The Village Family Service Center plans new topics for ‘Business Bite’ series

FARGO, N.D. • The Village Family Service Center will host three new topics in the coming months for its “The Business Bite” series. Tanya Fraizer, Village Employee Assistance Program trainer, will lead three free webinars this spring with topics addressing addiction, physical activity in the workplace and caring for aging parents.

The webinars are scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. one Wednesday a month in April, May and June.

Registration for each is available at TheVillageFamily.org/Eventbrite.

• Substance Abuse and its Impact on the Workplace, April 13, explores the effect of substance misuse on organizations and colleagues.

• Let’s Get Moving! Physical Activity within the Workday, May 11, teaches participants how to break the cycle of sitting and become more aware of office ergonomics.

• Navigating the Balance of Work and Caring for Aging Parents,

June 8, offers advice for employees who are dealing with this physically and emotionally demanding chapter in life, as well as for their organizations.

These webinars are part of The Business Bite, a continuing series of online lunch-hour trainings hosted by The Village Business Institute. Previous installments of The Business Bite can be viewed at TheVillageFamily.org/Webinars.

Tanya Fraizer

The Village Business Institute is a program of The Village Family Service Center, which strengthens kids and families across Minnesota and North Dakota through behavioral health services. These include mental health counseling, in-home family therapy, financial counseling, The Village EAP and more. For more information, visit TheVillageFamily.org.

Arvig invests $19.9 million in projects to improve internet service in rural Minnesota communities

PERHAM, Minn. • Arvig says it will invest $19.9 million in construction projects to improve internet access and upgrade networks in seven rural Minnesota areas in 2022.

The company is entering the sixth year of a 10-year commitment to use its share of funding from the FCC’s Alternative Connect America Cost Model (ACAM) to build and improve internet networks in rural areas. This year, crews will service the rural areas of Audubon, Morgan, Parkers Prairie, Perham, Red Del, Vesta and Walnut Grove.

When construction is complete later this fall, residents in the affected areas will have access to internet speeds up to 1 gigabit per second, as well as television and phone service.

“Arvig is pleased to continue this long-term effort to improve internet access in rural Minnesota,” said David Arvig, vice president and

ARVIG SAYS CREWS WILL BE WORKING THIS YEAR TO IMPROVE INTERNET ACCESS AND UPGRADE NETWORKS IN SEVEN RURAL MINNESOTA COMMUNITIES: AUDUBON, MORGAN, PARKERS PRAIRIE, PERHAM, RED DEL, VESTA AND WALNUT GROVE. THE COMPANY HAS BEEN BUSY UPGRADING NETWORKS THE PAST FEW YEARS. THIS IMAGE WAS TAKEN NEAR PELICAN RAPIDS, MINN., DURING A FIBER CONSTRUCTION PROJECT IN 2019. IMAGE: COURTESY OF ARVIG chief operating officer. “Arvig is committed to bringing high quality broadband services to these communities in 2022.”

In January 2017, Arvig elected to accept a share of ACAM funding for the next 10 years and will work to systematically build out services to census blocks that have been identified by the FCC.