Bismarck Young Professionals releases... Top 10 Workplaces

BY LISA GIBSON

The Bismarck-Mandan Young Professionals Network has announced its Top 10 Young Professional Workplaces, based on applications detailing each candidate’s commitment to recruiting and retaining professionals under 40.

The list comes out each year, says Stacey Thomas, president of the organization, and any company in Bismarck and Mandan can fill out the online application. Businesses are then measured on criteria related to the active development and execution of strategies advancing employment of young professionals in the community, quality and type of benefits offered to employees and active development of strategies resulting in the inclusion of young professionals in the workplace.

This year’s winners are:

• Aetna

• Starion Financial

• KLJ

• Capital Credit Union

• HDR

• National Information Solutions Cooperative

• Ulteig

• Braun Intertec

• First National Bank

• SEH

2016 represents KLJ’s fourth consecutive year on the list, according to Jill Beilke, communication manager for KLJ. Beilke says when determining the best workplace for young professionals, she takes into account culture, commitment to the community and dedication to enhancing an employee’s career through professional development and mentorship.

“KLJ is a forward-thinking company that is often adapting to an ever-changing environment,” she says. “In order to adapt to our surroundings, KLJ frequently focuses on inspiring new ideas and encouraging innovation. The company’s focus on innovation allows young professionals to feel comfortable bringing new ideas to leadership, as well as participating in decision making processes that are critical to the company’s success. A company that enables its employees to constantly contribute that success will always retain young professionals.” PB

Lisa Gibson Editor, Prairie Business 701.787.6753 lgibson@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

Dunn selected as new SDSU president

Barry Dunn, the endowed dean of the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, director of Extension and professor of animal science at South Dakota State University, will become SDSU’s 20th president, the South Dakota Board of Regents has announced.

Dunn graduated from SDSU with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1975 and later completed two graduate degrees at the Brookings campus.

Dunn has served as the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council endowed dean of agriculture and biological sciences since 2010. He first worked in Brookings as an Extension livestock specialist and assistant professor in the Department of Animal and Range Science from 1997 to 2004. He returned to SDSU after spending six years at Texas A&M University-Kingsville as executive director of the King Ranch Institute for Range Management. Along with his undergraduate biology degree, he holds doctorate and master’s degrees in animal science.

Dunn lives with his wife, Jane, on her family’s original homestead north of Brookings, where they raised their two sons. Before returning to college and becoming a professor, Dunn ranched with his family near Mission, S.D, for 17 years.

Tamara Somerville recently received the Manufacturing Institute’s Women in Manufacturing STEP (Science, Technology, Engineering and Production) Ahead Award. The STEP Ahead Awards honor 100 women across the U.S. who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in their careers and represent all levels of the manufacturing industry.

Somerville is corporate vice president and president of global initiatives and strategic alliances for Posi Lock Puller in Cooperstown, N.D. The company manufactures gear and bearing pullers. In 2001, Somerville oversaw the global expansion of Posi Lock, and successfully implemented a distribution network that resulted in a total worldwide reach for the Posi Lock product line. Today, Posi Lock sells its product in almost every country in the world.

Cornerstone Bank hires Sinner

Cornerstone Bank has hired George B. Sinner as senior vice president of business and agricultural banking in Fargo, N.D.

Sinner brings more than 30 years of experience in the banking industry and a multitude of public service experience and has been a successful ag and business banker in Fargo for the past 17 years. Before that, he was an agricultural banker in Cavalier and Michigan, N.D.

Sinner earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. He served as a public administration intern for the North Dakota 46th Legislative Assembly in 1979 and was elected to the North Dakota State Senate in 2012, where he continues to represent District 46.

Forster to head NDSU’s North Central Research Extension Center

Forster to head NDSU’s North Central Research Extension Center

Shana Forster is the new director of North Dakota State University’s North Central Research Extension Center near Minot, N.D.

She has been the NDSU Extension Service’s area cropping systems specialist at the center since January 2013. Before that, she was the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station assistant pulse crop breeder at the center for four years.

Forster earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Crop and Weed Sciences in 2000 and a master’s degree in plant breeding and genetics in 2002, both from NDSU. Her doctorate will be in plant sciences, also from NDSU. Before joining NDSU, she was a biological science laboratory technician for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service in Fargo from 2003 to 2008.

Swanson Health Products names CEO

Swanson Health Products, an online and catalog marketer of healthy living products, selling both Swanson and third-party brands, has hired Katie Doyle as CEO in Fargo, N.D. Doyle brings more than 25 years of experience leading and advising consumer health and wellness companies.

Swanson Health Products has been founder-led for the past 47 years and has expanded from its start in Fargo to additional facilities in Nevada and Pennsylvania to support sales around the world.

Before joining Swanson, Doyle was a senior vice president at Abbott Laboratories, headquartered in Abbott Park, Ill., where she led the nutrition business across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Before that, Doyle was a senior partner at McKinsey & Co., where she worked with leading consumer companies across the U.S., Europe, Africa and Asia.

ND Chamber elects three board members

The Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce, located in Bismarck, N.D., recently elected new board members to its Board of Directors.

Three new members joined the 25 business and community leaders representing a broad cross-section of the North Dakota economy — Jill Berg, owner/president of Spherion; Mark R. Anderson, Mainstream Investors LLC; and Tom Astrup, American Crystal Sugar.

Jill Berg is the owner/president of Spherion in North Dakota and west central Minnesota with offices in Fargo, Bismarck and Minot in North Dakota and Perham, Minn. In addition to her recruiting and staffing expertise, Berg consults and trains with clients on workforce development and human resource strategies. She is a consultant with Predictive Index Worldwide and sells and trains the Predictive Index assessment system. She has a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies with an emphasis in Psychology and English from Ambassador University in Pasadena, Calif.

Mark R. Anderson has served as chairman and CEO of Mainstream Investors LLC since September 2012. Before that, he spent 20 years working in the financial services industry, where he served in a variety of roles, including operations, account administration, new business development and executive leadership. Anderson holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Advertising from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.

Tom Astrup, a 1991 accounting graduate from UND, serves as president of American Crystal Sugar Co. After working in public accounting, Astrup joined the company in 1994 and progressed through a number of positions. Since January 2014, Astrup has held the position of vice president of operations at American Crystal. He held the position of vice president of finance and chief financial officer, vice president of agriculture and vice president of administration. Since 2007, he has also served as chief operating officer of Sidney Sugars Inc. Sidney Sugars is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Crystal, which operates a sugarbeet processing factory in Sidney, Mont.

Minnesota State University Moorhead President Anne Blackhurst has named Gary Haugo as vice president for university advancement and Brenda Amenson-Hill as vice president for enrollment management and student affairs.

In his position, Haugo will provide executive leadership for a newly restructured division responsible for external relations activities including fundraising, alumni relations, marketing and communications.

Haugo has been director of development at Concordia College in Moorhead since 2011. Before that, he served as Concordia’s major gifts officer since 2007. He previously was a sales and marketing representative for Novo Nordisk and with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, both in Rochester, Minn. He taught social studies and coached at high schools in Pequot Lakes, Crookston and Hinckley-Finlayson, all in Minnesota, from 1994 to 2002. He holds a Master of Educational Leadership in Educational Administration from North Dakota State University in Fargo and a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies and Physical Education from Concordia College, Moorhead.

In her new role at MSUM, Amenson-Hill will provide executive leadership for a division that includes undergraduate recruitment and a wide range of student services offices, including housing, wellness and the Comstock Memorial Union.

Since 1998, Amenson-Hill has served in several capacities at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, most recently as dean of students, where she is also the Title IX coordinator. She has more than 25 years of experience working in higher education.