Severson Entrepreneurship Academy BR ANCHING INTO TH E BAKKEN

New enhancements are on the horizon for Minot State University’s Severson Entrepreneurship Academy An expansion will empower entrepreneurs and regional business leaders to discover new opportunities in North Dakota’s booming Bakken region.

The expansion will work in two parts study and research, which will be disseminated into the business community and be retained in an incubator for use by future students, businesses and entrepreneurs

“We will do a study that involves business faculty and students as researchers,” said Chuck Barney, Severson Entrepreneurship Academy director. “We will create a survey instrument It will be broken down by type of business, whether an extraction company, oil service company or drilling company That will also be sorted by what phase of development the company is in within the maturity process of as a resource for businesses and entrepreneurs to employ when putting together business plans or investigating business opportunities within

The second part of the process involves an incubator Data collected through the research process will be kept in a data repository and technology incubator It will provide data for area businesses, students, faculty and staff exploring business opportunities in the Bakken It will also be used to teach current and future students and to develop online entrepreneurial opportunities. The repository will be housed in a classroom redesigned as a technology center in the College of Business.

“That involves software development, Internet, apps, websites and e-commerce,” Barney explained. “We are already talking to a number of people in the community as well as students who have ideas of what they want to develop as a business, and this will be a platform to create the business.

If you consider the business opportunities in this area right now, they are basically oil development and value-added ag. While a lot of people are already doing value-added ag, that’s not in a boom cycle, but energy is in a boom cycle This is a great opportunity for the College of Business to study the business aspects of what happens in a boom ”

In addition to the expanded services and projects, student scholarships will also be provided

Academy and who plan future careers as entrepreneurs. This expansion of the Severson Entrepreneurship Academy is made possible by a $500,000 gift from Clint Severson ’73 and Conni Ahart along with a $250,000 grant from the North Dakota Higher Education Challenge Fund.

Schulte named Sturgis Regional Hospital CEO

Mark Schulte has been named CEO of Sturgis (S D ) Regional Hospital He replaces Van Hyde, who recently retired after serving as CEO for 10 years

Schulte previously served as CEO of Avera Creighton Hospital in Creighton, Neb., where he oversaw the hospital, a 47-bed skilled nursing facility and two clinics

Hambrick joins Cornerstone Bank

Jim Hambrick has joined Fargo-based Cornerstone Bank as a senior vice president/business banker. In this role, he is responsible for managing existing and generating new business banking relationships He is also responsible for the cash management sales for the bank

Hambrick has more than 26 years of experience in the financial services industr y in the Fargo metro He currently serves on the board of directors for the North Dakota State University Team Makers, the Red River Valley Chapter of the Red Cross and the Plains Art Museum

Eide Bailly promotes Sornsin

Joseph Sornsin has been promoted to systems engineer at Eide Bailly LLP. In this role, he is responsible for providing advanced level, end-user service support and technical business consulting while delivering on assigned tasks regarding work station and network operation systems

Sornsin joined Eide Bailly in 2012 with more than four years of IT experience He is currently pursuing a management information systems degree at North Dakota State University in Fargo

Regional Health CEO announces retirement

Dr. Charles Hart, president and CEO of Rapid City, S D -based Regional Health, has announced his retirement He has been associated with Regional Health and Rapid City Regional Hospital for 31 years. He joined RCRH as an emergency department physician in 1983 and has since served in a variety of leadership positions at the hospital.

He was Regional Health’s first president and CEO, a position he has held for a decade Under his leadership, the organization has grown to include 48 facilities throughout western South Dakota and northern Wyoming and about 4,900 employees

Hart will continue to lead the organization until his successor is in place. Regional Health has set a goal of filling the position by January

Edgewood Group hires finance, business development director

Wayne Zink has been named executive vice president/director of finance and business development for Edgewood Group LLC. In this role, Zink will lead Edgewood’s development company on turn-key development solutions He will also identify expansion opportunities at current facilities and new properties in markets supported by the strategic initiatives of the group ’ s board of directors

Zink has spent 26 years in the banking profession with a focus on commercial, commercial real estate and development financing Prior to joining Edgewood Group, he served as market president of Choice Financial in Grand Forks, N.D.

ND Chamber honors Starion Financial founder

Frank Larson, founder of Starion Financial, was presented with the Greater North Dakotan award from the Greater North Dakota Chamber during the group ’ s Governor’s Business Forum, held April 15 in Grand Forks, N D The award is the group ’ s highest honor and is given in recognition of the recipient’s business and philanthropic impact on the state.

Larson and his wife, JoAndrea, purchased First National Bank of Oakes (N.D.) in 1969. One year later they purchased a bank in Ellendale, N D In 1989, the business expanded to Mandan and, four years later, to Bismarck In 2003, the business name was changed to Starion Financial The bank continued to expand, adding locations in Madison, Wis., in 2006, the Fargo metro in 2008 and Bottineau, Dunseith and Rolla, N.D., in 2011.

Larson serves on the board of directors for the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation and the Bank of North Dakota He holds an honorary degree in philanthropy from the University of Mary His family has also established community foundations in Oakes, Ellendale, Bismarck and Mandan to support community advancement projects.