Honoring Excellence

Iknow a number of powerful, successful and strong women who are leaders in their careers and leaders in their families. Women who balance their professional and personal lives with grace and class. One of the Top 25 Women in Business named in this issue of Prairie Business says it’s impossible to be an effective leader at work without maintaining a balanced home life. That’s true for men and women.

For the third year, we are pleased to honor the 25 women we’ve chosen to recognize for their career achievements, community involvement, volunteerism and merit. It’s always difficult to whittle down the nominations to 25. This year, yet again, all the candidates were impressive and noteworthy. If someone you nominated is not on this list, please nominate her again next year. Our list of excellent female role models this year includes bank executives, trade group leaders, hospital presidents, university presidents, business owners and more. Congratulations to all of you. You’re sharing the spotlight with admirable peers. See the whole list starting on page 28.

Also included in this issue is a feature story on a new technology in the medical industry that opens the door to solving the rural health care crisis. CareSpan updates and improves telehealth networks already in place, and South Dakota State University’s College of Nursing is the first school to begin training its students to use it. The platform stores its patients’ charts and medical history, allowing access at any time from anywhere with an internet connection, facilitates communication between physicians to allow for remote second opinions, uses digital equipment to read vital signs and qualifies physicians to prescribe treatment and medications based on remote health exams instead of strictly in person. The sources in the article are passionate and committed to the technology they’re using and say this system is the future of health care. Find out more about it on page 46.

Prairie News includes an interesting article on the US. Supreme Court’s decision to block the clean power plan, which has been a thorn in the side of coal-powered plants since the final rule was released with emissions cuts four times larger than those in the draft rule. We’ll tell you what one regional cooperative has to say about the rule and what the SCOTUS block means moving forward. Prairie News starts on page 17.

The Construction Corner features an enormous project ongoing at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D. The three-phase endeavor with a $272 million price tag will result in a residence hall, a fieldhouse and a campus center, in the first part of phase one alone. The work will be ongoing for the next 15 years. Read about it on page 50.

Business Insider profiles the CEO of Flint Group and AdFarm, Roger Reierson. Forty years after starting what he thought was a short-term job, Reierson has guided company expansions, kept up with evolving technologies and stayed at the forefront of advertising and marketing trends to ensure his companies’ success. Read about his intriguing accomplishments, including being installed as development chief of a region in Ghana, starting on page 24.

This is a solid edition of Prairie Business with important news, innovative projects and technologies, and inspiring people. Enjoy. PB

KORRIE WENZEL, Publisher

LISA GIBSON, Editor

KAYLA PRASEK, Staff Writer

BETH BOHLMAN, Circulation Manager

KRIS WOLFF, Layout Design, Ad Design

Sales Director:

JOHN FETSCH

701.212.1026 jfetsch@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

Sales:

NICHOLE ERTMAN eastern ND/western MN 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. Qualifying 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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