $2, you can watch the 2-minute movies back to back in the historic Fargo Theatre. It’s a really different experience to watch these short stories one right after the other—the variety was entertaining.

28 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

In 1902, Fargo's first baseball team Nines was formed. Their first game was against Crookston, Minnesota.

Hein is shown here enjoying the Rumchata french toast and smoky bloody mary at Barbacoa.

FAVORITE THINGS TO DO DURING FREE TIME...

• See what cool and funky stuff is at Unglued or Zandbroz downtown.

• Get gelato or a small fancy dessert at Nichole’s Fine Pastry.

• Go for a stroll in Island Park through all of the tall trees.

• Go to Junkyard Brewing Company and hang out on the patio and the green space next to it.

• I love to browse The Red Silo downtown. They always have an eclectic mix of stuff, décor, art, etc. and I’m never disappointed when I go to see what they have.

• Have pizza on the rooftop at Rhombus Guys.

• Wave to and watch the otters at the Red River Zoo (there are lots of fun animals to meet at the zoo, but my favorite are the otters.)

• See what the next show is at The Stage at Island Park or what musicals the high schools and colleges are putting on, or anything that Act Up theatre does.

Community involvement

What organizations in our community are making a difference?

The United Way of Cass-Clay is making a difference because they help out families and individuals by addressing needs in our community. Also, the YWCA gives women and children a place to feel safe in unsafe situations. The YWCA provides shelter for people seeking help and gives them access to tools such as educational classes and counseling sessions for women and children.

What is one thing people can do to help their community?

Volunteer. There are so many organizations around our community that need help. Find one that interests you and help serve our community in a positive way.

HAYLEE SWANSON

There are so many that come to mind that are making a difference. However, right now, any organization that is dealing with addictions and the opioid epidemic/crisis is especially crucial to the community, as we are a community at risk. FirstLink’s 2-1-1 Helpline is a great example of a service that will connect you to help.

If there's an activity you enjoy or an organization you admire or think it could use help, ask to join it. If you go to impactgiveback.org, you’ll find a listing of charities categorized by your interests so you can find the perfect nonprofit for you.

FRANK PIERCE

Volunteering to designate a charity each month for The Chamber’s Women Connect speaker series events. Each month, we are able to invite the women attending the event to donate some of the items most needed by local charities such as cleaning products for Habitat for Humanity, socks for local homeless shelters, winter coats for kids in need, hygiene items for our women’s shelter and more.

KRISTINA HEIN

Last year, I had the privilege to visit and tour some nonprofits in our area through Philanthropy and Youth, which is an extracurricular that my high school offers.

Although our focus was children and animals, we did look at some organizations in other areas and I was very surprised by how many there are. I was glad to hear about places such as Cat's Cradle and the Great Plains Food Bank that are doing so much without expecting recognition for it.

NOEL KANGAS 30 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

Fargo was founded in 1871.

Help out with the United Way School Supply Drive. I like to shop for school supplies to donate and take time to join other volunteers at the Fargodome to pack backpacks. It is an unbelievable sight to see more than 5,000 backpacks at the Fargodome that are all ready for kids to take home. It is a humbling feeling to stand shoulder to shoulder with people while getting the crayons, rulers and pencils ready and know that you’re all in it together to give kids that boost of self-confidence.

Other than just small, yet meaningful, favors for neighbors, coworkers and any other peers, I would say, just take the time to get to know those in the community.

If you show kindness and are friendly to others in the community, chances are that it will reflect back to even more people later on down the road.

What are two charity events that you feel are "can't miss" in our community?

March of Dimes Event: Being a NICU nurse, helping raise money for an organization that funds research to end premature death, birth defects and infant mortality is very important to me. Power Plate Meals was a part of the March of Dimes event this year, where we served food during the event as part of the Signature Chef's auction.

Out of the Darkness Walks: The foundation supports the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This organization is important to me, as I lost my dad when I was in sixth grade to depression and I feel it is important to raise awareness and help those in need get the proper resources to help them.

Any event sponsored by reGroup in Moorhead (Watch regroupmn.org for a full listing of events) because they are here to help with addiction recovery. The Ronald McDonald House charity ball (happening Saturday, February 11 at the Fargo Holiday Inn) is an excellent event for a necessary service.

One of my favorite annual traditions is going to the YWCA Women of the Year event, which has been held in our community for 40 years. I always leave the event with a full heart after hearing the stories of women in our community who persevere, inspire and exist to make life better for the people around them. It is shocking to know that 1,484 individuals stayed at their emergency shelter last year and about half of those were children.

For me, I would say Lindenwood Lights during Christmas time or Fill the Dome during the fall. Both of these target all ages of our community, and there is a way for everyone to participate if interested.

What is one thing our community could do to be better?

Support local organizations and businesses as we are a growing community.

(Bonus: According to the American Independent Business Alliance, for each dollar you spend at local businesses, there is a return of three times that money to the local economy.)

When the Chambers merged to become one Chamber for the communities, I thought, ‘Great, now we can become one community.’ I still believe we can, as long as there is open communication from all parties involved.

Be more open to connection and learning. It leads to understanding and action. For example, what if we could all seek out five new people to connect with? If more people felt connected to our community and the people in it, we would all benefit. In addition, what if we all set a goal of learning one new fact about a new community issue or topic such as poverty, neighborhood development, hunger, education or business trends?

This awareness and knowledge could lead to thoughtful action. Yes, knowledge is power, but action gets things done.

Just make sure to help someone out when you can because you never know when you'll need it.

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Meet the

fargoan

diane miller

Head promoter at the Aquarium and local musician Lived in the FM area for 16 years

FAVORITE THING ABOUT FARGOMOORHEAD...

Downtown, because it’s the most diverse and interesting area of the city. Only here can you get a pizza at one joint, shop for handmade crafts a block down the road and then see a live, original band another block down. The area spawns creativity, boosts social living, and treasures the active soul’s desires.

FAVORITE HIDDEN THINGS TO DO...

Sort-of hidden... Johnson Park, Red Raven Espresso Parlor’s patio and all trails along the Red River. I’m always surprised by how underused these spaces are. Hidden no more.

FAVORITE THINGS TO DO DURING FREE TIME...

FAVORITE SPOT TO GET NATURE FIX IN...

Itasca State Park and Buffalo State Park

You can follow her on her blog DIANEMILLER.WEBSITE

FAVORITE AFFORDABLE SPOT IN TOWN...

Red Raven Espresso Parlor. Their sloppy duck sandwich is da booooomb!

I love to be social with my friends, family and partner, so I love going to bars and restaurants. It gives my life spice. There’s only so much home and work can offer. I also, of course, love going to concerts. I’m thankful for the entertainment venues we have in town.

THREE PLACES YOU WOULD TAKE SOMEONE VISITING FARGO...

Junkyard Brewing Co, Nichole's Fine Pastry and some joint on Broadway.

True-to-FM beer, dessert and food.

What the outsiders crave, right?

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Dining & nightlife

KRISTINA HEIN

Where’s your favorite place for a good deal on drinks or food?

Lucky’s 13 Pub has half-price bottles of wine on Thursdays and Doolittles has half-price bottles of wine on Mondays.

A glass of wine on either of their patios is always a good option, especially when the bottle is half-price. I think that one of the best deals when it comes to food is Romo's Mexican Deli and Catering. Their portions are huge. Plus, I really like Romo’s Rodolfo Romo because when you Mexican Deli go in there and order food, just by talking to him for a few minutes, you can tell he works so hard and just cares so much about making good food and making his customers happy.

Easy. $6 za's at Rustica Tavern! That's crazy cheap for how great the food and service is.

DIANE MILLER

Where’s your favorite breakfast?

I love the patio with the big garage doors that open to the bar at the Blarney Stone, and if you have breakfast there on Saturdays, it includes a free trip through their Bloody Mary bar or a free mimosa. Their “Belfast Barnyard” with parmesan hashbrowns are delicious!

Boiler Room because they've got cheesy tots.

The HoDo's brunch is bueno, too.

Paradiso is a place that has been around for as long as I can remember.

If you order a drink, they have a free taco bar on Thursdays.

I am going to say the Village Inn. My parents love to go there and I am sucker for a good omelet.

It is close to our house and it is always a great place to meet in the morning.

Mezzaluna’s happy hour is the best deal for drinks and food in town. The menu for happy hour food is changed for every season. My favorite apps have been prosciutto-wrapped shrimp over polenta, the bruschetta board, tater tots, grilled cheese and tomato soup, Mezzaluna burger and the scallops. The Mezzaluna gin and tonic, orange martini and red wine sangria are a few of my favorite drinks. I also love the fact that I can ask a bartender such as Alex, Lank, Brooke and Omar to mix something special according to my mood. They are great mixologists.

My favorite breakfast location is actually the Fargo Country Club. I typically order an eggs benedict, hash browns and two pieces of French toast. The French toast is made from French bread and deep fat fried. The view from the dining room, any time of the year, is the best restaurant view in Fargo. It overlooks the putting green with the river in the background, the first tee stand is not far off and the 18th hole is in the far off distance.

TONY SATTER

BRIAN HAYER 34 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

West Acres is the largest mall in North Dakota.

Where’s your favorite lunch?

My favorite lunch spot is the Boiler Room downtown. I love their smoked tomato soup and their mac and cheese because it comes with shrimp and andouille sausage. Plus, it is fun to get a quick lunch downtown before it’s back to work for the afternoon.

Where is your favorite place to go out for a drink?

Where’s your favorite supper?

It’s a tie. I love the pineapple mojitos at the Boiler Room and I like the margaritas at Vinyl Taco simply because it is fun to pour it out of that little container they give you when you order one.

My favorite dinner location would be a tie.

I love the Toasted Frog’s signature appetizer-dill pickle spears wrapped in Havarti, fried and then served with Sriracha ranch. Lucky’s 13 Pub has a great patio with an outdoor fire place and I like their chicken gyro sandwich.

Vinyl Taco

I have so many, but I'll highlight Würst Bier Hall's vegetarian sandwich... something about that green stuff.

Cracked Pepper is a great place for lunch in town.

Everything is homemade and amazing. They have standard menu items and a special every day. I like the things like the homemade lasagna or cheesy chicken tater tot hotdish (just to name a couple). If you get the special, it usually comes with a salad and a dessert (for example, chocolate chip bread pudding).

Doolittle's and their walleye fingers.

I also have so many, but I'll highlight Taco Bros.

Food Truck (which is only open in the warmer months) beans and rice supreme platter. Holy bonkers, is it savory and delish.

Mezzaluna is one of my favorites. They have great steaks, but what I like most is that they have a few choices and they are all great. Also, if you go there one month and don't get there until a month or two later, the menu may be totally different. Lastly, the ambiance in there is good too.

Mezzaluna's filet mignon.

Dempsey's Public House.

I love the staff. I love the owners. It's comfortable and welcoming. It's also one of the best places to see live, local music in town.

Herd and Horns is one of my favorite places to go for a beer. It has a great look to it and is spacious.

I am pretty simple when it comes to what I drink– Miller Lite from the tap with a couple of olives.

They have good food there as well. I recommend the H&H burger.

Mezzaluna's Spanish gin and tonic.

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Meet the

fargoan

BRIAN HAYER

President, CEO of Warner and Company Insurance Lived in Fargo-Moorhead his whole life

ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE...

United Way, YMCA and the Plains Art Museum are a few of the organizations that I have been involved with that are truly making a big difference in our community. These organizations affect the lives of many thousand of kids a year. There are many other worthwhile organizations that also have very positive impacts on our youth.

FAVORITE WEEKEND GETAWAY SPOT NEAR FARGO...

I love going to Alexandria, Minnesota as a quick get away. Alexandria has some great restaurants and cool antique shopping.

Carlos Creek Winery is also a great winery and is open every day of the year. They have outdoor entertainment FAVORITE during the summer. It’s fun to have GYM... a glass of local wine and listen to I have been a member fun music in an outdoor setting. of the downtown YMCA for The grape stomp at Carlos Creek is 30 years. I enjoy the updated a blast and you can participate in equipment, the employees, it. The Arrowwood Resort is located fitness instructors and all on Lake Darling in Alexandria. When of the great friends I it’s bad weather, they have a great have made over indoor waterpark. My daughter and the years. niece and I have enjoyed their horse stables and their neat trail rides. We will have Thanksgiving this year at their awesome buffet. It’s a great place for a quick trip.

FAVORITE THINGS TO DO DURING FREE TIME...

I enjoy going to the downtown YMCA, the Fargo Country Club and hanging out with my friends who live downtown and on their rooftops.

HOW HE SUPPORTS LOCAL SCHOOLS...

Our company has been involved in several capital campaigns at the universities.

I have personally been active with PTAs where my kids attended school. I was the Fargo South High PTA President.

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Business

What business groups and organizations are you involved with?

The Chamber of Commerce, Fargo Kiwanis and 1 Million Cups are all great networking opportunities that involve different people.

What's your favorite networking event in Fargo-Moorhead and why do you like it?

The Christmas Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event.

1 Million Cups

BRIAN HAYER

KRISTINA HEIN

DIANE MILLER

I have really enjoyed serving on The Chamber’s Women Connect committee. By volunteering on the committee and attending the monthly events, I have been able to connect with women from all different types of backgrounds, industries and perspectives and learn from their experiences and see their points of view.

I like Women Connect because it brings women together in a setting that is open, encouraging and designed to provide an opportunity to listen and learn from other women.

Dempsey's, The Aquarium, Junkyard Brewing Company, KFGO and, previously, the High Plains Reader. I've also done work with Fargo Brewing company, HoDo, Plains Art Museum, TEDxFargo, Jade Presents and many others. All these organizations support the arts and live entertainment. As a musician and music fanatic, I wouldn't be able to survive without supportive businesses such as these.

I am part of the FMWF Chamber of Commerce and it has been an incredible experience. They provide access to networking, mentorship, run business centric education, host affinity groups and support entrepreneurship. The list goes on and on. And, they are offering some of this same networking and skill building to our youth. This isn't a run-of-the-mill chamber.

CORTNEE JENSEN 38 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

Jeff Bridges wife is from Fargo.

When I first graduated from college and got a job, I didn’t know a lot of people, so I joined The Chamber’s Young Professionals Network and it completely changed my outlook on our community. I was able to meet people that I am still close friends with today and it really helped me start a network of people that I still cross paths with now. The YPN made me feel more connected because people were so willing to get to know you and connect you with others.

Concerts at The Aquarium, Bluestem Center for the Arts, Fargo Theatre, Sanctuary Events Center, etc. Whether it's a national touring act or a group of locals, concerts invigorate me more than anything. It's fun to share that experience with those around you.

For those of us in tech-related business, or in any business really, you just can’t beat 1 Million Cups.

This “Church of the Entrepreneur” brings together dynamic people, life-changing ideas, and, thanks to the awesome folks at 20 Below, great coffee. And, they give a regular nod to the arts with live, local performances. Beyond the production, though, are the ongoing relationships that you can create with the people who attend.

Is there a company in town that you admire?

Bell Bank is a class act. They treat their employees very well and allow them to actively participate in giving back to the community.

I admire the way SCHEELS inspires their employees to treat everyone that comes into their stores with respect. Their employees genuinely want to be helpful, kind and knowledgeable. I also admire West Acres because they are always willing to promote philanthropy and willing to open up their doors to the community. I admire their willingness to work with so many different groups and how they give our community a place to come together to give back.

Besides the locations I work (and numerous others I could name), I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mosaic Foods (Mezzaluna and Rustica). The food is top quality.

They also offer great deals and have outstanding service. I'm forever a fan.

Between 80 and 85 percent of adults on the autism spectrum are unemployed or underemployed. Appareo Systems was the first local company to not only see the incredible value of the people on the autism spectrum that Mind Shift (the non-profit I work for) employs, but to put that value into action in their company. They now employ two, full-time specialists. At a lunch and learn, Appareo President and COO David Batcheller said, “We are the sum total of our team members.� I think Appareo’s culture really reflects that statement.

Is there a specific public policy in our community that you would like to see changed?

In your opinion, what is the next industry to boom in our community?

It would be nice to have parking meters legalized. North Dakota also needs to pass a law prohibiting discrimination.

Drones. We are a hot bed for this industry.

I would like to see more support and funding for preschool and education in our community and the state. Children are the most valuable and important resource we have, and we need to focus on giving them the best possible start in life that we can. Economists estimate that for every $1 invested in early childhood education, it could mean a $17 return on investment down the road.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, software developers and programmers are expected to add 279,500 jobs by 2022, accounting for about four out of 10 new jobs in the computer and math occupations group. Local organizations like uCodeGirl and Girl Develop It are getting kids interested in coding and I am proud to serve on their advisory board.

In North Dakota, it's still legal to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation. As someone who identifies as queer, I could never move out west or anywhere else in the state and truly feel comfortable being myself.

It's disheartening to think LGBTs elsewhere in the state may also feel that way.

It would be a dream to see the music industry boom. As a music promoter and musician, it's something I'll always work toward. I'm aware North Dakota has its many setbacks, including its population size.

On the other hand, we have fabulous venues and support for music. There's a lot of untapped potential.

Most of us come from immigrants. Now, we have new Americans at our door, bringing their new ideas, values and talents. And, as a community, with thousands of open jobs, we have a sincere need of their talents in our workforce. We need to focus on policy initiatives that can create the tools to help immigrants to participate in the workforce and in our community.

Technology. We are on the cusp of something great here. We just need to figure out how to get and keep the employees to support the growth of the industry.

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Meet the

fargoan

frank pierce Project Manager at Pierce Lee Roofing Born and raised in Fargo-Moorhead

FAVORITE THING ABOUT FARGOMOORHEAD...

Even with the growth the area has seen over the past several years, it still maintains its small-town feel and friendly attitude.

FAVORITE HIDDEN THINGS TO DO...

One comes to mind. Where I live in Moorhead, there were numerous homes removed for flood protection and dikes installed where the houses were. This created an in-town wildlife sanctuary. Here, you can see deer, turkeys and waterfowl, just to name a few, and it offers an excellent area to walk your dogs and pick apples off trees that remain from people’s backyards.

FAVORITE THINGS TO DO DURING FREE TIME...

The Fargo-Moorhead arts are some of the best I’ve seen. From the plays, concerts and recitals– if you don’t patronize the FM arts, you should.

The Fargo-Moorhead area is also very bicycle friendly. I enjoy jumping on my bike and just going with no particular destination.

THREE PLACES HE WOULD TAKE SOMEONE WHO IS VISITING FARGO FOR THE FIRST TIME...

A summer performance from the Gooseberry Park Players, either a movie or an organ concert at the Fargo Theatre and the rooftop at the HoDo to give them a unique perspective of Downtown Fargo.

40 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

A fire destroyed 31 blocks of Downtown Fargo on July 3, 1893.

FAVORITE DINNER LOCATION AND DISH...

Spitfire’s beef brisket

FAVORITE BRUNCH LOCATION AND DISH...

Radisson. It has a good omelet station

FAVORITE AFFORDABLE WEEKEND GETAWAY SPOT...

Biking the Heartland Trail in Park Rapids, Minnesota

41

Health & fitness

Where do you work out?

What's your favorite running/hiking/biking trail in Fargo-Moorhead?

I belong to Family Wellness Fargo and it has a good vibe.

There is such a wide variety of people there that you can just blend in and do your thing in a truly judgement-free zone. When I go to Zumba there, I’m always amazed at the wide variety of people who show up. There are high school students all the way to grandmas who come and you can tell everyone feels free to just let loose and get a good workout. No one cares if you’re on the beat, they’re just happy you’re there.

Lindenwood Park

Exercising outside is miles better than the gym, even in the winter.

Johnson park. It's hella lush. And it's got hella dogs running around.

KRISTINA HEIN

DIANE MILLER

Family Wellness Fargo has always been our "home" gym. It is close to where we live (my fiancé and I) and we enjoy the people that work and workout there. We have a lot of friends we have met in the last four years there that we enjoy seeing every day.

I also like the clean environment. It is nice to workout in an environment that is clean and always improving. Metroflex Gym is also a favorite, especially if you need a push in the gym. You won't walk out of there having a bad workout.

I like the trails around Family Wellness and in the Shadow Wood Creek area. I feel safe when walking/running in those areas and I like that they have garbages around the trails when we walk our dogs.

HAYLEE SWANSON Metroflex Gym

The Fargo Michelson Tricorn Bike Path in North Fargo is beautiful during summer and fall, especially because you can see the forest as well as the animals that live in it. It also is nice because it's pretty close to things in the city so it's not in the middle of nowhere.

NOEL KANGAS 42 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

In October 2012, there were 874 homeless people in Fargo-Moorhead.

Where's your favorite place to go for a healthy meal?

I like the simplicity of Josie’s Corner Café. They always have a fresh soup and you can get sandwiches the way you want. I also like to go to HuHot and load up on veggies.

What's your favorite healthy activity to do in Fargo-Moorhead?

How do you like to stay fit and active in -30 degree weather?

I like to mix exercise with friends, so I am a big fan of going for a walk or bike ride with friends in Lindenwood, Gooseberry or Oak Grove Park.

I also like to go to Zumba.

Learn to curl. We have an absolutely beautiful (and really new) curling club right here in Fargo and the people who volunteer for it and run it are some of the warmest (yep, that was a pun) in our community, and they love to teach others about the sport. You’ll be surprised how many calories you can burn concentrating on bending just right to push the rock down the sheet of ice and then trying not slip while you hustle and sweep to keep it going.

Josie’s Corner Café

Everest Tikka House has a lot of fabulous vegetarian options that are full of curry, veggies and nutritional herbs.

And the tastes are WOW!

Power Plate Meals. We offer healthy, convenient meals that are all under 400 calories.

Outdoor running in January is totally possible.

Here's what you gotta wear: Hat (not head band), face mask, two pairs of pants, tight non-cotton compression longsleeve, one more long sleeve, one sweater and one light, breathable jacket. Specific winter shoes are not necessary. Just take small, hard steps over the ice. Also, dancing at shows.

I love to run and play catch along the river. I'm like a dog. I also love to walk my (my partner's, actually) dog. It’s a miniature, dappled wiener.

Metroflex Gym

Lift weights at the Family Wellness or MetroFlex Gym.

I personally stay active by going to the gym. Being a member of a gym or fitness studio is a great way to stay active in the winter. When it is -30 degrees in Fargo, hot yoga classes are where it's at.

Haute Yogis

If I'm going to eat something healthy, I usually don't go out.

Instead, I make it at home. But when I do go somewhere, I like getting the Hippie Chick P from Smiling Moose Deli because it has really fresh vegetables and I love hummus.

Biking wherever I can when it's warm enough. I nannied a nine-year-old a summer ago and we would just bike to different parks and have a blast finding new places that are bike accessible. One spot we liked, in particular, was the pedestrian bridge above I-94 because you can bike right over the cars, or you can take a break and wave to passing cars.

Many places in Fargo offer classes indoors ranging anywhere from swing dancing to zumba to yoga. All of these I find fun to try even once to change it up when it's too cold to go outside and do anything.

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43

Meet the

fargoan

Haylee Swanson Owner of Power Plate Meals and a NICU nurse at Sanford Has lived in the FM area her whole life

FAVORITE THING ABOUT FARGO-MOORHEAD...

My favorite part about the Fargo-Moorhead community is the people. I love the gratefulness and generosity people express to one another. I feel that, even though our community is growing a lot, we still have that small-town feel and the people in our community are willing to help one another out when someone is in need.

FAVORITE HIDDEN THINGS TO DO...

1) Cooking classes at Square One Rental Kitchens and Events. I say this because Square One is the kitchen that helped us start Power Plate Meals and, prior to us finding the space, we had no clue it existed. Square One is a rental kitchen in Downtown Fargo where you can rent space to cook on your own or they offer fun cooking classes for holidays, couples, date nights and kids. It's a fun way to get out of the house and try something new.

2) Creatively Uncorked. There's nothing like painting and drinking wine with your friends, family or co-workers. It is becoming more popular, but I still feel there are a lot of people that haven't heard about it yet. It's so much fun and a great thing to do in a group or on a date.

3) Downtown shops and eateries. There are so many new local places to eat, drink and shop in Downtown Fargo. It is fun to walk or drive around downtown and explore the new local businesses.

FAVORITE THINGS TO DO DURING FREE TIME...

My favorite things to do in Fargo are to go to movies, shop downtown, try new fitness classes and sit in coffee shops to work. My fiancĂŠ and I love movies, so when we get some down time, we love going out for movie nights.

Kittsona is my favorite boutique downtown, so when it's time for an event, new clothes for the season or the perfect gift, that's where I go.

I have a love and passion for lifting, but there are so many new fitness studios coming to Fargo and it's fun to try new ways to stay active. Some new fitness studios you should try are Haute Yogis, Powerturn and Orange Theory.

Coffee shops! I love to sit at Beans Coffee Bar and work and plan out my weeks. It's nice to enjoy a delicious coffee from a local company and get my work done.

44 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

Learn more about Swanson’s company at powerplatemeals.com.

The city was named for William G. Fargo, a director of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and co-founder of Wells Fargo Express Company.

Meet the

fargoan

tony satter Senior Loan Officer at Inland Home Mortgage Former NDSU running back

FAVORITE THING ABOUT FARGO-MOORHEAD...

My favorite part of Fargo-Moorhead is the people.

We have a lot of young people who are doing great things in the community. Also, we have a great nucleus of established people that have been here pretty much their whole life and they are also doing great things and giving back to the community. I think that is why the FM area has seen such great growth over the last few years.

AN ORGANIZATION IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT’S MAKING A DIFFERENCE...

The one organization that comes to mind is the Salvation Army. Their efforts during Christmas time requires a great number of volunteers and volunteer hours. We have had our children volunteer to ring the bell with us and I think it provides a great opportunity to teach our children the value of giving, not just financially but time, as well.

FAVORITE THINGS TO DO DURING FREE TIME...

When I get free time, I like to golf. Golf has been a nice relief activity for me. Golf has also filled a void that was left by my athletic career in college and beyond. Also, it is a sport I can do with my family and that is important to me as well. We have been a member at Oxbow Country Club since we moved back to Fargo in 2001.

HOW LONG HE'S LIVED IN FARGO...

Well, we moved here when I was 10 years old. I was here through college at NDSU. My first official job after college had me living in Brookings, South Dakota where I lived from 1994 to the end of 2000. We have been back in Fargo ever since. Fargo is home for me.

CHARITY EVENT THAT'S A CAN'T MISS...

GiGi's Playhouse here in town has events throughout the year. Their cause is to help children and young adults that have Down Syndrome. We have a couple friends that have children with Down Syndrome and the efforts of GiGi's Playhouse have helped their children greatly.

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Entertainment

What's your favorite sporting event to go to in the community?

I do love Bison games. I’m a self-professed bandwagon fan that jumped on when I moved to Fargo. In addition to the game, I like to see all of the creative tailgating vehicles and set ups, but my very favorite one is the Bison Brigade firetruck. Besides Bison games, I do like to have a beer at the RedHawks game on a good summer night and then stay for the fireworks.

Where's your favorite spot to see a live band?

You really can’t beat the atmosphere and ambiance of the Bluestem Center for the Arts. I really do love to see a band on stage with the green trees, blue sky and a fiery sunset peeking in between those wooden beams as a background. The sky always seems so huge when you’re sitting in the seats there.

KRISTINA HEIN

My personal favorite to watch is the West Fargo Dance Invitational, as I was a previous Packatahna dancer and I continue to support the West Fargo Dance community.

Bison Football is also a must.

Fargodome is the main place I have been to go to concerts, but I would love to go to Bluestem Center for the Arts for the outdoor environment.

Fargodome

HAYLEE SWANSON

I am an NDSU Team Maker and football supporter. Our company has given to NDSU for more than 50 years. I remember going to our Team Maker seats with my dad when we watched all of the games at the old NDSU outdoor stadium. Boy, did I get cold. I’m surprised I could walk dressed as I was–parka, boots and heavy hats and gloves. As I am a lot older now, I enjoy the indoor games.

The excitement of the games is incredible. I have been to three national championships.

I enjoy seeing a live band at the HoDo because of its intimate setting. When I know the band and want a good seat, we go early. It’s like we are sitting amongst the band.

C'mon guys, that's easy. Bison Football. The way the community backs the Bison is crazy. I get the chills just thinking about the roar of the crowd.

The Fargo Theatre is a great spot.

The theatre has an old 1920s feel and there's never a bad seat in the house.

BRIAN HAYER

JAMAR CAIN 46 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

Fargo accounts for more than 15 percent of the states population.

Where are three places you would take someone who is visiting Fargo for the first time?

What's your favorite way to spend a Saturday in Fargo?

1) Fargo Brewing Company so they can have a Wood Chipper or Stone’s Throw because it is very “Fargo.” 2) Peruse all of the quirky and beautiful items at Unglued and Zandbroz (and see what their window display has because it always has something pretty.) 3) What I call “my little corner” of the bar at Barbacoa–the bar there has hundreds of South American coins glued to it in a geometric design, and back before it opened, I helped my friend Dan glue down a few sections of the funky design, so it is fun to order a drink from that spot in the bar.

Get a coffee and stroll Broadway or go to a local play, charity event or community event. I like to browse “The Fargo Beat,” which is a weekly email that highlights things going on during the weekend coming up, and there are always options.

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1) Downtown Fargo. There are many new places to go out to eat, have a drink, go out for coffee or enjoy some local shopping, Kittsona being my favorite. 2) Sandy's Donuts has the best donuts in town!

Blueberry glazed is my favorite. 3) Family Wellness Fargo or MetroFlex Gym for a workout, Beans Coffee Bar for coffee, Blarney Stone or Lucky's 13 Pub for the best sweet potato fries/cocktails, Century 10/West Acres for a movie and SCHEELS for active shopping.

I like to bring out-of-town guests to the Fargo Country Club and take them on a tour of Downtown Fargo. I think the Fargo Country Club shows the beauty of the Red River and is the best and longest surviving country club in the state. My friends that I bring downtown are amazed with the feeling of downtown. I like the fact that we have the NDSU campus downtown and that there's great retail shopping, outstanding restaurants and a wide variety of unique places to live.

First off, a Bison football game. I have a lot of former players who fly up for a game. They enjoy the atmosphere and the tailgate. I want to say that I have had somebody fly to town for every home game. Downtown Fargo is pretty cool as well. Once again, my former players love the small town feel of the downtown area. You can’t go wrong with going to Proof Artisan Distillers.

They have a good whiskey and gin. I also like taking people to all the breweries in town. You wouldn’t think that Fargo-Moorhead has so many cool breweries. My favorite is Junkyard Brewery Company because it has a massive selection of IPAs.

My favorite way to spend a Saturday is to wake up and have a good breakfast and cup of coffee, spend an hour or two at the gym, take my dogs on a walk, relax and clean, get ready for the night and have a movie and frozen yogurt night with my fiancé. That is my perfect Saturday.

Tailgating in the fall.

However, I am never in Fargo on a weekend in the summer. We are always at the lakes.

(Bonus: About 10 years ago, only a couple hundred of people showed up for tailgating. Now, there are several thousand at every game.)

The best way to spend my Saturday in Fargo is, of course, a Bison win first. Then we have a family dinner on our way home. We either stop at Herd and Horns or Smash Burger and talk about the game. Those two places are perfect to us because we can get in and out without having a threehour wait. I then rush home and watch the late PAC-12 game. I know that's really exciting but that's our normal Saturday night.

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Meet the

fargoan

cortnee jensen Director of Community Relations/ Development at Mind Shift Lived here for six years

FAVORITE THING ABOUT FARGO-MOORHEAD...

The ownership. I've lived in 11 cities in five states, so I feel like I have a little bit of perspective to add to this conversation. This is a community that cares about their neighbors, schools, businesses and their own. And they, well we, show it. If something is broken, we fix it. If there are problems, we create solutions.

As an example, I have worked in nonprofit organizations in a few of the cities that I have lived in and let me tell you, we have a business community that gives back, and not because it helps the bottom line, but because it's the right thing to do. When I started planning Mind Shift's first fundraiser as a brand new organization with almost no clout to offer and no guarantee that anyone would attend, I was terrified that no one would be interested in partnering with us. But almost immediately, Happy Harry's signed on to partner with us. Dustin, Jay and the team not only gave us some fabulous alcohol, but they helped us with permitting, thinking through and planning the event, advertising and even sent their own volunteers to help out. We had similar experiences with Proof Artisan Distillers and the Toasted Frog. This “In Great Spirits” event has been key to helping Mind Shift engage in the community and meet the ambassadors and donors we need to be successful.

FAVORITE HIDDEN THINGS TO DO...

1) We love the family bicycles at Lindenwood Park.

I won’t pretend that my three-year-old can add much to the effort (ok, we just strap him in the basket in the front) or that it isn’t work, but it is a beautiful park that is always well maintained and full of kind area families who are ready for conversation. We have made so many fantastic family memories exploring along the river, crossing into Moorhead’s Gooseberry Park and making new friends. It’s a wonderful place in the winter, too. Try cross country skiing the parks. All of the trees give plenty of wind protection.

2) The Lincoln tunnel under I-94. It’s free and my kids can spend hours running through and shouting. They all love the idea of being under the cars and it inspires all kinds of creative play, from miners to bats and sonar, all the way to the underground railroad. It is actually pretty fun for adults, too. Just saying…

3) I also love playing “I spy” with my kids. There is public art all over the area, especially downtown. From the bison statues, to the peacock mural, to the scenes inlaid in the brick walkways downtown, our community is a beautiful and interesting place to be. And I thoroughly enjoy discovering these hidden gems through the eyes of my children.

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When the Block 9 Tower is completed in 2019, it will be the tallest building in North Dakota.

FAVORITE THINGS TO DO DURING FREE TIME...

I am an antique and repurposing junkie. I love to wander through Fargo’s many thrift stores, antique shops and funky repurposed boutiques. Seriously, I used to live in Oregon and, per capita, we give Portland a run for their money. Speaking of the Portland culture, I also picked up a love of coffee while living out west. I was ecstatic to find good quality coffee here. And when you add in the Fargo spirit of welcome, it is pretty difficult to get me to vacate my cozy seat at 20 Below Coffee.

FAVORITE PLACE FOR A GOOD DEAL IN TOWN...

Anything from Romo’s!

Seriously, they have incredible, fresh food in HUGE portions and it is super inexpensive.

FAVORITE DINNER LOCATION...

India Palace! I adore traditional Indian cuisine and theirs is top notch.

But, more than that, it is the people. Harpaul, Balwinder and the whole India Palace family treat us like part of the family when we visit. Not only do they know us by name, if you ask almost anyone what Cortnee orders, they will tell you “paneer kashmiri.” It is an incredible, fragrantly spicy mango cream sauce with peas and cheese cubes.

weekend

Getaways

Where is your favorite weekend getaway spot from Fargo?

What do you like to do in that spot?

My favorite weekend getaway spot is Lake Minnebelle in Litchfield, Minnesota, where I grew up. But, my boyfriend Michael and I really like to go to Duluth, Bemidji or Walker in Minnesota.

My favorite thing to do on Lake Minnebelle is to pack a cooler of snacks and beverages and take leisurely laps around the lake on the pontoon and then stop for a while to relax on a floatie. We like Duluth and Bemidji, Minnesota because of the great mix of outdoor stuff to do and see, as well as the fun restaurants and brewery options.

KRISTINA HEIN

Duluth

Other than go to a friend's lake place, I enjoy the Zorbaz pizza.

Plus, the drive down is just a good opportunity to listen to some music and chat.

I like to go to Detroit Lakes because of how many different things there are to do, especially in the summer.

NOEL KANGAS

Zorbaz

Actually, we don’t like to leave Fargo on the weekends.

At this stage of life, with young kids in tons of activities and work, church and community commitments, we are thrilled to have time to explore right here at home.

Considering we like to stay in town, we are never lacking in music, theatre, sporting, community and cultural events.

We love going to events at the Plains Art Museum, Yunkers Farm, Rheault Farm, the universities and the Stage at Island Park.

The list is almost endless.

CORTNEE JENSEN

Probably just the Twin Cities. My wife has a shopping problem. We like to go to cities and metropolitan areas because it makes us feel at home. It's such an easy drive, the hotels are easy to book and there's always plenty to do. We like the Mall of America and the kids enjoy playing there. You can also never go wrong with a Twins game.

JAMAR CAIN 50 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

The Red River Zoo has a restored 1928 carousel.

The kids love playing at the Mall of America and especially enjoy the rides at Nickelodeon Universe. I'm usually stuck following the kids around while my wife is shopping.

Where's your favorite spot to get your fix of nature in?

Maplewood State Park is less than an hour drive away from Fargo and I think it is one of the best places to see the fall colors, pretty trees and rolling hills without having to drive too far. Paddle boarding on the lake there is one of my happy places. The Land O Lakes State Forest near Brainerd, Minnesota is also great for 4-wheeling because the trails run through areas of thick, tall treas.

Courtesy of Explore Minnesota, MN Tourism, Duluth Photo by David Sean Rosario ll

My friends and I started an Astronomy Club at my school so whenever we're talking about a new astronomical event or learning about a new constellation, we go north of Fargo a few miles just into the country where the stars are brighter and highly visible. One of my friends has a telescope and it's fun to bring that with to get our nature fill and see what's out there.

I love Buffalo State Park. It’s beautiful and considering it's only 20 miles from Fargo, it's close enough to be a day trip. There is swimming for the kids and picnic areas for lunch.

My husband and I like to hike and the trails are easy enough that the kids can do them.

Considering we're from California, we like to go to Lake Tahoe in northern California. Every summer, we vacation at the Squaw Creek resort in Tahoe. It's the best place to recharge your battery. I love it because the lake is gorgeous and the air is clean. The best part of Tahoe is my cell service sucks so I'm off the grid. We like to hike and ride jet ski on the lake. The kids also really enjoy crabbing in Tahoe and swimming in the cold lake.

Any other spots you recommend?

I’m a big fan of state parks. What costs $25 per year and is good for endless hours of entertainment and beautiful scenery? A Minnesota or North Dakota State Park sticker!

Once you put that sticker in the bottom right hand corner of your windshield, you have instant access to 67 state parks in Minnesota or 13 state parks in North Dakota.

And if you don’t want to commit to a whole year of state park fun, it’s just $5 for a day pass. Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge is just an hour away from Fargo and just a few minutes outside of Detroit Lakes.

I like to go to Minneapolis whenever I can because of how fun it is, especially downtown Minneapolis. Going down for concerts are especially exciting because you get to see what a bigger city is like during night.

Once in awhile, we head to Valley City, North Dakota. As I mentioned before, I love antiques. Valley City has quite a few antique shops and thrift stores that I enjoy visiting.

For us its going to San Francisco. If you've never been, I highly suggest you go. In the summer, you can attend a Giants game, which has the best view of the bay in Northern California. I'm also a huge fan of the garlic fries, which are to die for. If your wife wants to shop, take a stroll down Market Street. Be careful though as you can spend a lot of money. For the kids, you can see the seals on Fisherman Wharf’s or take the ferry to Alcatraz. However, you better bring your coat because it's cold in the city.

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Meet the

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jamar cain Defensive Ends Coach for NDSU Football Lived here for four years

FAVORITE THING ABOUT FARGO-MOORHEAD...

That’s a loaded question. I enjoy so many parts of the FM area that it’s hard to narrow it down. For me, it’s the community and my neighbors. Coming from the West Coast, I didn’t have the community closeness as I do here.

I grew up in one house for 15 years and didn’t know any of my neighbors. We just bought a house in the Brooks Harbor community in West Fargo and we know all of our neighbors and their kids. However, the most important thing I love is that there is no traffic. My morning commute is only 11 minutes. Back home in California, this drive would have taken 45 minutes.

FAVORITE HIDDEN THINGS TO DO...

This is loaded question for me cause everything we do is around Bison athletics.

1) Go to a Bison softball game. I love watching those ladies compete and they play at such a high level. I also believe the staff does such an amazing job in developing players.

2) Attend a Bison women’s soccer match. This is another staff that does an amazing job and competes at such a high level. I feel both of those programs are playing and competing at such a high level and need to be recognized.

3) Watch a gymnastics meet at American Gold Gymnastics.

My daughter is a level 4 athlete and to watch the little girls compete is something special.

FAVORITE THINGS TO DO DURING FREE TIME...

Freetime? I don’t ever have much of that. I’m usually at America Gold Gymnastics watching my daughter practice or I’m at Byers American Taekwondo Academy with my son. I love watching my kids in sporting events and seeing them have fun competing. During the season, I don’t have any freetime to watch my kids do much so I never miss anything they do during the off-season.

FAVORITE DINNER LOCATION...

Brewtus Brickhouse, hands down. It's one of the only kid friendly restaurants in West Fargo and they have several video games for the kids, plenty of TVs and a massive selection of cold beverages. My kids enjoy the place because of the individual pizzas and my wife and I love the supreme (The Amazon) and veggie pizza.

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In the 1880s, Fargo was called the divorce capital of the Midwest.

Congratulations to Cain who recently accepted a coaching position at San Jose State in California. He was a coach at NDSU for three years.

Meet the

fargoan

noel kangas Senior at Moorhead High School Lived here for 18 years

FAVORITE THING ABOUT FARGO-MOORHEAD...

I like how there is something for everyone. It definitely offers something for you, no matter what you’re searching for in your ideal town. It offers the security and community of a small town, yet, at the same time, it offers many activities and places to go so you don’t get bored. It is similar to a bigger city. To me, the Fargo-Moorhead area has always been home so I’ve grown accustomed to it, but I think that even visitors feel like they’re right at home by how welcoming the people in this region are.

FAVORITE HIDDEN THINGS TO DO...

Most of these aren’t too hidden but, every year, my family and I go down historic Eighth street during Christmas to see the Christmas lights on the older homes. It’s even fun to see the houses during the rest of the year because of how old and pretty they are.

Another thing that I like to do is something that most people my age would laugh at but the library in North Fargo has the prettiest room to sit and read in. It’s nice because of the huge windows and the comfy seats.

Lastly, I would say going to Stumbeano’s coffee. It’s in a basement of a building in Downtown Fargo and it has the best lattes, in my opinion, because they make their own syrups. My favorite is the rosemary latte.

FAVORITE THINGS TO DO DURING FREE TIME...

Personally, I like to go to places that don’t cost a ton so that I can do a lot more in a day with my friends.

Usually, we try to find something that sounds interesting like the Art Crawl or a cultural festival at the Hjemkomst center. We often try to find something that we normally wouldn’t enjoy, just to try it. Usually, we go to something like that and then go get food or coffee afterward. Another thing that I’ve found that is surprisingly fun is volunteering for Lindenwood Lights or the ALS walk every year because there’s always a lot of people there and if you do it with your friends, it can be a lot of fun.

FAVORITE BREAKFAST LOCATION...

Anything from BernBaum's where they have a cross between Jewish and Scandinavian cooking. Their bagels are what they're known for, but their food combinations are so intricate and well planned that I think you'd be safe trying anything there.

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HOW TO

Get Ahead in Business in Fargo-Moorhead

J. Alan Paul Photography, Paul Flessland & Laura Cramer

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s a city consistently rated as one of the top for business in the country, and with an expected 30,000 job openings in the next five years, the opportunities are out there to advance your career in Fargo-Moorhead. We asked five of the top business leaders in our community about their advice on how you can get ahead in business.

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Sundog Interactive has been recognized as one of the top places to work several times and their fun and creative office in the Multiband Tower reflects the creative work that they do.

Brent Teiken CEO of Sundog Interactive

SUNDOG INTERACTIVE sundoginteractive.com 2000 44th St. S., Floor 6, Fargo

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rent Teiken is one of the many entrepreneurs to come from Great Plains Software (now Microsoft). He has served as the CEO of Sundog since 1995 and has built it into being recognized as a Best Place to Work by Advertising Age. He even received the Marcus Buckingham's Leaders Leading Leaders Award in 2012, which recognizes 25 of the most innovative leaders across the U.S. He now resides in Moorhead with his family.

The Red River Zoo’s carousel is originally from 1928.

Q: What local networking events do you recommend attending and why have these events been helpful for you?

A: When Sundog started, the FM Chamber events, like Business After Hours, were incredibly helpful in getting to know the FM business community. And to be honest, they helped me understand that I really wasn’t all that great at networking. Or more importantly, what exactly I was hoping to accomplish while networking.

Fortunately for me, they also offered a number of educational events and programs to help. These skills are something I’ve carried with me throughout my career.

"Every other month, thousands network together over food, drinks, fun and prizes!"

Tyler Fischbach Chamber of Commerce

Q: What are some of the most helpful resources you've used from the state of North Dakota or in the Fargo area?

A: North Dakota supports business and understands the resources needed to start and grow those businesses. The best part is that while the resources are significant, the state is small enough to coordinate those resources when businesses need them the most. We worked with the ND Development Fund and GFMEDC (Greater FargoMoorhead Economic Development Corporation) early on. Additionally, the ITCND (Information Technology Council of North Dakota) offers a number of resources for IT-related start-ups.

Q: What organization or business in the FM area do you admire?

A: SCHEELS. It’s an incredible growth story–and one that didn’t happen overnight. What started as a small hardware store in Sabin in 1902 didn’t become known as an all sports store until 87 years later. It’s a great lesson for the rest of us on how success is more grind than glitter, the importance of clear purpose and having a passion for your products and the customers you serve. At the same time, uncompromisingly, living your values.

Q: What is the best business advice you've ever received?

A: I was having dinner at the Speak Easy in Moorhead with my father-in-law, John Anderson, in the winter of 1995. After explaining the idea of Sundog and what I hoped it could become, he said, “While you’ll likely always be happy working at Great Plains Software, nothing can compare to the challenges or successes of starting your own business. Win or lose, you own the outcome.” More than anything, that’s what I wanted.

Q: If somebody approached you about starting their own business, what would be your one piece of advice?

A: Say no as often as you say yes.

Start-ups have the tendency to drift. It’s natural as you find your way to profit.

We were no different. Taking on too much, losing focus and drifting from your original vision can be a threat to any business. So we keep asking ourselves three simple questions: Who are we? What do we do? And, how can we be the best in the world at it? Saying no as often as you say yes will help you answer those questions sooner than later.

Q: What local business person has been a role model for you?

A: There are actually two. Doug Burgum showed over and over again his genuine care for team members, customers and partners. And, that anything is possible right here in the FargoMoorhead community.

This fund Lauris Molbert is an through the incredible example of North Dakota Department intelligence, will and of Commerce humility. I’ve leaned provides flexible on him for a number gap financing of tough issues and, for new or expanding as mentors do, he primary sector doesn’t give answers businesses. as much as he Primary sector businesses coaches you to an include tourism answer. I am grateful and specific and fortunate to have types of worked closely with investor-owner agriculture, both, and consider and is typically them friends and businesses mentors. They’re proof such as manufacturers, of the level of talent food processors we have right here. or export What an incredible service community! companies.

A Deeper Dive • Great Plains Software This tech company was started by Doug Burgum and was acquired by Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001.

• Best Place to Work by Advertising Age Every year, Advertising Age magazine chooses the best agency, ad tech, media company or marketing division that’s been in business for at least a year. For 2016, the best place to work was Be Found Online in Chicago.

• Marcus Buckingham’s Leaders Leading Leaders Award The Marcus Buckingham Company is a tech company that designs software for teams. Candidates are nominated by their peers, and submissions are judged on both the quantity and quality of innovative leadership examples provide.

• GFMEDC The Greater Fargo-Moorhead Economic Development Corporation provide resources and statistics to attract, expand and retain primary-sector businesses in our community.

• ITCND (Information Technology Council of North Dakota) Formed in 2000 by business, government and educational leaders, the ITCND hopes to strengthen the state’s technology infrastructure to become a national leader in IT. • Speak Easy This Italian restaurant in Moorhead was bought in 2016 and is now under new management.

• Doug Burgum The founder of Great Plains Software and now the 33rd governor of North Dakota. Burgum was Teiken’s boss when he worked at Great Plains Software.

• Lauris Molbert The CEO of TMI Hospitality, Molbert and his team currently own and operates about 200 hotels in 24 states and has 4,500 employees.

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There are 26 SCHEELS across the country.

Each store is recognized for its entertainment options. The Billings, Montana SCHEELS also has a 65-feet tall ferris wheel.

Steve D. Scheel Chair of the Board of SCHEELS 58 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

SCHEELS scheels.com

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tarted in 1902 as a small hardware and general merchandise store in Sabin, Minnesota by Steve Scheel’s great grandfather, SCHEELS is now a 26-store operation with stores in 11 states. SCHEELS is known for being an employeeowned, privately-held business.

The city was named for William G. Fargo, a director for the Northern Pacific Railroad, and co-founder of Wells Fargo Express Company.

A Deeper Dive

Q: What local networking events do you recommend attending?

A: A person ends up much more wellrounded if they get to know people in other organizations. The United Way and the Chamber of Commerce are good starting points, but other charitable organizations are valuable if a person contributes in a meaningful way.

Focusing on four components (education, income stability, health and basic needs) the United Way of Cass-Clay raised $5.5 million in 2014 to go back to the community.

Q: What are some of the most helpful resources you’ve used from the state of North Dakota or in the Fargo area?

A: Mayor Furness was a valuable resource when we planned to build our new store on 45th street.

Getting to know the Mayor and key City Commissioners is always a good idea.

The Bank of North Dakota has partnered with local banks to help us finance projects, and nothing beats the great people we are able to hire in FargoMoorhead.

Q: What organization or business in the FM area do you admire?

A: I admire private, local businesses and organizations that have stood the test of time. RDO, Dakota Specialty Milling, NDSU and Bell Bank come to mind. The Dakota Medical Foundation, Salvation Army, Legacy Children’s Foundation and other long time non-profits do so much that is good in our community. I also admire Fargo Assembly. They are

a long-time Fargo company that serves major implement manufacturers across the country with wiring harnesses and employs hundreds of people.

Q: What is the best business advice you’ve ever received?

A: Number one, put “Think Time” on your calendar every week to study a particular challenge, even if for only 30 uninterrupted minutes. Number two, the culture you build in your people is far more important than your strategy.

Q: If somebody approached you about starting their own business, what would be your one piece of advice?

A: The customer experience is critical.

If the customer returns because of the customer service and overall experience, you cannot help but succeed. Say “Thank you” every time.

The Chamber in our community is actually the largest chamber of commerce in North Dakota or Minnesota and serves 2,100 private, public and non-profit member firms.

Q: What local business person has been a role model for you?

A: I was fortunate to have my father Fred Scheel as my key mentor and disciplinarian, Bob Alin at SCHEELS to teach me the importance of being a people person, Lloyd Paulson at SCHEELS to teach me meaningful budgets and my partner Steve Hulbert who pushed the envelope with new products. I learned more from them than I learned in four years of college.

• Mayor Furness Bruce Furness was the mayor of Fargo from 1994-2006.

• Bank of North Dakota As the only state owned bank in the country, the Bank of North Dakota promotes agriculture, commerce and industry. The bank works with more than 100 North Dakota financial institutions.

• RDO A dealer of John Deere and other equipment, RDO was started in 1968 and now has 75 dealerships in 10 states and several international partnerships.

• Dakota Specialty Milling Since 1969, the company has been producing custom-milled ingredients and wholegrain blends for some of the largest cereal and bread makers in the world.

• NDSU NDSU is one of the top universities in the country and is listed on the National Science Foundation’s top 100 in several areas, including agricultural sciences, social sciences, physical sciences, chemistry and more.

• Bell Bank With assets of more than $3.5 billion and business in 50 states, Bell Bank is just as well known for their loyalty to treating their employees well.

• Dakota Medical Foundation An organization that leads initiatives to create a region of the healthiest people, assists with fundraising and invests in new ideas that can create widespread health improvement.

• Salvation Army From emergency disaster response to basic need services like free hot meals to rent and utility assistance to counseling, the Fargo Salvation Army is working to solve the community’s biggest problems.

• Legacy Children’s Foundation Assisting diverse teens to graduate from high school, the Legacy Children’s Foundation was developed by Fargo teenagers.

• Fargo Assembly With a global presence, Fargo Assembly has eight plants across the U.S. and in England. They manufacture electrical wiring assemblies for various industries.

• Fred Scheel Scheel started the first SCHEELS, a small hardware and general merchandise store in Sabin, Minnesota in 1902.

• Bob Alin Long time SCHEELS store manager.

• Lloyd Paulson Another long time SCHEELS store manager.

• Steve Hulbert Long time SCHEELS store manager.

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The Kilbourne Group is named after Katherine Kilbourne Burgum, Doug Burgum’s mother.

Mike Allmendinger General Manager of Kilbourne Group

KILBOURNE GROUP kilbournegroup.com 210 Broadway, Suite 300, Fargo

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ike Allmendinger founded Land Elements in 2003, a landscape architecture firm that focuses on conceptual design.

In 2006, he joined Kilbourne Group, which redevelopes and creates infill projects in Downtown Fargo. He now serves as the general manager of Kilbourne Group. Land Elements and Kilbourne Group are both based in the Loretta Building on Broadway.

Fargo accounts for over 15 percent of the state’s population.

Q: What are some of the most helpful resources you’ve used from the state of North Dakota or in the Fargo area?

A: Kilbourne Group’s work is informed by the master planning done by the City of Fargo. The city’s public engagement process gets everyone Created by to the same table, the City of takes diverse Fargo, this plan establishes the perspectives and community’s blends them to set out vision for plans like GO 2030, the the future of Downtown Framework Fargo. Find it at cityoffargo.com.

Plan, Downtown InFocus Comprehensive Plan and more. We are grateful for the vision and work of the Renaissance Zone program, which has catalyzed private investment in mainstreets and downtowns all across North Dakota.

We also rely heavily on the NDSU Archives. Their trove of historic pictures feed our curiosity about the past lives and stories of Downtown Fargo buildings and sites. They are an unsung treasure in our community for their work in documenting our culture and history.

Another plan for Downtown Fargo, this was created in 2002 and set much of the growth that has happened downtown.

Q: What is the best business advice you’ve ever received?

A: Know who you are, what you do and why it matters.

A Deeper Dive • Kilbourne Group A downtown redeveloper that has contributed much to Downtown Fargo’s growth. One of their most exciting spaces is the Block 9 tower, which is planned to start construction this year.

• Downtown InFocus Comprehensive Plan A comprehensive and open planning process to envision and serve as the blueprint for the future of Downtown Fargo.

The plan incorporates research, community feedback and expert planning.

• Renaissance Zone Program This program was created to revitalize communities in North Dakota and encourage development through tax incentives.

• NDSU Archives Run through NDSU, the archives offer resources for students and the community with an extensive collection of the FM area’s past.

A Deeper Dive • TEDxFargo One of the many popular TED events around the world, TEDxFargo brings together some great minds to present on ideas worth sharing.

• Midnight Brunch Another great way for networking and meeting people, this fun event happens at midnight and the next one is set to occur on Thursday, Feb. 9.

Watch emergingprairie.com for more information.

Q: What local networking events do you recommend attending and why have these events been helpful for you?

Q: What do you think the next industry boom will be in the community?

A: I have had the opportunity to be a guest of multiple service clubs and organizations in the metro and have seen the power of the relationships built within them. I see great value in events like TEDxFargo and Midnight Brunch. I’m also a big fan of running into people downtown, some of my best networking and ideas happen this way.

A: In addition to the great businesses in Fargo that will be expanding in technology, agriculture and drones, I’m excited about energy behind all season biking in Fargo. I feel many of our city’s outdoor active recreational opportunities could be a muchexpanded area for what people want and are willing to pay money for. Biking is the new golf.

Q: If somebody approached you about starting their own business, what would be your one piece of advice?

Q: As somebody who is so involved in Downtown Fargo, why is Downtown Fargo a great location for business?

A: I started Land Elements in 2003 and the most important lesson I’ve learned has been to listen to your customer.

Q: What local business person has been a role model for you?

A: Working closely with Kilbourne Group’s founder Doug Burgum has allowed me to apply my work to revitalizing our vibrant Downtown Fargo neighborhood. He is driven by the positive impact an organization can have in a community and on its team members. It can change people’s lives.

As a landscape architect, I appreciate the high value Doug places on strong urban design and the quality of designed spaces.

A: Downtown is a differentiator for our metro community. Your employees have walkable access to all the unique amenities and experiences you can only find in Downtown Fargo. The interactions they have through impromptu conversations with other downtown employees bring innovation, curiosity and creativity into your workforce. The fast-growing customer base in downtown is looking for uniquely Fargo shopping and entertainment experiences.

Q: What organization or business in the FM area do you admire?

A: There are so many that are creating new, uniquely Fargo experiences. Jade Presents, Theatre B, Plains Art Museum, Emerging Prairie, Folkways… I can’t choose just one. I admire those who are driving our culture and connections to Downtown Fargo and the metro.

• Land Elements A landscape architecture company that specializes in creating unique outdoor spaces.

• Biking Did you know that Fargo has more than 33-miles of on-street shared and designated bicycle lanes?

• Jade Presents One of the biggest concert promoters in the area, some of the big events that Jade Presents is bringing to our community this year are Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt, Louie Anderson, Tony Bennett and Machine Gun Kelly.

• Theatre B The mission of this theatre company is “to rearrange the furniture of your mind.”

• Plains Art Museum This 56,000 square-foot museum provides learning opportunities as well as a cultural experience for the community.

• Emerging Prairie Formed in 2013, Emerging Prairie exists to promote the entrepreneurial ecosystem by providing events like 1 Million Cups and offering a co-working space with the Prairie Den and much more.

• Folkways Working to support culture creators, Folkways does this by advocating for public policy, offering events like the Red River Market and the nineweek development program Co.Starters.

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D-S Beverages was founded in 1968 by Don Setter Sr., Restemayer’s father-in-law. The beer distributing company now delivers beer as far east as Bemidji, Minnesota.

Doug Restemayer President of D-S Beverages, Inc. D-S BEVERAGES d-sbeverages.com 201 17th St. N, Moorhead

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estemayer got into the beer business when he took over D-S Beverages in 2000, taking over for his father-in-law Don Setter Sr. Restemayer previously worked for the Target Corporation before moving back to the FM area. Originally from Cavalier, North Dakota, since returning to the area, Restemayer has been actively involved with the Chamber of Commerce and the Boys Scouts.

When the Block 9 Tower is completed in 2019, it will be the tallest building in North Dakota.

A Deeper Dive • D-S Beverages The local Anheuser Busch distributing company that serves the FM area and as far east as Bemidji, Minn. d-sbeverages.com • Don Setter Sr. The man who originally founded DS Beverages in 1968. Restemayer is Setter's son-in-law. Don passed away last November at the age of 85.

Q: What local networking events do you recommend attending and why have these events been helpful for you?

A: Our metro area is the perfect size to be able to network Our largest effectively–big enough network of volunteers that to have lots of options, are plugged into yet small enough to our member not be overwhelming. businesses.

Mickayla We have so many Thompson, great organizations Member that provide fertile Relations ground for meeting Coordinator people. My personal favorite is Chamber events: Business After Hours, Young Professionals Network or being a Chamber Ambassador. Other outstanding groups would be the Rotary Club, Kiwanis, Lions, Legion and Shriners. Volunteer activities are also great for networking: United Way, Salvation Army, Churches United, local church, Boy Scouts. There are hundreds of opportunities. Jump in and get involved.

Professional development, networking and volunteer opportunities.

What more could you ask for?

Samantha Gust, Chamber of Commerce

Q: What are some of the most helpful resources you’ve used from the state of North Dakota or in the Fargo area?

A: I have been most heavily involved locally in the Chamber and the Boy Scouts.

Being on the Chamber Board the past five

• Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors This Board of Directors is the policy-making body for the Chamber.

Restemayer was the former board chair and Judd Graham from Bremer Bank is the current chair.

• Rotary Club This charitable organization supports a variety of organizations around the community and world. fargorotary.org

• Kiwanis A service organization that also does fellowship and networking for its members, the Fargo Kiwanis raises money for organizations like the Special Olympics, YMCA, YWCA, Boy Scouts of America and more. fargo. kiwanisone.org

• Lions This 94-year old service organization empowers its members to give back to the community.

• Legion A veteran's organization that has a couple of posts around the community and is heavily involved with youth baseball. americanlegionpost2.net • Shriners The El Zagal Shrine is the local branch of the Shriners fraternity and works to care for kids by supporting 22 children’s hospitals across the country. elzagal.org • Salvation Army The Salvation Army supports Cass and Clay county residents in emergencies and offers a variety of basic needs services like rent and utility assistance, counseling and more. salvationarmynorth.org • Churches United This is the largest shelter in northwestern Minnesota and is the only shelter within 225 miles that is able to accommodate single men, single women, and both one and two parent families. churches-united.org

years has afforded me innumerable opportunities to get to know so many business and civic leaders and I have enjoyed it thoroughly. I have also been on the Boy Scout Board the past 15 years and not only feel good about supporting the mission of that organization but have also enjoyed the great networking it has provided.

at work worth doing.” Find something you think you will love and decisively go after it. Do your homework, make a solid business plan, get more capital lined up than you think you will ever need (most likely you will need it) and then be prepared to work very long days. Especially early in life, the biggest mistake is not taking a risk.

Q: What organization or business in the FM area do you admire?

Please elaborate on why you admire them.

Q: What local business person has been a role model for you?

Q: What is the best business advice you’ve ever received?

Q: What do you think the next industry boom will be in the community?

A: I could list 100 companies more easily than list one. But I will pick out two: Bell Bank and SCHEELS. Both are essentially a “family” business with humble beginnings and solid Midwestern core values. Both are laser focused on customer service, their business ethics are of the highest standard and they give back so much to the communities they serve and encourage their employees to do the same.

A: Some simple advice given early in my career was “balance tasks and people.” Early on, I was overly focused on getting things done without much consideration for the people who had to do the work or the effect on those it impacted. That one piece of feedback now affects every decision I make.

Q: If somebody approached you about starting their own business, what would be your one piece of advice?

A: First of all, I would quote Teddy Roosevelt, “Far and away, the best prize life offers is the chance to work hard

A: So many to choose from, but Doug Burgum stands out above all. He’s a true entrepreneur for starting Great Plains Software and making that so successful. He then worked several years as a corporate executive with Microsoft (not easy for an entrepreneur.) He began another round of entrepreneurial endeavors with the Kilbourne Group and invested enthusiastically in downtown Fargo. And now he decides to give back to society by becoming Governor of our state.

Impressive.

A: I believe we will continue our growth along many paths, not one in particular.

Small, high tech entrepreneurial companies will continue to pop up and grow. Health care will get much bigger. Ag related industries will grow when commodities recover. The oil industry will return. With the certainty of property protection offered by the Diversion and our reputation for solid work ethic, I believe the door is wide open for entirely new industries to move to our area that will accelerate our growth. If the FM area was a stock, I’d be a buyer!

A Deeper Dive • Boy Scouts One of the nation’s largest and most prominent values-based youth development programs, the Boy Scouts builds character, advocates for personal fitness and much more. nlcbsa.org

• Bell Bank One of Bell Bank’s unique incentives for employees is that every full-time employee receives $1,000 to give to individuals, families or organizations in need. bellbanks.com

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Ashley Morken is widely recognized for supporting local creatives and makers. This is especially highlighted by the Unglued: Craft Fest that happens every February.

Ashley Morken Owner of Unglued

UNGLUED ungluedmarket.com 408 Broadway, Fargo 68 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

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shley Morken is the owner at Unglued–a modern handmade gift shop with creative events. She began Unglued: Craft Fest in 2011 in Fargo, which later became a brick and mortar shop. Unglued now supports 300 local and regional makers through the Fargo location and a Sioux Falls, South Dakota location, as well as year-round events to inspire creativity in others. When Ashley is not falling behind on emails, you'll find her traveling, petting dogs, dreaming of another impossible idea and spilling the next cup of coffee with her husband Justin.

There are six towns named Fargo in the United States, the one in North Dakota has the largest population, with 113,658 residents.

A Deeper Dive Q: What local networking events do you recommend attending and why have these events been helpful for you?

A: I haven’t attended the typical networking events, but instead have found people through community events to connect with, collaborate with and learn from. These include things like occasionally working out of the Prairie Den, Downtown Community Partnership meetings, Unseen Ministries events, Folkways events like the Red River Market and especially our Unglued adult summer camp.

This co-working space offers memberships for entrepreneurs and makers who need a space to work.

Q: What are some of the most helpful resources you’ve used from the state of North Dakota or in the Fargo area?

A: Hands down the theprairieden.com SBA and SCORE offices. We have met two to three times with SCORE, once before we opened and also this past year when we weren’t sure if we should keep our Sioux Falls location open. Their perspective, experience and third-party insight was absolutely invaluable and so far we have kept it rolling using some of their advice.

it is worth fighting for during the difficult moments you inevitably will have over just starting something for financial gain. Define your mission and check all your decisions against it.

Q: If somebody approached you about starting their own business, what would be your one piece of advice?

A: You cannot wait forever for the right moment to come. Start small today and if you can prove your idea on a small scale (maybe like a pop-up shop), you should be able to see it grow to a larger scale. It’s too easy to get bogged down with a grand plan and never actually try it. Also get ready to drink a lot of coffee.

Q: What local business person has been a role model for you?

A: Maria Bosak of Eco Chic has continually inspired me. Her transparency and willingness to share her experiences and advice both personally and on her blog are so influential. As a small business owner, you often feel alone in the game and to hear from someone who has faced challenges and overcome them is encouraging and inspiring.

Q: What organization or business in the FM area do you admire?

A: I am so impressed by and admire the resilience of small, local businesses that have built from the ground up and have worked through the high and low points of a long-term business like Zandbroz Variety. They also saw the potential of Downtown Fargo before anyone else really believed in it.

Q: What is the best business advice you’ve ever received?

A: Start something that matters (also the name of the book that inspired us to create Unglued as a year-round shop.) If you can start something that you truly believe will make a difference,

Written by Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS Shoes, this book talks about how business can make you a profit and do social good.

Q: As a creative person, what would be your best advice for another creative who is looking to dive into business?

A: Consider what problem you want to solve or how your passion and creativity can create change. If you can answer that by using your creative skills or interests, you’ll start to see how it can go beyond a hobby and become a business. Then just start with whatever tools you have right now or can build today and it’ll get clearer with each step.

• Downtown Community Partnership This nonprofit development corporation works with the city and local businesses in planning and coordinating events that bring people to Downtown Fargo.

Its whole mission is “to make Downtown Fargo the coolest place on planet Earth.” downtownfargo.com • Unseen Ministries A local nonprofit that helps other nonprofits fight human trafficking around the world by equipping, training and partnering with them to help them succeed. weareunseen.org

• Folkways This organization supports Fargo’s culture creators through different events, policy advocating and classes. folkways.co • Red River Market Organized by Folkways, this summer farmer’s market in Downtown Fargo has vendors selling produce, baked goods, ready to eat foods and much more. redriver.market • Unglued adult summer camp This is just like summer camp you remember as a kid, but with more mimosas, better food and dance parties. ungluedmarket.com • SBA The Small Business Administration offers aid, counsel, assists and protects the interests of small businesses. sba.gov • SCORE This service of the SBA provides free business mentors, tools and workshops to help you get your business started. score.org • Sioux Falls location Unglued now has a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, location at 218 S. Phillips Avenue.

• Zandbroz Variety This eclectic gift shop was one of the initial businesses in Downtown Fargo that helped the revitalization. zandbroz.com • Maria Bosak of Eco Chic Bosak is the founder of Eco Chic, a local boutique that sells home décor, furniture and chalk paint.

Bosak also has created many events like Junk Market and the Design Conference. iloveecochic.com

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THE

Hottest Restaurants IN TOWN ACCORDING TO THE

Experts

Ryan Nitschke

J. Alan Paul Photography, Paul Flessland & Andrew Jason

Luna Fargo

Eric Watson

Mezzaluna and Rustica

Cary Carr

Usher’s House

Christian D’agostino Boiler Room, Twist and Barbacoa

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ith more than 350 restaurants in the FM area, it can be a real challenge to decide where to go out for a good meal. Well, we went right to the experts to ask them about their favorite places to go for a tasty bite. Each one of these chefs has an impressive resume in the kitchen and are the head chefs of wonderful local restaurants. Bon appétit!

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Ryan Nitschke ABOUT CHEF RYAN Nitschke is a local and national awardwinning chef and has even received two AAA Four Diamond Awards and a James Beard Best Chef Midwest nomination. He has worked his way through various kitchens in FargoMoorhead and is currently the head chef at Luna Fargo.

Luna Fargo lunafargo.com 1545 University Dr. S, Fargo

TRY: CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA

@ EVEREST TIKA HOUSE

Honestly, everything on the menu at Everest Tikka House is amazing. If I had to choose, it’d be a full plate of their chicken tikka masala with several garlic naan to soak up every last bit of deliciousness. I also have to have some vegetable pekora doused with the tamarind chutney. We get it for lunch at Luna more times than I can count.

Everest Tikka House everesttikkahouse.net 420 Center Ave., Moorhead

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In 2008, Fargo, North Dakota, hosted the largest pancake feed in the world.

Christian D’agostino ABOUT CHEF D’AGOSTINO Originally from Rhode Island, D’agostino started his career in the kitchen as a dishwasher in an Italian restaurant, eventually working his way up to head chef. He then went to work on cruise ships as a chef traveling the world and learning different cuisines. There, he met local chef/restauranteur Tony Nasello and D’agostino came to Fargo and worked at Sarello’s before working at the Ramada Plaza & Suites and the Hilton where he met Dan Hurder.

Together, they opened up the Boiler TRY: Room, Twist, Barbacoa and Chef’s Table POPOVERS Catering.

@ LUNA FARGO

Executive Chef/Owner Boiler Room boilerroomfargo.com Twist (formerly Sazerac Alley) Barbacoa barbacoafargo.com Chef’s Table Fargo chefstablefargo.com

TRY: HEART ATTACK

@ WASABI SUSHI & ASIAN GRILL There is this appetizer at Wasabi called “Heart Attack.” They are tempura fried jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese and spicy tuna and crab.

I had never been a fan of jalapeños or spicy food until I tried these. They are addicting. My wife and I like going to Wasabi for their sushi also, but then you can order pasta because Drunken Noodle is attached. It’s two restaurants in one.

Wasabi Sushi & Asian Grill drunkennoodle.com 623 NP Ave., Fargo FD

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eric watson ABOUT CHEF WATSON Eric Watson grew up in Colorado with a brother and single mother. Because his mother worked so late, Watson grew up cooking for his brother and himself.

He eventually attended the Colorado Mountain Culinary Institute in Summity County, Colorado. He worked in Rhode Island, Hawaii, Arizona and Colorado before moving to the FM area in 2003, where he started Mosaic Catering in 2004, Mezzaluna in 2012 and Rustica in 2014. He is also the founder of the local chapter of the American Chef Federation.

Chef/Owner Mezzaluna dinemezzaluna.com Rustica Eatery and Tavern dinerustica.com Mosaic Foods mosaicfoods.net

TRY: POPOVERS

@ LUNA FARGO Chef Ryan Nitschke and his restaurant, Luna, are an integral part of our local culinary scene. His menus are unique and always constructed with integrity.

The menu changes daily but the popovers are consistently available. I enjoy everything Ryan cooks but the popovers are always on my list when I visit Luna.

Luna Fargo lunafargo.com 11545 University Dr. S, Fargo 74 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

Jeff Bridges wife is from Fargo.

cary carr ABOUT CHEF CARY Carr is originally from Frazee, Minnesota. He has always had an interest in cooking (in fact, growing up, his favorite book was Stone Soup).

After high school, Carr enrolled in culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu before moving back to Fargo where he has worked at many of the area’s fine dining establishments. He has been the chef at Usher’s for the last seven years.

Usher’s House ushersevents.com 700 1st Ave. N, Moorhead

TRY: NDSU ROLL

@ SAMURAI JAPANESE CUISINE

My favorite spot in town is Samurai Japanese Cuisine. I always start with a Kani salad, then a tuna dumpling, which is pounded out and stuffed with spicy crab and topped with a jalapeño slice.

I follow that up with my favorite roll in town, the NDSU roll. It has a delicious blend of mango, seaweed salad and tempura lobster. Some of my other recommendations are things like the yakisoba, chicken skewers or General Tso’s chicken will always please too.

Samurai Japanese Cuisine samuraifargo.com 1775 45th St. S, Ste. B, Fargo

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NO MORE EXCUSES HOW TO GET (AND STAY) IN SHAPE THIS YEAR

Paul Flessland

Andrew Olson is a firefighter for the City of Fargo and works out at the YMCA

We get it. You’re busy. Belonging to a gym is expensive. Working out when it’s cold out is never fun. Enough of the excuses. Make 2017 your healthiest year yet.

If these two Fargoans can stay in shape, then so can you. Follow their practical and easy to follow advice to shed those pounds.

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Fargo Firefighter

ANDREW OLSON One of the leading causes of death for firefighters is a heart attack. That’s why fitness is so important for this Fargo firefighter. The new dad of a one-year old girl tries to get 100 percent every year on the firefighter fitness test, although he usually only gets 98 percent as you have to do 100 pushups in one minute. However, fitness extends beyond Olson’s job and into every aspect of his life.

FAVORITE WORKOUTS… “I focus mainly on weightlifting. That’s mainly what I do when I’m at the YMCA: powerlifting and weightlifting routines. When I’m at work, I do more of my cardio, core and some more functional training using their facilities.

FAVORITE GYM…

“I also love leg day. I like lifting heavy things. I like doing deadlifts, squats and Olympic lifts. They’re fun because you can track your progress and see where you’re at in weight.”

YMCA: “I like how they operate.

They have such a long history.

The staff at both facilities has changed a lot since we moved here but they’re always friendly. I’ve made a lot of different friends.”

Download the Strong workout tracker for strength and fitness app. This free app allows you to track your workouts to easily see how you’re progressing.

PRO TIP

PHILOSOPHY… “When I’m working out, I try to be consistent and keep it fresh.

I keep the same goal but keep changing up the workouts to try and reach that goal.”

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Walking the skywalk in Downtown Fargo is a good way to get exercise. It’s about 1/4 of a mile from Broadway to the Civic Center.

WAYS HE STAYS ACTIVE AS A DAD…

HOW HE HANDLES BEING A NEW DAD AND STAYING ACTIVE… “I use the Y’s drop-in childcare center so we get two hours a day. My daughter gets to play with a lot of other kids and I get a guilt-free work out time.”

With a family membership, parents can get up to two hours of daycare for their child while they go workout.

The YMCA also offers financial assistance for anybody who has difficulty paying.

PRO TIP

“We go for a lot of walks around the neighborhoods.

We do a lot of hiking. We have a backpack day carrier and plan on doing a lot more hiking this summer. Johnson Park in North Moorhead is our favorite. We go there a lot because their trails are really nice. Other than that, we had our daughter in swimming lessons at the Y. We had her in at four months. We did that one night a week. She loved it. You could see the progress.

She did two sessions of it and in the second one she looked like a pro.”

TIPS TO EATING HEALTHY…

HEALTHY MEAL ON THE GO…

“There’s no real trick to it.

You can tell what’s healthy and what’s not. Eat a lot of vegetables, sweet potatoes and mix in different meats.

We do somewhat of the paleo diet but we’re not that strict about it. We like the natural side of things. Simple ingredients, no preservatives and everything like that.”

“Power Plate Meals is a great option. Now they have their set up so you can nuke it right in the store. Otherwise, if we’re doing the sit down meal, we do the naked burrito at any of the burrito places. I think that’s a good option if you skip the cheese and sour cream and stick to the rice, beans and meat.”

Try the Boba 4G Carrier. Outside magazine rated this as the best hiking carrier for kids.

Find it at boba.com.

PRO TIP

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Public Relations Specialist RDO Equipment Co.

LINDSAY PAULSON This born-and-raised Fargoan is the true definition of a runner. Despite growing up hating running, this former West Fargo Packatahna dancer discovered it after college and has ran eight full marathons, including the Boston Marathon. In fact, she will be pacing the 4:20 finish group at this year’s Fargo marathon. Follow along with her running adventures at runlikeagirl311.wordpress.com.

80 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

FAVORITE GYM… Family Wellness: The facility is great. It’s bright and open.

The equipment is quality and it has just about everything I need. I also love that there’s a lap pool.

JoeFitness: It’s not a big gym and it’s not a national chain. If you go there for a 30-minute workout, you’re going to get a workout in 30-minutes. It’s really nice if you’re busy or in the mornings to get something quick.

You can get a free PRO TIP two week trial at JoeFitness to see if it’s a good fit for you.

RUNNING TRAILS...

Milwaukee trail: It starts near Doolittles and goes south to the Rose Creek area so it’s nice and long. Plus, there are trees and a few parks along the way so it’s great scenery.

Lindenwood Park If you start in Lindenwood Park and run north along the Red River up to Main Avenue, it’s about a 5K. Plus, it’s probably the prettiest run in FargoMoorhead because you’re surrounded by trees and have a great view of the river.

PRO TIP

Where the Moorhead Center Mall is now once stood the Moorhead Theatre that was adorned with a marquee that read “Moorhead.”

HEALTHY NIGHT OUT...

HEALTHY LUNCH ON THE GO...

I’m in love with Jimmy John’s.

Seriously, I have (jokingly) tried to get sponsored by Jimmy John’s via my blog, Instagram and Twitter. I try to reserve it for running days or pre-long run carb-load day because it’s a pretty big sandwich for lunch. Plus, like me, it’s freaky fast.

TIPS FOR HEALTHY SNACKING… Keep it really simple. It can even be as simple as washing up veggies and fruits and having them ready to go. Hard boiling eggs is also great because you can have eggs as a snack, in a salad or in a wrap. There’s a lot you can do with eggs.

I also can’t go wrong with an egg-white flatbread sandwich from Subway. I’m a vegetarian, so it’s a veggie-packed sandwich that also gives me a solid dose of protein.

If you go to Jimmy John’s website, you can see the nutritional information for everything on the menu to ensure you know what you’re putting in your body.

PRO TIP

For me, the challenge is finding good food that’s more substantial than a salad, yet not heavy pasta. I love going to a really nice place such as Maxwell’s or Mezzaluna because the chef will create something for me if there’s not currently a vegetarian dish on the menu.

I also love sushi. Wasabi is my favorite local place. We’ll typically order edamame to share, then I go with a sweet potato roll and peanut avocado roll. It’s not on the menu and sometimes they make it, sometimes they don’t, but I always ask.

And I’m always on the hunt for a good veggie burger. A couple places in town have amazing ones, although they’re not the healthiest so it’s more of a splurge. Surprisingly, Buffalo Wild Wings has probably the healthiest veggie burger that’s also good. Sub in a side salad for the fries and that’s a good dinner.

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WHERE DO WE GO FROM

Fargo is consistently ranked as one of the top small cities for business (although it recently fell to number 12). What has created this opportunity and how do we maintain this growth?

It seems the FM area is going through some growing pains, particularly with New Americans. What sort of role will they play as the FM area continues to grow and mature?

With three universities in the area, there is large potential for an increased arts presence in the community. Where are the arts at right now and where will they be going?

What is the Fargo-Moorhead community missing?

By Andrew Jason Photos by Paul Flessland

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The Players Joe Burgum Folkways

Dayna Del Val The Arts Partnership

Greg Tehven Emerging Prairie

Chris Hawley Chris Hawley Architects

David Batcheller Appareo Systems

Jessica Thomasson Lutheran Social Services

Dr. Tim Mahoney Fargo Mayor

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t’s no doubt that FargoMoorhead is currently experiencing unprecedented growth. An economy that’s booming. A population that’s growing. A work force shortage that may soon become a crippling problem. There are so many questions and while we don’t have all the answers, we went to some people who know something about our community.

These seven people are currently shaping Fargo-Moorhead and helping guide us into the future. Are they right?

That’s for you to decide. While their opinions differed, there was one thing everyone agreed on: to keep going with the monumental growth, we need to work together and collaborate. So join the conversation and tell us what you think by using #FargoByFargo.

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PROMPT #1

In 2017 and beyond, the FM area looks like…

Jess: I think we’re going to look like the world with a Midwestern vibe. I think that it’s really going to be a great time to be in this community and in this valley. I think it’s going to be a really fun place to be.

joe burGum

Community Builder, Folkways Q: What’s your favorite restaurant?

A: Between May and September, make your way to Downtown Fargo for Taco Bros. food truck. I always order the ‘I Trust You Bro’ Platter. You can’t go wrong with the chef’s choice.

Q: It’s a Saturday and you have the whole day free. What are three things you do in Fargo?

A: Go check out the Red River Market for locally roasted coffee and a homemade pastry while I pick up my groceries. Then I’d grab a late lunch to-go from Nichole’s Fine Pastries and eat under the trees in Island Park. I would finish off the day by heading to The Aquarium for live music.

Q: What’s one nonprofit you particularly admire?

A: Great Rides Fargo. Great Rides operates our local bike share program, offering another fun and easy method of transportation around the area. They are a key organizer in a staple summer event, StreetsAlive! and are keeping our community peddling towards becoming even more bike friendly.

Q: What’s one for profit business in town you admire?

A: There are many great businesses in our community to admire, but the one that I get the most excited about is Unglued which is a uniquely Fargo-Moorhead store. The founder, Ashley Morken, has given herself to make this shop a reality and has helped hundreds of other small artists and crafters realize their dream of selling locally handmade goods. If you haven’t visited this shop, it’s a must.

Q: In 2017, my Fargo new year’s resolution is...

A: In 2015, my team at Folkways hosted a European style Christmas market. We took 2016 off and are now more excited than ever to host a Christmas market in December 2017. You can look forward to enjoying mulled wine, German brats, polka music, holiday gifts and more.

86 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

Joe: We’re the best community on earth to open a small business and to be a small business owner. People want to shop local. They want to buy and know their neighbor. We see this at the Red River Market. Consumerism is shifting from being a blank transaction to wanting to know the person across the table from you. I think about downtown in the last three months: MINT + BASIL, Front Street, Lost in Fargo, Young Blood Coffee. These are people running small shops who are making a decision to run a store because that’s what they want to do.

David: For my money, every great business in this community was built in this community. You look at the name brand businesses that are running around in the community–Microsoft started as Great Plains, built here; Scheels, built here; Bobcat, a North Dakota company in Gwynor; St. Luke’s becoming Meritcare becoming Sanford. John Deere Electronic Solutions, Discovery Benefits, etc.

All these businesses that a lot of people know about were built here. They didn’t get shipped over from California. They didn’t get picked up from some side selectors. If you want to talk about the community in

2017 and beyond, it’s about us building this community.

This community isn’t going to come from someplace else.

Dayna: I’m going to buzz kill this conversation a little bit. I think that this is an amazing community in many ways. However, I actually feel some anxiety for the future for the arts. I think this is a community with a lot of community investment.

I agree with Dave, but it doesn’t always translate into the arts, nonprofits sector.

I think there is broad and shallow support and what we really need is deeper support. It’s not because we can’t exist but because we could do so much more for all of you.

David: We are not going to compete against the world’s workshops in Southeast Asia based on our ability to deliver cost-effective goods. People will choose commoditized goods that are cheap because they’re commodities. One fork, knife, glass is the same as another.

You’re going to pick the most affordable to solve the problem of picking up your food or drinking your water.

We’re going to compete on a global landscape, which the world is today, based off our opportunities and abilities to be different, to be creative.

I think that people underappreciate the creativity of the Midwestern personality. We’re not just the nose to grindstone farmer. There's a lot of very inventive, creative, artistic and different minded people in the community who have been brought here who have been tremendous for the community but also were brought up in the community.

MSUM has a planetarium that is open to the public year-round that shows special programs and movies for the public.

more than 150

artists are Jess: I think represented by the about old prairie Greg: I think Arts Partnership farmers, maybe 2017 is going because I grew to be the year up around them. They were that people choose Fargo innovators. Everyday, they and that locals accept what had to solve problems. out of town folks already There was no one to look to, know. I think people are nobody to call. They barely going to choose to come to even had the materials and college here in Fargo and they had to solve it, and they’re going to pick the best they did. On my grandpa’s university or college that fits old shop on the farm, when their needs. Entrepreneurs you walk in there and look are going to choose to move around, you see inventions here and they’re going to everywhere around you start a company after they because he didn’t have get here. I think 2017 is the anything else to do. I think year that we’re going to shed it’s tapping into that 21st this idea that we don’t have century version of that what it takes. This is a place prairie farmer. that definitely has what it takes and people from Mahoney: What a lot of around the world make up people don’t understand this community. I think it’s is that we’re becoming going to be the year people urbanized. We’re becoming choose to embrace that. an urban city, but we have the power to define that. Joe, Chris: One thing that bugs I go to the Red River Market, me is when we start talking it’s a simple thing to do, but about being like someone you started it and started else. I think we need to little and what I begin to look at other places and be see when I go down to the influenced by them and say, market is people getting to ‘Hey, They’re doing a lot of know each other. That also things that are great, but makes the city seem smaller. let’s put our own spin on it.’

That’s why the city has to embrace some of that.

Greg: Hopefully it’s the year people quit apologizing Chris: One of the things about being from here. This that I think about is it being is a fun place. There are sustainable. One of the interesting people doing pieces that I think everyone interesting things. You don’t has touched on, whether need another area code you’re an individual, you’re to be creative. You don’t in business or whatever, need another area code to all of the ones that have be smart. There are smart the staying power are truly people here. You just have to authentic North Dakota accept what the rest of the people. Even the wealthy world has already figured out. ones still have a blue-collar aesthetic to them. That’s probably one of my favorite parts about this community Where do you see in some way, shape or form. the biggest and most I think it’s not about smoke exciting growth coming? and mirrors. It’s not a bunch Greg: E-commerce. I’m of slick fellas who are trying watching big box retailers try to get one over on someone. and figure out e-commerce.

PROMPT #2

dayna del val

Director, The Arts Partnership Q: What’s your favorite restaurant?

A: Favorite restaurant? That’s like picking my favorite child.

I love Luna (any vegetarian dish Ryan makes is perfection!), Rustica (pizza with pine nuts for under $10? Yes please!), Mezzaluna (because it’s festive and feels like the Cheers of Fargo—where everyone knows your name) and Nichole’s Fine Pastry (treats, treats and more treats!)

Q: It’s a Saturday and you have the whole day free. What are three things you do in Fargo?

A: I’d go to the downtown Fargo Public library because I never grow tired of how incredible it is to walk in to a huge space filled tip to toe with books—and it’s free! In the summer, I’d go to the Red River Market, Stumbeano’s for tea and their fruit and nut energy bars—oh wait, I do that almost every day already!

Q: What’s one nonprofit you particularly admire?

A: I admire the Jeremiah Program. I was a single mom for a number of years and obtained two degrees because my best friend and I co-parented our children together in the same apartment building. Amazing things happen when there’s a village, even a small one, of women working to improve their lives and the lives of their children.

Q: What’s one for profit business in town you admire?

A: I admire West Acres. I don’t know that many people consciously understand what they have done for the arts by purchasing and displaying art from regional artists on their walls as well as opening up their space for installations and performances. That’s a remarkable thing, and we are fortunate to have them in our community.

Q: In 2017, my Fargo new year’s resolution is...

A: To spend more time on the bike paths that are showing up all over town. Fargo is a great bike-able city!

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chris hawley

Owner, Chris Hawley Architects Q: What’s your favorite restaurant?

A: Mezzaluna. Their Bruschetta is the best.

Q: It’s a Saturday and you have the whole day free. What are three things you do in Fargo?

A: I ride my fat bike through Gooseberry park. I spend the afternoon shopping and eating in downtown with my family.

Finally, I make a fire at home and have drinks with friends.

Q: What’s one nonprofit you particularly admire?

A: I am a big fan of The Plains Art Museum. I think they bring a lot of value to the quality of life for our city (a world class art center and facility), our kids (through arts education) and it gives Fargo a common ground for creative minds. And for me, creative minds are the ones who shape the world.

Q: What’s one for profit business in town you admire?

A: I have to say that I admire a lot of for-profit businesses in this town because it’s not an easy thing. But, if I had to pin a couple I have to say that I respect long standing businesses like Dawson Insurance and SCHEELS because they understand that customer service is their business.

And, I also admire newer businesses like Blackridge Financial because they aren’t afraid to be creative and push the envelope for what it means to be an employer.

Q: In 2017, my Fargo new year’s resolution is...

A: To get mountain bike trails established along the river in Fargo. One of my favorite hobbies is riding my bike and sharing that with other people (it’s the new golf). As a part of that, it is my goal to help the City of Fargo, FM Trailbuilders and the City of Moorhead to have the best singletrack trail system we can have. One way to enjoy Fargo is to engage the landscape and embrace the river as a recreational corridor. In my mind, there is nothing better than riding right out of your house and hopping on a trail for a few hours. It’s a year round quality of life thing that I think everyone can be passionate about.

88 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

If I work at Best Buy, I’m nervous right now. I think e-commerce is interesting and exciting. We have incredible organizations and I truly believe that every business is a technology company and some just have to figure that out.

to go? What’s going to happen? How can you make a difference in your neighborhood and how can you change that? Otherwise, we’ll have to rehab a lot of our neighborhoods because as they get older in age, what do you do with that?

Mahoney: One of the things that came out of the downtown study was that they said we’re going to have a little challenge this year and one of those is that downtown is getting enough restaurants and places that the higher price markets are ok and you have a lot of students coming in that area for a lower price market. However, it’s that middle zone. They’re really curious what we’re going to do about that middle zone to have successful businesses. The wage earners also have to come up in the wage earnings to spend more money and do that.

David: I also think people can get seduced by global trends without relating to the workforce and the knowledge and the base of our community. I think that ag genetics, agriculture processing, the agriculture base and the agricultural background of our community, which was an agrarian society historically, has migrated into Fargo as an urban center. There’s so much knowledge about the agricultural space. There’s a ton of opportunity there that will be a growth part of the community.

Chris: This is one thing that is very much a part of the housing conversation and urban planning. It’s called the missing middle, which is having unique housing solutions that are not necessarily a big box apartment or necessarily a single family home. As you urbanize and become more of a rich city, it’s all of the stuff in the middle that people want to latch on to.

As the downtown gets full, people are starting to look for other options because they either can’t afford it or they need to be thinking of something else. The missing middle is the next step for Fargo in a lot of ways.

Mahoney: There are 34 neighborhoods in Fargo.

Where are they going

Mahoney: Don’t you think that we’re a forerunner in a lot of that stuff? Going out to a farm in Mapleton, it’s just amazing all the data you can get out of a computer.

David: Agricultural production is definitely a business operation. These are businesses with a multi-million dollar top line, million dollars of assets and are executing a hard job on low margin. These guys are grinding it out. They’re a huge economic base for what we do and a part of our community history. They play a very serious role in the future and growth of the community. We need to keep them in mind. We get seduced by the technology.

We get seduced by user generated content. At our core, we’re still an agrarian society.

Almost every Fargo Force game has special promotions going on where you can get some great deals.

There’s also an enormous aeronautical opportunity.

The University of North Dakota and the activities happening here at NDSU, there’s a lot of stuff going on from a research perspective.

The world is going to change.

The next sort of automobile change that society is coming in with unmanned aircraft will be over the next 15-20 years. We have an opportunity to play a really substantial role.

Dayna: Also, we have a real shortage of performing spaces for low class garage bands all the way to our symphony and opera. We have to figure out what that looks like. It sort of goes back to that middle ground because that stuff that’s here is fabulous but it’s really hard to schedule and it’s often pretty expensive.

PROMPT #3

Fargo is consistently ranked in the top small cities for businesses (although recently fell to number 12.) What has created this opportunity and how do we maintain this growth?

Joe: I think part of it is this idea of co-opetition. We live in a community where people understand working together. You didn’t move here without the help of your neighbor. You didn’t get the crops out of the ground unless you helped your neighbor. If there are more restaurants downtown, more restaurants do better.

What it takes to start a small business is often incremental growth. I think there's a lot of support early on that people are excited to get behind. We believe it’s a good place to start a business and therefore it is.

I think that’s the case with anything that we’re talking about. 2017 is the year that we fulfill our own destiny, which is figuring out what is our destiny?

Joe: I think it really comes back to the economics of how you run a music venue and how do you run small spaces. Where can you develop? Where’s mix use? How are we zoning?

What does it cost to get a liquor license? I spoke to 150 college students here in Fargo and we talked Mahoney: We’ve been great about how we retain college for business for a long time students. How do we engage but we’ve used traditional college students in the methods like financing and community? I said, ‘How the Renaissance Zone. But, many are under the age of what do we do about a 21?’ 90 percent of the class smaller business that wants raised their hands. I said, to start out? How do we ‘How many of you drive to support that?

Minneapolis for live music because it’s 18 plus?’ Hands I’m a surgeon and I was in go up. You can’t go to an 18 the professional building. plus concert in Fargo unless When I first it’s at the dome started practice, because all of they tapped the music is in you for $10,000. bars. I think there The number of They’d say, ‘You is a gap in that. businesses that have to donate were in Fargo (as $10,000 for this of 2012) person coming

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Dr. tim mahoney Mayor of Fargo

Q: What’s your favorite restaurant?

A: One of my favorite restaurants is Toscana. I usually have the Greek salad, mushroom soup and seafood pasta.

Q: It’s a Saturday and you have the whole day free. What are three things you do in Fargo?

A: I really enjoy driving around the city to look at projects/ developments, stopping by the Shack on Broadway for a caramel roll and, while grocery shopping, enjoying conversations with residents. Also, when in season, I always take in the Bison football games.

Q: What’s one nonprofit you particularly admire?

A: I particularly admire Family Healthcare. This familyoriented primary care clinic is a phenomenal resource for people who need its services and is addressing a vital need.

Q: What’s one for profit business in town you admire?

A: I admire many of our community’s businesses and the various ways they reinvest into our area. I would especially like to acknowledge Gate City Bank for its strong commitment to Fargo. Not only do they volunteer thousands of hours each year, but Steve Swiontek and his entire team were instrumental in creating a $2 million loan pool for the City’s Neighborhood Revitalization Program and also donated funds to assist the Fargo Police Department in purchasing high-tech helmets to protect our officers.

Q: In 2017, my Fargo new year’s resolution is...

A: To continue along our path of becoming a more embracing community.

into the building.’

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greg tehven

Director & Co-founder, Emerging Prairie Q: What’s your favorite restaurant?

A: I love BernBaum's. Their lamb meatloaf sandwich is fantastic.

Q: It’s a Saturday and you have the whole day free. What are three things you do in Fargo?

A: Kickoff the morning with a Hit and Run from Stumbeano's and one of their incredible waffles. Browse the downtown shops, stopping at MINT + BASIL, Fowlers, Ecce Gallery and drink a 701 Beer at one of the local restaurants. Finally, walk through Island Park to the YMCA for a swim.

Q: What’s one nonprofit you particularly admire?

A: Hope Blooms. The work of Kelly and her volunteers to reuse flowers from weddings and celebrations and provide them to senior living facilities makes me smile, thinking about the repurposing of a resource to bring a little joy to others.

Q: What’s one for profit business in town you admire?

A: Folkways. Folkways provides incredible experiences for visitors and locals through their work and creation of a farmer's market, educational programming and magical experiences for all.

Q: In 2017, my Fargo new year’s resolution is...

A: Swim at the downtown outdoor pool. For years, I've walked by and said to myself, I have to relive my childhood and jump off their high dive. 2017 will be the year!

92 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

The median age It was kind of I think we have in Moorhead like, ‘Why would to realize who I do that? Why we are. This is a would I give this suburb becoming guy money to be successful?’ a city. When that happens, The reality was that every there’s challenges, there’s time we did that, everybody limitations. I think the big did better. Everyone one is that we are not a low incrementally did better cost living place. It is not because then people were cheap here. It is on par with coming to the businesses. the Twin Cities, and other urban centers. We need to The idea at that time was, start paying our staffs well.

‘How do we help each other out? The more successful Dayna: Can we insert businesses we have, this applause here? area will do better as a group.’

Greg: I’ll point a little bit of a finger at bigger corporations Greg: I’ll throw a couple that think people here need thoughts out on having my to earn less. I think if we wife who is a small business want what a city has, we owner, and I get choked have to be willing to pay up thinking about it, but people for the gifts, services her first customers were and quality that they create. entrepreneurs. I truly believe We have urban challenges. that the more entrepreneurs We have to support our and risk takers you have nonprofits at a level that in a community, the more they can hire great people, acceleration and early acquire great talent and stage support of artists those folks can have a living and entrepreneurs and risk and a viable future as well. takers happen. Many of you in this room have been her Chris: I left Fargo in 2003 customer because you care because I thought I had to about that. You have to vote and I wanted a different with your checkbooks. You opportunity. I was lucky have to vote with your time. enough to come back and Whether it’s an art gallery work with Joe a little bit. opening or a new nonprofit I think the coolest thing coming to town, we have to about this community is support them early. that leaders embrace future leaders. That’s how I think I also think one of the business goes from being reasons we’ve done well, one person to being eight especially in Fargo, is the people to being 80 people.

Bank of North Dakota.

For me, I’ve gone from one The Bank of North Dakota person to 10 people. I never is an unfair competitive thought that was a goal of advantage that we have. mine but it was all because We have a bank that is very of certain folks supporting profitable that has a charter and giving opportunity to the for economic development. next generation.

They take risks, they allow other banks to take risks Dayna: There’s such a huge and I think that’s really disparity between the for good. and nonprofit sectors of this community. Everything As far as the downward part, you’re saying Chris is really

Junkyard Brewing has live music every day of the week.

compelling and probably true in your side of the world. But, in my side of the world, there’s sort of this cricket. I agree with Greg. I think if not for the confluence of young entrepreneurial types, whether they’re in arts or tech, I think our young entrepreneurs would be struggling and because I think it’s largely somebody starting a napkin business who buys flowers from her who buys this from them. It kind of trickles that way.

jessica thomasson

CEO, Lutheran Social Services Q: What’s your favorite restaurant?

A: The beef and black olive pizza at Spicy Pie. Q: It’s a Saturday and you have the whole day free. What are three things you do in Fargo?

A: 1. Hop on the bike trails at Lindenwood Park and head north along the river.

2. Hang out at Luna Coffee to read and sip on a mocha.

3. Find a new restaurant to try.

Q: What’s one nonprofit you particularly admire?

A: CHARISM because they quietly go about the every day work of helping kids who often don’t have an opportunity to participate fully in what the community has to offer. They let the children know that they matter, that they belong and that they can achieve great things if they believe in themselves.

Q: What’s one for profit business in town you admire?

A: Zandbroz Variety. Zandbroz has been an anchor on the north end of Broadway for years. They're always committed to being a fun and inspired retail presence with great attention to not only the merchandise they bring to customers but to the customer experience as well.

Q: In 2017, my Fargo new year’s resolution is...

A: Find time to catch more live music performed in intimate settings.

94 | 2017 | #FargoByFargo

I also think that some people think, ‘Well, it’s a nonprofit, you do it because you love it, right?’ I do it because I love it but I would also love to make a boatload of money. I think there is a missing link and I don’t think the nonprofit sector will ever be competitive with the for profit sector, nor do I think it needs to be. But, I do think the disparity needs to be a little bit more leveled.

David: I think art engagement is done badly in the community. I will extrapolate on this. It’s not an arts problem, it’s a nonprofit problem. I think a lot of nonprofit private fundraising activity is done in this homerun sense.

Everybody is always looking for this homerun ball. ‘We can get a million bucks from this guy and we’re fixed.’ The average age in the community is 31 so it’s this very young community without a lot of liquidity.

We go out and try and raise money from this really small number of homerun players who are uber harassed about getting capital from them for all these kinds of well-deserved and meaningful areas.

There’s a public art graffiti wall in Downtown Fargo in the alley behind the Forum.

We ignore 245,000 other people that would happily put $30 into something, have a great experience and learn something about it and do it with some frequency for a long period of time. As they become more wealthy and gain more liquidity and stuff like that, they would, because of 20 years of great experience, put a lot of money into something.

I think there’s a quarter million people who are ignored in the nonprofit fundraising sense because we don’t have the means or resources to crowdsource this stuff really effective.

PROMPT #4

It seems like the FM area is going through growing pains, particularly with New Americans. Talk about the role they play in the community.

Jess: I think of New Americans as new residents in this community who happened to have been born in another country. We are having some growing pains. I think that’s part of the transition of going from a big small town to a small big city. We’re kind of in this shifting point where all of a sudden the world is here.

A lot of people who are here have come from a smaller community and this is maybe the first time that the world has got off of the TV screen and into their grocery store. The unfortunate thing is that there’s a confluence of all sorts of things happening around the world that really have people unsettled in a lot of ways.

I don’t want to diminish the differences. Now, we

about 224,000

Number of people in the FM metro

have enough Hindus in the community that we have a festival of lights.

We have all sorts of Islamic celebrations that we didn’t have before. I think that people are coming to terms with what it is to see your community change and grow, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy for them.

When you ask, what is the role of New Americans in the community? They’re just trying to get through their day like everybody else. There’s a ton of entrepreneurs who are really smart about starting a small business for their market in the exact location where their customers are.

They’re very savvy about it.

Just like all the people we’ve been talking about here.

Joe: Where I get really excited about the farmer’s market is that point of entrance. I think business and commerce is a really powerful way to build bridges, particularly around food. We all eat, we all break bread. There’s something powerful about that. We have some pretty lofty goals for the farmer’s market and having that be the place where if you want to experience the food of Fargo, you come to the farmer’s market because we have the most diverse representation of food from our community because all you need is a tent and $25 and you can start serving food. You can get Indian food. You can get African food. You can get Nepalese food at the farmer’s market.

Where else can you go for one place to get that?

Jess: That’s such a great example. It drives me crazy

when we keep segregating people by their things. We have this ethnic festival. Who goes to the ethnic festival? People of that ethnicity or people who are interested in other cultures. I want those festivals to be in the place where everybody is and you’ll just encounter it. Like you said, you might be a little nervous. You’re not exactly sure what chicken tikka masala is but you’ve heard of it and you might try it. That’s truly when we see progress: when we stop having separate places for everybody.

Mahoney: When I started on the commission in 2005, our diversity was three percent of the population.

We’re now at 12 percent. The challenge of urbanization is diversifying and everybody still gets along and feels safe. The only way you’re ever going to overcome that is with interaction. Interact with people you’re scared of and realize that fear doesn’t have to be there.

Dayna: I used to only teach international students when I taught at the colleges. One summer, I did some tutoring of some young women from Ghana and they asked if they could come and make supper at my house to thank me for doing it. My husband was so excited because he thought, “Oh my gosh. African food. This is going to be so amazing.” It was Irish stew. It was goat instead of beef but it was goat, potatoes and carrots.

It looked exactly like the same stew that we all grew up eating.

David Batcheller

President & COO, Appareo Q: What’s your favorite restaurant?

A: Machaca with Chiles Fritos at Mangos.

Q: It’s a Saturday and you have the whole day free. What are three things you do in Fargo?

A: Check out what is going on for local events (Fargo Parks, Plains Art, Hjemkomst, etc.) If there is nothing new and exciting going on that weekend, then take the kids to the zoo, go to Yunker’s Children's Museum, go downtown to the market and just make a day of it outside.

Q: What’s one nonprofit you particularly admire?

A: Emerging Prairie is doing some really exciting things in advocacy for entrepreneurship in the community, which I'm a huge advocate for and which I believe is core to Fargo's future in economic development.

Q: What’s one for profit business in town you admire?

A: I think RealTruck is doing some exciting things, growing rapidly and developing an exciting culture all their own. I think that business is going to be one to watch for the next few years in Fargo.

Q: In 2017, my Fargo new year’s resolution is...

A: My family under-utilizes the parks and I'd like to spend more time outside in Fargo in 2017. Also the Fargo Moorhead Community Theatre, Symphony and Trollwood Performing Arts present opportunities for entertainment and engagement that I plan to work harder to connect my family with in 2017.

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of which there are many, we have way more commonalities. You don’t have to speak english to understand art, appreciate music or find a connection through food, art, music or dance. That is the second language that we all have the capacity to speak.

PROMPT #5

You have the chance to speak to an entire community. What would you say to them?

Mahoney: You will define this community, either our success or failure as a community, on how we live our lives. Dan Mahli always talks about it when he says, ‘Fargo is the size of Athens and look at what came out of there at the time of philosophy.’ How do you do an urban city, get along, survive, be successful and raise your family?

Joe: Carpool. Seriously, as our community evolves, the design of our community is so important and we have built ourselves a massive suburb. Not that that’s good, bad or otherwise. There are economic implications that are too boring for 93,000 people to hear about. Try Uber. Try biking. Try walking somewhere. Hop on the bus.

I also think downtown gets a lot of attention because it’s our biggest neighborhood but how do we bring that energy to other pockets of our city? How do those districts and different areas emerge as nodes? I think that’s back to how we design. I think we need to lead in some of that.

Finally, I think we need an arts and culture sales tax for five years. We could do a one-year, half-cent arts and culture sales tax and we’d have a sum of money.

Even look at the capital improvement plan where we’re putting roads and pipes in the ground. We spend $120 million. If we spent one million dollars on arts and culture, it would be mind blowing. No other city in the country does that.

Jess: I think everyone wants to belong. If I were talking to the whole community, what are you going to do to make sure this is a place that everyone feels like they belong in some place? They can contribute and their ideas have value. Whether you’re a kid in middle school, someone who just retired, an artist or an engineer, it doesn’t matter.

This should be a place where you belong.

Dayna: My dad hates when I say this but I’ve never been to an NDSU football game. I’m not anti-NDSU football. I’m pro NDSU football but I see the value of that team being in this community. Whether I ever walk through the doors of the dome or not. I ask that people see the value of arts and culture in the same way. You don’t need to attend a live performance.

You don’t need to walk through a gallery, museum or own a real piece of art, but understand that it’s a huge piece of what makes this community successful. Honor it from that perspective, whether you personally appreciate it or not is not the point.

90.2%

of Fargo’s population was white during the last census. All other minorities make up the other 9.8 percent.

It’s part of what makes the fabric of this community great and it’s part of what helps draw, attract, retain and grow all the things that we want to do.

Chris: For me, it’s about embracing design. I don’t think it really matters what it is. It’s whether you’re designing a culture, how does the world look? One thing that I fight every single day as an architect and builder is the status quo of banking appraisal, real estate and all of these things. I feel like I’m swimming upstream most of the time when it comes to these conversations.

That entire system is based on what’s already been done versus what could be or should be.

It’s all about quantitative versus qualitative. For me, I think a lot of the great cities are always thinking about, what’s the next step in terms of creating a qualitative environment? It’s not checking the boxes and saying, ‘That’s the answer and formula for the next great city.’

David: This place is becoming bigger and there’s new faces in the community. We’re growing, we’re becoming more urbanized. That does not mean that we have to act like some other urban areas.

We’re Fargo, man. We’re 100 percent unadulterated, undiluted Fargo. Act like it. Tow that guy when he’s stuck. Help that neighbor with that thing. Be late for work because of it. It’s Fargo.

People will understand.

Much of what makes the

community great is our Fargoness.

Let’s be Fargo.

Don’t let the midwestern mentality moderate our ambition. If Athens in the age of Plato and Aristotle could ultimately influence the world and introduce the principles of democracy, we don’t have to aim low because there’s a quarter million people in this town.

Don't be afraid of big ideas.

We moderate because of our modesty a lot of what could make the community great.

We’ve got ourselves on the leash sometimes.

Greg: Our community is filled with devil’s advocates.

I would say to everyone, when someone has an idea, possibility or solution, let’s think of all the reasons why ideas can work versus all the reasons they can’t. We have the ability to live in one of the most prosperous parts of a nation that’s the most prosperous in the history of humanity. We have a responsibility to take risks. Use our resources to improve the lives of humans.

Whether that’s technology, humanitarian efforts or design, we need to use our best thinking to improve the lives of others.

Get involved in the conversation

With great power comes great responsibility. We have to keep taking risks and keep looking for the best in ideas versus taking it upon ourselves to look for reasons why an idea can’t work. We shouldn’t play it safe. It’s irresponsible to play it safe.

Let’s tolerate failure, let’s accept the iteration that comes with it and let’s look for the best in people.

Facebook: Search Fargo By Fargo

We want to hear what you think about this conversation. Do you disagree with what somebody said? Do you have something to add?

Join the conversation using #FargoByFargo or find us on social media.

Twitter: @FargoByFargo

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Giving back to the community is one of our top priorities. We are proud to support local non-profits. ďż˝- Nick Killoran & Zack Bosh

Thank you for your support!

Small Business of the Year - FMWF Chamber of Commerce The President’s Gold Medallion - NDSU Foundation Best Places to work - Prairie Business Magazine

701 - 239 - 4647 675 13th Ave E West Fargo greatnorthinsuranceservices.com

Things

We Challenge You To Do In 2017

There’s a lot to do in our community, so we laid out a little challenge for you. Can you do all of these in 2017?

DONATE to a food bank

SUPPORT the arts This one is going to be a challenge. However, we believe in you. Can you make it to a performance from each of the following organizations?

According to Feeding America, one in 12 people in North Dakota struggle with hunger.

Get out there and donate to a local food bank or pantry. As one of the leading states for agriculture, nobody should go hungry in our state.

Great Plains Food Bank greatplainsfoodbank.org FM Dorothy Day Food Pantry fmddh.org/food-pantry For only a can of non-perishable food, you can take a tour of the Fargo Brewing Company’s brewery every Saturday.

Act Up Theatre Bare Stage Theatre Concordia College Experience BLUR FM Ballet FM Choral Artists FM Gay Men’s Chorus FM Symphony Fargo-Moorhead Opera Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre (FMCT) Gate City Bank Theatre at the Fargodome Gooseberry Park Players Great Plains Harmony Men’s Chorus

Harwood Prairie Playhouse Master Chorale of FargoMoorhead Minnesota State University Moorhead Theatre Music Theatre FargoMoorhead North Dakota State University Performing Arts Theatre B Tin Roof Theatre Company Trollwood Performing Arts School

Paul Flessland

EAT a dish that you can’t pronounce Fargo-Moorhead has plenty of ethnic restaurants opening up. Go ahead and expand your taste buds, even if you can’t pronounce it. These are some of our favorites.

Galactobouriko (Gal-Act-o-bur-iko) Santa Lucia Restaurante

Chyau Ko Tarkari Everest Tikka House

Hokkigai (Surf clam) Wasabi Sushi & Asian Grill

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VOLUNTEER five hours a month to charity

Last year’s Night to Shine at Hope Lutheran Church. This is a prom night for people with special needs.

Throughout the course of a month, there are 720 hours. Can you spare five hours, or less than one percent of your time, to help make our community a better place? To find a charity that interests you, go to impactgiveback.org. From there, you can search for charities that fit your interests.

The Red River is one of Fargo-Moorhead’s most notable features, but it’s also one of the least utilized. Thanks to the Urban Woods and Prairies Initiative, there is now close to 1,000 acres along the Red River throughout the FM area for people to hike, bike, bird watch and simply enjoy nature. Go to dakota.audubon.org to learn more about this.

Did you know? Throughout the summer, you can rent canoes or kayaks to take out on the Red River. Go to riverkeepers.org to learn more.

Paul Flessland, J . Alan Paul Photography

GO kayaking or fishing on the Red River

BUY a gift from a local boutique

GO to a classic movie at the Fargo Theatre Relive the golden age of movies at the Fargo Theatre with their monthly classic film series. Oh, by the way, tickets are only $5. Watch fargotheatre.org for the full listing of events at the Fargo Theatre.

Bonus: Did you know that there’s a second smaller theatre that you can rent for only $125 for birthday parties?

GET a round of golf in at all of the public golf courses Wide open terrains. Few trees.

Not that many water hazards.

Fargo-Moorhead has some great public golf courses. Get out and get a round in on all of these courses. Fun fact: North Dakota has the most number of golf courses per capita.

Bonus: Try Golf Addiction for year-round golfing.

Zandbroz Variety

In Downtown Fargo alone, there are 50 plus locally owned shops. Plus, according to a study of retail economics, for every $100 spent at a local business, $68 stays in the community. In comparison, when you shop at a national chain, only $43 stays in the community. For a full listing of establishments to shop at in Downtown Fargo, go to downtownfargo.com. However, don’t forget about the rest of Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo. There are local stores everywhere.

Fargo Edgewood El Zagal Osgood Prairiewood Rose Creek Moorhead The Meadows Village Green

SEE A SHOW at the various music venues in town Hip-hop? Bluegrass? Classical? Opera? Whatever your choice of music is, Fargo-Moorhead probably has something for your taste. We challenge you to check out a show at each of these music venues. (Don’t forget that many of the bars have great live acts as well. You can find a full listing of live music at fargomonthly.com/live-music-calendar.)

Tallest Man on Earth at Sanctuary Events Center

The Aquarium Bluestem Center for the Arts Civic Center Fargo Theatre

Fargodome Sanctuary Events Center SCHEELS Arena A

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VISIT every museum in FargoMoorhead

Bonanzaville Fargo Air Museum Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County/Heritage Hjemkomst Center Plains Art Museum Rourke Art Museum The Children’s Museum at Yunker Farm

Make 2017 the year you learn something new. Get out to these museums.

Fargo Brewing Company

VISIT every brewery

Flatland Brewing

Drekker Brewing Company

There are five breweries, a winery, distillery and a meadery in our community. Try something new. Not a drinker? Don’t forget that many of these breweries have their own brewed root beer and sodas.

Drekker Brewing Company Junkyard Brewing Company Kilstone Brewing Fargo Brewing Company Flatland Brewery Bonus points if you go to Proof Artisan Distillers, Uncorked and Prairie Rose Meadery.

Kilstone Brewing

Paul Flessland, J . Alan Paul Photography

Junkyard Brewing Company

SPEND some time outside Left to right: City Commissioners Tony Gehrig, Mayor TIm Mahoney and Tony Grindberg. (Not pictured: Dave Piepkorn and John Strand)

ATTEND a City Commission Meeting We know they can be dull, but this is your city being shaped and this is the best way for you to actually make a difference. The City Commission meets every other Monday and you can watch them live at cityoffargo.com/streaming.

If you don’t want to sit through the whole meeting, you can go to cityoffargo.com/CityInfo/ CityCommission and read the minutes, which are surprisingly interesting, to stay up to date on what’s going on.

Did you know that the Fargo Parks has 2,100 acres of land and offers more than 1,000 programs? These are some of the things we challenge you to do in the parks.

Ole Tangen Park is only 0.076 acres and is located next to the downtown fire station.

Bring your little munchkins and follow the yellowbrick road to Oz in Trollwood Park in north Fargo.

Take a self-guided walk through the Island Park or Lindenwood Park and learn about the different species of trees you see. Download the tree tour map for these parks at fargoparks.com and learn a little more about the nature that surrounds you.

Run the path of the Old Milwaukee railroad by following the Old Milwaukee trail in South Fargo. Stop at the outdoor exercise equipment along the route and get in your morning workout.

Get in a round of horseshoes at North Dakota’s largest horseshoe complex located in Oak Grove Park.

Stop by the Depot off of Main Avenue in Downtown Fargo and visit the spot where Generals Grant & Sheridan drove the golden spike to complete the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883.

Discover why locals call Brunsdale Park Spider Park by playing on the giant spider net.

Perla Fresh Mexican Fargo

Brickhouse Tavern Moorhead

14 TRY a new restaurant every month

Blvd Pub West Fargo

Fargo-Moorhead has about 380 restaurants in the metro area.

There’s no way you’ve been to them all. Go out on a culinary exploration and you might find your new favorite restaurant.

To find an almost complete listing of restaurants, go to fargomoorhead.org/restaurants-overview. You can even search by style and location of restaurant.

Bonus: Happening every summer, FM Restaurant Week allows you to go on a culinary adventure through our community with discounted prices at a variety of restaurants. fmrestaurantweek.com

Mocha from Youbg Blood Coffee Co.

HAVE a cup of coffee from every Downtown Fargo coffee shop Stay caffeinated throughout 2017 with this challenge.

20 Below Coffee Atomic Coffee Babb’s Coffee House Josie’s Corner Café Moxie Java

Nichole’s Fine Pastry The Red Raven Espresso Parlor Sandy’s Donuts Stumbeano’s Coffee Bar Young Blood Coffee Co.

DO some gardening

Bonus: Growing Together is a group that takes volunteers and has them work with new Americans in a variety of gardens around town.

Search “Growing Together ~ A Community Garden Ministry” on Facebook for more information. (Plus, the founder, Jack Wood, gave a great TED talk at TEDxFargo, which you can find by searching “Growing Together: Each person can make a difference in this world” on YouTube.)

GO on the audio tour of Downtown Fargo’s historic buildings Learn more about Fargo, get some exercise and experience all that Downtown Fargo has to offer. It’s a win-win when you do the free selfguided audio tour of Downtown Fargo’s historic buildings. You can stream the narrations that explain about buildings like the Great Northern Depot, Black Building and much more. Go to fargounderground.com/downtown-fargoaudio-walking-tour to find all the audio tours.

Paul Flessland, J . Alan Paul Photography, Andrew Jason

Did you know that there are a number of community gardens around the area? You can go and donate your time and help make sustainable food. Plus, you get to keep a portion of the produce grown. Search “community gardens Fargo” on Google to find a full listing of gardens.

ENJOY a rooftop patio ATTEND each of these great events If you’re bored in Fargo, you’re not looking hard enough.

Can you make it to each of these events this year? Go to fargomonthly.com/fargo-event-calendar to stay up to date with the most up to date events.

Eco Chic Design Conference iloveecochic.com/designco

While the season may be short, there are actually quite a few rooftop patios in town that you need to make the most of. Make sure you get out there and check them out.

Oh, don’t forget to post them on social media.

Blvd Pub blvdpub.com Hotel Donaldson hoteldonaldson.com Rhombus Guys rhombuspizza.com

Fargo Film Festival fargofilmfestival.com Fargo Marathon Fargomarathon.com FM Streets Alive fmstreetsalive.org An event for charity Almost every charity has a great event to raise money for a good cause.

Why not go and support a charity that fits with your interests?

Bonus: CCRI Superhero 5K, June 27.

Dress up as a superhero to support CCRI

TAKE a photo at these spots and put it on social media Let’s face it, it’s 2017, and if it’s not posted on social media, it didn’t happen in real life. Get out there and take a photo by these gorgeous Fargo spots.

(We recommend you hashtag everything #northofnormal.)

Red River The Woodchipper at the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (2001 44th St. S, Fargo) 20 Below Coffee The Fargo clock in front of the old Northern Pacific depot in Downtown Fargo Painted bison (bonus points if you get a photo with all 19 bison all over town)

Waterfall at Rendezvous Park in West Fargo The crazy tree in Moorhead Nichole’s Fine Pastry Fargo Depot (Great Northern Bicycle Company) The alley behind the Red Raven The Fargo Theatre sign, of course

The painted bison statue in front of the Rourke Art Museum in Moorhead * Courtesy of the FM Convention and Visitor’s Bureau A

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tips

TO BE THE BEST PARENT IN TOWN It’s a fine line to balance. You can’t coddle your child. However, you also can’t throw them to the wind. With our ever quickening world, how can you make sure you’re dedicating enough time to your kids, yet giving them the independence they need? Heather Siek, a licensed therapist with The Village Family, has some ideas on that.

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Put down your cell phone and laptop and give your child your full attention. In today’s society, we are constantly multitasking and it often involves multitasking with electronics. Give your child your full attention, show enthusiasm when interacting with them and praise them often. This will help improve the parent-child relationship.

FARGO ACTION ITEMS...

Courts Plus Did you know that Courts Plus has a 38-foot tall, seven level playground that’s just ripe for playing on? What are you waiting for? courtsplus.org/playground Geocaching Okay, this one will take a bit of technology but promises to be a lot of fun. Geocaching is a worldwide phenomenon of finding treasures all around town. In fact, Fargo has over 1,200 geocache locations on its website. Just download the app to begin the treasure hunt. geocaching.com Thunder Road It’s impossible to be on a phone when playing laser tag or riding go-karts. thunderroadfargo.com Take a stroll through the Northern Plains Botanic Garden This hidden secret in town is 52 acres of land that will be turned into a botanical garden over the next 30 years. The space includes a Japanese garden, conservatory and arboretum and is located by 32nd Avenue North off of University Drive.

It is the perfect way to disconnect from technology. npbotanicgarden.com

The Ford Building on Broadway is 100 years old. It served as a Ford distribution center until 1956.

By Heather Siek

Andrew Jason, Tiffany Swanson, Kaitlyn Teske

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Spend daily time with your child free of all distractions.

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Reward your child for their accomplishments and successes.

Make a list of 10 rewards that your child wants to work towards. Five of these should cost a small amount of money and five should not cost money. Rewarding your child helps with internal and external motivation. Some fun ideas would be: Those that cost money: • A special treat with mom or dad at Sandy’s Donuts downtown.

• A special trip to Barnes and Noble.

• Go to a FM RedHawks game.

• Spend a day at the Madison Pool and Splash Pad. • Bowling at one of the more than five bowling alleys in town.

Those that do not cost money: • A trip to the Island Park playground.

• The Fargo Park District has a lot of free outdoor events in the summer and winter. Watch their website for more information.

• Enjoy astronomy nights at Buffalo River State Park. Watch mnstate.edu/ sciencecenter for more information.

• Watch the planes take off at Hector Airport. There’s a loop with a little park on Dakota Drive by the airport where you can watch the planes depart.

• Go disc golfing at one of the more than five disc golfing courses in FargoMoorhead.

FM RedHawks Sandy’s Donuts

About Siek Heather Siek is a therapist with The Village Family Service Center in Moorhead. She earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Minnesota School of Professional Psychology. Her areas of expertise include families, parenting, adolescents, ADHD and anxiety. thevillagefamily.org

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Foster your child’s independence.

Encouraging your child to be independent will help improve their self-esteem. Valuing your child’s independence will show them that you are open-minded. Remember, you are a constant model for your child and modeling openmindedness is a great value to instill in your home.

TNT Fitness & Gymnastics

Some places to check out to get your kid involved: • TNT Fitness • YMCA • One of the many martial arts studios in town • Trollwood, Gooseberry Park Players, FMCT, T.A.P! (Theatre Arts Presentation) or any of the other numerous kids theatre programs • Plains Art Museum • Fargo Parks programs

FargoMoorhead Community Theatre

Paul Flessland

Go to fargomonthly.com/ community/fargo-moorheadfamily-fun-guide for a listing of family friendly events and programs in town.

Detroit Mountain

5

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Have an attitude of gratitude and model being grateful in your home.

It takes time and energy to raise grateful kids but if you make it a priority, it is doable and the payoff can be enormous. Parents need to be good role models when expressing appreciation. Parents are constant models for their children, remember this. Be a role model when expressing appreciation, whether that means thanking strangers for holding the door or thanking your child for picking up their room without being asked. Be grateful and strength based with your child so they know what it feels like on the receiving end. This will help teach them to show gratitude in their lives since they know how it feels to be thanked and appreciated.

NO.

Be active with your child.

Being active with your child helps promote physical and emotional well-being. Physical activity can help improve your child’s mood and help decrease anxiety. It is also a healthy way to release excess energy for those really active children. Research shows that exercise and physical activity decreases behavioral issues in children.

Here are some great ways to practice acts of gratitude in our community: • Serve a meal at Churches United homeless shelter.

• Volunteer at 4 Luv of Dog Rescue.

• Volunteer at Habit for Humanity.

• Work in one of the community gardens.

• Volunteer cleaning up and preserving one of Minnesota’s state parks.

Community Gardens Volunteer at dog shelters

• Do child-parent yoga classes at Mojo Fit Studios.

• Go to open swim at Family Wellness.

• Go to the new Rustad Recreation Center in West Fargo and play basketball.

• Cross country ski at Edgewood.

• Mountain bike at Johnson Park in Moorhead or Detroit Mountain in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

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THE HIPSTER pg 114

THE ROMANTIC pg 116

What should I do

THE FOODIE pg 118

THE PARTY ANIMAL pg 120

THIS YEAR? Every year, the FM area offers more and more entertainment options that it can be hard to keep up with everything. To help you

THE FAMILY MAN pg 122

figure out what you need to check out this year, ask yourself what kind of person you are. Then, follow our list of things to do.

By Andrew Jason Illustrations by Sarah Geiger

THE ATHLETE pg 124

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MYLES?

Vinyl night at Front Street Taproom

chill

THE HIPSTER

What is it about vinyl that makes music sound so good? Well, every Wednesday night at Front Street Taproom, Vinyl Giant plays old and new vinyl records so you can enjoy music as it was meant to be heard. frontstreettaproom.com

beer

Paul Flessland, J. Alan Paul Photography and Laura Cramer

arts

Blackbird Woodfire

Meet Myles. Myles likes flannel. You can find him walking up and down Broadway, sipping his gourmet coffee and applying his mustache wax.

Will you go on an adventure with him?

our tips

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fuel

We recommend: BLT pizza (House made Harissa aioli, roasted bacon, fresh tomatoes topped with balsamic mixed greens) blackbirdwoodfire. com

Q: I ripped my favorite flannel shirt. Where can I get a new one?

A: Not only will you be one of the best dressed people in town, but you’ll also be very warm when you shop Outermost Layer’s extensive outdoor clothing section.

– Andrew

Once the new Sanford hospital opens in July, it will be a 1-million-square foot facility and have 15,936 light fixtures and 5.9 million feet of wire.

20 Below Coffee Sidestreet Grille & Pub Large stage with almost nightly music, 50 taps and good food.

Sidestreet is the spot for a night of chillin' with your amigos.

It's Fargo. We like our beer. Check out the beer at these places.

Würst Bier Hall Try: They usually have monthly beer events. Check their website for more info.

Fargo Brewing Company Try: Wood Chipper Frothy Stache Try: One of their 18 taps

Did you know that FargoMoorhead has seven art galleries? Need to get a little creativity? Check these places out.

NDSU Memorial Gallery Union ndsu.edu/mu/gallery Parallel Galleries parallelgalleries.com

This coffeeshop has been killing it in the last year. However, what we think is really cool is that they are closed over the noon hour for a community lunch every day. Feel free to go and join them.

20below.coffee

Flatland Brewery Try: Roggenbier Drekker Brewing Try: Broken Rudder Kilstone Brewing Try: Watermelon Wheat (Available in the summer)

Underbrush Gallery underbrushgalleryfargo.com ecce Gallery ecce216.com Gallery 4 gallery4fargo.com

Junkyard Brewing Try: Peanut Butter Bandit Front Street Taproom Try: Something new. They constantly change up their tap lines.

Plains Art Museum plainsart.org Rourke Art Museum therourke.org

Green House Café

Photo by Laura Cramer

Indian Palace We recommend: Palace Mix Grill (Chicken tandoori, chicken tikka, seekh kebob and boti kabob. Served with a choice of chicken curry or mix vegetable curry, rice and naan.) indiapalacefargo.com

Q: Where can I get a truly unique experience in Fargo?

A: Try sitting at the bar of one of the local breweries. We recently struck up a conversation with a brewer at Flatland Brewery and he mixed us a beertail that isn’t on the menu, just because!

– Sarah

We recommend: BBQ Sandwich (Topped with grilled pineapple and slaw, served with fries and a salad) facebook.com/ GreenHouseCafeFargo

Q: I need to keep up my facial hair. Where can I find some nice product?

A: Fowlers Heritage Company’s collection of men’s and women’s products will keep you smelling and looking fresh.

– Ethan

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Downtown on Ice

Are you like

EMILY?

Budget friendly

THE ROMANTIC

Romantic Dinner

Pretend you’re in Rockefeller Center in New York City with Downtown Fargo’s very own free ice skating rink. facebook.com/ downtownonice

Maxwells Restaurant & Bar We recommend: Roasted garlic grilled New Zealand lamb rack

Paul Flessland, Andrew Jason, Ben Gumeringer, J. Alan Paul Photography and Scott Thuen

Escape rooms

Adventurous

Unlock your love in one of the two escape rooms in town. At Puzzled FM and the Fargo Escape Room, you have to solve puzzles to win the prize or escape the room before time runs out. fargoescaperoom.com puzzledfm.com

Vinyl from Orange Records

Emily loves old movies and is a true romantic at heart. Whether it’s going to the Fargo Theatre’s classic film series or just walking down Broadway under the lights at night, Emily and her significant other really know how to have a night out.

our tips

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Stay in

Did you know that vinyl records sales have been on the rise for the last 10 years? Well, Orange Records in Downtown Fargo has a wide selection of new and classic vinyls.

Pick up your favorite album and enjoy it with a nice glass of wine and a good meal. facebook.com/orangerecordsfargo

Q: I just met this girl online. What should we do?

A: If it’s summer, I’d get a round of mini golf and hit the go karts at Thunder Road and then go to Vinyl Taco.

– Luke

The newly remodeled Sidestreet at 404 4th Ave in Downtown Fargo has more than 50 tap handles.

Walk by the river with Nichole’s Fine Pastry’s dessert Pick up some cocoa truffles and a rhubarb oolong tea from Nichole’s Fine Pastry to keep you warm on the walk along the river. Actually, better yet, hug your special someone to stay warm on the walk. nicholesfinepastry.com

Hotel Donaldson We recommend: Duck quarter with green lentils, baby carrots, grilled pears, molasses and blood orange reduction and one of their 17 unique hotel rooms.

Free music, food and wine Learn more about music and enjoy some free food and wine every Wednesday before a FM Symphony concert with the Urban Overture. This is a great free date where you can enjoy live performances from the FM Symphony. fmsymphony.org/urbanoverture

Cuddle up with a cup of tea With more than 100 variety of teas, Steep Me a Cup of Tea in West Fargo is a healthy alternative to coffee and is a great choice to drink on a cold night while watching Netflix with your sweetheart. steepme.com

Q: My wife and I want to go on a date but we don’t have a babysitter. Any family-friendly recommendations?

A: Brickhouse Tavern in Moorhead is family-friendly from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. everyday and has a great kids menu and tap list.

– Tracy

Classic film series Enjoy some of the best films created for only $5 every month at the Fargo Theatre. They’ve played everything from “Groundhog Day” to “White Christmas.” fargotheatre.org

Basie’s Restaurant & Lounge We recommend: From September to May, you can enjoy live jazz every Thursday night from 7-9:30 p.m. and their piano bar every Friday night from 7-9:30 p.m.

Cooking lessons Want to make the perfect chicken marsala and schnitzel? Square One Rental Kitchens & Events offers several different cooking classes every month. Find a full listing of their classes online. squareonekitchens.com/ cooking-classes

Become a mixologist Expand your palette by experimenting with some new liquors from Proof Artisan Distillers. You can purchase their vodka or gin at their Downtown Fargo location or at many liquor stores around town. proofdistillers.com

Q: My wife and I have been married for 40 years. What can we do that we haven’t tried before?

A: You probably grew up playing pinball. Well, did you know that you can relive those days at Fargo Pinball? Nothing like a little friendly competition. (fargopinball.com) – Mike

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WALLY? THE FOODIE

CSAs

Bernie’s Wines & Liquors Bacon and Beer Festival

Events

More than 20 restaurants come together for a gourmet experience of two of the best things on earth. The event also includes a bacon eating contest, live entertainment and much more. baconandbeerfargo.com Luna

Paul Flessland and J. Alan Paul Photography

Culinary experience

With a menu that changes on almost a daily basis, Luna is a prime example of how good a local kitchen with locally sourced ingredients can be.

Featuring items like seared lamb sweetbreads or potato gnocchi, Luna's constantly changing menu will keep you coming back. lunafargo.com

Mixology Classes

Meet Wally. His name almost spells walleye and that's appropriate because he can't get enough of the growing food scene in the FM area. Whether it's trying new culinary creations at Usher's or learning new cooking methods at Square One Rental Kitchen & Events, he’s eating his way through our community.

our tips

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drinks

Q: I need a great juicy burger. Where should I go?

A: Mick’s Office. Their burgers are never frozen, they have a great variety to choose from and, on Wednesdays, you can get a burger for $1 with toppings and sides for a small additional price.

– Tank

There are about 37 indoor and outdoor ice skating rinks in Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo.

You can now expand your culinary talents with a variety of classes at Twist. Every second Sunday of the month will be a mixology class, the third Sunday of every month will be a wine tasting and the fourth Sunday will be a cooking class.

Check out the link below for more information. facebook.com/twistfargo

Support your local farmers with these different community supported agriculture organizations.

The idea is simple. You buy a share of their products and you get fresh food delivered to you on a regular basis. All of these CSAs deliver to the FM area.

Bluebird Gardens bluebirdgardens.net Bill Erbes Farm facebook.com/BillErbesFarm Heart and Soil Farm heartandsoilfarm.com/csa

Hildebrant Farms Email trinakalm@hotmail. com for more information Legacy Gardens legacygardens13@gmail.com

Prairie Faith Home Grown prairiefaith.webs.com Wolf Creek Farm wolf-creekfarm.com Woodchuck Community Farm woodchuckcommunityfarm.com

Fargo Monthly’s Burgers, Bourbon and Beer Fest The three greatest Bs in history come together for this one event hosted by our sister magazine Fargo Monthly.

The BBB Fest brings together some of the best local restaurants in an epic burger cookoff every June. You can also wash down the delicious burgers with some of the best bourbon and beer. burgerfestfargo.com

Concordia Cobber Corn Feed This free event in August takes place all across the country but you can enjoy free corn on Concordia's campus, along with family friendly activities and live music. cord.edu

BernBaum's Andrea Baumgardner's new bagel restaurant BernBaum's in Mid Mod Madhaus on Roberts Street in Downtown Fargo is unlike anything else in town. With menu items like a smoked brisket, sauerkraut, Wisconsin Brick and German mustard on rye or a lox, gravlax, pickled onion, fennel and cucumber, capers, chévre cream cheese on a bagel sandwich, this is the most unique lunch in town. facebook.com/BernBaums

Wine classes Every month, sommelier Jean Taylor gives a presentation about different wines in the area. For example, in January, Taylor presented on Northern Italy Wines. Watch 99 Bottles’ Facebook page for more information. facebook.com/99BottlesMHD

Q: My culinary tastebuds need a challenge. Any suggestions?

A: Everest Tikka House. They’ve got a buffet full of great Indian and Nepalese food so that you can try new things at your own pace.

– Erica

Nightlife Mezzaluna/Rustica Tavern’s Happy Hour Perhaps the most well-known happy hour special in town, from 5-6 p.m. and 9-11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Mezzaluna and Rustica's bar menu is half off. This means you can get items like Rustica's delicious pizzas or Mezzaluna's walleye tacos for only $6. dinerustica.com dinemezzaluna.com

History on Tap Markus Krueger, programming director for the Historical And Cultural Society Of Clay County, just finished a fascinating weekly presentation at Junkyard Brewing about the history of bars and prohibition in the FM area.

Don't worry, though. There are plans to bring it back. Watch Junkyard's website for more information. junkyardbeer.com

Q: I have $2 to my name. Where can I get a drink?

A: Pickled Parrot in Downtown Fargo has $2 wells and domestic taps from 7-11 p.m. WednesdaySaturday. They also have live bands with no cover charge on the weekend.

– Heather

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Are you like

TRAVIS? THE PARTY ANIMAL

drink specials

dancing

major concerts

Travis can't stop and won't stop. He's a social butterfly who can be seen at the Old Broadway on a Friday night, tailgating during the day on fall Saturdays and dancing to the band at the Windbreak on Saturday nights. Can you keep up with him?

our tips

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be safe

Q: It's a Wednesday night. Where's the hotspot to go?

A: Fargo’s trivia scene is money. On Wednesdays, you can find me picking my brain at Drekker Brewing Co. Trivia + craft beer = bliss – Paul

Last year, more than 15,000 people ran the various races during the Fargo Marathon week.

Mondays: During any Monday of your birthday month, you can receive a free 40-ounce bucket filled with just about anything you want at Borrowed Buck’s Roadhouse.

Tuesdays: At Sickie’s Garage, Big 98.7 has a happy hour from 4-6 p.m. with $.98 domestic taps and Q 105.1 does $1.05 drink tickets from 7-9 p.m.

The Windbreak The Windbreak underwent a major renovation in the last couple of years and is now a fun spot for dancing and live music. There is live music every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It has especially become a hotspot on Sunday nights with servers. thewindbreak.com

There are some big national acts coming to town that are sure to be a blast. Here's where you need to be this year.

Just because you want to go out, it doesn't mean you should be stupid. Make sure you have a safe way to get home. Below are some options on how to make sure you don't make a mistake by drinking and driving.

Wednesdays: Half off glasses and bottles of wine starting at 6 p.m. at Rhombus Guys.

Thursday: It’s mug and college night at Mick’s Office. You can get $2.75 wells, $4 domestic mugs, $3 Busch Light and Old Style mugs and $2.50 panty shots.

Old Broadway City Club If you’re looking for a real party on a Friday or Saturday night, the OB is where it’s at.

This popular downtown destination also has great drink specials. Be warned, though. It gets so busy that there’s rarely room on the dance floor. theoldbroadway.com

Prof with Willie Wonka, Metasota, Finding Novyon & Kipp G Tuesday, February 21 Skillet with Sick Puppies and Devour the Day Wednesday, February 22

Uber Uber, the ride share service that’s sweeping the world, is in Fargo and it provides a reliable, affordable and safe way to get home. Download the app and you can have a car come right to you to take you home. You can even drive for Uber to gain some extra cash. uber.com

Q: What's the best drink special in town?

A: I love half priced drinks after 9 p.m. at Twist! With that price for a glass of wine, I can splurge on 2 (or 5).

– Nicole

Shotgun Sally’s

Saturdays: Start your Saturday morning off right with $5 endless mimosas from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. at JC Chumley’s in Moorhead.

Fridays: You pay the day on Fridays at the Old Broadway City Club with taps from 8–10 p.m.

That means if it’s March 4, you only pay $.04 per drink. Select drinks are also only $2.75 from 9–11 p.m.

Sundays: Enjoy Sunday funday at the Windbreak with $1 off drinks from 4-7 p.m. and 2-for-1s from 9 p.m.midnight.

Pickled Parrot With a large dance floor and live music every weekend, the Pickled Parrot is probably the best spot for dancing in Downtown Fargo. Plus, there’s always some great drink specials going on.

Search Pickled Parrot on Facebook

Arthur’s Barn About a 45-minute drive north of Fargo, Arthur’s Barn is a great spot to go when you need a fun night of dancing. This reclaimed barn features a couple of dances a month and features bands such as Silverado, Redline and other popular acts. facebook.com/pg/arthursbarn

Manic Focus Friday, March 3

Machine Gun Kelly with Mod Sun Friday, April 28

Against Me! Friday, March 31

Bruno Mars Friday, August 4

Lee Brice and Justin Moore Friday, April 14

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Thursday, August 24

Sober Drive Hitting the town but you need your car in the morning? Sober Drive will drive you home in your own car, ensuring you and your car get home safely. soberdrivefm.com

MATBUS Depending on where you’re going, certain bus routes are active until 11 p.m. You can find a full listing of when their buses are running on their website. matbus.com

Noir 8 This luxurious transportation service allows you to schedule a ride in a Audi A8 for a night out on the town. You can schedule it to pick you up for concerts, date nights, prom or any number of occasions. Pricing is based on one-way, round trip or hourly trips. noireight.com

Q: I want to discover a new beer.

Any suggestions?

A: There are now several options for breweries and taprooms in the area. I would suggest going to Front Street Taproom on Main Avenue in Downtown Fargo. It has a great selection of the area’s best locally crafted beers.

– Ryan FD

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Sky Zone

Are you like

CRAIG? THE FAMILY MAN

Exercise Together

day trips

Hit the road but don't break the bank with these easy day trips.

Chahinkapa Zoo

$5 movies on Tuesday nights

Paul Flessland, Ethan Mickelson and Tiffany Swanson

nightlife

Seeing a movie as a family can add up quickly. That's why we recommend Marcus Theatres $5 Tuesdays. You get a ticket for $5 and if you're a Magical Movie Rewards Member, which is free to join, you get a free 46 oz. popcorn and $2 hot dogs and $2 candy.

Rhombus Guys

Craig's a great dad. Like, seriously, a great dad. He takes his kids to soccer practice. He makes sure they get to school on time. He started a college savings plan when his son was six hours old. Let's try and be more like Craig.

our tips

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restaurants

Delicious pizza. Arcade games. Your kids can write on the tables. Win. Win. Win. Tip: You have to try the T-Rex pizza. It was voted the best pizza in FargoMoorhead by Fargo Monthly. rhombuspizza.com

Q: My family and I want to go out for dinner. Where can we go that my kids will have fun and I'll enjoy the food?

A: The Hi-Ho in Dilworth and South Fargo have amazing burgers and chicken sandwiches and the kiddos can play in the arcade room while you enjoy some 1919 root beer or Budweiser on tap. – Jenny

The Hotel Donaldson lounge has a little door in the mosaic wall where you can take or leave an item.

Sky Zone Fun fact: One hour of jumping can burn up to 1,000 calories. skyzone.com/fargo

Laser Tag at Thunder Road Fun fact: Thunder Road’s laser tag arena is 5,000 square feet and is set in a post apocalyptic world. thunderroadfargo.com

Fargo Park Classes Fun fact: With more 100 youth programs offered throughout the course of a year, there is sure to be something that interests your kid. fargoparks.com/ youth-programs

Buffalo River State Park Chahinkapa Zoo Distance from Fargo: 23 miles Distance from Fargo: 58 miles Fun fact: There is a swimming Fun fact: The word Chahinkapa pond and beach along with comes from early Native several miles of hiking trails in American settlers. It means the park. “end of the woods.” dnr.state.mn.us/ chahinkapazoo.org state_parks/buffalo_river Itasca State Park

Photo courtesy of Itasca State Park

Photo courtesy of Chahinkapa Zoo

In North Dakota right now, there is a 31 percent obesity rate among adults and a 15 percent obesity rate among children ages 10 to 17. With this in mind, it is more important than ever to get out and exercise as a family.

Courts Plus Playground Fun fact: Courts Plus playground has seven levels so it can entertain kids for hours as mom and dad go workout. courtsplus.org/ playground

Itasca State Park Distance from Fargo: 105 Fun fact: The park is more than 32,000 acres. dnr.state.mn.us/ state_parks/itasca

Courts Plus Playground

Detroit Mountain Distance from Fargo: 50 Fun fact: Detroit Mountain was privately owned for 50 years but closed in 2004. The ski hill was reopened in 2014 and now runs as a nonprofit.

Escape Jr. Watch as your kid works to solve puzzles in the new escape room for kids. In the "School's Out" room, kids work to find a lost phone in a classroom. escapejr.net

Root beer floats

Movies in the park Every summer, the Fargo Park District has a movie in the park every couple of weeks. Make sure you watch their website for more information. fargoparks.com

Space Aliens

The Shack on Broadway

Originally started in Bismarck, there are only three Space Aliens in the country and one of them is right on 45th street in Fargo.

Full of arcade games and space paraphernalia that your child will love, Space Aliens is a great place to host birthday parties, and it actually has good food, too. spacealiens.com/fargo-nd

Going out for a nice breakfast is the perfect way to spend a Saturday morning. Well, you can't beat The Shack in North Fargo. With their homestyle cooking, they offer homemade buttermilk pancakes, mashed potatoes and gravy and all sorts of other breakfast deliciousness all day long. shackonbroadway.com

Q: My daughter and I want to do a little father-daughter bonding. Any suggestions on what to do?

A: I like going to plays/musicals with my girls at Bluestem. It's a great way to enjoy being outside and spend quality time together.

– Paul

Kroll's Diner has 2-for-1 root beer floats every Wednesday and Sunday. You might as well start the meal off with one of those before diving into their delicious knoephla soup. sitdownandeat.com

Sammy's Pizza A Fargo staple, Sammy's Pizza has been open for more than 50 years. It's a great family-friendly restaurant and your kids will love watching their pizza makers toss the dough high into the air.

Q: It’s a Wednesday night and we need to get out of the house.

Where can my family and I go?

A: Boulder Tap House. My wife and I are big on environment, and Boulder Tap’s is perfect. My recommendations would be the Tequila Lime Chicken Tacos and the Black & Bleu Pretzel Burger.

– Nate C

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winter

Cross-country skiing You can go cross-country skiing at any of the parks in the FM area, but we recommend you make a day trip of it and go out to Maplelag Resort by Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Day passes are $15 and you can sign up for their daily lunch as well. maplelag.com

spring

Mountain biking One of Moorhead’s best-kept secrets is MB Johnson Park in North Moorhead. This park has several miles of loops for mountain biking. You can also go out to Detroit Mountain where they have several different loops that are perfect for mountain bikers.

Are you like

TAYLOR? THE ATHLETE

J. Alan Paul Photography and Tiffany Swanson

summer

Don't be intimidated by Taylor, but she can bench more than you, bro. Whether she's participating in a volleyball league through the Fargo Park District or having a beer and playing golf indoors at Golf Addiction, she's probably going to be better than you at whatever she tries.

our tips

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fall

Q: I'm looking for a fitness event that's under the radar. Any suggestions?

A: The YMCA hosts fitness events all the time that are open to the community. For example, pop-up classes at hot spots downtown. – Brittney

Did you know that Mezzaluna has Grey Goose vodka on tap?

Break up your routine We all get stuck in our workout routines. Well, try switching it up by trying these different workouts.

CrossFit gyms CrossFit is sweeping the country and Fargo is no different. This workout is focused on functional movements using skills based on gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing and more. Check out the different gyms in the area.

Downhill skiing You’ll have to put on some miles for this, but it’ll be worth it. Check out these ski hills that are an easy day trip from Fargo.

Detroit Mountain Distance from Fargo: 48 miles detroitmountain.com

Ande’s Tower Hills Distance from Fargo: 102 mi andestowerhills.com

Buena Vista Distance from Fargo: 143 mi bvskiarea.com

Fargo Marathon May 15-20 One of the biggest events in town, the Fargo Marathon brings about 20,000 people throughout the weekend to the Fargodome.

While everyone is mostly familiar with the actual marathon, we recommend you check out the newer events like the cyclothon, a 26mile bike race or the Furgo Dog run, a 5K that you can run with your furry best friend. fargomarathon.com

Running groups Speaking of the marathon, if you’re training for it, you might as well join one of the free running groups in town. Beyond Running has a weekly group that leaves from their downtown store every Tuesday and Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. The Fargo Running Company has a running group every Monday night and Thursday morning. gobeyondrunning.com fargorunningcompany.com

Boxing Barot Boxing & Fitness Search “Barbot Boxing & Fitness” on Facebook Jiu Jitsu Fargo Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy fargobjj.com

9Round Fargo

Cyclebar One of the new fitness hotsptots, Cyclebar is the best of spin classes but with much more. Some of their classes include cycling mixed with yoga and theme rides. fargo.cyclebar.com

Kickboxing and weight lifting 9Round Fargo 9round.com

Dance Bonnie Haney School of Dance bonniehaneydance.com Hot yoga Haute Yogis haute-yogis.com A treadmill workout like you’ve never had before Orangetheory Fitness fargo.orangetheoryfitness.com

Elevate Human Potential ehpcrossfit.com

CrossFit 701 crossfit701.com

CrossFit Fargo crossfitfargo.com

CrossFit Icehouse crossfiticehouse.com

Elevate Human Potential

Q: What's the best healthy lunch I can get when I'm in a hurry?

A: The Mediterranean Chopped Salad from Blackbird Woodfire.

I always ask for the housemade Mediterranean herb vinaigrette on the side. It’s delicious poured on top of the iceberg lettuce, kalamata olives, chickpeas and feta cheese.

– Joe

The toughest race of your life If you’re looking for the ultimate challenge, we recommend trying Endurance North Dakota’s Sandhills Ultra Run Experience in Leonard, North Dakota. This race has 25K, 50K, 100K or 100-mile treks for the diehards.

Good luck. If you’re an actual human and looking for something easier, we recommend checking out the other END Racing events. endracing.com/end-sure

Haute Yogis

CrossFit 701

Q: What's a good workout instead of running on a treadmill?

A: Snowshoeing. It's like a hiking workout without the hills. Fargo's perfect for it! You can even rent snowshoes at Edgewood Golf Course in North Fargo.

– Rylee A

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Businesses that show heart GREAT NORTH INSURANCE

S

ometimes in business, you have to look past the dollars and cents and look at what you're doing to support your employees and the community that has done so much for your company. And while there are numerous companies in town that are doing great work, we decided to highlight just a couple of them. All of these companies were winners of the 2016 ChamberChoice Awards from the Chamber of Commerce and exemplify what it means to have a great business.

BY ANDREW JASON PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE FARGO MOORHEAD WEST FARGO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Small Business of the Year

As the winner of the Small Business of the Year award at last year’s ChamberChoice Awards, one of Great North Insurance’s main values is to be an active community partner. Every employee gets 16 hours of volunteer time off and the company is actively involved with the United Way, March of Dimes, the YWCA and other organizations. And considering the company is experiencing crazy growth, this business philosophy works. greatnorthinsuranceservices.com

ADVANCED ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES Business of the Year

With 17 offices in six states and about 42 employees in FargoMoorhead, AE2S provides water expertise, including civil and environmental consulting throughout the midwest and the Rocky Mountains area. With programs like PTO donation where employees can donate PTO to their peers in need and charitable donations from the company and employees to organizations like Second Harvest Heartland, Water for People and the Salvation Army, AE2S also cares about the community that helped it grow to where they’re at now. ae2s.com

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The Fargo Theatre was built in 1926.

DOROTHY DAY HOUSE OF HOSPITALITY Small Not-for-Profit of the Year

This homeless shelter and food pantry has been open for 30 years and now has 11 employees and 3,000 volunteers. In October 2012, there were 874 people who were homeless in Fargo-Moorhead. The homeless shelter can serve 13 men who are homeless and, in the last five years, they’ve helped 136 men move into homes. Their food pantry serves 2,000 people a month, half of those being children and seniors. fmddh.org

ERIC NEWELL STONERIDGE SOFTWARE

Entrepreneur of the Year

As the entrepreneur of the year, Eric Newell left his long-time job at Microsoft in 2012 to start his own company. Four years later, Stoneridge Software has about 57 team members.

The company has also won awards from organizations like Minnesota Business magazine and the Star Tribune as a best place to work.

He also serves as the chair of the Economic Development Committee in Barnesville, Minnesota and works to promote entrepreneurs in his city. stoneridgesoftware.com

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RAPE & ABUSE CRISIS CENTER OF FARGOMOORHEAD Not-for-Profit of the Year

Opening in 1977, the Rape and Abuse Crisis Center of Fargo-Moorhead provides crisis intervention, advocacy, counseling and prevention education services for those impacted by domestic violence, sexual assualt and child sexual abuse. Since their founding, they’ve served more than 80,000 individuals. In 2015, they provided services to 3,000 people, including 501 children. raccfm.com

The unemployment rate in Fargo in November 2016 was 2.1 percent, compared to the national average of 4.6 percent.

WHO’D WE MISS?

Do you think there’s another great company that should be recognized? Let us know by using #FargoByFargo.

HEALING ARTS CHIROPRACTIC People’s Choice Award

The people of Fargo-Moorhead were obviously impressed with the services of Healing Arts Chiropractic as they voted them the People’s Choice award winner.

With a mission to reach 80 percent of the population, they emphasize education and want to transition people from pain relief to preventative measures. Over the last three years, they’ve seen an 11 percent increase of patients and have gone from 900 square-feet with one doctor and one part-time employee to more than 3,000 square-feet, two doctors, six full-time employees and many part-time employees. They were also awarded a five-star office award from Integrity Doctors. healingartschiropractic.com

About the ChamberChoice Awards The ChamberChoice Awards is a special program through the Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo Chamber of Commerce.

After businesses apply through an extensive entry process, the Chamber’s team of judges go through hundreds of applicants to choose the best winner in many different categories.

The 2017 ChamberChoice Awards will take place on Friday, May 19 at the Ramada Plaza & Suites and Conference Center.

GATE CITY BANK

Young Professionals Best Place to Work

Offering a culture focused on fun and volunteerism, the more than 600 Gate City Bank employees donated more than 12,200 volunteer hours during company time in 2016, which means each employee averaged 21.3 hours of volunteer time.

The employee volunteer efforts combined with Gate City Bank’s charitable giving provided a value of more than $1.8 million to organizations across North Dakota and Western Minnesota. They also offer many other employee benefits, including training and development programs, wellness programs and any more. gatecitybank.com

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TIME. Three ways you can

TALENT. give back this year

TREASURE. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 62.6 million people volunteered through or for an organization in 2015. Despite the obvious reasons, there are also numerous selfish reasons to give back to your community, including it reduces stress, you gain professional experience and it brings people together. This year, we challenge you to give back. That’s why we’re looking at three different ways you can get involved. So, whether it’s your time, talent or treasure, we encourage you to get out and help others.

BY ANDREW JASON • PHOTOS BY PAUL FLESSLAND AND J. ALAN PAUL PHOTOGRAPHY 133

Jacob Stevens, 24, and Makai Leedahl, 11, have been together as part of Big Brothers Big Sisters for almost two years. They’re pictured here in the Plains Art Museum.

TIME.

TIME DEFINITION: ACCORDING TO THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, OF THE 62.6 MILLION PEOPLE WHO VOLUNTEERED IN 2015, THE AVERAGE VOLUNTEER DONATED 52 HOURS OF THEIR TIME ON AVERAGE. THERE ARE 8,760 HOURS IN A YEAR. HOW MUCH TIME HAVE YOU VOLUNTEERED TO SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY?

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Did you know the library in Downtown Fargo has a quaint little sandwich and coffee shop that’s quite delicious?

Jacob Stevens Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

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acob Stevens recognized at a young age the importance of volunteering. This 24-year old from Bird Island, Minnesota came to Fargo to attend school at NDSU where he graduated with an accounting degree. The CPA for Widmer Roel has since actively dove into Big Brothers Big Sisters, a national program that connects children with a role model.

He now serves as a big brother and is a part of the advisory committee for the Fargo branch of Big Brothers Big Sisters.

“I was looking for a way to get involved in the community and give back.

I’ve enjoyed working with kids,” said Stevens. “I also looked at Big Brothers Big Sister as a way to not only help out the community, but it’s also a way to develop those skills to become a mentor. There’s more to get out of it than just giving back.”

As part of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Stevens has worked with Makai Leedahl, an 11-year old fifth grader at Kennedy elementary school in South Fargo, for almost two years. The two of them usually meet up one night a week and Stevens has been able to give Leedahl a lot of experiences he probably would never get.

The two of them have especially bonded over Stevens’ collection of Pokémon but have been able to go bowling, fishing and even volunteer at the Dorothy Day Food Pantry in Moorhead, which is particularly special.

“You get to volunteer while you’re volunteering. You’re almost doubling up,” said Stevens. “That experience is a lasting memory. It’s all about creating memories.”

For the 50 years that Big Brothers

Big Sisters has been in Fargo, they’ve served more than 6,300 youth. Susan Smith, Program Director, explained why they are serving such a critical role in the community.

"The most crucial time to create healthy adults is during childhood.

Many youth in our community are facing challenges where they can benefit from additional adult support.

By providing a child with extra adult support–a Big Brother or Big Sister–we help make a difference in his or her life. Big Brothers Big Sisters focuses less on specific problems after they occur, and more on meeting youths’ most basic developmental needs."

Big Brothers Big Sisters is actively looking for mentors to act as bigs.

There is especially a need for male volunteers because of a waiting list of about 30 boys who want to get involved in the Fargo Big Brothers Big Sisters program. While there are many altruistic reasons to volunteer and give back, Stevens believes there are some selfish reasons to get involved as well.

“It’s a great opportunity to further your professional self or your own life with both experiences and by meeting really cool people,” said Stevens. “The people at the events are there because they’re volunteering and they have the same mindset. Not only are you helping the community by getting involved, but you’re helping yourself out. I think that if somebody was to look past that time commitment of four hours a month minimum and realize that it’s not a long time, there’s so much more to get out of it by getting involved.”

For more information on Big Brothers Big Sisters, visit thevillagefamily.org/bbbs

ABOUT THE FARGO BRANCH OF BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS • In 2016, Big Brothers Big Sisters celebrated 50 years in the Fargo-Moorhead community.

• In that time, more than 6,300 youth have been mentored.

• The program became part of The Village in 1973, which is when the Big Sisters-Little Sisters part of the program was added.

• There are about 105 community-based matches right now and more than 50 schoolbased matches.

• Research showed that kids in BBBS were 52 percent less likely to skip school.

• It costs $1,200 per match for a year.

• In addition to donations, BBBS is also in need of more mentors. The program now accepts couple mentors to be matched with a child.

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Kirsten Jensen owns her own social media consulting company called Next Action Digital.

TALENT.

TALENT DEFINITION: EVERYBODY HAS SOMETHING THEY’RE AN EXPERT AT. ARE YOU SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY? RUN A NONPROFIT’S FACEBOOK PAGE. ARE YOU AN ATHLETE? BECOME A COACH FOR A YOUTH LEAGUE. ARE YOU GOOD AT BUILDING THINGS? OFFER YOUR SKILLS TO FIX UP A NONPROFIT’S BUILDING.

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You can download the Fargo One app. This allows you to report problems to the City of Fargo and watch in real time as the issue gets solved.

Kirsten Jensen Ronald McDonald House

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irsten Jensen realized early that giving back is important to keep our community thriving.

“Nonprofits are really what makes this a great place to live and raise kids,” said Jensen. “I think a big part of it is creating a community that we want to be a part of. There are also all kinds of reasons selfishly to give back because it creates better health and well-being when we think of others rather than ourselves.”

the local chapter of the Ronald McDonald House by being on the Board of Directors and the Chair of the Development Committee. However, Jensen is in a unique position to be a valuable resource. As the owner of Next Action Digital, a company that offers social media training for other organizations, Jensen’s knowledge allows her to be an invaluable resource for the Ronald McDonald House’s social media presence.

However, it took a near tragedy for Jensen to figure out how she wanted to give back. Her nephew was born about 28 weeks premature and needed to have heart surgery. He was brought to Denver Children’s Hospital from his hometown of Billings, Montana. Jensen’s brother and sister-in-law ended up staying at the Ronald McDonald House for eight weeks before her nephew was sent to Minneapolis because Jensen’s brother’s job was transferred there. They ended up staying in another Ronald McDonald House while they had nowhere to live.

“I’m already looking up industry information about trends in social media so it’s just that awareness of, I’m going to shoot Erica (Johnsrud, Development Director for the Ronald McDonald House) an email when I see something cool that we should try or do. And sometimes, it is taking something that has worked with another client and saying, ‘Hey, I think we should try this. I see the same need here.’ That always doesn’t take a lot of time either.”

“It was a really important resource to get through all of Henry’s treatment,” said Jensen. “I felt like this was a great place that I could give back in our community for families who are kind of swept into that medical care realm and end up in Fargo.”

She has since dove head first into

ABOUT THE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE • With two locations in Fargo, the Ronald McDonald House is a free place to stay for families with critically-ill children.

• In 2016, they served over 325 families.

• Over 700 volunteers helped make it possible for families with critically-ill children to be near their child.

• They’re able to have 12 families a night in Fargo–six at each of their locations.

It’s clear that Jensen is not the only generous person in the area. Jensen believes that the FM area is particularly charitable, and considering that $30,998,132 has been made through donations to Giving Hearts Day over the years, it is evident that this community is generous.

“I love that so many organizations give back in a way that connects to their mission. The banks in town are quite impressive in giving both time and talent.

I think of State Bank and their employee giving program and Gate City Bank and their community giving program.”

So, no matter in what capacity you give back, Jensen encourages you to just get involved.

“Just find a place to give your time, talents or treasures,” she said. “It doesn’t really matter which of them it is. Often, time and treasure are limited.

Giving your talent or working on a project that can be resume building for you as well as help a nonprofit is a win-win all around.”

For more information on the Ronald McDonald house of the Red River Valley, visit rmhcfargo.org

LISTEN UP, YOUNG PROFESSIONALS! It’s a conundrum. Once you graduate from college, every business wants you to have experience.

However, how do you get experience without getting hired? Well, Jensen has a solution for that.

“If you are a college student or a young professional who’s in that precious first two years of experience and you’re not in that three to five year world where you can be considered for a whole bunch more jobs, I think that volunteering your talents can be a really great way to get more experience,” said Jensen.

“For example, if you were a marketing young professional and you were in an event related position in your organization and you really wanted social media experience, find a nonprofit that you care about and pitch a project to them. It doesn’t have to be an ongoing relationship. You can say, ‘Hey, I’d really like to help you get an Instagram account started and think about what the strategy should be and figure out how that should work.’”

With more than 300 nonprofits in the region, almost every one of them can benefit from your talents. Boom, experience problem solved.

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Mike Bullinger and his wife Peggy won the Philanthropists of the Year award last November.

They are pictured here accepting the award at the Holiday Inn. The photo is by 5foot20 Design Lounge.

TREASURE.

TREASURE DEFINITION: WHETHER YOU’RE A MILLIONAIRE OR YOU’RE STRUGGLING TO GET BY, TREASURE GOES BEYOND A MONETARY AMOUNT. TRULY GIVING YOUR TREASURE IS THE PRACTICE OF GIVING WHATEVER YOU ARE CAPABLE OF.

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You can contribute your feedback about what you want the future of West Fargo to be at wf2point0.com.

Mike and Peggy Bullinger Philanthropists of the Year

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ike and Peggy Bullinger are sure a long ways from when they were briefly on food stamps. In fact, last November this couple was awarded the Philanthropists of the Year award from the North Dakota Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Mike, who is the president and CEO of Western Products, and his wife Peggy were awarded this prestigious award for their work with Medora and several organizations across the community and state. However, they weren’t always capable of the generosity they currently show.

The couple first met when they were in high school in Mandan, North Dakota.

Mike’s mother died when he was only 14-years old and his dad only had an eighth-grade education, but this didn’t stop Mike. The couple got married when Peggy was only 18-years old and they soon enrolled in college. This formative time shaped their outlook on life.

“Back in our college days, Peggy and I were barely getting by and were in need of help,” said Mike. “We had no money and we really appreciated it when help came through for us. I received a scholarship award for a couple hundred dollars at Bismarck State College and for a short period of time, we were even on food stamps. These things are what have inspired us to provide scholarship awards at both the University of North Dakota and BSC.” Mike even recounted a story that illustrates how little they truly had.

“My sister called us one evening to see how we were doing and she asked what we had had for supper. We said, ‘A can of beans and a can of corn’ because that was all that we had in our cupboards.”

As they advanced in their career, the Bullingers tried to always remember where they had come from. In fact, anytime they moved into a new house, the first meal they ate was always beans and corn.

Once they moved to Fargo, Mike got a job at a CPA firm and volunteered to work on the United Way campaign.

During that time, he was given 10 names to call on to ask for money. One of those calls would stick with him.

“I had never asked people for money before, and it wasn’t easy,” said Mike.

“One of the accounts I called on was Charlie Bertel of Union Storage. Charlie knew why I was there and before I even asked him, he wrote a check to the United Way. I was so impressed. I remember thinking how neat it would be to one day be able to do that.”

And the Bullingers are now able to do just that. They now actively give back to a variety of organizations, including Peggy serving on the board for Medora and the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation for nine years, Catholic Church, United Way, YMCA, YMCA youth program, North Dakota Autism Center, March of Dimes and many more.

Charitable giving is something that the couple has kept close to them and is trying to actively teach others, including their grandchildren.

“We also hope to foster the importance of giving within our grandchildren and help them all realize how good it feels to be able to help others,” said Mike. “Sometimes at church, I will give each grandchild a dollar to put in the collection. As the basket is coming down the aisle, I will say to them, ‘You can put the dollar in the basket for Jesus or keep it for candy.’ You can always see the wheels turning before they finally decide to drop their dollar into the collection basket.”

They want that sense of hospitality to spread to others, no matter what they do.

“I would tell anybody that everyone has something that they can give,” said Mike. “Sometimes, the best ways a person can give or help others is through sharing his or her time, special talents, qualities or knowledge—each of which we have been blessed with by our Creator. In the case of financial giving, the amount of the gift is not as important as the simple fact that you believe in something enough to give to others from what little you might have.”

And while the Bullingers have given their life to giving back, they look at it as a long-term investment to help out someone else.

“Though giving is not always easy and it is never required—it is always a great opportunity to help other families make ends meet so that someday they, in turn, will be able to pay it forward and do the same for others,” said Peggy.

PRO TIP Mike and Peggy and their three daughters have two family endowment foundations setup through the Dakota Medical Foundation and the FM Area Foundation. The income from both these foundations is given away annually to local charities.

If you are able to do this, you can receive a North Dakota state income tax credit of 40 percent for amounts put into these endowment funds, which in turn allows you to put more money into the fund.

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NOW IT'S YOUR TURN! N

Give your treasures Thursday, February 9 is the most generous day of the year. Giving Hearts Day is a massive online fundraiser that more than 360 Minnesota and North Dakota charities are involved with. In 2016, there were 37,109 donations from 14,000 individuals and more than $8.3 million was raised. In fact, over the last nine years, more than $30 million were raised for charity.

givingheartsday.org

OW THAT YOU KNOW THE THREE WAYS YOU CAN GIVE BACK, HERE’S WHERE YOU CAN LEARN MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO GIVE BACK AND GET INVOLVED.

Pat Traynor is the executive director of the Dakota Medical Foundation

STATS

Check out impactgiveback.org for more opportunities to give back.

ABOUT GIVING BACK

North Dakota ranks 16th in volunteerism among the 50 states and Washington DC with 31 percent of North Dakotans volunteering.

Source: Volunteering in America

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The median age in Moorhead is 28.3.

“There were 14,000 individual donors last year on Giving Hearts Day. They gave to an average of two and a half charities. One-third of the donors to a charity last year were brand new.

We had 11,000 individual donors from the year prior. That’s 3,000 new donors. We think we can double and triple that number.

What I would say is, bring a friend and pick a charity you love. I think we can double that number because we have more than 700,000 people in North Dakota and another 400,000-500,000 in western Minnesota. We’re just scraping the surface.”

– Pat Traynor

North Dakota’s 158,280 volunteers donate 14.1 million hours of time annually. This equates to $340+ million in services contributed.

Source: Volunteering in America

How do I choose who to give to?

This can be one of the hardest parts about deciding how to get involved.

Thankfully, the Impact Foundation can help with that. At impactgiveback. org, you will find an extensive listing of charities throughout the region. You can even find a listing of volunteer opportunities. These organizations are broken up into different categories so you can decide who to become involved with. Are you passionate about animals?

How about youth? Either way, you'll be able to find the perfect nonprofit that fits your interest.

“At impactgiveback.org, there’s anywhere from 90 to 150 volunteer opportunities. We also want people to think about volunteering as not necessarily going to our website and finding a charity to volunteer. We also want people to volunteer all across the community where they see the need. We write about the soup kitchen. We write about helping the homeless people. It’s the spirit of volunteering. We really want to champion that. If you have an elderly neighbor, maybe this time of year they need rides to medical appointments, their snow shoveled or all sorts of help where we can be good volunteers.

That’s not formal volunteering. That’s the personal stuff.”

– Pat Traynor

The estimated value of volunteer time per hour is $23.56. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, about 62.8 million Americans or 25.3 percent of the adult population gave 7.9 billion hours of volunteer service worth $184 billion in 2014.

Source: Volunteering in America

Lend a Hand Medical expenses tend to be the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. The Lend a Hand program from the Dakota Medical Foundation aims to help by being a resource to support and increase the impact of people’s generosity to help individuals experiencing a medical crisis. The idea is if you have a medical emergency, a friend or family member can throw a benefit for you and Lend a Hand will help educate the person throwing the benefit to raise as much money as possible. Lend a Hand will also provide a $5,000 match.

“$1.9 million was raised last year for 50 families and over $12 million has been raised since the first benefit in 2008. Our goal in 2017 is to expand that across the whole service area, which would be about a 150-mile radius from Fargo-Moorhead. Jeana runs that program. She works with volunteers to help them become exceptional at raising money for families.

“Instead of taking your family out to lunch, take them to a benefit because they always serve food. Instead of giving your money to a restaurant that day, give the money to that family.

It’s really meaningful and you’ll forever be changed when you see the dynamics of how you help people and their recovery as a community.”

– Pat Traynor

Approximately 25.3 percent of Americans over the age of 16 volunteered through or for an organization between September 2010 and September 2014.

Source: National Center for Charitable Statistics

Trophy Fargo-Moorhead’s

We know that we live in a great community, but don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what other national and reputable sources have to say about our three great cities.

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Best Performing Small City Milken Institute

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5

Best Small Places for Businesses & Careers Forbes Magazine

3

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7

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Best Places to Live in America Moving.com

3

# Most Secure Places to Live Farmers’ Insurance

Best Place to Raise a Family Children’s’ Health Magazine

8

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City for Finding a Job U.S. News and World Report

#

Best City in the US for Entrepreneurs Livability.com

Most Walkable Neighborhoods in the Midwest (Mid-Size City) Redfin

6

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9

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Overall in the Nation for City Services WalletHub

in the list of

America’s Fastest Growing Mid-Size City WalletHub

The infamous woochipper from the movie “Fargo” has its own Facebook page at facebook.com/thewoodchipper.

Case MOORHEAD

Tree City USA The Arbor Day Foundation

WEST FARGO

Good Neighbor Award to City of Moorhead (Parks and Recreation) River Keepers

100 most comfortable cities in the U.S. Expedia.com

1 1 2 1 Healthiest Housing Market in Minnesota SmartAsset

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Best Budgeters Wallethub.com

Best Small City in America Nerdwallet.com

Playful City USA KaBOOM!

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Best Small Cities and Towns in America WalletHub Tree City USA Growth Awards Arbor Day Foundation

7

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Fastest-growing Cities in North Dakota NerdWallet

Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community League of American Bicyclists

1

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Most Secure Places to Live Farmers Insurance

City of the Year ND League of Cities 143