for a post-pandemic world | PAGE 12
SEE WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH NORTH DAKOTA CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
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You’ve probably heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This especially is true in business. Perhaps there is no better time than to take stock and plan for the future – NOW.
Of course, readers know what the word “plan” means but sometimes it helps to be reminded.
“A plan is a course of action pointing the way to the position you hope to attain. It should explicate what you need to do today to achieve your objectives tomorrow,” reads an article in the Harvard Business Review. “In the current context (of the pandemic), the question is what you must do to get through the crisis and go back to business when it ends.
“The lack of a plan only exacerbates disorientation in an already confusing situation. When drawing up the steps you intend to take, think broadly and deeply, and take a long view.”
I especially enjoyed reading those last few words: “think broadly and deeply” and “take a long view.”
Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the minutia. I know it is for me, but I also find that I feel more at ease when I look at the big picture – when I capture the long view.
If there is one theme about this month’s issue of Prairie Business, it just might be about planning.
Of course, the articles are about architecture and construction topics and technology in the legal professionals business, among others; but taking that “deeper” look at these topics you’ll find what architects, engineering firms, and construction companies are doing across the region as they plan for the future, whether it’s designing a new commercial building or coming up with fresh ideas to incorporate into their business practices.
Ackerman-Estvold, a firm based in Minot, N.D., for instance, is considering new design features for businesses in a post-pandemic world.
Also, our legal topic is about technology and estate planning. As Skyler Johnson of Sage Legal in East Grand Forks, Minn., said, in essence, it is never too early to plan for the future.
Likewise, often it is not too late to plan – though eventually there comes a time when it is too late.
Don’t find yourself on that end of the business spectrum or, for that matter, in life.
We do a lot of planning at Prairie Business – what topics and themes to cover, what companies to reach out to, what art and layout features to use and many more items to consider.
Planning in many aspects of life, and definitely in business, is paramount. And then there’s this: We’re planning that you’ll like this edition.
Until next time, Andrew Weeks
I look forward to hearing from you at aweeks@prairiebusinessmagazine.com or 701-780-1276.
PUBLISHER KORRIE WENZEL
AD DIRECTOR STACI LORD
EDITOR
ANDREW WEEKS
CIRCULATION MANAGER BETH BOHLMAN
LAYOUT DESIGN SARA SLABY
ACCOUNT MANAGER
NICHOLE ERTMAN 800.477.6572 ext. 1162 nertman@prairiebusinessmagazine.com
Prairie Business magazine is published monthly by the Grand Forks Herald and Forum Communications Company with offices at 375 2nd Avenue North, Grand Forks, ND 58203. Subscriptions are available free of charge. Back issue quantities are limited and subject to availability ($2/copy prepaid). The opinions of writers featured in Prairie Business are their own. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork are encouraged but will not be returned without a self-addressed, stamped envelope.
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There’ssomethingaboutNorthDakotathat isbo thinspiringandtimeless. Thislandhasseenitall.No mat terwhatcomes,itwillalwaysbehere— uncrowdedand we lcomingyoutotravelourwide-openspaces. Vi sitour websitetofindinspirationforthetrails an dadventuresahead.
The coronavirus pandemic has created some new trends in business and accelerated others. While it’s yet to be seen what all of the new trends might be on the horizon for architecture and engineering firms, the pandemic certainly has sparked fresh ideas about what buildings may look like in the future.
Some of the ideas being tossed around now in the industry are about modifying office space, installing more touchless features, and creating better airflow in buildings to help mitigate virus spread.
“At this point I don’t know if new trends have been created but it has brought certain discussion to the forefront,” said Andrew Eitreim, principal architect with Architecture Incorporated in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Six months, a year, two years from now it will be interesting to see what further developments have come about in the industry because of a heightened fear of viruses. Mike Dunn, business development manager with Construction Engineers Inc. in Grand Forks, N.D., who works with architects and engineers all of the time in his line of work, said he is confident these professionals in the upper Midwest will meet the challenges of a quickly-changing world.
“The architects in our area really stay up to date on those trends,” he said.
Ryan Anderson, senior architect and vice president of Ackerman-Estvold, an architecture and engineering firm based in Minot, N.D., was the first to suggest to Prairie Business what some of the trends might be for his industry going forward in a post-pandemic world.
“Obviously this whole pandemic has created an interesting situation for everyone,” Anderson said. “It really gives us a chance to kind of take stock of our surroundings and look at the potential sources of spread.”
He said the pandemic has raised further awareness not just about the dangers of COVID-19 but other diseases, such as the common cold or the seasonal influenza virus. If people were to examine their office spaces, he said, they’d realize just how many places germs can settle and contaminate.
Anderson is not being dramatic, he’s being practical. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for instance, the novel coronavirus may remain viable on surfaces from hours to days, depending on the surface material.
“We're never going to fully stop the spread of something like this,” he said, “but we can certainly take a look at our surroundings and say, ‘What can I do to reduce or mitigate the risk?’”
That’s something A&E firms across the country have been considering since at least March. A new standard for many businesses is to disinfect surfaces and often-touched items several times a day. But even that might not be enough for some businesses. Marc Mellmer, vice president of JE Dunn Construction, who is based in Minneapolis but oversees projects in North Dakota, said some companies that installed touch-screen devices may very well consider now going to “touchless” devices.
He and Anderson were echoing what a national architecture journal explained about the subject.
“Almost everyone predicts that public spaces will move toward more automation to mitigate contagion, with COVID-19 speeding up development of all types of touchless technology,” according to the Architecture Digest. That includes more “automatic doors, voice-activated elevators, cellphone-controlled hotel room entry, hands-free light switches and temperature controls, automated luggage bag tags, and advanced airport check-in and security.”
Restrooms with doors were already on their way out, but the pandemic has hastened their retreat. The digest also said hotels will likely have self-cleaning bathrooms and pod rooms, which are “smaller modular spaces that can be sealed off from other guests while also offering the ability to be quickly torn down and disinfected.” What’s more, firms “will increasingly call on antibacterial fabrics and finishes, including those that already exist – like copper – and those that will inevitably be developed.”
While such things as automatic doors and paper towel rollers are nothing new – big-box retailers such as Target and Walmart already have auto doors, for instance – Anderson said he believes more businesses will come on board wanting those types of touchless features. At Ackerman-Estvold, he said, designers are considering what else may be beneficial for companies going forward in the fight against contaminants and viruses.
“The more automated you can make things, the better off you're going to be,” he said. “Having automatic entrances that don't require you to touch something in order to enter that building may not be
continued on page 14
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practical for everyone but it's certainly a strategy.”
Highlighting the benefits of touchless light switches and occupancy sensors, as well as the touchless features in restrooms, he said: “Anything that you can automate where you don't have to physically touch something is certainly positive.”
A trend for many design firms before the pandemic was to create open common areas and offices that had an airy feel to them. Now, ideas are going in another direction: how to make work space inviting and collaborative without cramming people together in the same room.
“The big wave has been these open office environments,” Mellmer said, readily noting he is not an architect but works with design firms often on construction projects. “Providing these open office environments, opening it all up and not having individual offices, creates an opportunity to densify that space and put more people together. Well, that's kind of a touchy thing to talk about right now. … It is how do you create a little bit more separation and social distancing? … If you went into an office that was built 20 years ago it’d have a whole bunch of individual offices.”
In a more modern-designed building, however, there might be “a couple of individual offices” but the rest of the space includes “cubicles and standing cubicles as businesses densify these spaces and pack in more people. That's kind of where everybody has been going, but now they’re scratching their heads and saying, ‘This is not necessarily what we should be doing.’ So I think that's going to create a little bit of a change throughout the industry with the open-office environments. That's what we're hearing on the construction side.”
Anderson, who is an architect with a number of years under his belt, said Ackerman-Estvold is considering how office space may help mitigate virus spread. It’s been top of mind for several weeks now: “How can we provide adequate space so that people don't feel like they're breathing right into each other?”
It’s not an easy question to answer when just a few months prior the mindset was different, but Anderson is confident and energized about the challenges that these new developments bring him and the firm. And, he knows, these are changes that won’t happen overnight; the idea machine continues to revolve.
Something else being tossed around are ways to create airflow in buildings, such as using more air filtration systems to purify air as it travels through a furnace, and creating applications that require using more air filters.
“We haven't seen that application very often, if at all,” Anderson said, “but it's something that we definitely want to start looking at to see if it's a feasible solution.”
Another consideration is customer and client access to buildings. Going forward some companies probably won’t want to admit just
anyone into its building, depending on the services it provides; and for those who are admitted, in what space will they be waiting?
“Sometimes when you first come into a building you stand in the lobby, but the lobby is so small and cramped … and you’ve got people that are way too close to each other to mitigate something like this. And so we’re thinking about … how do you restrict access to a building if you want to make sure that you're not letting anyone and everyone into your building.
“Can you put access controls on your front door, like a card reader or proximity reader, that would restrict booking and who can get in? Also, restricting the number of people that might be able to enter your building. I think there are all kinds of solutions out there to help with that. We're doing our best to try to identify some of those things so that when businesses get through all of this and they’re taking stock and say, ‘OK, what can we do now to mitigate this in the future,’ we’ve got some ideas there at the ready for them.”
Anderson said Ackerman-Estvold will be publishing a series of articles on its website to identify strategies, which it then will push to social media in an effort to get in front of more people “so they can start thinking about these things,” he said. His team will then help clients identify the strategies that “make sense for them.”
“Of course, there's a cost benefit analysis that has to go into that too,” he said, noting how a business approaches the future depends in large part what its budget looks like. Some businesses may come on board with more touchless features rather quickly, for instance, while others, because of budget constraints, will have to find other avenues to make their buildings appealing for clients, customers and staff in a post-pandemic world.
“It all depends on how conservative they are or how progressive they are,” he said. “Are they going to see this as an opportunity to mitigate risk in the future or do they not see an issue. I think generally people will be open to the idea but I think it'll probably take a good four to six months or longer before they're ready to start looking at that kind of stuff. But I don't think we can say that everyone is going to be ready to do something now, that everyone is going to be on board with upgrading their facilities. I think it's just going to be different because everyone's situation is different. That's just the way it is.”
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There is a brutal economic lesson to be learned from the coronavirus: that a dollar unspent at local restaurants, retail shops and hotels isn’t just a dollar less for owners and workers. It’s also a few cents less – over and over and over again – for the local governments that hold the upper Midwest together.
Linda Bunde’s Grand Forks, N.D., clothing shop, Mainstream Boutique, is a good example. She’s stayed optimistic, offering by-appointment shopping for clothing as she can (and steaming items customers have tried on) but she points out that customer traffic is way, way down.
"I'm a new owner, so I'm going to do anything I can to keep it fun –it's fun in the spring and summer to have something new and fresh on,” she said. “But when this started happening, I was frightened. Like, I just might as well close shop."
The damage goes far beyond retail. Hotels, bars and restaurants are among the hardest hit businesses in the country – and though business is expected to come back as anti-viral travel restrictions loosen, it’s not clear when that will be, or even how fast consumers will get comfortable with the idea of shopping, traveling and dining out.
“We are expecting dramatic, dramatic (tax revenue) decreases, particularly for those March-April-May collections,” said Julie Rygg, who heads Grand Forks’ tourism bureau. “We expect they'll go up in the summer and more in the fall, but we're expecting by the end of the year to not even be close to what we projected.”
Tax-funded budgets at state fish and game departments, local school districts, city road funds and more are up against precisely the same headwinds as those blowing against commercial enterprise. They will all have to grapple with the same problem: revenues are falling this year, and with the virus still raging – and public health experts still warning that Americans are safest at home – there’s not a clear, obvious path back to where they were in early March.
That means that, for millions of upper Midwest residents, the coronavirus will likely not only mean a change in how they shop, but a change in how their governments serve them, too.
The problem is particularly acute in North Dakota, because of the state’s reliance on the oil industry and the fall flooding that was such a shock to its farm sector. UND economist David Flynn predicted that the state could see a 5% to 6% decrease in state GDP for every 10% off the price of oil – which was in free-fall early this spring.
“It’s a perfect storm of negative news for two of the growth engines for North Dakota over the last however many years you want to pick,” Flynn said.
Republican Gov. Doug Burgum has responded by requesting deep cuts. In a May 1 announcement, the governor said he was calling for the smallest state agencies to slash 5% from their next biennial budgets, while the largest would have to find a way to cut 15% (Democratic gubernatorial candidate Shelley Lenz expressed strong concerns over potential cuts in education and health).
Joe Morissette, the state budget chief, said that some of those largest agencies are juggling salary increases that are still being held in place, making their budget constrictions as functionally high as 16% or 17%. He points out that the state’s oil production is sagging badly as demand cools – one of the principal drivers of the crisis.
“We were at 1.45 million barrels a day in February, and now we think our production is below a million barrels. So we’ve had a third of our production shut in, as producers are just not willing to produce in this price environment,” he said in early May. “We’ve never seen that before.”
In South Dakota, the budget outlook seems just as poor. A budget official directed Prairie Business to the state’s set of online statistics, which showed April general fund revenues more than $18 million off the month’s estimate, with tourism tax receipts down 28.5% compared to 2019. The Associated Press reported on May 7 that Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has asked the White House for more flexibility in spending federal aid money to the state to help cover budget shortfalls. But as of this writing, boosted federal aid to states is one of the most watched-for moves in Washington.
“Why should the people and taxpayers of America be bailing out poorly run states (like Illinois, as example) and cities, in all cases Democrat run and managed, when most of the other states are not looking for bailout help?” President Donald Trump tweeted in late April. “I am open to discussing anything, but just asking?”
Daniel Lightfoot, a lobbyist with the League of Minnesota Cities, pointed out that cities aren’t just paying for things like extra public safety or more personal protective gear – or even just missing out on local taxes. They’re also missing plenty of fees on things like public pools or ice arenas, and with a shaky economy, local residents might be paying taxes late, too.
And in Minnesota, early May saw a tussle over how much cities would get in federal relief funding provided to the state – not to the local governments themselves. When Lightfoot spoke with Prairie Business, the state had been allocated federal aid money, but nearly none of the local governments had.
“We know that the reverberation that this crisis is going to cause on city budgets and thus city services is going to have a ripple effect, and potentially extend long after any peacetime emergency or stayat-home order is lifted,” he said.
And those same needs affect cities everywhere. Keith Hunke is the city administrator for Bismarck, N.D. Like many cities in the upper Midwest, Bismarck is still looking for its way out of a COVID-driven mess. The worst projections, Hunke said, show general fund revenue losses as high as 20%.
"But there's so much uncertainty,” he said. Bismarck posted good 2019 revenue numbers, and those stayed solid through the first quarter of 2020. “It’s uncertain as to what the impact has been to local revenue. Whether that's sales tax, some of our other taxes on motor vehicle fees, fuel taxes. We just don't know … we're trying to benchmark for the worst-case scenario."
Overthepastfewmonths,lifehaslooked alittledifferentforallofus. Vacationswerecanceled,lifeeventswereputonhold,anddailyroutines changedasweadaptedtonewworkingenvironmentstransformingourdining roomtablesorsparebedroomsintoofficespaces. “Althoughweall experiencedchangeofsomesort, Iwouldsayallofushavelearnedfrom thisexperience,”saidJessicaKarls, aprofessionalengineerand projectmanageratKLJ.Karls,whoworksoutofthe engineeringfirm’s Fargo,NDofficefocuseson transportationengineering,ensuringmotoristscanget towheretheyneedto go safely.LikemanyatKLJ,Karlskn infrastructureiscriticaltoourcommunitiesandthisexperienceforcedherandmanyothers toreimaginethe“typical”in-officeworkspace. “Asaresult, Ilearnednewskills,enhanced relationships,eventhoughitwasn’tinperson,andwasinspiredbyunexpectedevents, settings,people,andevenmykids,”saidKarls.
JessicaKarls’homeoffice
nows ence forced her and many others
Infrastructureencompassesallkindsofthings. Fromtheroadswedriveon,bridgeswecross,ourpowersupplyto keepourlightson,telecommunicationservicesthatallowustoconnectvirtually,thewaterwedrinkandsomuch more.Likely,whenyou’redrivingdown aroad,drinking aglassofwater,ortakingthatmeetingvia WebExor Zoom,youaren’tthinkingaboutalltheintricatedetailsittooktoensureyourridewassmoothandsafe,your connectionwasreliable,orthatyourglassofwaterwasn’tonlyrefreshingbutsafeforyoutodrink.
Eveninuncertaintimesweallstillneededandrequiredthesenecessities.“COVID-19eruptedrightaroundthe timemanyprojectswereabouttokick-offinthemajorityofourstates,”saidKarls.AlthoughKLJspans23office locationsacrosstheUS,mostofthoselocationsareintheMidwestwherespringmarksthestar toftheregion’s fifthseason,constructionseason.“ We knewweneededto keeptheseinfrastructureprojectsmovingforward,” saidKarls,“anditwouldrequireustomanageourprojects abitdifferentthanwewereaccustomed.”Dueto varyingrestrictionsKLJ’steamscouldnolongerjuststopoutto aprojectsiteaseasilyasbeforeorstopinto visit aclientfacetofacetodiscuss acurrentproject.
“Postponingprojectswasn’tsomethingthateverevencrossedourminds,”saidJennieKrause, wholeadsthe firm’s ProjectManagementOffice. “Wefocusedoureffortsonthesafetyand healthofourpeopleandcontinuityofourbusinessallwhilecontinuingtomaintainourbrand promise –AnExceptionalCustomerExperience.”
Postponementofinfrastructureprojectsnot onlymeans alapsein aplannedschedulebutpotentialhighassociatedcostsfortheownersof thoseprojectswhichoftentimesarecities,counties,localairportsordepartmentsof transportation –justtoname afew.
AsKLJ’steambegantotransitionto amorepredominateremoteworkstatus,manywho had nothistorically conductedtheirworkfromthistypeofenvironment,suchasplanners,engineers,environmentalstaff,andmany more,werenowworkingfromhome.Andrightasthatoccurreditwastimetoholdfieldreviewsformanylarge projects. “Thiswas achallengeasmanytimesthesetypesofreviewsincludecollaborationofmanypeople,”said Karls.KLJ’steamworkedwithclientstoholdreviewslikethis,virtually,which keptprojectsmovingforward.
“Ineverthought Iwouldhost afieldreviewfrommy home,butthissituationencouragedustoseekopportunity andnowwecansay, withconfidence,wecanholdthesetypesofmeetingsregardlessofthesetting,”saidKarls. Foroneproject,KLJ"drove" aportionofUS85inwesternNorthDakota,ongoogleearth,stoppinginspecific areastodiscussconcernsorcriticalpointsduringthedesignprocess. “Thisincludedutilityconcerns,environmentalconcerns,drainageconcerns,etc.,”saidKarls.“Itshoweduswecoulddothisimportantworkfromanywhere andhavingtherighttechnologyto keepoursystemsup,protected,andefficientreallyhelped.”
KLJ’steamshadvitalroadwayprojectsthatneededtomoveforward,likethe43rd AvenueNE ImprovementprojectinBismarck,ND.TheconstructionportionoftheprojectbeganinApril andconsistsofreconstructingandwideningthebusyroadway.“Constructionstartedwhile manyinthecommunitywerestillworkingremotelyorstayinghome,whichmeantlesstraffic intheworkzone.Theprojectteamandalltheinvolvedcompaniesarehappytobeoutmaking progressso asaferoadwillbereadyfortravelers,”said TroyRipplinger,PE,theprojectmanager for43rd AvenueNEImprovementsproject.
“Althoughtravelwasn’tatthetopofeveryone’slist,ensuringourcommunities’airportswere readyfortravelwhenthetimewasright,remainedatthetop of ours,”saidMark Wiederrich, aseniorprofessionalengineeratKLJwhofocusesinaviation.“ Theseairportsconnect communities,especiallywhenthereis alargegeographicspreadbetweenthenextcityortown. Planningforthefuture,andmaintainingtheairpor tisver yimportant,eveniffewerflightsare cominginandoutrightnow,wewillflyagain,”said Wiederrich.KLJiscurrentlyworkingon severalaviationprojectsacrosstheirgeographicfootprint,withprojectsincludingnewtaxiways, runwayreconstructions,apronexpansionsandmore.
Whenworkingonmajorinfrastructureprojectsforcommunities,involvingthepubliccannotstopif aprojectis goingtomoveforward. Publicinvolvementis keytoobtainingandutilizingfeedbackfromthosewhoarethe end-userof aproject. Typicalpublicinvolvementmayhavelookedlikealargemeetingwith apresentation,many peopleseatedcloselytogether,orwalkingaroundinteractingwith aprojectteam,viewingalternatives,andeven touchingprojectalternativeswheretheycanbringtheirideastolife.Thatoptionhasbeenlimitedoverthepast monthsandwilllikelylookdifferentgoingforward.
WhilecommunitiescontinuetohelpflattentheCOVID-19curve,publicinputhasmovedtoa virtualenvironment.“Planninganypublicinputmeetingtakestime. Youwantthemeetingtobe informativeandengagingtomakesureyouareabletounderstandpublicopinionandinputas projectalternativesarediscussed.Doingthisin avirtualenvironmenttakes abitmoretimeand planning,”saidMike Huffington,environmentalplanneratKLJ.Huffingtonmanagesmultiple projectsacrossNorthDakota,SouthDakota,andMinnesota.Theteam’sapproachtotraditional publicinvolvementstrategiesanddigitalengagement has alwaysencouragedwaystomost effectivelyinteractandengagethepublic.Nowin avirtualenvironment,thefocusonparticipation andengagementenhancedwithfeaturessuchaspolls,graphics,orshor tvideoclipsthatclearlycommunicate alternativeshelpstocollecttheinputneededfrompeoplewhomayhaveneverthoughtofattending apublicinput meeting,letalone avirtualone,”saidHuffington.Theuseofdigitalalternativesallowsthepublictoattendthe meetingliveorat alatertimewhenitismoreconvenient.
Regardlessofifitisdesign,meetings,orengagingthepublic,ournewworkingenvironmentmaintainssome commonaspectstoour“pre-COVID-19”days –a focusonthecustomerandtheprojects. “Whatitreallycomes downto,saidKarls,istrust.Thesetimesareuncertain,andtrustingthoseyouareworkingwith, for, and alongsideyouisreallyimportant.”Aswecontinuetonavigatethroughthenextfewweeks,months,andyear, thingswillremain abitdifferent,butwithtrustand aunifiedapproachweallwilllearnwhata “newnormal”lookslike.
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ENGINEERING , REIMAGINED KLJENG.COMPandemic or not, the commercial construction industry has been keeping busy in North Dakota.
From Fargo to Minot, and from Grand Forks to Watford City, a number of construction projects are underway or on track for completion in the coming months.
As an essential industry, some companies are even looking forward to growing their business.
“I’m very excited to be in the construction industry,” said Mike Dunn, business development manager for Construction Engineers Inc. in Grand Forks, N.D., noting that steady business has allowed the company to continue to look to the next generation of workers. “It’s something I feel really makes a difference for our towns and cities. We’ve been trying to raise the next generation and that’s going to be a big part of our workforce.”
Some of the projects that Construction Engineers and other companies are working on in North Dakota include the following:
JE Dunn Construction also is doing a project for the Williston School District No.1, which is currently slated to finish by August. The $12 million, 50,000-square-foot project involves converting the existing Hagen Pool building into a two-story Innovation Academy – basically, company Vice President Marc Mellmer said, it’ll be a multi-use and high-technology center for alternative learning environments. “It will be utilized by a broad range of grade levels throughout the district,” he said, and described it as “a very unique project in terms of constructability and district utilization alike.”
Heyer Engineering also is working on a couple of projects at the University of North Dakota campus in Grand Forks.
Currently under construction is the 154,000 square-foot Memorial Union building, according to Dave Bruns, a principal owner at the engineering firm. The old memorial building was demolished last year, he said, and the new three-story structure will likely be finished in time for fall semester 2021.
Features will include food services, including a food court, a lounge, large ballroom and stadium-style seating in the multi-purpose room.
Construction Engineers is keeping busy with several projects, including its largest – the Grand Forks Regional Water Treatment Plant.
The $150 million project, which has taken four years to complete, will wrap up this summer, according to Dunn.
The treatment plant is 216,000 square feet – 23,500 cubic yards of structural concrete – and is intended to be a regional upgrade to water treatment for Grand Forks and Grand Forks County, including the Grand Forks Air Base. Dunn calls it a “legacy project that we’re really proud of.”
When completed the facility is intended to be capable of treating raw water from the Red and Red Lake Rivers, respectively, or a blend of both raw water sources. Several notable companies are involved, including architect firm JLG.
The modern-looking building will be adorned with “a lot of windows,” Bruns said.
The company also will be working on the university’s future Nistler College of Business and Public Administration building, which, Bruns said, is currently in the design phase.
“We hope to start construction this summer,” he said.
The building also will be three stories, some 110,000 square feet, mostly filled with classrooms and administration offices. A skyway will connect the building with the Chester Fritz Library.
Jason Skiple, senior structural engineer with Heyer Engineering in Fargo, N.D., said he’s been working on a project that, for him, started in June 2019 – the Aldevron in Fargo, which is building a gene therapy manufacturing campus. Basically, he said, it’s an expansion project of a biomedical facility.
“A few years ago Aldevron built the rectangular building, an office/lab, in south Fargo off 40th Avenue and west of the interstate but they outgrew it extremely quickly and so they are expanding and making a major change to the campus,” he said. He said work going on now is the north part of the facility, but there also is a south and middle part that will receive attention. Heyer Engineering serves as the structural engineer on the project.
“The construction meetings have slowed down a little (because of the pandemic), a lot of the foundation steel work has taken place on the north end,” Skiple said.
The Eagle’s Landing C-Store, which has seen quite a bit of wear and tear over the years, according to Paul Breiner, senior architect with Minot-based Ackerman-Estvold, is being replaced with a new 11,000-square-foot building that will better accommodate customers.
The C-Store in Minot also will have a 5,000-square-foot car wash.
“The coolest feature about this is that customers can select a touchless wash or one that uses the roller brushes,” he said.
The existing building will remain standing until the new buildings are completed later this summer. There also will be three additional fuel pumps, “so they are expanding their capacity all around with this project,” he said.
The design process started about a year ago with groundbreaking in August 2019, and is expected to be finished by this August. “Phase one, which is constructing the two buildings, will be complete around the end of June, and then the tearing down of the existing buildings and the additional pumps will take an additional couple of months.”
Breiner said the store is a nice addition to the community, especially with the upgraded buildings.
“The variety of things they have going inside the C-store, it’s more than selling pop and chips,” he said. “They have a full kitchen, soft-serve ice cream area, they have an in-house coffee bar. They brought a lot of things together to make it a one-stop shop.”
Come this summer JE Dunn Construction in Minneapolis but which has a number of projects in North Dakota will be working on a new $25 million performing arts center at Valley City State University, according to company vice president, Marc Mellmer. Work will begin this summer on the two-story, 61,000-square-foot building that, this time, will be on the proper side of the flood walls.
“It is a replacement building for the old music hall,” Mellmer said. “Years ago when the flood wall and dyke system that runs right through Valley City was created, the existing music building, called Foss Hall, was on the wrong side of the flood wall.”
Every year the university has had to sandbag to protect it. However, an agreement was reached with the state helping to fund a replacement building. That effort finally made it through the state Legislature last year. “And this is the result of that,” Mellmer said. “They finally get to build their new building.”
The project by May 8, when Prairie Business spoke with Mellmer, was still out to bid to subcontractors, he said, and at its construction peak will have more than 100 workers on site. When completed the new building will boast multiple performance spaces, a visual arts department, and a recording studio.
He said it will take about 21 months to complete.
One thing that customers should be aware of as completion nears: the store will remain fully operational except for about a week or so during the transition from the old buildings to the new buildings.
EPIC Companies is building a five-story mixed-use development called Blu on Broadway in Minot. This development will have 8,800-square-foot of main floor commercial space, four levels of a total of 42 multi-family housing units that will range in price from $550 to $900. Other planned features include underground parking, outdoor recreation space, and a community video board, according to the company’s website. Its commercial side will focus office space and customer-serve businesses such as a coffee shop, spa, fast-casual dining. Scheduled completion date is sometime in 2021.
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IMAGE: HGA ARCHITECTScontinued From page 21
Construction Engineers also is working to complete a remodel of the Chester Fritz Library on the University of North Dakota campus. The project is a 50,000-square-foot, four-story building that is slated for completion sometime this summer.
UND is spending $15 million for the upgrade, Dunn said.
The multi-phase project started in early 2019 and has included some “real heavy remodeling” including a new entry and staircase, which “will really open up the circulation,” he said. “It’s going to be a whole new entry off of University Avenue as well.” The reading room will look different, the main floor and basement will receive attention and a tower will be built on the quad.
“There are all kinds of varying levels of renovation going on, some of it heavy,” he said.
Trinity Health began planning a new health care campus and medical district more than twenty years ago, with the work starting in earnest in 2009 under the guidance of CEO John M. Kutch, according to Trinity spokesperson Karim Tripodina.
“We purchased land west of the Minot Family YMCA along 37th Avenue Southwest to support that strategy. As planning continued, we sought and received approval from the Ward County Board of Commissioners to issue up to $380 million in Health Care Revenue Bonds in December 2017 to start the next phase.”
The project is expected to wrap up in 2022, which will be followed by several months of workflow and equipment testing before staff and patients move into the facility – a date, that Tripodina said, has not yet been finalized.
“We are not rushing the process, but instead making certain that we have the right blocks in all the right places as we proceed.
“We are currently constructing a new county road department shop in Halliday,” Mellmer, of JE Dunn Constriction, said. “The new shop will be approximately 15,000 square feet and develop a 15-acre site.”
He said the project is the first phase of a program that will include upgrades to a recreation center/campground that is adjacent to Lake Sakakawea, another shop in Killdeer and future work for the sheriff’s office.
The campus will sit on 43 acres with an additional 32 acres directly south for future growth and, once finished, will total 790,000 square feet. This includes a 594,000-square-foot hospital facility and an attached 196,000-square-foot medical office building.
Mellmer of JE Dunn said construction operations are starting to ramp up and should be in full swing by mid-summer. The goal is to enclose the exterior of the building and continue with sitework throughout the summer and move inside for the winter.
New England Public School in New England, N.D., will be 32,000 square-feet larger than the existing 50,000-squarefoot building when an expansion project is complete sometime over the next year or so.
The project by JE Dunn currently is in the pre-construction and pre-planning phase, Mellmer said. The expansion will include classrooms, commons area, cafeteria, band and locker rooms, kitchen and a multi-use gymnasium.
Groundbreaking will take place this fall and construction is expected to take about 11 months to complete.
Last year Construction Engineers started new construction of a 600-student capacity elementary school, called Fox Hills, in Watford City. The 80,000 square-foot building will be two stories that sits on 30 acres.
The school, which costs $37 million to build, will be open to students by September, Dunn said. The company serves as the prime construction manager on the job.
“What’s really cool is that the learning commons is set up adjacent to classrooms and allows for group learning,” he said.
The facility also includes a modern media center, and modern features in the special education rooms, music and band rooms. And because it sits adjacent to the high school it will incorporate designs that bring “a lot of continuity” to the site.
He said: “It’s a very comprehensive school facility for 600 students.”
AtAckerman-Estvold,ourarchitectureteamworkstirelesslytotake yourvisionandmakeitreality.Fromconceptualization,schematic design,and3Dvisualizations,all thewaythroughtoconstruction documentsandadministr ation,ourteamofprofessionalarchitectsand designer shavethe experienceandcommitment yourprojectneedsto achieve yourdreams.Letusmakeyourdream areality.
FARGO, N.D. • A classy addition to downtown Fargo continues to become even classier by the month as Enclave Companies continues with a multi-phase project called Uptown & Main.
The project’s genesis stretches back a few years to about 2016-17, when Enclave started master planning the site and its many amenities. The first phase started in spring 2018 and was completed last August, said Vice President Derek Hoeschen.
Hoeschen said it’s a unique project to the area, which is being developed near 26th Avenue and 32d Avenue along Veterans Boulevard.
“It’s more of a lifestyle-driven development that encompasses shopping, living, dining facilities to give it that Mainstreet feel,” he said. “It’s the first lifestyle center in the area. … We wanted to create a community where people can work and shop and dine and live all in one place.”
He said it falls in line with the company’s priorities, which is to “create spaces that inspire people to do their best work and live their best life. And we really tried to make Uptown & Main embody that.”
While the building has many attractions and amenities – such as a jewelry store and McAlister’s Deli, to name a couple – there’s something else that stands out.
“Probably the most unique feature is the creation of what’s called Uptown Way,” he said, “which is a street with wide pedestrian walkways on either side of the street that meanders through the businesses on the Uptown & Main property.”
Viewed from the storefronts, Hoeschen said, this “creates much less of an autocentric approach and is more friendly to pedestrians who traverse between the business while enjoying the outdoor space.”
While work continues over multiple phases, don’t expect to see the entire project completed for a while. He said the work will span several years.
BY ANDREW WEEKS
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. • The 25-member team of Architecture Incorporated, a South Dakotabased company with offices in Sioux City and Rapid City, keeps busy with many projects throughout the year.
For these professionals, which include 12 registered architects, five interior designers and 13 LEED accredited professionals and green associates, going to work each day is a positive venture when they know they’re helping other people to succeed.
“Our architects enjoy working with communities large and small to create spaces that make everyone’s lives better,” said Lisa VandeVoort, the company’s principal business manager. She said the w ork of her team includes projects in South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Nebraska, “though through our relationship with Sanford Health we have had the opportunity to be involved in projects around the world.”
VandeVoort, along with Andrew Eitreim, Vice President and Principal Architect, and Mitchell Aldinger, Principal Architect, answered a number of questions for Prairie Business about their business and the architecture industry.
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Lisa VandeVoort: With the retirement of one of our partners, Elizabeth Squyer, on May 1 we will be transitioning to a leadership team of eight people. Including Ms. Squyer, the partners have a combined 219 years of experience with Architecture Incorporated. This is a testament to the quality of our firm and the strong team of diverse professionals running the business.
Andrew Eitreim: At this point I don’t know if new trends have been created but it has brought certain discussion to the forefront. Indoor air quality and HVAC system design, durable interior finishes that can be easily cleaned and sanitized, design and layout of office environments, etc.
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Eitreim: We have always tried to utilize the state-of-the-art technology within our office, the benefits of which are two-fold: our staff is able to work efficiently and effectively and it allows us to provide the best design and service to our clients.
LOCATED AT THE GATEWAY TO DOWNTOWN SIOUX FALLS, FIRST PREMIER BANK’S NEW CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS, A 76,000 SQUARE-FOOT BUILDING, INCORPORATES SOUTH DAKOTA MATERIALS AND IS DESIGNED TO BE WELCOMING AND COMFORTABLE TO CUSTOMERS, AND INCLUDES A TWO-STORY LOBBY. ARCHITECTURE INCORPORATED ASSISTED THE OWNER IN SITE SELECTION FOR THE NEW BUILDING. IN MAY, THE COMPANY SAID THE DESIGN TEAM WAS FINISHING THE FINAL BID PACKAGE AND CONSTRUCTION IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETE IN SPRING 2021. RIGHT, ARCHITECTURE INCORPORATED TEAMED WITH DLR GROUP TO DESIGN A 21ST CENTURY HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE SIOUX FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT. THE 327,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING CONSISTS OF THREE DIFFERENT LEVELS AND INCLUDES A COMPETITION GYMNASIUM WITH SEATING FOR 2,000, AMONG MANY OTHER AMENITIES. THE $74.7 MILLION PROJECT IS SLATED TO BE COMPLETE AND READY FOR OCCUPANCY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 2021/2022 ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR. IMAGES: COURTESY OF ARCHITECTURE INC.
We processlanddevelopmentcasesfor rezoningproperties,obtainingspecialpermits, andconditionalusesfor aspecificlanduse.If youhave aproject requiringspecialsite developmentapprovalsorexteriorbuildingdesignapproval,wecanhelpmanagethisprocess.
Eitreim: We have the technology in place to allow our staff to do their job remotely. This may mean work is getting done outside of the typical 8 a.m.-5 p.m. workday but we understand that our team is dealing with personal circumstances through all of this as well and that takes priority.
Our team has been great at communicating and being willing to do what it takes to ensure our projects are still delivered to our high expectation and that our clients are provided the service they expect from us.
Eitreim: Busy! We are typically managing several projects at any given time – each at different phases of design or construction. So you may have design meetings with an owner, coordination meetings with engineering consultants and a construction progress meeting at the job site. In between meetings you are collaborating with our internal team to keep projects progressing.
Eitreim: This is such a fluidly changing situation that it is hard to predict what the outcome will be. I do know that the great thing about living in the Midwest is that we care for our neighbors and our communities and are willing to do what is necessary for the benefit of all.
VandeVoort: We have a great office environment and are a very social group. Architecture by nature is a very collaborative process. In reaction to the pandemic we have had to modify our process to work from home. After the pandemic is over we anticipate that staff will want to return back to the office for a sense of normalcy. Working from home will be an option when the situation calls for it. We have always tried to be flexible with our staff and will continue to do so.
Mitchell Aldinger: We are just getting started on the design of the new Health Sciences Building at the University of South Dakota. Given the current pandemic it could not be timelier to be creating a facility to better educate future health care professionals. The project brings together eight departments that had been scattered about campus providing an environment that supports a holistic approach to health while increasing opportunities for interprofessional experiences. The project supports the goal of the University of South Dakota’s School of Health Sciences to improve the quality of care throughout the state and region.
Eitreim: The path to becoming a licensed architect is a challenging one. It requires sacrifice and a lot of hard work and dedication. After finishing your degree you are required to work under a licensed architect to fulfill NCARB experience requirements and take a series of licensing exams. From start to finish the process on average takes seven to 10 years. It is a long process but there are a lot of opportunities and different areas of architecture to work in. It is a very satisfying and rewarding career.
Aldinger: The project has just started schematic design and will continue with design through early 2021. Construction will begin in spring 2021 and occupancy is anticipated in fall 2022.
Eitreim: We get to work with a great team of talented and dedicated professionals who love what they do and want to make a difference. Together we get to work on great projects for great clients.
Eitreim: In order to pursue professional licensing a bachelor’s or master’s degree from an accredited university is required. There are several accredited programs in the region.
Eitreim: Architecture Incorporated has established itself as a respected and trusted partner to clients throughout the region, as well as an employer who places great emphasis on building a first class team whose primary goal is to uphold the high level of design and service that our clients have come to expect. We are proud of the many successful projects we have completed, the contributions those projects have made to the communities they are located in, and the many wonderful relationships created along the way.
Architecture Incorporated was established in 1976 with the objective of providing a high level of design excellence and to play a major role in improving the quality of our environment. Our firm has been in business now for 44 years and our objectives are still the same.
It is always a good time to plan for the future – and that includes business succession and estate planning, according to Skyler Johnson of Sage Legal.
“You’re never too young to start planning,” she said. That’s sage advice, indeed.
Johnson specializes in estate planning at the firm her husband, Mark Johnson, started in 2014 in East Grand Forks, Minn. What started out as a type of hobby or part time venture for her husband, who practices business law, turned into something else entirely for Johnson.
After her husband was elected to the state Legislature, Johnson found a way to promote the business and serve clients through means that, more often than not, were unheard of in the legal professionals business: using videoconferencing and other technology to serve clients. More recently, however, other law firms, because of the coronavirus pandemic and out of necessity with social distancing orders, followed suit.
Since Johnson was ahead of the curve on the technology point, the pandemic affected her and her husband’s firm in a different way: Now she knows she has to come up with something new to make their firm different from the crowd. ***
When Mark Johnson opened his law practice, he expected to devote time to it but his scheduled kept getting busier, especially after being elected to the Legislature.
Lucky for him, his wife was already thinking about what she could do for the business.
Johnson officially joined her husband’s law firm in January 2019, but long before that she had been tossing around ideas different than what other firms were doing. What she noticed was that most traditional firms still took out ads in the yellow pages and the larger firms rented billboards, she said. Many had mahogany walls and an air of prestige.
She wondered, “How could we grab market share in a city where there’s a different law office on every street corner? And if we needed a large office building with mahogany walls, how could we afford it as a growing firm?”
Johnson said she didn’t want to compete with the larger firms in town.
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“That seemed like a losing proposition,” she said. “I wanted to go after an untapped market – everyday people who needed a legal plan, but were price-conscious and didn’t feel comfortable with the mahogany walled firms.”
She turned to estate planning, something she said affects everybody, especially since seven out of every 10 Americans do not have a prepared will. Her husband still does business law, but only as his time permits between his busy duties with the Legislature.
“Young families want the peace of mind of naming a legal guardian for their young children; empty-nesters want to transfer their property in the easiest way possible, so their children aren’t left with a mess after they are gone,” she explained. “I wanted to appeal to the families that weren’t likely to go to a traditional firm, yet needed what I had to offer. But how could I reach this group, aside from billboards and the yellow pages?”
The answer was in front of her the whole time – on her phone or at the computer or tablet. If she was going to connect with a younger crowd, she needed to use the same tools they were using. They were the same tools she, as a 32-year-old mom,
using.
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Johnson and her husband have a traditional office they use when clients wish to visit or have papers to sign, but much of their work takes place outside of those walls by means of virtual visits, email conversations and text messages with clients.
It proved a successful business model and put Johnson ahead of the curve when the pandemic happened.
Johnson isn’t being arrogant when she said, “I have completely transformed its business model.” She’s only stating the obvious.
Now, as more law firms grasp the benefits of using technology in their practices, Johnson is a little baffled. She understands why some might be using it more than they used to, such as video tools to meet with clients during the pandemic, but she’s surprised that the attorneys she’s talked with are saying they will likely keep using video because generally “the legal field is very slow to change.”
“Honestly,” she said with good humor, “part of me is a little disappointed that these traditional firms will be operating in a tech-forward way because that was a huge selling point for us before the pandemic and made Sage Legal stand out. But now I’m brainstorming new ways that we can be forward thinking. … I’m just going to be thinking about the next big innovation in the legal field.” ***
Johnson isn’t the only one who said the legal profession is slow at adopting change.
Jessica Merchant, 39, an attorney with Olson & Burns in Minot, N.D., said much the same thing – but with a caveat. Yes, she said, firms often are slow to change but, at least when it comes to things like technology, there is a reason.
“I think that, especially in the legal profession, it’s hard because we want to make sure that all of our client information is protected. … I tend to think change is slow to a certain extent because before we switch everything lock, stock and barrel, we want to make sure that we have proper cyber security, that all the metadata and everything like that is protected.”
In essence, Merchant echoed what the American Bar Association has said. For those lawyers who choose to embrace technology in their firms, the ABA urges them to identify how they best can communicate with their clients under challenging circumstances while being “mindful of their obligations to keep abreast of technology relevant to legal practice.” It said caution is paramount, but that lawyers “must embrace the technology … needed to do so. Lawyers should also recognize the limits of their technology expertise and retain consultants where necessary to ensure that client matters are handled appropriately and securely.”
Apparently, there is such a thing as “Zoom bombing,” a type of cyber-attack on unprotected videoconferences. “Alexa and Google Home are similarly vulnerable to hackers, and lawyers must ensure
that any discussion of confidential information takes place while these off-the-payroll personal assistants are unplugged or out of their range.”
While many attorneys and court systems will likely be more at ease holding conferences and hearings by phone or video after being forced to do that by the virus, that doesn’t mean everyone will be doing it. Merchant views using technology with a client a little differently. She said there’ll still be lawyers who stray from using video after the pandemic and that she likely will be one of them.
For Olson & Burns, video meetings have been adopted to help serve clients during the pandemic, but Merchant said she will not likely keep using video tools – or at least not as often – once things improve and the office’s lawyers begin again to meet with clients in person. In-person visits, in Merchant’s opinion, are much more meaningful than video meetings.
“I typically meet with people for estate planning for about an hour and 40 minutes. That might seem like a really long time but part of that is it takes them about that long to trust you. And it’s hard to get that connection with the computer,” she said. “When I meet with people they get a good sense of who I am.”
She can also better get to know her clients, view their body language, see how they react to topics. That’s not always the case over a video chat, especially when someone might have home-based distractions that divert their attention from the discussion, such as children running around or dogs barking in the background.
“I think if you can go to the location with the law firm, and you’re sitting there like this was the intended purpose for the afternoon. I think it’s easier to focus a little bit.” ***
Johnson and Merchant may have contrary views about using technology in their practices, but each has found what works best for them. And despite the challenges that the pandemic has caused many businesses, both have been able to keep busy serving their clients.
February is usually a busy month for estate planners because it’s soon after the new year when people start thinking about resolutions, Johnson said, noting she’s been keeping busy most of the year.
Merchant has been keeping busy too, noting that the pandemic has heightened people’s awareness about having a plan in place for their families if the unthinkable were to happen.
“Unfortunately, I think because of the pandemic, people are a little bit fearful of the unknown, maybe a little fearful of the future. A way to maybe deal with that is to have some sort of plan in writing for their families,” Merchant said. “When I do estate planning, I typically also do a power of attorney and health care directive … documents your family can use if you are incapacitated or unable to make those decisions for yourself.”
When is a good time to make a business or estate plan? Now – and for those who already have a plan, it might be time to review and modify it.
“Typically, it makes sense to have some sort of estate plan,” Merchant said. “A lot of times people think they don’t have anything that they need to worry about. But sometimes it’s just the peace of mind that
everything is taken care of and streamlined. Unfortunately, we all have an expiration date and we don’t know when that will be. … There’s never a set time to plan but typically, earlier is better.”
Parents with young children, for instance, should consider guardian issues if the unlikely were to happen; a young married couple should evaluate what they might want to draw up in a will; parents with older children should consider topics at their age, including business succession planning, and empty-nesters should evaluate their will and what other plans they should make or revise.
In essence, while law firms may be slow at adopting change themselves, they urge their clients to not procrastinate and instead make a plan today.
Don’t be slow at planning your business or family’s future, Johnson said – just as she knows she’ll have to come up with her next big idea sooner rather than later if she’s to stay ahead of the local competition.
“I don’t have any ideas just yet,” she said about what she might do next to stand out from the crowd. “I’ve been busy with clients, but when things quiet down I will spend more time brainstorming. That’s my plan.”
DCN welcomes two new hires FARGO, N.D. • DCN (Dakota Carrier Network) has hired Ross Branstner as outside plant technician and Wendy Schweitzer as marketing manager.
Based out of the Fargo office, Branstner is responsible for the day-to-day process of construction, operation and maintenance of DCN’s outside plant facilities. He has more than 18 years of industry experience and earned a degree in telecommunications engineering from Northwest Tech-
International Peace Garden hires facilities manager and specialty horticulturist DUNSEITH, N.D. • The International Peace Garden recently welcomed two new hires, Meredith Swanson as Sunken Garden horticulturist and Joe Malaterre as facilities manager. Malaterre takes over for long-time IPG employee Keith Burton, who retired in 2019. The horticulture position has been vacant since early 2019.
Malaterre took the reins of the facilities position in early March. As facilities manager, he is in charge of maintaining the vast IPG infrastructure, including more than 150 buildings’ mechanicals and other related projects.
Malaterre comes to the IPG with an array of skills and education in general construction, mechanicals and facilities maintenance. He most recently served as site supervisor and maintenance technician for the Dunseith Border Station for the past eight years.
Swanson has a master’s degree in horticulture from North Dakota State University with an emphasis on ornamental plant improvement and experimental design. She will be responsible for not only the general care and maintenance of Sunken Garden, but will be working with the director of horticulture, Johannes Olwage, to execute and expand shortand long-term plans for horticulture development in the Sunken Garden and ancillary areas like the edible pollinator garden.
nical College in Wadena, Minn.
As marketing manager, Schweitzer is responsible for creating, publishing and measuring the effectiveness of DCN’s external marketing, advertising and public relations initiatives, and internal communication. She works from the Bismarck office. Schweitzer has more than 25 years of experience in marketing as well as public, community, and media relations. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Mary, Bismarck.
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A native of Grand Forks, N.D., Meyer brings more than 20 years of experience in accounting and finance. Most recently, he served as accounting manager at Winmark Corp. in Minneapolis. Meyer attained a degree in both finance and accounting from the University of North Dakota, where he also received an MBA.
In his role at Lux Communities, Meyer will lead the accounting department, manage the financial close processes, budgeting and assists with IT governance.
optionsatNDSCS.With98% placement* and high-payingsalaries, an exciting future arrivesinjusttwo years.
What is something new that your organization has done because of the pandemic that it likely will continue doing when things improve?
James Hagen Secretary South Dakota Department of Tourism Sioux Falls, S.D.
We have a few team members who work remotely across South Dakota. Due to COVID-19, we have implemented more Zoom calls than we have in the past. I believe that we will continue to utilize video conferencing for team meetings, small catch-up meetings, and daily briefings, even once we are past this pandemic. Because our team culture is so important to us, these face-to-face interactions with our staff play a critical role in ensuring we maintain a positive work culture and sense of connection between one another.
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of many protocols and policies that dentists already had implemented in our offices. Dentists are highly trained in infectious diseases as well as health and safety protocols. This pandemic highlighted the importance of our dental teams and medical teams working together. Moments like these drive us to better ourselves and up our game. The health and safety of my patients and my staff are at the heart of what I do. Dentists already had very strict sterilization practices, so we didn’t have to add many extra processes or protocols to meet the new recommendations from the American Dental Association and Center for Disease Control, but we have improved our PPE and made changes throughout the office to help people stay healthier and happier. Oral health is the gateway to overall health and dental care is essential so these extra steps are worth it to keep everyone safe. There is some really fun PPE out there and a lot of great companies who switched to producing very high quality PPE. I think the biggest thing that will remain in place in my office after the pandemic is that I am really going to focus on American made products and hope to support these amazing companies and their efforts to increase our supply of PPE and other needed items.
Dr. Maria “Duffy” Meyer DDS & Owner High Plains Dental Dickinson, N.D.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Baker Boy has embraced the efficiencies of video calling software such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. The rapid acceptance of these technologies within our company tells me they are here to stay.
When the pandemic eventually subsides, we plan to continue holding meetings using these video calling services. Not only are they wonderful cost-saving tools, but they contribute to a rise in productivity and improved thought collaboration that can be attributed to face-to-face interaction as opposed to a faceless phone call.
Our sales team members live in three different time zones. Prior to COVID-19, this team rarely saw their colleagues face-to-face. As stayat-home orders set in, they became the first to embrace video calling technology as a way to discuss sales strategies and, more importantly, meet with their customers.
Some apparent proof that video calls are here to stay was during a recent monthly update. It had always been a sit-down meeting that drew around 15 to 20 employees to a conference room. In our first attempt at holding the meeting using Microsoft Teams, more than 40 employees participated. We expect to continue using these tools long after the pandemic has passed.
Guy Moos President Baker Boy Dickinson, N.D. Jesse Fonkert Executive Director Lincoln & Minnehaha County Economic Development Associations
Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Lincoln and Minnehaha County Economic Development Associations serve 14 member communities around the city of Sioux Falls along with Lincoln and Minnehaha counties and a variety of private partners. Each month, our board meetings are held in Sioux Falls. For some members, traveling to Sioux Falls can take up to 45 minutes which negatively impacts attendance and participation. Since the start of the pandemic, we have been meeting via Zoom and our attendance rate has drastically improved.
While it took some time to get used to, the general feeling has been positive. Going forward, we will make attendance via Zoom an option for all board meetings and expand the frequency of our committee meetings. While tragic, the pandemic has forced us to innovate and find creative ways to continue operations. Many were unaccustomed to meeting via video but now our board members are becoming experts!
With total nonfarm payroll employment falling by 20.5 million in April, the unemployment rate rose to 14.7%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on May 8. The changes in these measures reflect the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to contain it.
Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, after declining by 881,000 in March. The April over-themonth decline is the largest in the history of these data and brought employment to its lowest level since early 2011. Employment fell sharply in all major industry sectors, with particularly heavy job losses in leisure and hospitality.
Source: U.S.
U.S. airlines carried 51% fewer scheduled service passengers in March 2020 than in March 2019, according to preliminary data filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics by 24 airlines that carry 99% of the passengers, dropping to the lowest level of air travel in almost two decades. “The 51% decline in the number of passengers from March 2019 was the largest yearto-year decrease on record,” according to the report. “The airlines carried slightly more total, domestic and international passengers in March 2020 than in September 2001, the month of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”
*March 2020 data is preliminary
Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The decline in nonfarm business sector labor productivity in the first quarter of 2020 was the largest quarterly decline since the fourth quarter of 2015, when output per hour decreased 2.9%. It reflects the largest decline in output since the first quarter of 2009 (−6.5%) and the largest decline in hours worked since the third quarter of 2009 (−4.4%). NOTE: Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked by all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.
