Building with transportation in mind

BY STEPHANIE HOFFART

Businesses ser v icing the sustained growth in the Bakken oilfields are finding more and more just how important transportation decisions are in determining overall success. This renewed focus has led investors and partners to invest wisely in largescale connections with roads, rail or both It’s with this direction in mind that the Minot (N.D.) Area Development Corp. is continuing to partner with North Dakota Port Services on the expansion of the Port of North Dakota

At just over 3,000 acres, the overall development is designed to be the largest distribution hub between Seattle and Chicago in Burlington Northern Santa Fe territor y The growing Port of North Dakota provides a service and benefit area of 250 miles in all directions from Minot, covering the space between BNSF locations in Dilwor th, Minn., and Glasgow, Mont

When MADC first announced the port expansion project in Minot a year ago, the calls started coming in from all over the countr y ; calls from interested small- and large-scale companies hoping to find their way onto rail and into North Dakota Located just east of Minot, the expansion project is unique in that its sole purpose isn’t just oil. One of the first businesses taking advantage of this first phase of the expansion has an international footprint, focused on agricultural commodities

North Dakota Port Services’ contractors are moving dirt on the first five lots to be developed, anticipating their availability by summer or fall 2015 These initial lots will be serviced directly by the more than 10,000 linear feet of new track, set to place on the site. This connection br ing s a unique and sorely needed improvement to the region; warehouse and distribution facilities, combined with intermodal container movement, customs clearing and city-based infrastructure to boot. And 10,000 linear feet of track is just the beginning; full build-out calls for nearly 45 miles of track on the location.

This early phase of expansion would take rail-served property on this side of town from the 150 acres it is today to closer to 350 acres, and growing

Greg Johnson, head of North Dakota Port Services since it began business eight years ago, likes to emphasize the benefits of rail From his perspective, rail-in and rail-out moves product in the most efficient manner possible. He also points out the advantages of the location for the Port of North Dakota in Minot at the intersection of two Class-A Railroads (BNSF and Canadian Pacific) and three major highways (83, 2 and 52).

As the Port of North Dakota is a regional distribution hub, Johnson and MADC work to balance out imports and exports We know that a diversified clientele of value-added agriculture, manufacturing, and consumer products, joined by oil-based products like frac sand, pipe and more will sustain the port for years to come

This innovative solution to a transportation challenge w ill fuel long-term g row th needed to service all business sectors in the region, beyond the boom

In order to further our region’s ability to meet our ever-growing needs, all communities should find a way to best serve the business need, keeping in mind just how important a role transportation plays in the big picture PB

Stephanie Hoffart President/CEO Minot Area Development Corp shoffart@minotusa.com

When complete in 2016, the 36,000-square-foot

UMN Crookston to build wellness center

The University of Minnesota Crookston held a ceremonial groundbreaking Sept. 22 for a 36,000-square-foot wellness center project Construction will begin next year and is expected to be complete in 2016 State funding will provide $10 million toward the project; an additional $5 million will be raised through philanthropic efforts, according to the school. UMN Crookston announced Sept. 22 that Les and June Nielson have donated $1 million for the project in memory of their son, Mitch Lien Nielsen, for which the lobby of the building will be named.

KK Bold celebrates 25th anniversary

Bismarck, N.D.-based advertising agency

KK Bold announced in September its commemoration of 25 years in business with special events for clients and employees at the agency ’ s offices in Bismarck and Minot, N.D.

The agency launched in 1989 as Kranzler Kingsley Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations and was rebranded in 2010. It provides clients with fully integrated marketing services from its offices in North Dakota and Las Vegas

CTB to expand women’s leadership program

The Center for Technology and Business in Bismarck, N.D., has been awarded a Bush Foundation Leadership Network Grant to expand its women ’ s leadership program throughout North Dakota. The CTB has previously hosted women ’ s leadership development programs in Bismarck and Minot, focusing on improving the personal, professional, community and health leadership skills for women of all ages and backgrounds The Bush Foundation grant will support the expansion of the six- month program into Fargo as well as one-day workshops in Dickinson, Har vey and the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, as well as a leadership summit for all alumni. For more information, visit http://trainingnd.com/technologytraining/womens-leadership-program

WCI gets grant for Creative Action Network

The Bush Foundation has awarded Fergus Falls, Minn -based West Central Initiative a Leadership Network Grant to provide arts-based workshops for community leaders through its (continued on page 18)

Dacotah Paper earns volume distribution award

Spartan Chemical Co Inc , a manufacturer of sustainable cleaning and sanitation products for industrial and institutional markets recently awarded Dacotah Paper Co. the Spartan Top 20 Annual Volume Distribution award for its 2013 performance. Dacotah Paper, a wholesale distributor of food service disposables, janitorial supplies and equipment, and office and health care products, is one of Spartan’s 20 largest customers worldwide

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Creative Action Network WCI will collaborate with Springboard for the Arts and the University of Minnesota Extension to provide arts-based workshops for alumni of its West Central Leadership Academy with a goal of forming a network of leaders to help inspire creative action in their communities

Fargo Jet Center spreads wings into Cities market

Exclusive Aerospace LLC, an affiliate of Fargo Jet Center, has expanded its services to the Minneapolis/St Paul market through the acquisition of Premier Jet Center at Flying Cloud airport in Eden Prairie, Minn Exclusive Aerospace will continue to operate the Flying Cloud airport location as Premier Jet Center and will retain

Existing Personnel

Flying Cloud airport is one of the main corporate airports serving the Cities market, according to FJC

NDSU engineering center to support ND industry

The North Dakota State University College of Engineering has announced the creation of the Center of Quality, Reliability and Maintainability Engineering. The center will allow students and faculty to work with partners in North Dakota’s growing oil, wind, power and manufac tur ing indust r ies to improve product quality and reliability and to optimize maintenance plans, according to the school Member companies will have access to center resources and receive assistance in design testing and validation, failure and risk analysis, and establishing effective quality systems for manufacturing operations

Early supporters of the center include Tucson, Ariz.-based ReliaSoft, which donated $4,000 to purchase computers for the center and more than $400,000 in workstation licenses for its software, and Denver-based Qualmark Corp., which contributed a $200,000 test chamber designed to test products at the center

Seven local companies have committed a total of $90,000 per year in membership fees to support the center for the next three years, according to NDSU Representatives of member companies serve on the center’s advisory board and help guide the center’s research

With workers in high demand, employers flock to career fairs

Universities throughout the region have reported record numbers of businesses exhibiting at fall career fairs, illustrating the high demand and competition for workers in many industries, particularly in engineering fields

The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology registered 153 companies to attend its career fair on Sept 23, making it the largest career fair in school history Employers represented 28 states and Canada; just 38 of the companies attending were South Dakota companies. Prior to the event, the school estimated 1,200 students would attend the event.

South Dakota State University’s Jerome J Lohr College of Engineering attracted 105 companies, a new record, to its career fair on Oct 7 The previous record, set in 2013, was 86 companies SDSU offers nine engineering majors, all of which were represented by the more than 400 students who attended the event. This year also marked the first time architectural students were invited to the event

Among the firms exhibiting at SDSU’s event were Grand Forks, N D -based AE2S (Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services Inc ), Iowa-based Vermeer and Otter Tail Power Co Many exhibitors were seeking to fill multiple open positions and admitted competition for new employees in this region is fierce. “In certain areas of the country, there is a lot of demand,” says Delvin DeBoer, a former engineering faculty member at SDSU who currently works for AE2S “The company is growing rapidly,” he says “We’re in a continuous hiring mode ”

JLG opens Dickinson office, celebrates 25th anniversary

JLG Architects has opened a branch office in Dickinson, N D The new location is the firm’s eighth office The firm was founded in Grand Forks, N.D., 25 years ago. Other offices are located in Fargo, Bismarck, Minot and Williston, N D , and Minneapolis and Alexandria, Minn

Eide Bailly expands to Nevada

Regional certified public accounting and business advisory firm Eide Bailly LLP announced the acquisition of Muckel Anderson CPAs in Reno, Nev., effective Nov. 3. It is Eide Bailly’s first Nevada location Eide Bailly CEO Dave Stende says the acquisition fits with the firm’s strategic plan to grow its presence west of the Mississippi River and into the “intermountain region” of the U S

With the addition of the Reno office, Eide Bailly will have 25 offices in 12 states and nearly 1,500 employees

A&B Business becomes authorized Xerox dealer

Sioux Falls, S.D.-based A&B Business Solutions has joined the family of Xerox Authorized Dealers “We chose to partner with Xerox due to its strong brand name, reputation for excellence in products and services and client support priority,” A&B owner Dennis Aanenson says. “As a Xerox Authorized Dealer, we are excited about our ability to better serve our clients with the industry’s best products and solutions as we expand our presence in the upper Midwest market.”

First International Bank & Trust donates $500K to hospital project

Watford City, N D -based First International Bank & Trust has donated $500,000 to the McKenzie County Healthcare Systems Inc. public campaign for a new health care facility in Watford City. It is the bank’s largest single community donation in its 104-year history

“Health care is critical for this community,” First International Bank & Trust CEO Steve Stenehjem says. “In giving this gift, we really want to encourage others in this community to donate as well ”

The public campaign seeks to raise $15 5 million for the new facility, which will replace Watford City’s current hospital and offer expanded space to meet the needs of the area ’ s growing population.

ND Health Care Review changes name

Minot, N D -based nonprofit organization North Dakota Health Care Review Inc. has changed its name to Quality Health Associates of North Dakota to better reflect its role as an organization focused on collaborating with health care industry members to improve the quality of care provided to North Dakotans QHA is governed by a 10-member board of directors and staffed by more than 20 industry professionals, with expertise in quality improvement methodologies, lean process improvement, health IT and electronic medical record consultation, data analytics, and coding and quality and utilization review.

Essentia names Herman CEO

Essentia Health’s board of directors has appointed Dr Dav id Herman CEO and a member of the board. He w ill join the organization in early 2015

Herman, a native of International Falls, Minn., has more than 20 years of experience in health care leadership. He most recently served as president and CEO of Vidant Health, an integrated health care system in eastern North Carolina Prior to that, he served on the Mayo Clinic staff from 1988 to 2011, where he was a professor of ophthalmology He currently serves on the board of directors for the American Board of Ophthalmology and is a member of the board of trustees for the Ronald McDonald House Charities

Herman will replace Dr Peter Person, who announced his planned retirement earlier this year.

Sanford names Mellmer director, clinic operations

Jake Mellmer has been named director of clinic operations for Sanford Health North and Sanford Health South clinics in Bismarck, N D He will be responsible for promoting quality of care and access within each clinic, planning, directory and coordinating administrative functions and overseeing the development and maintenance of clinic policy and procedures. Prior to this role, Mellmer served as human resource representative, environmental services manager and administrative assistant at Sanford Health Continuing Care Center off Collins in Mandan, N D

Jorvig joins Absolute Marketing

Absolute Marketing Group has hired Brian Jorvig as a marketing adviser Jorvig has more than 10 years of experience with local and national clients and has expertise in website optimization, content strategy and branding Prior to joining Absolute Marketing, he served as an online marketing strategist and account manager at Ironclad Marketing in Fargo

CHI St. Joseph’s Health promotes Heidt

Kim Heidt has been promoted to director of human resources at CHI St. Joseph’s Health in Dickinson, N D She joined the organization’s HR department in 2010 and has been involved with St Joseph’s implementation of its current HR and payroll system and its new performance management program Along with her role as HR director, she will also serve on the organization’s senior leadership team. Heidt is a native of Dickinson and holds a bachelor’s degree in business management with a focus on HR from the University of Mary in Bismarck, N D

Olson elected SDAHO board chair

Kent Olson, administrator and CEO of Philip Health Services Inc in Philip, S D , has been elected chairperson of the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations. A North Dakota native, Olson holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Minnesota State University Moorhead. He joined Philip Health Services in 2006 and has served on the SDAHO board of trustees since 2009

Western State Bank promotes Jacobson

Brad Jacobson has been promoted to president/chief operating officer at Western State Bank. Jacobson joined the bank in 2002 and has since served in a number of roles, including business banking officer, vice president/business banking manager and market president. In 2011, he began overseeing the bank’s locations In his new role, he will continue to oversee the bank’s seven locations as well as provide direction on the overall banking strategy Jacobson is a graduate of North Dakota State University and the Graduate School of Banking of Colorado.

Ackerman-Estvold hires Janssen

Shelby Janssen has joined Ackerman-Estvold’s Williston, N D , office as an architectural designer In this role, she will design a variety of architecture projects throughout the region She holds associate degrees in construction management technology and architectural drafting from North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, N D

Karsky named to Graduate School of Banking board

Tim Karsky, president of Choice Financial in Bismarck, N.D., has been named to the board of trustees at the Graduate School of Banking at Colorado Karsky served as commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions from 2001 to 2010, as well as a number of other leadership roles in the banking industry, including chairman and treasurer of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, instructor at the Dakota School of Banking and member of the FDIC National Advisory Council of craftsmen and women to build state of the art aggregate processing equipment to create clean high grade materials for use in construction where asphalt and concrete are required.

Daugaard honored as food, ag governor of year

South Dakota Gov Dennis Daugaard was recently presented with the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s 2014 Food and Agriculture Governor of the Year award during the group ’ s livestock biotech summit in Sioux Falls, S D The award was presented in recognition of his leadership and commitment to strengthening the agricultural and livestock biotechnology industries within South Dakota.

“I am proud to say that companies across the biotechnology spectrum have taken notice of what we are doing in South Dakota and have decided to put down roots with us, ” Daugaard said “I am honored to receive this acknowledgement of South Dakota’s commitment to fostering growth in the biosciences, and our state’s support of innovations that help heal, fuel and feed the world.”

DFC Consultants promotes Schaffer

Deb Schaffer, project manager, has been promoted to the DFC Consultants management team She will be responsible for helping set strategy and direction for the company Schaffer has 19 years of experience, four of them with DFC Consultants. She is a Microsoft Certified Trainer specializing in Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Fronteer announces retirement, new hire

Bismarck, N.D.-based Fronteer Payroll Services Inc has hired Jen Wollmann as sales and account representative She will replace Cindy Weiand, who is retiring.

Weiand has served as sales representative, insurance representative and HR representative for the past 14 years She will continue to act as a consultant through the end of the year. Wollman has more than 10 years of experience in customer service, office management, benefits administration, payroll administration and HR management.

GPM adds 2, expands ND market

GPM Inc. has hired Chad Bannor as an outside sales associate, specializing in the oil and gas industries He is based at GPM’s Bismarck, N D , office. In this role, he will be responsible for business development throughout North Dakota’s oil patch Prior to joining GPM, Bannor was a roughneck for Ensign United States Drilling and a field technician for BOS Solutions.

Mike Krebs has joined GPM’s inside sales team at the Bismarck office He most recently served as an imaging/electronic content management specialist at Fireside Office Solutions in Bismarck