Prairie Business March 2017

WINNERS ON PAGE 30

WE DON’T HIRE WOMEN AT JLG

Men, either, for that matter. JLG is filled with people like Michelle Mongeon Allen, who grew up in Towner and brought small town sensibility to the big city as President of AIA Minnesota. And Linda McCracken-Hunt, born and raised in Philadelphia, who designed the exterior of the new US Bank Stadium and holds the highest professional honor awarded by American Institute of Architects. And Patri Acevedo, a Rapid City transplant from San Juan, whose clients love her so much they invite her to their cattle branding parties – a high honor out west. You don’t have to be a man or a woman to work at JLG; you simply have to be the best.

Amanda Kosior Director of Marketing

Michelle Mongeon Allen, AIA, LEED AP Chief Operating Officer

Angela Bolonchuk, PHR, SHRM-CP Director of Human Resources

Nicole Washburn, AIA, LEED AP BD+C Director of Operations

Tracy Jordre, AIA, LEED AP Principal Studio Leader

Linda McCracken-Hunt, FAIA Principal Market Leader

Patri Acevedo, AIA, CPHC Principal Market Leader

25 years of

LOW CHANGE ORDERS

For 25 years, Obermiller Nelson Engineering (ONE), has delivered success to our clients by providing professional, detailed Mechanical, Electrical and Civil design and coordination for building systems.

Our firm boasts some of the industry’s lowest design-related change order percentages. We accomplish low change orders as a team because we communicate and we work hard. We communicate openly and honestly with one another in-house via our design software, team whiteboard meetings, and many other channels. We communicate with our clients throughout the project so we’re always on the same page. Our designers are encouraged to attend project meetings, opening up communication lines. We’re also willing to do what it takes to make our clients happy. At ONE, we’re willing to uphold the standards we’ve set for ourselves.

Unmanned aerial systems have a growing influence on many industries. See how they’re transforming engineering, starting on page 42.

If you set the bar at competence, how do you reach excellence?

PUBLISHER

March Means Women in Business

When we wade through our pool of Top 25 Women in Business candidates each year, we take into account multiple factors. We look at career accomplishments, yes, but we also evaluate community and professional involvement, volunteerism, commitment to local or regional causes, and awards or recognition both inside and outside professional lives. Our editorial staff members usually draw the conclusion that we aren’t personally doing enough to stay active in our own communities. These women set the bar high. Find this year’s winners starting on page 30. They’re impressive and inspiring.

Also in this March issue, we explore the use of unmanned aerial systems in engineering. Our sources say the technology will transform the industry similarly to how GPS did when it was introduced. The possibilities are exciting and most engineering firms are only scratching the surface of their capabilities. Turn to page 42.

In Around the Office, we step inside The 701 coworking space in Grand Forks. It held its grand opening Feb. 23 and already has 17 tenants occupying its collaborative, modern location. Take a look, starting on page 50. Business Insider features the director of the Minot International Airport in Minot, North Dakota, which has been operating in its new, $40 million terminal for about a year. The Startup Line profiles a new business that’s like Uber for parcel delivery. As always, Insights & Intuition, Prairie News and By the Numbers are in these pages, too. Enjoy March. PB

CIRCULATION MANAGER BETH BOHLMAN

LAYOUT DESIGN, AD DESIGN SARA SLABY JASON MAGSTADT KRIS WOLFF

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.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subscriptions are free www.prairiebusinessmagazine.com

ADDRESS CORRECTIONS

Prairie Business magazine Box 6008 Grand Forks, ND 58206-6008

Beth Bohlman: bbohlman@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

ONLINE www.prairiebusinessmagazine.com

Build Communities and ROI

By Joanna Slominski

nobody likes outsiders — they are strangers, and it requires effort to get to know and trust them. This is a barrier businesses face when they enter a new market, community or neighborhood. Mortenson often faces this problem. Even though the company has built projects throughout North Dakota for the past 40 years, it’s often still seen as “new in town.” In fact, every time Mortenson starts a new construction project, it enters a new community — whether a greenfield site just outside of town or a bustling city block. In the 60-plus years Mortenson has been in business, it has established a

community outreach approach that works in each new situation, and has reaped great returns in long-term relationships, repeat business and community goodwill.

Among the driving forces that have helped Mortenson build stronger communities are these tenets:

Start Before the Beginning

The commitment to build community starts long before day one on a construction site. Before Mortenson enters a community, it researches and determines where its company values match that community — perhaps it’s in education, healthful living, sustainable energy or other areas. We ask our customers how we can help build their communities in these areas.

For example, in Hebron, North Dakota, before construction started on the 104-megawatt Sunflower Wind Project, the team discovered that investing in education was a top priority for the community. The project team visited Hebron Public School to share the benefits of wind energy and provide background on how wind turbines are built, and raised more than $25,000 to donate to the school system for four priority projects: LED signs to inform the community of school activities, Microsoft Surface laptops, improved wireless access and additional library books.

Look for the Personal Connection

Some of the most enthusiastic community efforts are those that originate right within our own ranks. For example, with the Sanford Medical Center Fargo, the team found inspiration from a worker on-site who benefited from the March of Dimes during a difficult time in her life. After sharing her story and challenging the entire project team — work crews, vendors, subcontractors and Sanford Health — the team quadrupled its goal and raised $24,000.

Joanna Slominksi CONSTRUCTION EXECUTIVE MORTENSON

Listen to the Neighborhood

Sometimes, building community becomes as simple as sharing. This happened on the Dickinson Middle School project in Dickinson, North Dakota. The project team used virtual reality technology to give the customer a sneak peek of the new building before it was constructed. Our team invited students and teachers to the construction office so they could get an insider’s view of where they will be studying next fall when the building opens. The virtual tours were received with enthusiasm by students and teachers alike, as they could see everything from their lockers to science labs, gym floors and lunchrooms. (See for yourself at www.mortenson.com/company/news/ video-library/project-videos/Dickinson-Virtual-Tour.)

Find Your Niche to Make a Difference

Another way to build community is to assess how your company’s assets match your customer’s needs, and then humanize it. At the West Fargo Public Schools Hockey Arena construction site in West Fargo, North Dakota, Mortenson focused on building the best possible hockey facility. In addition, a partnership with West Fargo Public Schools created a construction internship for a high school science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) student. It’s still too early to tell, but the end result might be a great career start and a loyal new employee.

What is the ROI?

The secret to businesses building communities is to focus on core values, engage employees, listen to the community, and find special niches. Whether it’s making meals at Ronald McDonald House, participating in United Way activities, or a successful March of Dimes fundraiser, Mortenson has found that there are many options to build communities on every project.

While many of these stories warm the heart, they have also proven to make smart business sense. Across the company, more than 80 percent of our business is with repeat customers. We credit much of this customer loyalty to our commitment to start each project with a strong local partnership that further builds the community in which we are working — and in the end, that helps everyone, whether they’re wearing construction boots or business suits. PB

Checkup CONDUCT A BUSINESS

By John L. Brown II

Making predictions is never easy, especially for small business owners and managers. Unlike their larger counterparts, small firms rarely have the resources to monitor and take corrective action for every trend and issue. Even entrepreneurs who’ve experienced numerous business cycles face new circumstances that confound their instincts and knowledge.

While there’s no crystal ball that accurately predicts the future, small business owners and managers can take steps to help their enterprises endure the worst of times and take advantage of the best of times. Perform a small business health checkup to determine if your business is ready for the coming year.

Step one is to talk to your banker about your company’s financial status. Lenders offer experience in advising entrepreneurs on issues specific to their businesses and industries. Have them review your year-end financial statements and offer an honest appraisal. Talk about establishing a line of credit, which could stabilize your cash flow position in 2017.

Next, strengthen relationships with creditors. It may be time to renegotiate terms or change payment amounts on overdue bills. Overdue bills, and inconsistent payment practices, won’t help your longterm credit position. What’s more, your creditors could be experiencing financial difficulties as well. Any flexibility will hinge on whether they perceive you as a reliable partner, or a risk they want to eliminate.

Third, keep a close watch on your receivables. Review who owes your company money and make sure they’re meeting all terms. Be firm when dealing with problem accounts, but also remain willing to negotiate when appropriate. With a little encouragement, a struggling customer could become a long-term source of income. Remember, the longer an account receivable ages, the harder it becomes to collect on that debt.

Fourth, make sure all expenditures are justified and contribute to the financial health of your business. You might find it necessary to

John L. Brown II SOUTH DAKOTA DISTRICT DIRECTOR, U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA 605.330.4243

JOHN.L.BROWN@SBA.GOV

redirect money to areas that will enhance business performance. If you carry an inventory of products, check the accuracy of your records and procedures to prevent losses. It could be helpful to adjust your order amounts to match projected sales. Today is the time to review management and employee expenses to determine if they’re justified and add value to the mission of your business.

Fifth, review your operations and expenses on a regular basis. If you currently monitor your profitability on a monthly basis, it might be a good idea to begin reviewing it on a weekly or bi-weekly basis during slow economic times. Likewise, review and update your business plan more frequently. Monthly or quarterly reviews make it easier to make adjustments and keep your business on track.

Finally, step up your marketing efforts. Many business owners mistakenly see marketing as a luxury when money is tight. In reality, this is the time when increased marketing could be needed. Along with reassuring current customers that you’re still there to serve them, marketing can help you reach new consumers who will grow your business now and into the future.

Check all of the business finance and counseling programs, as well as other resources, available from the U.S. Small Business Administration by visiting www.sba.gov. PB

CONGRATULATIONS TO LAURIE TWETEN

Broker Owner of Coldwell Banker Forks Real Estate for being named as one of the top 25 women in business.

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

ALSO NAMED:

North Dakota Real trends #1 Agent in North Dakota 2015 and 2016

Grand forks Herald People’s Choice Best Realtor 2012-2016

Coldwell Banker Top-Producing Agent in North Dakota 2015 and 2016

Coldwell Banker Top 10 in Western Region for Number of Listings

Laurie Tweten 2880 19th Ave. S., Grand Forks, ND forksrealestate.com

Lthome4u@gmail.com Cell 701-739-1014

Investment is Critical to a Strong Economy

By Carey Bretsch

Good, reliable transportation to rural areas is paramount to the viability and livability of small towns. Under the leadership of Gov. Dennis Daugaard, South Dakota aggressively pursued a widespread rehabilitation of state railroads, particularly those serving rural areas of the state.

The recently completed Phase 2 rehabilitation of the Mitchell to Rapid City Railroad (MRCII), upgraded a 42.6-mile section of track between Chamberlain and Presho. This project is an extension of a previous project that reconstructed 61.6 miles of railroad from Mitchell to Chamberlain. Together, the two railroad projects cost over $55 million and generated over $90 million in additional private construction.

Most areas served by the MRCII are farming communities that have seen a reduction in job availability with increased mechanization of farming operations. All counties impacted by the MRCII project have seen population decreases in the past 20 years as job opportunities become more scarce.

Railroads are an attraction for new businesses in rural areas. Transportation is one of the most important location considerations for new businesses, along with other infrastructure such as sewer, water and power. Many of the types of businesses that generally locate in rural areas must be able to move raw products in and move processed products out, and railroads are a cost-effective means of moving large volumes great distances.

But there are other benefits to the MRCII. Construction produced an estimated 130,000 hours for labor. Private investment totalling about $90 million brought projects to the area that contributed an estimated 80 construction jobs, 10 to 12 full-time jobs and many parttime positions.

New grain facilities that were located along the railroad’s access areas had a dramatic impact on the economy. Grain prices increased an estimated 10 to 30 cents per bushel because of a reduction in transportation costs. Along the length of this railroad, that accounts for up to $20 million in additional annual revenue paid directly to the producers.

Transportation investment is critical to a strong economy. Highways, bridges, railroads, transit and other modes will keep the country and economy moving. The areas of the country with the best and leastexpensive infrastructure will be the most attractive to manufacturing and other industries. State and local investments need to be made in infrastructure to create jobs and keep rural areas strong and competitive. PB

ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS

Basin Electric engineer wants you to know science is an option

By Tracie Bettenhausen

“People don’t realize everyone is a scientist,” says Amanda Wangler, Basin Electric project manager III. “Science isn’t just sitting in a classroom with a textbook. It’s everywhere, it’s around us, it’s what we live every day.”

Wangler uses science when her team is determining the best foundation for a wind turbine, or the most effective system to set a transmission pole. Science and math are what she needed to focus on in school to become an electrical engineer.

And science is what Wangler is using to spark interest in kids, through her work on Gateway to Science’s board of directors.

“One of our board members is a pharmacist, which is all science. Everybody who works at the zoo is basically a scientist,” she says. “It’s so important for people to be open minded and want to learn and teach their kids that science and math are fun.”

Wangler is Basin Electric’s project manager for the AVSto-Neset transmission line construction project in western North Dakota. The 200-mile long high-voltage transmission line began construction in 2014. The North Killdeer Loop, a second line being built to help strengthen the transmission grid, began construction in 2015.

The transmission lines are needed to bring electricity to western North Dakota and eastern Montana, especially since the oil boom activity, and even though it has since slowed down.

A transmission line of this size is not the kind of project every engineer will get to tackle in his or her career, but Wangler’s experiences to now have prepared her in unique ways.

She did an internship with the city in her hometown of Worthington, MN, when she was in high school. “I tested gravel in the basement of city hall, and took concrete cylinders. I physically did a lot of the work that we now hire contractors to do,” she says.

Wangler’s dad is a civil engineer and helped her learn how stuff works. They’d play “Oregon Trail” on the home computer, and she’d want to know how the computer worked. She remembers being fascinated with sending her first email, and pulling apart her laptop in college when it wasn’t working.

She received her degree from North Dakota State University in electrical engineering, working for a consulting company before moving to Basin Electric. Wangler’s first projects at Basin Electric focused on

Amanda Wangler, Basin Electric project manager for a 200-mile long high-voltage transmission line being built in western North Dakota.

microwave towers at electrical substations. In addition to working full-time, she was able to earn her Master of Business Administration degree at University of Mary in Bismarck through Basin Electric’s education reimbursement program.

Soon, though, Basin Electric decided to build wind projects of its own, and Wangler was named project engineer. “When we built the PrairieWinds 1 project near Minot, ND, it was the largest project to be owned solely by a cooperative in the United States,” she says. “Just to have the experience of knowing what can possibly go wrong on one project helps you to know what could go wrong and will probably go wrong on the next project. So, you can be a little more proactive with looking into issues that come up, get everybody coordinated, and move forward.”

To date, the AVS-to-Neset transmission line project is on schedule and under budget, an impressive feat considering North Dakota’s extreme weather and diverse landscape.

“One thing I think about a lot is maintaining my integrity as a person. I can get really busy and bogged down, and the phone rings all the time, but I really try to focus on, if I tell somebody I’m going to call them back, I call them back,” Wangler says. “I try to put people first. I understand that no matter how strong you are, you can’t get anything done without a strong team of people. Whether it’s a big project or a small one, it’s important to understand that everyone’s job is equally as important as everyone else’s.”

Wangler came to her career in engineering in a way that’s not as rare as she’d hope. During a course on careers in high school, her teacher assigned the final paper of the semester to focus on a career of interest. Wangler chose engineering. “The counselor gave me a ‘C’ and told me, ‘You have to be smart to be an engineer,’” she says. “I think he probably understood me more than I give him credit for, because when people tell me I can’t do something, that makes me want to do it even more.”

Wangler remembers that story often as she does outreach work through Gateway to Science. “One or two people in your life can have such a big influence. … I’ve done some outreach in the middle schools in town, just trying to get

kids interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) but kind of focusing on the girls,” she says. “I show them photos of when I got to go to Italy and South Korea for my job. I try to be a positive role model to work against some of the negative experiences we can have that are so forming when we’re younger.”

She says when she walked into her first engineering class in college, there were 100 men and five or six women.

“It’s intimidating to be the only girl,” Wangler says. “I know so many successful women engineers and women in science, and it’s their passion and they love what they do. If they would have had those negative influences at the start of their life instead of the more positive ones, they might have chosen a different path.”

Waiting to get girls interested in the STEM careers until college is too late, Wangler says. “We need to target them in elementary school. By the time these girls get to middle school, they’ve fallen into gender norms. They might think they’re not good at math or science and that’s not where they should be, because that’s not where their friends are,” she says. “They’ve made that decision by fourth or fifth grade.”

Wangler wants to provide the positive experiences girls can look up to. “My goal isn’t that 100 percent of girls need to take math and science, but rather for 100 percent of girls to realize it is an option for them, and it might be a really good option,” she says.

It’s so important for people to be open minded and want to learn and teach their kids that science and math are fun.

Wangler meeting with Terrance Kringstad, Basin Electric special project - construction inspector, on the transmission line.

BUSINESSINSIDER MARCH 2017

VOL

A $40 million, 115,000-square-foot expansion at Minot International Airport in Minot, North Dakota, was designed to help handle a significant increase in travelers. The new terminal has been open for one year and the airport’s director talked with Prairie Business about the project and its impact on the facility’s operations.

Airport Director, Minot International Airport Minot, North Dakota

Q. A.

WHAT DID THE MINOT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’S RECENT LARGE EXPANSION PROJECT ENTAIL?

This was a project that was first conceived in 2011. Our new terminal opened for service in February 2016. The main components of this undertaking were the design and construction of a new passenger facility, as well as expansion of the commercial ramp. This, of course, meant planning for new roadways, parking facilities and all of the associated infrastructure required to support our new operation. Once we were able to occupy the new facility, we needed to make plans for demolition of the old passenger terminal.

Q. A.

WHY WAS THE PROJECT NECESSARY?

At the time this project was first proposed, oil related industries were at their peak, and the Canadian dollar was very strong. The existing terminal was operating beyond its capacity. There were only two gates available for commercial aircraft, and we actually had to turn away airlines that wanted to serve our airport. The terminal parking lots were overflowing into an adjacent softball complex and the building was bursting at the seams. Initially, the task was to engineer improvements to the existing terminal in order to handle current demand, as well as plan for anticipated growth. It became clear early in this process that it would actually be more cost effective and operationally efficient to build a new facility, while continuing to occupy the old one until completion.

HOW LONG DOES A PROJECT LIKE THIS TAKE, FROM BEGINNING STAGES OF PLANNING AND SECURING FUNDING TO COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION?

In November 2011, the city approved a terminal plan study to look at the options to accommodate not only the current requirements, but plan for future growth. Once the preferred alternatives were agreed upon and estimated costs were determined, the plan for funding began. A combination of federal, state and city funding paid for the project, and the new terminal opened on Feb. 29, 2016.

SINCE THE NEW TERMINAL OPENED A YEAR AGO, HOW HAS IT AFFECTED OPERATIONS AT THE AIRPORT?

Since opening the terminal a year ago, the travel experience has improved greatly. Customers now have a much more efficient experience with TSA screening, and they are able to enjoy free Wi-Fi in the comfort of a departure lounge with plenty of seating and work stations equipped with charging capability.

State-of-the-art jet bridges are climate controlled, which is important on cold North Dakota mornings or hot summer afternoons. The food and beverage offerings are top notch as well. The airlines now have adequate operational facilities to ensure quick turnaround of their aircraft, as well as much-needed office space and baggage make-up areas.

All in all, the expansion was all-encompassing and was well overdue. It would be difficult to imagine an airport more equipped for future growth.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE LARGEST CHALLENGES IN MANAGING AN AIRPORT THAT OFTEN EXCEEDS ITS CAPACITY FOR TRAVELERS?

An airport is essential to the economic viability of a community. It may be the city’s first opportunity to make a positive impression on people who are considering doing business here. A right-sized and well-run commercial service airport is also critical to attracting new air service. Airlines want to know that they can operate safely, efficiently and offer their customers a positive travel experience in terms of arrivals, departures, food and beverage, and rental car services. In the case of Minot, the terminal was cramped, had only two gates to accommodate commercial aircraft, and lacked the amenities travelers deserve. Now, Minot has the largest terminal in the state with plenty of room for growth.

IMAGE: CITY OF MINOT

Rasmussen College expands nursing master’s program

By Kayla Prasek

Rasmussen College, a regionally accredited private college with campuses throughout Minnesota and in Fargo, has expanded its Master of Science in Nursing program to students in North Dakota and Wisconsin. The online master’s degree program is designed to meet the increasing need for a more skilled and educated workforce, including nurse leaders and nurse educators.

Enrollment for Rasmussen College’s MSN degree program in North Dakota and Wisconsin is immediately available with classes beginning in April.

“We are thrilled to expand enrollment for our Master of Science in Nursing degree program in North Dakota and Wisconsin, states where Rasmussen College has a strong local presence,” says Joan Rich, vice president of the Rasmussen College School of Nursing. “Both states, like much of the country, are seeing an increasing need for nurses with master’s degrees.”

Rich notes that the number of job postings for nurses with a graduate or professional degree has increased by more than 330 percent since 2011 in North Dakota. “Rasmussen College is pleased to soon be able to help fill open positions in these states as well as contribute to the advancement of the nursing profession,” Rich says.

The Rasmussen College Master of Science in Nursing degree program is designed to prepare currently licensed registered nurses who hold a bachelor’s degree in nursing to assume advanced nursing leadership roles and directly contribute to the advancement of the nursing profession in both educational and health care settings. Students have the opportunity to choose from specializations in nursing education or nursing leadership and administration.

The online program allows students to take one class at a time while offering a balance between school, work and family for nurses already in the field, while still allowing them to graduate in as few as 18 months.

“Our MSN students will be prepared to impact the current and future state of the health care industry,” Rich says. “Students will graduate from our program with the confidence they need to be at the forefront of change and innovation for the nursing profession, nursing education and the communities we serve.”

Rasmussen College first launched its Master of Science in Nursing degree program in October 2016. PB

Dakota Carrier Network opens data center expansion

By Kayla Prasek

Dakota Carrier Network opened a 30,000-square-foot expansion at its data center in January.

The expansion increases the data center’s available server floor space by six times and expands the center’s total footprint to 72,000 square feet. The facility opened to customers more than a month ahead of schedule.

Costs to date for the expansion project are about $6 million, which reflects only partial completion of data center modules in the expanded area. Modules will be completed to meet customer demands, increasing the overall project cost to an estimated $30 million when complete.

“Technology allows our lives to move at an incredible pace, so it is fitting that DCN’s data center expansion was completed faster than expected,” says Seth Arndorfer, CEO of Dakota Carrier Network. “The amount of internet bandwidth used by North Dakotans is doubling every 12 to 15 months, and all of this activity creates data which needs to be securely stored and yet remain easily accessible to endusers. This expansion is a necessary building block to provide North Dakotans with the infrastructure they need to remain competitive at a global level.”

Dakota Carrier Network is the only data center operator in North Dakota that offers customers private suites — selected spaces leased exclusively to a single customer — and also offers customers flexibility in choosing cabinets for their specific business applications.

“No other provider in North Dakota can offer the same level of service or storage capacity that DCN currently delivers to customers,” says Paul Schuetzler, DCN chairman of the board and CEO of Consolidated Telcom. “This expansion further grows DCN’s role as the largest colocated data center operator in the state. As owner companies, we are proud of our collaborative work to provide the technology infrastructure our residents and businesses need.” PB

Dakota Carrier Network CEO Seth Arndorfer inside the company’s expanded data center.

IMAGE: DAKOTA CARRIER NETWORK

Prairie Business

Best

Magazine category

Prairie Business Staff Report

Prairie Business won third place in the Best Magazine category of the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest for 2015-2016. Published by the Grand Forks Herald, Prairie Business has been the leading business news resource on the Northern Plains for nearly 17 years.

“We’re really excited about this honor,” says Prairie Business Editor Lisa Gibson. “We’ve worked hard on this product and we have a great team. The magazine has evolved with its industries in the past 17 years. We’re proud of our coverage and clout.”

Judges for the Best Magazine category considered overall excellence in the publication, including editorial content, design and effectiveness of advertising. Prairie Business’s third place was in the class designated for magazines published by daily newspapers. Weekly newspapers could also submit Best Magazine entries.

“This is wonderful news,” says Korrie Wenzel, publisher of the Grand Forks Herald and Prairie Business. “We thought Prairie Business had a great year in 2016 and this award helps confirm it. To tell the truth, we think we’re even better now. We redesigned the magazine at the end of 2016 and have been getting great reviews on our new look and new approach, so we’re already excited about entering next year’s MNA contest.”

First place went to Live It!, published by the West Central Tribune in Willmar, Minnesota, and second place was awarded to Rochester Magazine, published by The Post-Bulletin in Rochester, Minnesota. PB

Drone Biz luncheon focuses on beyond-line-of-sight rules

Better Business Bureau warns of scam targeting schools, nonprofits

By Kayla Prasek

With initial approval to fly unmanned aerial systems beyond line of sight coming from the Federal Aviation Administration in December, the Northern Plains UAS Test Site is now working on the final steps necessary to make flying beyond line of sight a reality.

Nick Flom, executive director of the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, spoke about what this means for the UAS industry and his hopes for the future at the Feb. 9 Drone Biz luncheon, held at the Red Roof Inn TownHouse in Grand Forks and hosted by the Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corp.

On Dec. 23, the Northern Plains UAS Test Site received approval from the FAA to fly UASs beyond line of sight, becoming the first in the nation to receive such approval. It was a process that started in September 2015 when Grand Sky, a UAS business and technology park located adjacent to the Grand Forks Air Force Base, was trying to bring on General Atomics as a tenant.

“Visual line of sight works out for a lot of uses,” Flom said. “But then there’s a lot of other uses that don’t work out, like a power line inspection. For those uses, extended visual line of sight was established, and you either have visual observers on the ground every half mile or you use a chase plane with a visual observer seated next to the pilot. But then we have businesses like the ones Grand Sky has attracted who want to fly without a chase plane.”

The FAA approval the Northern Plains Test Site received is a groundbased sense-and-avoid approval and is only for General Atomics’ Predator A aircraft. Before General Atomics will be allowed to fly beyond line of sight, it will have to do test flights with a chase plane to prove the operational plan works.

But before the company can get to that point, there’s one more barrier that must be crossed. A radar system from the Grand Forks Air Force Base is a pivotal part of this plan, and a feed from the radar to Grand Sky needs to be installed. The test site is working through the final steps with the Air Force, and Flom said he expects that approval in the first half of 2017.

Once that’s in place and General Atomics is flying beyond line of sight, Flom has more goals he hopes to achieve. “We want other aircraft to be able to fly beyond line of sight, and we want to be able to expand where they’re able to fly. My vision is to connect with these radars in Fargo, Minot and Bismarck as well some day.”

Flom’s final goal is to figure out how small UASs can benefit from this as well. “We know they’ll need some type of radar to see air traffic below 10,000 feet, so we hope they’ll be able to use the lessons learned from flying above 10,000 feet.” PB

Kayla Prasek

Nonprofit organizations and school districts are the new targets of a scam that had been geared exclusively toward private-sector businesses, according to the Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota. The “W-2” scam, as the IRS calls it, is carried out by email, requesting a list of the company’s W-2 forms, employees’ dates of birth and Social Security numbers.

The emails are disguised to look like they originated from top executives or business colleagues, the BBB warns. It’s believed the information is collected through the phishing scam with the intent to file fraudulent tax returns.

“Criminals are now focusing on consumers’ personal information because it has a potentially much larger payout than run-of-themill credit card fraud,” says Susan Adams Loyd, president and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota, in a statement.

Recently, the scam also has included a follow-up email asking for a wire transfer to an account outside of the company, according to the BBB. Beyond nonprofits and schools, the new targets of the scam include health care providers, chain restaurants, temporary staffing agencies, tribal casinos and delivery companies. A Twin Cities school district recently fell victim to the scam, BBB reports.

The BBB says the emails might contain wording such as “Can you send me the updated list of employees with full details (Name, Social Security Number, date of birth, home address and salary)” or “Kindly send me the individual 2016 W-2 (PDF) and earnings summary of all W-2 of our company staff for quick review.”

The BBB suggests these measures to avoid W-2 theft:

• Re-evaluate workplace procedures: The simplest way for criminals to run these operations is if a business lacks the checks and balances necessary to protect employees’ and clients’ information and requests for money transfers by untraceable means.

• Meet with all employees: Make sure all employees understand how these schemes work.

• Review written policies: Implement organizational policies to prevent the W-2 and similar office scams from succeeding. This will not only help existing employees, but others who join the organization so they, too, will be on their guard. PB

Prairie Business Staff Report

Nick Flom, executive director of the Northern Plains UAS Test Site near Grand Forks, was the featured speaker at the Drone Biz luncheon Feb. 9 at the Red Roof Inn Townhouse in Grand Forks.

IMAGE: PRAIRIE BUSINESS

Redesigned memorial union enhances MSUM campus

By Lisa Gibson

A newly redesigned Comstock Memorial Union at Minnesota State University Moorhead is open to students, adding 3,110 square feet of entry and day-lit lounge space, and significantly updating the look of the existing space.

Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Cuningham Group Architecture Inc. and design partner Workshop Architects, of Milwaukee, completed the project in July 2016, so students who returned in the fall were welcomed by the fully furnished and improved union, says Kathryn Wallace, Cuningham Group principal. Student feedback this semester has been positive, according to Cuningham Group.

Beyond the lounge, the expansion adds a coffee house, student organization office, collaboration areas and a fireplace. The design uses a significant amount of glass for natural lighting.

Wallace says a few reasons were behind the expansion and redesign. “First, as part of a campuswide effort to support recruitment and retention, there was a need to make the union more attractive, and better able to support student engagement and involvement,” she says. “It had been over 20 years since a prior modernization, and the spaces didn’t reflect current patterns of student recreation and involvement, such as video gaming, hanging out, studying enabled by smart phones, laptops and wireless.” Student organizations need to be more connected with student lounge areas, she adds.

In addition, the Student Senate supported the overhaul with an increase to student activity fees to help fund the project, and food venues in the existing union had seen a loss of business, Wallace says. Attracting more students to the union could help.

The project cost $6.51 million, according to Cuningham Group, and was funded through cash reserves and capital bonding provided through the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Revenue Bond funds, Wallace says. “The union itself had nearly half the funding in reserves, built up over time from the designated student fees.”

Student body president Charles Bergman says in a statement that the union was “closed off” before the renovation, all areas separated from each other. “It wasn’t as open as it is now,” he says. “I’ve already picked out a few of my favorite chairs.” PB

The expanded and redesigned Comstock Memorial Union at Minnesota State University Moorhead includes open and collaborative student lounge areas, as well as a new fireplace.

The redesign and expansion allows for more activities space.

IMAGE: CUNINGHAM GROUP ARCHITECTURE INC.

IMAGE: CUNINGHAM GROUP ARCHITECTURE INC.

The design of Minnesota State University Moorhead’s renovated Comstock Memorial Union uses a significant amount of glass for natural lighting.

IMAGE: CUNINGHAM GROUP ARCHITECTURE INC.

Prairie Business is pleased to present the 2017

These women are leaders in their communities and in their careers, and we salute them.

Congratulations to them all

STATE FARM INSURANCE MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA

Jessica Aardahl began her career as a State Farm agent team member in 2003. In 2008, she was hired as an agency intern, and was then appointed an agent in Mayville, North Dakota, in 2010. She then was appointed an agent in Minot in 2014. She has since grown her staff to include two insurance account representatives and a customer service representative. She has received numerous honors from State Farm, including the Chairman’s Circle Award, which ranks her and her team in the top 1 percent of all agents countrywide. Aardahl is a founding member of the Magic Day of Giving, Minot’s largest community service event. She is active in the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce and serves on the Ambassador’s Committee, and also helped the Minot Area Community Foundation design and implement a donation station. She graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead with a bachelor’s degree in sales and marketing.

Lisa Ansley OPERATIONS DIRECTOR AE2S BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA

Lisa Ansley started her career as a project engineer at AE2S in 1994 before joining the City of Bismarck in 1998 as a project engineer. In 2005, she re-joined AE2S as a project manager, a role she held until 2012 when she was promoted to operations manager of AE2S’ Bismarck office. In 2016, she was promoted to the role of corporate operations director. Ansley serves on the Gateway to Science Capital Campaign Committee and previously served on the American Water Works Association Board of Directors and as president of the North Dakota Water and Pollution Control Conference. She has also received the AWWA’s George Warren Fuller Award. Ansley received her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from North Dakota State University in Fargo and is licensed as a professional engineer in the state of North Dakota.

Jessica Aardahl AGENT

Deneen Axtman

Deneen Axtman started her career in a management training program and has since worked in a variety of positions giving her experience in both the support and relationship sides of banking. Before taking on her current role, Axtman served as senior vice president/retail banking manager at Cornerstone Bank. She has received the bank’s Explorer Award and Cornerstone Award, in addition to other community awards. She has served on the YWCA Finance Committee and Board of Directors, Hope Lutheran Church Council and Finance Committee, United Way Campaign, Minnesota State University Moorhead President’s Advisory Council, School of Business Advisory Board and Alumni Foundation Board. Axtman received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from MSUM.

Congratulations to Lynne Keller Forbes for driving economic development in South Dakota through her leadership of Dakota BUSINESS Finance and the South Eastern Development Foundation and for being named one of the

Top 25 Women in Business!

You’re never too small to start thinking a little bigger. When you do, we will be there. To help you create jobs. To finance equipment, leasehold improvements, inventory or working capital. To finance the purchase, improvements or construction of your first building.

The inspiration to expand the “family farm” comes from you. The small business financing comes from us.

Stensland Family Farms utilized creative financing through Dakota BUSINESS Finance and the South Eastern Development Foundation to expand the family farm from a dairy and creamery in Larchwood, IA, to include a retail location to sell its local, delicious, farm fresh food in Sioux Falls, SD.

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS CORNERSTONE BANK FARGO

Sara Connors founded H2O Media Inc., a full-service advertising agency, in 2009 in Huntington Beach, California. Two years after launching H2O, Connors moved her business to Eden Prairie, where she now works with three local employees and a team of sales representatives across the country. In the past year, she expanded H2O’s office twice, adding a plethora of digital services. H2O Media was named one of Inc. Magazine’s Fastest Growing Privately Owned Businesses in America in 2016. Connors also founded Mom Magazine in 2011 and still publishes fashion, beauty, health, relationship and parenting articles regularly. In 2016, Connors co-founded The Give Back Kids, a nonprofit focused on creating volunteer opportunities for children and their families around the Twin Cities metro area. Connors received her bachelor’s degree from California State University - Long Beach and is currently attending St. Thomas University in St. Paul for continuing education in digital advertising.

OWNER/PRESIDENT SPHERION STAFFING FARGO

Jill Berg is the owner and president of Spherion Staffing, which has offices across North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Berg started the first Spherion franchise in North Dakota in 1994 in Fargo before opening the Bismarck office in 1997. She opened the Minot office in 2012 with Perham, Minnesota, following in 2013. She recently acquired the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, office. In addition to her recruiting and staffing expertise, Berg consults with and trains clients on workforce development and human resource strategies through Insight Consulting utilizing the Predictive Index assessment tool. In 2015, she was named Spherion Owner of the Year and received the Special Achievement Award in 2016. Berg is a past president of the national Spherion Franchise Advisory Board and has served several terms as a regional director. She is a past chair of The Chamber of Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo Business Training Committee, member of the Fargo West Rotary and is active with local human resource associations. She serves on the American Red Cross Board and the Northern Lights Council of Boy Scouts of America. Berg received a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies with an emphasis in Psychology and English from Ambassador University in Pasadena, California.

ARCHITECT ARCHITECTURE INC.

SIOUX

Catherine Dekkenga graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Iowa State University in Ames in 2004 and her Master of Architecture from ISU in 2009. She then moved home to Sioux Falls to start her architectural career at the firm her father started in 1976. In 2015, she became a registered architect. At Architecture Inc., Dekkenga is involved in the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) registration process for many of the firm’s projects and assists in the creation and development of 3-D rendered models. She is a graduate of Leadership Sioux Falls and is a board member of the Friends of Levitt Shell Board, member of Rotary International, an executive board member of the Sioux Falls Education Foundation, the vice-chair of the Citizen Advisory Committee for the Urbanized Development Commission of the South Eastern Council of Governments, a member of the Board of Trustees at Central Church and is a seventh grade girls youth group leader.

REGIONAL DIRECTOR

Brenda Elmer’s career first began at the Minnesota Legislature, where she fielded constituent correspondence, eventually becoming executive assistant to the House Majority Leader. She then moved to Moorhead, Minnesota, and worked as U.S. Senator Norm Coleman’s regional director, and then as long-term flood solutions project manager for the Red River Basin Commission. She is now the regional director for Associated Builders & Contractors of Minnesota/North Dakota, working with commercial and industrial contractors in safety, education, workforce and business development. Elmer is also an elected official as a council member for the City of Moorhead, serving as mayor protempore, and the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments board chair. She is a Moorhead Kiwanis Club board director and in 2009 was named a Marshall Memorial Fellow by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Elmer received bachelor’s degrees from Minnesota State University Moorhead and her master’s degree from Hamline University in St. Paul.

Jill Berg

Sara Connors CEO H2O MEDIA EDEN PRAIRIE, MINNESOTA

Catherine Dekkenga

FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA

Brenda Elmer

Lynne Keller Forbes

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

SOUTH EASTERN COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS

SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA

Lynne Keller Forbes has been the executive director of the South Eastern Council of Governments in Sioux Falls since 2001. SECOG serves six counties in the southeast corner of South Dakota and is the entity responsible for the Sioux Falls Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. Keller Forbes also serves as the executive director of the South Eastern Development Foundation, a regional revolving loan fund that provides financing for businesses and develops affordable housing, and Dakota Business Finance, which provides financing through the Small Business Administration’s 504 loan program. She is president of the National Association of Development Organizations, serves on the Sioux Falls MPO Technical Advisory Committee and is a member of the Des Moines Federal Home Loan Bank Housing Advisory Board. Keller Forbes teaches Junior Achievement, is a volunteer driver for the Drive to Help program and is a United Way Heart Club member. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from St. Leo College in St. Leo, Florida, and a Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. She is also a licensed real estate broker and certified economic development and housing development finance professional.

Carmen Fore

MANAGING DIRECTOR/ FINANCIAL ADVISER NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL GRAND FORKS

Carmen Fore began her career with Northwestern Mutual in 1985 as a marketing assistant in Champaign, Illinois. She has been with regional offices in Champaign, Fargo, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her career experience includes roles as financial adviser as well as training and development of new associates. In 2005, she opened a new district for Northwestern Mutual in Grand Forks, which includes satellite offices in Thief River Falls and Bemidji, both in Minnesota. She has been recognized for her many achievements within Northwestern Mutual, including the Managing Director National Achievement Award in 2016. Fore is committed to battling childhood cancer and has organized multiple fundraising events, partnering with Northwestern Mutual’s Alex’s Lemonade Stand initiative. Fore received her certified life underwriter designation from The American College of Financial Services.

Jenni Huotari

PARTNER/DIRECTOR OF ACCOUNTING/ OUTSOURCING SERVICES

Jenni Huotari has worked at Eide Bailly for nearly 15 years. During that time, she has risen to partner within the firm, with a background in audits of small to mid-sized businesses. Following a passion to help businesses understand their financial situations, Huotari oversaw the development and growth of a suite of services known as the Possibilities Center, which focuses on small to mid-sized businesses and entrepreneurial startups. Recently, in an effort to bring this initiative firmwide, Huotari was named the director of accounting/outsourcing services across all Eide Bailly offices. She also serves as chair of Eide Bailly’s First Focus Initiative, a program designed to create a culture where women are as likely to succeed as men. An active alumnus of Minnesota State University Moorhead, Huotari serves on the university’s Alumni Foundation. She is a board member of the Jeremiah Program, The Chamber of Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo and the Hope Lutheran Church Foundation. Huotari received her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Katie Johnson started her career at KJJK Radio in 1991, working as an on-air personality and later as news and farm director and operations manager. She joined Park Region Telephone and Otter Tail Telcom in 1996, where she developed the company’s first public and government relations position and marketing department. In 2001, she was promoted to business operations manager for the telecommunications company, adding customer service to her oversight responsibilities. In 2006, she joined Cronin Communications as a telcom industry marketing consultant for companies across the U.S., before joining Lake Region Healthcare in 2011. Johnson is president of the Fergus Falls Noon Rotary Club, president-elect of the Minnesota Healthcare Strategy and Communications Network and a director and secretary/treasurer for Lake Region Community Partners. She also serves on the YoungLife Otter Tail County Committee and volunteers for 4-H and her church. Johnson graduated from the University of Northwestern - St. Paul.

Katie Johnson

VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS LAKE REGION HEALTHCARE FERGUS FALLS, MINNESOTA

Kara Jorvig started her career as an intern on Microsoft’s recruiting team. In 2003, Jorvig went to work for Preference Personnel, where she managed the professional placement team and consulted small to mid-sized businesses that needed guidance on hiring, organizational culture and communication issues. In 2013, she joined Mac’s Inc. as director of human resources and inventory control and was a member of the executive management team. In 2015, Jorvig founded Allegro Group, a professional search firm focused on mid- to senior-level talent. She was previously named to Prairie Business’ 40 Under 40 list and is a past chair of the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo Young Professionals Network. She graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Nicole Kivisto

PRESIDENT/CEO

MONTANA-DAKOTA UTILITIES CO., GREAT PLAINS NATURAL GAS CO., INTERMOUNTAIN GAS CO. AND CASCADE NATURAL GAS CORP. BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA

Nicole Kivisto joined MDU Resources Group in 1995 in finance and held positions of increasing responsibility, including vice president, controller and chief accounting officer. She moved to the corporation’s utility group in 2014 as vice president of operations for Montana-Dakota Utilities and Great Plains Natural Gas. She was named president/CEO in 2015. Kivisto serves on the Bismarck Career Academy advisory committee and has cochaired the United Way’s executive committee for the energy industry. She received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Minnesota State University Moorhead and graduated from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management Executive Program and from the University of Idaho’s Utility Executive Course. She is a certified public accountant.

Michelle Killoran

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER SCHEELS FARGO

Michelle Killoran started her career at Scheels as a senior at Concordia College and worked her way up to her current role as chief financial officer. She was the second woman to ever be named to the Scheels Executive Committee and has spearheaded a women’s leadership group within Scheels to encourage women to hone their leadership skills. Killoran has served as the United Way Cass-Clay annual campaign chair and finance committee chair. She currently serves on the Sanford Medical Center Fargo Board of Directors, Affinity Insurance Board of Directors and North Dakota State University AFIS Advisory Board. She was named the YWCA Woman of the Year in the business category and co-chaired the March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction in 2016.

Brekka Kramer started her career at Odney in 2001 as a marketing consultant. In 2006, she took on the role of general manager at Odney. As Odney’s senior consultant, she brings more than 15 years of experience in managing efforts from Minot and leading campaigns throughout North Dakota. Kramer serves on and has chaired many local boards, including the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce, Minot Area Community Foundation and Minot Area Development Corp. She is a member of the Minot Sunrise Rotary Club and Minot State University Board of Regents. Kramer regionally serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Great Plains Advisory Council, U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command Civic Leaders Group, JDRF Advocacy Team and the Greater North Dakota Chamber Board of Directors. Kramer received her Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Minot State University.

Kara Jorvig CEO ALLEGRO GROUP FARGO

Brekka Kramer

GENERAL MANAGER ODNEY MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA

Angie Kuznia started Titan Homes in 2005, running the company almost entirely on her own. She started by building one house at a time, and steadily grew her company. Today, the company builds about 30 homes a year. She was a 2016 YWCA Woman of the Year nominee and is a past finalist for Design and Living Magazine Builder of the Year. In 2008, she received her real estate license, and currently works as a real estate agent with Chase Realty as well.

Trish McCann served as regional director for Barnes & Noble College Bookstores and as creative director for Austad’s Golf before joining Midco in 2001. She currently serves as chief marketing officer for the company, managing public relations, marketing and communications for Midco’s residential and business services and Midco Sports Network. In addition, McCann is responsible for residential sales, including the company’s 12 Customer Experience Centers located throughout South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota. She is a graduate of Leadership Sioux Falls, is a member of Women in Cable Telecommunications and serves on the national Marketing Co-op Board for the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing. She received the 2017 Embe Tribute to Women Business Achievement Award. McCann serves on the board of directors for The Compass Center, a Sioux Falls nonprofit providing counseling, advocacy and intervention services to those impacted by domestic violence and sexual assault. She received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from South Dakota State University in Brookings and completed the strategic marketing management program from the University of Chicago in 2010 and the Women in Cable Telecommunications Senior Executive Summit at Stanford University in 2016.

OPERATING OFFICER RED RIVER BROADCASTING FARGO

Kathy Lau joined KVRR-TV, the local FOX affiliate, in 1986. She was appointed chief operating officer of Red River Broadcasting in 2014. The company consists of three television stations in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Duluth, Minnesota, and Fargo, and radio stations across Minnesota and Wisconsin. KVRR recently partnered with the American Heart Association to bring the first Go Red for Women event to Fargo, an event Lau spearheaded. Lau has a business degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Meg Morley has worked in the legal field for the past 23 years, starting as a legal secretary and paralegal before becoming an attorney. She also served as a campaign staffer for U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and as a member of the senator’s inaugural staff. Morley is active in the State Bar Association of North Dakota’s Volunteer Lawyers Program and has served on the state bar’s Board of Governors and the Young Lawyer’s Section Board. She is a member of Rotary International and is involved with the Community Violence Intervention Center as a volunteer, fundraising table captain and member of the organization’s Dream Maker’s Society. Morley received her Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from the University of North Dakota and her Juris Doctor from UND’s School of Law.

Kathy Lau

CHIEF

Angie Kuznia

Meg Morley

PRESIDENT/OWNER TITAN HOMES INC. FARGO

ATTORNEY MORLEY LEGAL SERVICES LTD. GRAND FORKS

Trish McCann

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER MIDCO SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA

Joanna Slominski

CONSTRUCTION EXECUTIVE MORTENSON FARGO

Joanna Slominski is a construction executive with Mortenson and has been a leader in the construction industry for more than 12 years. She has risen through the ranks at Mortenson and is currently one of only four female construction executives company-wide. Slominski provides oversight on more than $500 million of work that Mortenson is currently completing across North Dakota, including the Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, one of the top 10 largest health care construction projects in the nation. She is co-chair of the Advisory Board of Construction Management and Engineering at North Dakota State University, mentors area university students and is involved in outreach to local high schools with a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) focus. Slominski serves on the United Way of Cass-Clay Board of Trustees, The Chamber of Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo Board of Directors, AGC of North Dakota Board of Directors, Red River Zoo Board of Directors and Xcel Energy of North Dakota Advisory Board. She received a Bachelor of Science in Construction Engineering from NDSU and received the NDSU Horizon Award in 2015.

Kelly Steffes is a founding partner and president of Thoreson Steffes Trust Co. and serves as relationship manager with responsibilities for trust and fiduciary services. Before starting Thoreson Steffes in 2013, Steffes served as vice president and managing director of the Private Client Group at U.S. Bank in Fargo, where she had worked since 1993. Prior to her fiduciary career, Steffes practiced law at Kalina, Wills, Woods, Gisvold & Clark in Minneapolis, Minnesota, focusing on estate planning, probate and trusts. Steffes serves as vice chair of the Sanford Fargo Medical Center Board of Directors, as a commissioner on the Fargo City Planning Commission and is a member of the Red River Valley Estate Planning Council. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and her Juris Doctor from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul.

Kelly Steffes

CO-FOUNDER/PRESIDENT THORESON STEFFES TRUST CO. FARGO

Sandi Tabor

Ciara Stockeland

FOUNDER/CEO

MODE/MAMA

MIA INC. FARGO

Ciara Stockeland has owned and operated businesses since the age of 12. In 2006, she opened her first store, Mama Mia, a high-end maternity store. Shortly after, she developed and opened Mode, a designer outlet store. In 2008, she merged her two stores into Mode and developed the concept into a thriving franchise. Under Stockeland’s leadership, Mode successfully expanded to nine locations across the Midwest with more on the way. Stockeland has been recognized as a Small Business Champion through SCORE and has received the Outstanding Franchise and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Dream Big Small Business of the Year awards. She is active with SCORE, the International Franchise Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council and the Coalition to Save Local Businesses. She also created a partnership between I Pour Life and Mode to bring awareness to the needs of the people in Korah, Ethiopia.

Sandi Tabor has more than 30 years of local, state and federal public policy experience. In addition to her role as general counsel for KLJ, she is a member of the EmPower ND Commission, serving as a key adviser in design and implementation of energy policy and strategies for the State of North Dakota. She also served on the Bismarck City Commission for 12 years. Tabor has received the Distinguished Service Award and Community Service Award from the State Bar Association of North Dakota and was elected to serve on The American Law Institute. She received her Bachelor of Science in Education and Juris Doctor from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and graduated from the University of Virginia Judge Advocate Program.

Marilyn Ternes started in the insurance business with EMC Insurance Cos. in 1982 in various positions, including issue, rating, underwriting and underwriting manager. She became resident vice president and Bismarck branch manager in 2008. Ternes serves as vice chair of the Association of North Dakota Insurers and is a board member and past president of the Idaho Survey and Rating Bureau. She is also a member and past president of the North Dakota Roughrider Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter Chapter. Ternes attended North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton and holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter and Associate in Commercial Underwriting designations.

Marilyn Ternes

RESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT/ BRANCH MANAGER

EMC INSURANCE COS.

BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA

BROKER/OWNER COLDWELL BANKER FORKS REAL ESTATE GRAND FORKS

Laurie Tweten started her career as a middle school teacher before launching her real estate career. She worked as a real estate agent for a real estate company in Grand Forks for six years before purchasing and becoming the principal broker of Coldwell Banker Forks Real Estate in 2012. She was the Top Producing Coldwell Banker Agent in North Dakota in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and the Real Trends No. 1 Agent in North Dakota in 2015 and 2016. Tweten is a member of The Chamber of Grand Forks-East Grand Forks Board of Directors, the Grand Forks Board of Realtors Brokers Advisory Committee and the Altru Hospital Gala Committee. She received a Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education with a minor in coaching from the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, and a Master of Science in Curriculum Instruction from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

Laurie Tweten

Engineering firms are enjoying the early benefits of using unmanned aircrafts in their processes, and insiders say there’s no question THE TECHNOLOGY will revolutionize the trade

By Lisa Gibson

When GPS became available for surveying in engineering, it changed the industry, says Brady Woodard, construction engineering specialist for Moore Engineering Inc. in West Fargo, North Dakota. “I don’t think there was anyone who didn’t grasp onto it. It was just the new way of the industry.” Woodard and many of his counterparts see potential for unmanned aerial systems to bring a similar transformation to the engineering field.

UASs are most commonly used currently in engineering for surveying and in marketing and communications — capturing images and videos of sites before, during and after projects. But the opportunities to not only improve convenience in operations, but also increase efficiency, safety and overall capabilities are enormous. “There’s a whole lot of potential out there for these that I don’t think half the people even realize — that we don’t even realize,” says Kyle Volk, engineer and geographic information system group leader for Moore, which specializes in civil engineering.

Current Uses

UASs have been incredibly useful to Moore from a marketing perspective, says Gregory Wald, the company’s communications

manager. “We work on a lot of large-scale projects, so it’s nice to take that wide view of the project and you can get a lot of interesting angles and unique shots from a drone that you can’t get with other types of imagery,” he says.

From a planning perspective, Woodard says UASs were used frequently in 2016 on Moore’s civil engineering construction projects, often before anyone set foot on the sites. “It gives you a unique perspective in being able to see the project from up above,” Volk adds. Woodard cites a channel reconstruction project where video taken by a UAS allowed clients to see the project site and get a better idea of the scope. “Civil engineering, as opposed to other disciplines, covers a wide geographic area often and I think drones are particularly useful for that reason: a birdseye view of a large area that we’re engaged with,” Volk says. “It’s a whole new view on your project.”

Woodard adds: “It’s brought a whole new realm to being able to look at some of these projects or problems we have our in the field.”

Joel Dresel, a St. Paul-based engineer and senior principal for SEH Inc., says the company uses UASs now for project photos and some surveying of wetlands, but is looking into inspections via UAS, also. Accessibility becomes an issue in some projects and unmanned aircraft could easily solve it, he says. “There are some pretty inaccessible areas

on bridges. Drones might be able to take a good look where people will have a hard time getting to. Dresel also says line-of-sight studies from tall structures can be done by UAS, instead of climbers with safety equipment. “There’s probably no reason a drone can’t be doing that. A line-of-sight study might be a perfectly good use for drones.”

Dresel leads the Airport Planning and Design department for SEH and he has high hopes for UASs to be beneficial in obstruction removal from runways. “It’s very demanding to try to do a ground survey and try to pick up every tree, power pole … but a drone flying at a low level can look at those areas very broadly and we get a much better picture of the obstructions around the airport.”

New sensor packages and payloads for UASs, such as lidar — light detection and ranging — are coming out quickly, offering revolutionary technologies to benefit almost all facets of engineering, Dresel says. “The technology is rapidly changing.”

“UAS is a very disruptive industry,” says Matt Dunlevy, president and CEO of SkySkopes, a UAS service provider in Grand Forks. “It’s going to be disrupting the engineering industry — civil, mechanical, petroleum engineering. … Not in a bad way. It’ll be really exciting to see where this goes.”

Engineering firms can contract with UAS companies like SkySkopes or have UAS pilots in-house. Both Moore and SEH currently contract, but Woodard and Volk say Moore is moving toward bringing UAS operation into the company, and Woodard likely will be one of the first to fly the contraptions.

This photo of Birch Boat Landing in Babbitt, Minnesota, was taken by drone for engineering and project services provider SEH Inc.

Learning to Fly

Dunlevy recommends engineering firms contract with experienced pilots to begin with, but keep data processing in-house. SkySkopes also offers SkySkopes Academy, a collection of courses and instruction on how to fly UASs.

Beyond SkySkopes Academy, Dunlevy is teaching a UAS engineering class at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks this semester. UAS in Engineering Design & Applications starts with basics about regulations and commercial operation, then launches students directly into the engineering element, putting them into groups to design and develop UAS components or applications. Faculty will test the viability of the concepts, as well as determine their impacts on the engineering industry. “We’re exposing students to the emerging role that unmanned aircraft play in both engineering and engineering design and applications,” Dunlevy says.

In its first semester, the course has drawn significant interest from both undergraduate and graduate students, mostly in the mechanical engineering field, Dunlevy says. “We’re hoping they can have a prototype and a proof of concept by the end of the semester, which is what the second two-thirds of the

IMAGE: SEH INC.

A photo taken by drone of a street reconstruction project in Carver County, Minnesota.

SkySkopes pilots Eric Goetsch (left) and Cory Vinger prepare to inspect electrical transmission lines with an Alta 8 unmanned aircraft.

IMAGE: SKYSKOPES

A photo taken by drone shows a blockage on the Goose River in Traill County, North Dakota, in an area that is difficult to reach by foot or all-terrain vehicle.

IMAGE: MOORE ENGINEERING INC.

IMAGE: SKYSKOPES

SkySkopes pilot Cory Vinger adjusts a camera mounted on an unmanned aircraft before conducting a building inspection.

course focus on.

“Hopefully they catch the drone bug,” Dunlevy says.

Using UASs for marketing, surveying, inspection or other processes shows an engineering firm is on the cutting edge and that it sees the value the technology brings to everyday engineering practices, Dunlevy says. “Those engineering firms that are looking into UAS, I think those are the ones that are going to be very successful.”

Woodard and Volk say their clients are aware of the burgeoning UAS industry and its potential. The benefits to agriculture are well-publicized in the region, bringing better overall awareness of UASs, their uses and what they can capture, Volk says.

“Clients are looking for it and it’s another service to provide,” Woodard says. “We’re right on the tip of the iceberg right now.” PB

Lisa Gibson EDITOR, PRAIRIE BUSINESS 701.787.6753

LGIBSON@PRAIRIEBUSINESSMAGAZINE.COM

SPECIAL EDITION Coming June 2017

In June, we will produce an additional magazine entirely focused on the construction industry. We will share trends, projections and feature leaders working in the construction industry, as well as some of the major projects that are underway in our coverage area.

We invite you to participate in this special edition with an advertisement focused on how your business is involved in the construction industry. Prairie Business is read by business leaders, current and future decision-makers and entrepreneurs. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive vision of construction and its impact on the vibrancy of our communities.

ADVERTISING DEADLINE: MAY 15, 2017

LEADING OUR COMMUNITY

Dayna Del Val, Executive Director, The Arts Partnership Board President, Arts North Dakota | Theatre Arts, 1995

Getting a theatre degree was invaluable. I learned how to be part of an ensemble and to take the lead; to listen and to ask questions; to take risks and to fail; to get over disappointment and to manage success.

Transforming the world by transforming lives.

Read more about leadership from MSUM alumni at mnstate.edu/leaders

SkySkopes pilot Cory Vinger operates an unmanned aircraft during an aerial inspection of electrical infrastructure.

IMAGE: SKYSKOPES

Filling a Need

Shawn Brannan saw an opportunity to start an affordable, same-day package delivery service that uses travelers already out on the road

By Kayla Prasek

Shawn Brannan is on a mission to make North Dakotans’ lives easier and more interesting through two smartphone apps he’s helped design. Those apps are called Pakkage and Talking Trail.

Brannan recently launched the beta version of the Pakkage app, a service that is like a ride-sharing app but for packages. “Sometimes you need to get a package to another city in the same day, but you don’t want to pay a lot of money to get it there, and that’s where Pakkage would come in,” Brannan says. “I also find myself driving on Interstate 94 frequently.”

The way Pakkage works is a person would drop off a package at a Pakkage drop-off site. Then, when a driver logs into the app and sees some packages need to be delivered to the same city he or she is driving to, they would stop at the drop-off site and pick up the packages. Once the driver arrives in the destination city, he or she would drop them off at that city’s drop-off site. The driver would get paid for each package he or she transports, and the sender would get same-day delivery for only $10.

In the beta trial of the app, cities available for pickup and drop off are Minot, Bismarck, Mandan and Dickinson.

IMAGE: KYLE MARTIN PHOTO

Brannan says he created Pakkage because of his own experiences but also because he saw it as a need in North Dakota. “This is the kind of innovative thinking you see in Silicon Valley, but the type of travel they see isn’t what we experience here,” Brannan says. “Travel is ongoing here, so we’ll always have drivers for packages. Download the app and start making money for the driving you’re doing anyway.”

Before Brannan started working on Pakkage, he became involved with a website called Talking Trail, an idea of fellow entrepreneur Marlo Anderson. Brannan and Anderson are now preparing to launch the Talking Trail smartphone app, which will provide self-guided talking tours of tourist destinations throughout North Dakota. Several tours and stories are already available on the Talking Trail website. Once the mobile app is launched, users will be able to earn badges for each place they visit, and those badges will enter them into drawings for prizes from North Dakota tourist destinations.

“Talking Trail takes guests beyond a line or two on a sign and tells the whole story behind an exhibit or a location,” Brannan says.

While attending graduate school at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, Brannan received a grant from the Center for Innovation to create a language learning app. “During that process, I learned a lot and also realized I wouldn’t be able to launch the app as quickly as I thought I would,” he says. “But that experience kept me thinking creatively about my next app venture.”

While he’s an experienced entrepreneur, Brannan hasn’t worked on these projects alone. He’s worked with the Idea Center in Bismarck, which he calls “a phenomenal business incubator,” and Talking Trail went through the North Dakota Department of Commerce’s Innovate ND program. “We have met so many great people as we’ve gone through this journey, and each one has been so helpful in pushing these projects along.” PB

As travelers visit North Dakota’s tourist destinations, they can pull up the Talking Trail app to learn more about each location, such as Salem Sue, located in New Salem.

One of the features of the Talking Trail app is stories told by famous North Dakotans, including professional baseball player Travis Hafner.

THE 701 OFFERS A CONVENIENT AND COLLABORATIVE OFFICE FOR ENTREPRENEURS TO SHAPE THEIR IDEAS

Entrepreneurship The Culture of

The 701 coworking space in Grand Forks, operated by nonprofit Evolve Grand Forks, sits downtown on South Third Street. Its developers say it embodies collaboration. Tenants can brainstorm or write notes on the chalkboard walls that coat the outside of the free-standing conference room, or on the front streetfacing windows. The idea of the coworking space is to support entrepreneurs ready to expand out of their garages or basements, says Brandon Baumbach, president of Evolve Grand Forks.

The space is flexible with schedules and entrepreneurs’ needs, dedicated to helping new businesses, says Collin Hanson, executive director for The 701. The 701 offers flex passes — 24-hour access for eight days per month at $75 — or a full month with 24-hour access for $200. The policy of no contracts or leases makes it easy for entrepreneurs to come and go as they please. Some tenants have day jobs and prefer to use the space after hours. “The whole idea is you don’t have to max out your credit card or quit your job to follow your dream,” Baumbach says.

The 701 features a book nook with bean bag chairs for extra comfort and style.

IMAGE: JOHN CAMPBELL/NINE18 PHOTOGRAPHY

The modern, open space features artwork on a long brick wall near the free-standing conference room, which is coated in chalkboard paint.

The 701 features a stage area with street-facing windows, which double as marker boards, and a hammock for relaxing.

The open, collaborative working space can be arranged for optimal teamwork and brainstorming.

The 701 coworking space held a grand opening Feb. 23, already hosting 28 tenants.

IMAGE: JESSE TRELSTAD / FORUM NEWS SERVICE

IMAGE: JOHN CAMPBELL / NINE18 PHOTOGRAPHY

IMAGE: JOHN CAMPBELL / NINE18 PHOTOGRAPHY

IMAGE: JOHN CAMPBELL / NINE18 PHOTOGRAPHY

INSIGHTs & INTUITION

Q.What forms of continuing education are the most effective and worthwhile?

I have found that it depends a lot on the person and how they best learn. I encourage my staff to engage in a variety of job-related continuing ed formats — both formal and informal — but the standard for any learning they seek is that it teach them, challenge them and motivate them. We reinforce their learning by asking them to relay to other staff what they have learned and how they have applied that information. We have found that when learning is part of an organization’s culture, team members are eager to participate.

If you want to get the best return on investment from your continuing education investment in team members, start with the team member, not the modality of the investment. You need to understand their career goals and aspirations. Once you understand where they want to go, you can figure out what their career path in your company is (and maybe create one, if it’s a great employee). Now that you understand where they want to go, you can assess and decide what areas they need to improve to succeed in the next role. Do they aspire to management, but don’t have any management experience? Consider investing in manager training and using them as a mentor for new or struggling hires to give them the real-world experience they will need to thrive in the role. For someone who doesn’t aspire to management, investing in specialized training will deliver a stronger ROI for your investment.

Dan Oakland

Rikka Brandon

CEO/HR CONSULTANT ALTERNATIVE HRD SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA

FOUNDER RIKKABRANDON.COM FARGO

To be effective, continuing education must be timely, relevant and mutually agreed upon. What is gained from the continuing education is more important than the form in which it is delivered. Begin with the end in mind. What does the business, and the employee, hope to accomplish with the continuing education? How does the employee prefer to learn (i.e. visual, aural or hands-on)? What is the budget? And last, perhaps most important, how will the employee and the company measure the benefits received? This approach implies that the employee and the company enter into an informal social contract that both consent to and agree to perform.

It really depends on the learner’s abilities and the organization’s goals. There is no one size fits all when it comes to staff development. Quality training is essential for basic skill building for new staff. Conferences are great for managers and executives wishing to learn about industry updates and trends, as well as for networking with peers. Tuition reimbursement is a great incentive for organizations that want to retain high-performing staff. And for some, online learning is all they need. The key is to match opportunities to the unique needs of the learner.

John Krueger

Amy M. Jokinen

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT GPBG EMPLOYER ADVISERS BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

EIDE BAILLY LLP FARGO

Bachelor’s Degrees Earned 2013-2014