Congratulations Jeannie Thurston

Midco® is proud to congratulate our Director of Creative Services, Jeannie Thurston, who has been selected as one of Prairie Business’ 40 Under 40. Jeannie has worked at Midco for nearly 15 years and is instrumental in our marketing, advertising and promotional e orts. We’re proud of you, Jeannie, and proud to also be honored by Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) as one of its PAR Best Companies for Women to Work.

Jeremy Straub

AGE: 37

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, NDSU INSTITUTE FOR CYBER SECURITY EDUCATION AND RESEARCH FARGO, N.D.

Jeremy Straub has been developing innovative technologies since his teens. He leads the OpenOrbiter small-spacecraft development program and researches selfdriving vehicles, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and many other topics.

He has published more than 200 technical papers and multiple popular press articles.

He received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award, is a fellow of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society and serves as a track chair for conferences including the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech, Space and Propulsion+Energy forums. He also recently received approval of a 3D printing patent application.

Straub mentors several student robotics and cybersecurity competition teams. He is a lifetime member of SPIE (a society for optics and photonics technology) and a member of AIAA, Sigma Xi and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

“Straub has published more research papers than the vast majority of faculty at their point of retirement. ... His conference leadership, editorial positions and international recognitions would be aspirational to even the most senior faculty members in the state.”

Rebekah Scott

AGE: 35

OWNER, CEO AND DESIGNER, REBEKAH SCOTT DESIGNS VALLEY SPRINGS, S.D.

Rebekah Scott’s interest in textile style began at age 4, with her mom’s fabric scraps and her very own little sewing machine. During college and her early married days, she sewed purses for gifts and in 2003, a business was born.

Rebekah Scott Designs has grown into a direct-sales brand that includes business coaching, a weekly podcast called The Encourager and a book for mompreneurs.

Through her website, customers choose their bag style, fabric, leather and lining colors, creating a product that is unique to them. Each product then is handmade by a team of women who desire to nurture their families while working from home.

“Scott has been told countless times to outsource so she can mass-produce her products, but she refuses because she’s trying to protect her mission and business culture. She pays her employees great wages and works tirelessly to uphold her company values of quality and service.”