Tech firm devotes itself to finance industry pg. 36 ALSO
Major projects point toward growth in Dakotas' wind power pg. 34
$10B federal loan fund targets rural infrastructure pg. 30
Major projects point toward grow th in Dakotas’ w ind power
Tech fir m’s research finds secur ity flaw in finance industr y
EVENTS
2014 Black Hills Bakken & Investor Conference .........................................................................Oct. 1-2 Spearfish, S D
Information: blackhillsbakkenconference com/ Minnesota Chamber of Commerce 2014 Business Conference..................................................Oct. 8 Minneapolis Information: business mnchamber com/events/details/ 2014-business-conference-annual-meeting-2184
2014 Bakken Oil Product and Service Show Oct 8-9 Williston, N D
Information: bakkenoilshow com/
2014 Governor’s Workforce and Human Resources Conference ...........................................Oct. 8-9 Bismarck, N D Information: workforce nd gov/workforce/GovernorsWorkforceHRConference/
2014 Women’s Business Summit ..............................................................................................Oct. 12-13 Bismarck, N D Information: trainingnd com/technology-training/ctb-womens-business-summit
Great Plains and EmPower N.D. Energy Conference ..................................................................Oct. 14 Bismarck, N D
Information: info bismarckstate edu/greatplains/
KRIS BEVILL Editor k
This issue dives into a topic that continues to make national headlines cyber security Major security breaches continue to occur with disturbing frequency, affecting national entities that we would assume have top-notch security systems in place to protect against hack attacks. Hackers and those who protect against them are in a constant game of cat-and-mouse, and the threat is real for all businesses, including financial institutions Earlier this year, a Fargo technology company Sycorr deployed a service its leaders created with the intent of learning more about its target customer, banks and credit unions, but it soon uncovered some unexpected findings with regards to industr y members’ website security At the risk of offending its potential customers, the firm released its findings in order to alert them to the potential for damage. Read “Securing the Bank” to learn about the study, the risk and how to fix it.
For those looking to finance new projects, attracting major investors to rural America can be a challenge despite the region’s strong economies and potential for returns With that in mind, the federal government announced a $10 billion loan fund earlier this summer geared toward giving promising projects in -rural America the financial shot in the arm they need Contributing writer Rob Swenson looks at the details of the fund and whether local investors think it will have the intended impact in his feature article, “A New Approach.”
Also this month, we turn our attention to the skies to examine some of the wind projects under way in the region Oil and gas have dominated the energy conversation in the northern Plains for some time, and rightly so, but a growing number of wind farms are being approved and moving ahead as the region works to satisfy not only its own growing appetite for energy, but also the ever-increasing renewable energy standards in other states Read “Realizing Potential” to learn more about a project in southeastern South Dakota that could become one of the largest wind farms ever built in the U S , and a wind farm under construction along the North Dakota-Canada border that marks the entry of an international renewable energy developer to our area
Finally, it’s once again time to recognize the young professionals in our region that are continuing to drive the northern Plains to excellence. We’re accepting nominations for this year ’ s top 40 under 40 through Oct 17 I encourage you to take a moment to nominate the go-getters in your profession and community who deserve to be included on the list To nominate, visit prairiebizmag com, and look for the results in our December issue
KORRIE WENZEL, Publisher
RONA JOHNSON, Executive Editor
KRIS BEVILL, Editor
BETH BOHLMAN, Circulation Manager
KRIS WOLFF, Layout Design, Ad Design
Sales Director:
JOHN FETSCH
701 212 1026 jfetsch@prairiebizmag com
Sales:
BRAD BOYD - western ND/western SD 800 641 0683 bboyd@prairiebizmag com
SHELLY LARSON - eastern ND/western MN 701.866.3628 slarson@prairiebizmag.com
Editor:
KRIS BEVILL
701.306.8561 kbevill@prairiebizmag.com
Editorial Advisors:
Dwaine Chapel, Executive Director, Research Park at South Dakota State University; Bruce Gjovig, Director, Center for Innovation; Lisa Gulland-Nelson, Vice President, Marketing and PR , Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC; Tonya Joe (T.J.) Hansen, Assistant Professor of Economics, Minnesota State University Moorhead; Dusty Johnson, Chief of Staff for South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s office; Brekka Kramer, General Manager of Odney; Matthew Mohr, President/CEO, Dacotah Paper Company; Nancy Straw, President, West Central Initiative
Prairie Business magazine is published monthly by the Grand Forks Herald and Forum Communications Company with offices at 375 2nd Avenue North, Grand Forks, ND 58203 Qualifying subscriptions are available free of charge Back issue quantities are limited and subject to availability ($2/copy prepaid) The opinions of writers featured in Prairie Business are their own Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork are encouraged but will not be returned without a self-addressed, stamped envelope
Subscriptions Free subscriptions are available online to qualified requestors at www prairiebizmag com
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Prairie Business magazine PO Box 6008
Grand Forks, ND 58206-6008
Beth Bohlman: bbohlman@prairiebizmag com
Online www.prairiebizmag.com
The move to patent an idea is one of the first steps in protecting its purpose, exclusivity and ultimate value. At Patterson Thuente, we understand the importance of being comprehensive, creative and agile through every step of safeguarding our business clients’ intellectual property. Which is why we are solely devoted to the nurturing, support and security of ideas. Call 605.692.7554 or visit PTSLAW.com to discover how we ensure that whatever’s in your head, comes out ahead.
Businesses which carr y products for resale are often faced with items which, for a variety of reasons, experience an unexpected sales decline. Properly controlled inventor y will insure these “dead” items are eliminated Some enterprises keep this inventor y on hand with hopes of future sales or to tr y to enhance their balance sheets Sometimes on a particular item sales will be revived and product on hand gets sold Generally the product on hand gathers dust and deteriorates, causing it to have nearly no value.
An interesting conversation I had with a business owner involved how she tracked and accounted for her inventory. While reviewing her warehouse stock, which consisted of thousands of items, I pointed out that to get a true inventory value the low sellers needed to be counted right If you have five units showing on your stock report but only four on hand, that’s a big difference especially if they have no saleable value Her reply was, “Oh no, we have to show that stock as fully valued for our bank loan ”
In essence, as the overall inventory moved through her business she collected and overstated the value of slow-
selling product to get larger bank loans If the business would have failed, the bank would have discovered it had made loans against inventory which did not exist. If things were to go sour, and proof of her purposely overstating inventory value was discovered, she could be held liable
One of my good friends negotiated to purchase a major multi-national manufacturer which he wanted to own and run The business had fallen on hard times so he saw an opportunity When he went to view the operations he told me he discovered years-old inventory, counted as current, stacked in tunnels between the buildings He was not successful in his bid for the business, but the buyers did have to clean up a huge mess and struggled to get the business financially sound
A current, clean, accurate inventory value is of paramount importance to the business and its financial backers PB
Matthew D. Mohr CEO, Dacotah Paper Co. mmohr@dacotahpaper com
During a recent three-day, 1,700-mile road trip, I decided to see if I could “survive” with just a single electronic device. Normally when I travel, my bag is overflowing with a bevy of gadgets including a laptop, tablet, smartphone, e-reader, GPS and streaming device
Bombarded by media campaigns suggesting smartphones can do everything, I wondered how realistic these claims really were The rules of the challenge were simple: Everything related to the trip had to be completed with a single smartphone The first step was to make sure that all the necessary apps were loaded I used a map program to plot the route, a couple different apps to get some hotel and restaurant recommendations, loaded some e-books, and downloaded my favorite podcasts
The preparation seemed simple enough, but of course, I had not left the comfort of my very connected world Would all of this work once I started driving? As I
left home, with just my phone, I felt a little uneasy, but that all changed when my phone connected to Bluetooth and the map app told me to turn right. The journey unfolded much better than expected and I really did not miss the bag of toys that usually weighs me down
As fun as the experiment was, there is an important moral to the story. I only used hotels, restaurants and other services that had an easy to use app and great customer reviews Everything else disappeared from my radar This brings up two important questions that are vital for all business leaders: When was the last time you checked how visible your business is in the mobile world? What have you done to cultivate a loyal online customer base? PB
John Girard Founder, Sagology John@JohnGirard.net Twitter: @JohnGirard
As a business owner, you face a great deal of financial decisions. In addition to taxes, retirement and estate planning, you must also worr y about providing retirement benefits to your fir m ’ s employees, retaining your ke y p eople or preparing for their loss, and preparing for the day you will hand over the reins to someone else
This sheer number of decisions and their complexity can paralyze a business owner. However, ignoring these issues won’t make them go away You need answers to questions that are critical in the decisionmaking process.
Have you saved enough to maintain your lifestyle and become independent of the business?
People think preparing for retirement involves saving as much money as possible and investing it wisely by diversifying But in addition to diversifying investments, smart retirement savers should also consider how taxes will affect their retirement dollars. There are a number of ways to save for retirement and withdraw income once retirement arrives It’s important to consider the contribution, accumulation and distribution tax characteristics of these options.
Have you created programs to recruit, reward and retain key employees?
Key employees make an important contribution to your company ’ s profitability It is in your best interest to recognize their contribution Selective executive compensation benefits reward those employees whose achievements are most responsible for the business’s success and allow key employees to share in the accomplishments of the business
If a ke y employee dies, w il l your business suffer financial ly?
Key employee life insurance is owned by a company on the life of one of its important employees. The death of one of your key employees could cause serious problems to your company, such as lost sales, lower earnings and added costs for hiring and training a replacement. Key employee life insurance provides a
death benefit that helps you replace these costs and operate smoothly after losing a key employee.
Have you identified steps to transfer the business to others at a fair price?
Having a business succession strategy in place is a key to the success and survival of your company Strategies such as buy-sell arrangements can facilitate the transfer of a business interest upon a certain event (death, disability or retirement).
Can you successfully transfer the assets you’ve worked a lifetime to accumulate?
Estate or income taxes and other costs can erode the assets you ’ ve spent a lifetime accumulating A life insurance solution can help protect those assets by providing a tax-free death benefit to help offset these costs and provide a legacy to your beneficiaries. It also plays an important role in many estate planning strategies
You will want to create a roadmap to guide you through the various financial decisions you face. This roadmap starts with your current state of affairs and ends when you exit the business (either during life or at death). In order to properly implement strategies, you will want to work with a financial advisor who is experienced in developing strategies for business, can help you assess your current business life stage and develop your roadmap to business success.
Life insurance products contain fees, such as mortality and expense charges, and may contain restrictions, such as surrender periods. Policy loan and withdrawals may create an adverse tax result in the event of a lapse or policy surrender, and will reduce both the cash value and death benefit Please keep in mind that the primary reason to purchase life insurance is for the death benefit it provides PB
Rob Montgomery President, Securian Financial Advisors of North Dakota rob montgomery@securiannd com
North Dakota is celebrating its quasquicentennial of statehood this year
Looking ahead, 125 years from now, North Dakotans will celebrate the quarter-millennial, meaning one-fourth of 1,000 years
A special report by World Futurist Society on life in the year 2100 describes the 22nd century as being one where changes come exponentially faster than in the 21st century, a century that starts full of expected wonders and a rich harvest of utterly unexpected surprises and the stubborn persistence of some things we hoped to leave behind in the 20th century
So what will North Dakota look like 125 years from now what will we be celebrating in 2139? That’s hard to say and since I don't have a crystal ball I’m going to let history and some fairly predictable trends be my guide.
In his “History of North Dakota,” Elwyn B Robinson posed six themes of North Dakota’s history: remoteness, dependence, radicalism, a position of economic disadvantage, the Too-Much Mistake and adjustment From Robinson’s viewpoint in the 1960s, he called these the “hard, disagreeable truths.” From these, Robinson encapsulated the North Dakota character comprised of friendliness, courage, energy, loyalty and radicalism These character traits, if they endure, can serve us well as North Dakota’s future begins with a newly advantaged and connected point of departure I think about my hometown of Wishek, located in the rolling hills of south-central North Dakota, which drew immigrants from the steppes near the Black Sea They arrived in the 1880s to homestead the deep sod prairie, lured by the romantic thrill of developing a “Territorial Empire” that became the states of North and South Dakota
That spirit of Dakota lives on in Wishek as it makes strides to reinvent and revitalize its role as an agricultural, commercial and service center featuring all the qualities that make small town life so appealing. Wishek, like the rest of North Dakota, has changed and it will continue to do so, oftentimes in unexpected ways. As Clay Jenkinson so aptly points out, “You can say goodbye to the sleepy old family farm homeland we once were ”
By 2139 North Dakota’s oil boom instead of waning has continued due to improved extraction technologies that keep the crude pumping Although new energy and chemical technologies have replaced oil for some applications many of its harder-to-replace uses will continue to persist. A distributed, hub and node energy system of large and smaller-scale energy systems power virtually everything in the 22nd century reflecting the relocalization of all aspects of living and life
The world’s contentious, sometimes shifting political borders persist but commerce and common interests are based on networks not geography, where everything is simultaneously available globally but shaped to meet local needs In this era of hyper-globalization, Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks and other regional centers are connected to and compete on an even playing field with New York City, Lagos and Beijing Wishek and dozens of its small town counterparts endure as farming and service communities that feed a world population of 11 billion people PB
Delore Zimmerman President, Praxis Strategy Group Executive Director, Red River Valley Research Corridor delore@praxissg.comTwitter:
@DeloreZimmerman
North Dakota continues to have the lowest unemploy ment rate in the countr y with literally thousands of jobs available in high-demand industries like health care, technology, construction, energy, agriculture, transportation, engineering, management, retail and many others. We have great schools, family-fr iend ly communities and wide-open spaces with endless options for outdoor recreation, as well as excellent arts, culture and retail opportunities across the state.
The Find the Good Life in North Dakota initiative is a workforce recruitment campaign star ted by the Nor th Dakota Economic Development Foundation. It is a private/public sector-funded program designed to help solve the greatest challenge facing our business community: workforce development, recruitment and retention The goal of the program is to attract permanent workers and their families to North Dakota so we have the workforce we need to support our state’s healthy economy and business growth
The initiative will use a variety of traditional, digital and nontraditional marketing tactics to reach each of the target audiences Tactics include:
• Paid digital advertising to reach targeted job seekers in other states.
• Visiting military bases, job fairs and college campuses to promote North Dakota and the opportunities available.
• Targeted digital and traditional media instate to encourage residents to invite their friends
and families to move here
• Educating new North Dakota residents and temporary workers to the benefits of making our state their home.
• Media relations to increase awareness of the opportunities our state has and to enhance the image of North Dakota as an attractive place to live.
The initiative, which launched in March, has shown promising initial results The FindtheGoodLifeinNorthDakota.com website has attracted over 50,000 unique visitors and JobsND com has more than 142,000 new users since mid-May. The digital campaign has resulted in over 23 million impressions. We have heard from a number of employers who have hired employees as a direct result of hiring events Transitioning military has also indicated that they will be looking in the next six to nine months for North Dakota opportunities
Businesses are asked to consider joining in efforts to improve awareness of North Dakota our economy, jobs, quality of place and recreational offerings Companies or individuals in eastern North Dakota interested in donating to the campaign should contact Dav id Williamson at 651-485-8101 or dav idwilliamson@baldwin-telecom net In western North Dakota, contact Terry Fleck at 701-2239768 or tfleck@attitudedr com PB
Wally Goulet Chairman, N D Economic Development Foundation Vice President and General Counsel National Information Solutions Cooperative
In today’s competitive employment market your ability to recruit top talent can impact your bottom line. Sourcing and retaining IT talent is a problem we hear from many of our clients. With IT unemployment rates at an all-time low, companies are turning to staffing options. Often times, the complexities involved in technology usually mean one resource does not meet all of your needs. Additionally, projects such as OS or application upgrades typically are short term and do not warrant hiring full time technical support. Finding and keeping the right skill set can be both time consuming and expensive.
Before you spend more time looking for qualified candidates, ask yourself these questions:
•Do you plan on hiring or contracting more IT people in the next year?
•Do you have any short term needs that would make more sense to consider outsourcing?
•Are there any skill sets where it would warrant for you to contract a position rather than hire and maintain?
If you answered “yes” to any of the above, Corporate Technologies can save you the time and headache by doing the search for you. We can help you find the diamonds in the rough. Whatever your needs may be, we can provide IT resources to support your business. From desk side support requests to core infrastructure support, or from network engineers to general IT support our CTO Assist Program has you covered.
By choosing CTO Assist, your business has access to technology resources with the expertise and skill sets you require for as little as three months or as long as you need. Whether you have a short term project or need someone onsite a few days a week to supplement your current IT staff, we can accommodate your needs.
Our own portfolio of skilled technicians and managed services can meet many IT requirements. And when needed, we also leverage the power of our partnerships with world-class providers of hardware, software, and other IT solutions. We ally with strong technology partners like HP, CISCO, and Barracuda.
Together with those partners and the technical skills and certifications held by our engineers, Corporate Technologies is able to provide top-of-the-line solutions for organizations of all sizes, including: managed services, voice and data networking, data storage, and infrastructure design, implementation and support.
In addition, Corporate Technologies has over 33 years of experience and 175+ engineers which means faster turn-around time when seeking a resource. We have a proven history of sourcing and placing IT Professionals for many local businesses. From one part time person to an entire IT staff and everything in between, we have the breadth and depth of skills needed to seamlessly join your technology team.
Contact us for more information about our onsite staffing options and get started with fulfilling your IT needs now.
Justin Stansbury is the General Manager of Corporate Technologies’ Fargo office. Reach him at Justin.stansbury@gocorptech.com or 701.893.4097
The first ever unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) integration test in the U S was conducted recently at the Grand Forks (N D ) Air Force Base The test was designed to integrate UAS into national airspace and included about 100 federal and military personnel and multiple types of manned and unmanned aircraft The test was executed flawlessly, according to U S Marine Corps Major Erik Siegel, UAS Airspace Integration Joint Test chief.
North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring and Todd Coleman, CEO of the Port of Vancouver USA, recently agreed to a collaborative rail service program to support agriculture and energy industries.
As part of the agreement, the port will designate load centers, manage boxcars, coordinate with BNSF Railway and provide monthly service reports The North Dakota ag department will collect production data and communicate with the ag community, exporters and small to mid-size shippers
Goehring said the collaboration has been in the works for more than a year and could provide some relief for area producers struggling to get their commodities to market. “This agreement will not end that problem, but I believe it can go a long way to relieve it,” he said in a news release
When the collaboration was announced on Aug. 27, Coleman says he anticipates shipments beginning as early as mid-September
CHS Inc. announced Sept. 5 it will proceed with plans to construct a $3 billion fertilizer plant at the Spiritwood Energy Park near Jamestown, N.D. The project is the single largest investment in CHS history and is also the single largest private investment project ever undertaken in North Dakota, according to the cooperative. At the time of the announcement, a date had yet to be set for groundbreaking, but the plant is expected to be fully operational in 2018 When fully operational, it will produce more than 2,400 tons of ammonia daily, which will be converted to urea, UAN and DEF Products will primarily serve farmer-owned cooperatives and independent farm supply retailers within a 200mile radius of the plant Up to 180 workers are expected to be employed at the facility
Fargo-based Tharaldson Hospitality Management LLC recently opened the Staybridge Suites
Denver-Stapleton (Colo ), marking the brand’s 200th hotel opening THM manages the hotel, which is franchised by an affiliate of InterContinental Hotels Group
“We are proud to add yet another Staybridge Suites hotel to our portfolio with the opening of the Staybridge Suites
Denver-Stapleton and look forward to offering those traveling to Denver for extended periods a new, comfortable hotel option,” Gary Tharaldson, THM founder and owner of the hotel, said in a news release
THM was formed in 2011 and currently manages more than 20 hotels in 10 states, according to the company.
CenturyLink Inc. announced it is making 1 gigabit per second broadband Internet speeds available to businesses in Sioux Falls, S D , as part of a high-speed fiber network expansion that will include residential and business services in 16 cities within the next year Customers in Sioux Falls can visit centurylink com/gig to determine if the service is available to them.
The South Dakota Retailers Association is accepting nominations for its annual Retailer of the Year award through Oct 31 Individual business owners and managers are eligible for the award, as well as partners, and families who run a business as a team. The recipient will be honored at the SDRA awards banquet in January Nomination information is available at sdra.org/EducationEvents/RetailerofYear.
St Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck, N.D., has agreed to become a direct affiliate of the Catholic Health Initiatives system The two organizations will also form a regional coordinated health system with their combined hospitals and clinics, and other care providers in central and western North Dakota over the next few years The regional health system would initially include facilities in Bismarck, Carrington, Devils Lake, Dickinson, Garrison, Lincoln, Mandan, Minot, Turtle Lake, Washburn and Williston
The first annual Spark Your Star tup Business Pitch Contest, sponsored by Stoneridge Software, Dean’s Bulk Service, Crown Appraisals and the Barnesville Economic Development Authority, was held in Barnesville, Minn., Aug. 22. First prize, $1,000, was awarded to Booth, a virtual phone solution that utilizes geofencing to route calls to a cell phone on the user ’ s specified time and location terms.
Other finalists included Infuse Solutions, Userve, Snapdocs and DinnerTies
Fargo-based integrated canola processing company Northstar Agri Industries recently announced plans to open a 1,500-metric-ton, high-throughput facility in Winkler, Manitoba, this fall. The plant, which will serve the company ’ s crush plant in Hallock, Minn., will offer Canadian canola growers a more convenient delivery point for their product and is expected to increase the amount of canola being delivered from Canada to the Hallock facility
More than a half-million bee colonies have been registered in North Dakota this year, setting a new record high, according to the state agriculture department More than 221 beekeepers registered 510,000 colonies in 2014, up from 205 beekeepers and 482,500 colonies last year.
North Dakota has been the largest producer of honey in the U S for a decade The state produced more than 33 million pounds of honey last year, nearly a quarter of the nation’s total.
West Fargo-based Moore Engineering Inc was recently selected by PSMJ Resources Inc. for its 2014 Circle of Excellence This is the second consecutive year the firm has been named to the list, which highlights firms that are well-managed, based on key performance metrics including cash flow, productivity, overhead management and staff retention
Southwest Healthcare Ser vices and USDA Rural Development broke ground on a 60,000-square-foot hospital and clinic in Bowman, N.D., on Aug. 28. The facility will be attached to an existing nursing home and will more than double the capacity of the current medical facilities in order to meet growing demand from the area ’ s influx of new residents.
USDA Rural Development is financing 55 percent of the project w ith a $15 million low-interest loan Additional financing is being contr ibuted from the Nor th Dakota Medical Infrastructure Loan program and Southwest Healthcare The project is expected to be complete in late 2016.
Airgas Inc , a supplier of industrial, medical and specialty gases and related products, recently opened a Dickinson, N D , location to better serve its customers in the Bakken. Company President and CEO Michael Molinini says the company ’ s product and service offering is tailored to meet the needs of energy industry customers as well as those involved in metal and structure fabrication, and that the new location brings Airgas closer to its customers “in this important region of the country ”
The Midcontinent Foundation, the charitable arm of Midcontinent Communications, announced it will donate more than $94,000 to 62 charities in the Dakotas and Minnesota this year. The foundation was established in 1987 to provide financial assistance to charitable entities in Midcontinent’s service footprint To date, the foundation has distributed nearly $3.5 million to charitable nonprofits in the area. Charitable organizations are encouraged to apply for the foundation’s 2015 round of grants by Jan 20 More information is available at midcocomm com
The Center for Rural Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Minnesota Crookston is seeking regional entrepreneurs and small business owners in need of consulting services. Consulting is provided at no cost by students under the guidance of qualified faculty Applications for the spring semester course are due Dec 5 and can be found at umccres.org/apply.
Sioux Falls, S D -based online marketing firm Click Rain has been ranked the fastest-growing company in South Dakota by Inc. magazine. The company has experienced a three-year growth rate of more than 400 percent and added 15 jobs in that time Last year ’ s revenue was nearly $3 million, compared to revenue in 2010 of about $600,000, according to Inc. It currently employs about 20 people.
The company ranked 1,087 on Inc ’ s top 5000 list
The American Bankers Association recently ranked Choice Financial as the leader in agribusiness banking in North Dakota and 45th in the U S Rankings are based on loan portfolio totals for all types of loans, including the amount loaned for farmland, the amount of other ag loans and the total ag portfolio, according to Choice Financial The bank also topped the list of North Dakota ag lenders in 2011
Sanford Health and Ghana’s Ministry of Health have signed an agreement for Sanford International Clinics to add more than 300 clinics in the African country by 2020. The expansion of health care is aimed at improving maternity care and reducing infant mortality rates in the country. Sanford opened a clinic in Cape Coast in 2012 and has since opened four more clinics in Ghana. More than 180,000 patients have been treated at the clinics
Ag r icultur al equipment manufacturer Anderson Industries is expanding its operations to Webster, S D The company, founded in Andover, S D , in 2006 by Kor y Anderson, has expanded in recent years to include locations in Aberdeen, S.D., and Mapleton and West Fargo, N D The Webster facility is expected to eventually employ about 50 people
Building products distributor ABC Supply Co. Inc. has promoted Benjamin Dahl to manager of its newly opened Fargo location Dahl previously served as inside sales representative and management trainee at the company ’ s Savage, Minn., location. Prior to that, he was the special projects manager for the Marillac Social Center, a community services organization in Chicago
Corey Cleveland has joined United Valley Bank in Grand Forks, N.D., as senior vice president. In this role, he oversees all commercial lending in the bank’s Gr and For ks locations Cleveland has more than 30 years of banking exp er ience, most recently as president of a regional bank in Grand Forks He is the incoming chairman of the board of directors for the North Dakota Bankers Association.
Mike Traxinger has joined the South Dakota’s Wheat Growers staff as corporate attorney A fifthgeneration South Dakota farmer, he maintains a small herd of cattle on the family’s farm operation near Houghton He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and a law degree with a focus in agricultural law from Drake University Law School He was also recently appointed to the Regional Watershed Advisory Task Force, an interim state legislative committee that is reviewing soil, water and drainage laws
Mar ysz Rames, vice president for student affairs at S outh Dakota State Universit y in Brookings, has been appointed interim president of Dakota State University in Madison, S.D., by the South Dakota Board of Regents She replaces David Borofsky, who resigned after ser ving in the president role for more than two years.
Rames has served as student affairs vice president and assistant professor of education at SDSU since 2000. While there, she spearheaded a successful effort to increase enrollment and implement a student success model
Ethan Gefroh has joined Minot, N D -based Ackerman-Estvold as a landscape designer. He holds bachelor’s degrees in landscape architecture and environmental design from North Dakota State University and worked previously as a planning intern with the City of Minot. In his new role, he will develop landscape designs for the firm’s planning, architecture and municipal divisions
Williston, N D -based Ames Engineering and Development Services LLC recently added three new employees to its staff
Serena Christianson serves as marketing and public relations director and oversees the firm’s activities in those areas. She previously served as program coordinator and assistant professor of business at Williston State College
Cassie Klemetson has been hired as office manager and also assists the controller in managing the financial operations of the firm Before joining Ames, she was the accounting/office administrator for Probuild in Williston.
Jacob Porter joined the firm as a CADD technician He recently received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and architecture from Minnesota State University – Moorhead
Air ambulance equipment maker Spectrum Aeromed has promoted Tammy Enright to senior vice president – business manager Enright previously served as office manager and director of marketing. In her new role, she will lead efforts to expand the company ’ s brand through all social media outlets She will also begin developing an “employee-centric” culture.
Northwest Minnesota Foundation has hired Sean Moran as its business development specialist In this role, Moran will manage and implement the activities of NMF’s entrepreneur development program. He will also serve as program director for the Nor thwest Small Business Development Center, which is housed in NMF’s downtown Bemidji, Minn., headquarters. The two entities will jointly serve clients in the 12-county area of northwest Minnesota
UBS Financial Services Inc in Rapid City, S D , has promoted Vicki Schilling to first vice president-wealth management. Schilling has more than 23 years of experience as a financial advisor/portfolio manager and specializes in designing customized financial plans for her clients.
Widseth Smith Nolting hired Jordan Lee as a funding specialist. In this role, he maintains relationships with personnel at state and federal funding agencies, researches and secures funding sources for projects and administers and provides guidance through the grant application process. Lee holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and European studies from Winona (Minn ) State University and completing a master’s degree in public administration at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks
Kevin Kragnes has joined Starion Financial as a business banking officer, vice president at its Fargo Urban Plains branch In this role, Kragnes helps customers identify, develop and manage loan portfolios and customer relationships by advising on business management, financial matters and other services. Kragnes has more than 20 years of lending and banking experience.
Located on Broadway in the heart of Downtown Fargo, the Loretta Building has lived a variety of lives since its first blocks were laid in 1909. JLG’s award-winning design supported Kilbourne Group’s renovation by honoring the past while creating flexible modernity throughout. Today, Loretta is home to 18 local businesses.
jlgarchitects.com
Number of Attendees
It’s a problem facing nearly ever y employer in ever y industr y throughout the northern Plains not enough workers with the right skills to fill available jobs. Recruitment campaigns have been launched, businesses are offering incentives for new workers, and colleges and universities are introducing new programs and courses aimed at training workers to fill open positions, but resolving the region’s workforce shortage will clearly require an even greater collaboration, an all-of-the-above strategy on behalf of all sectors This was the message made loud and clear during workforce summits held throughout South Dakota earlier this year by Gov.
(continued on page 28)
Housing; finding skilled workers; retaining workers/aging workforce
Housing construc tion/ loans; scholarship and tuition reimbursement; internships
Increase transparenc y regarding work oppor tunities; add internships, scholarships, apprenticeships; expand career awareness par tnerships
Misperceptions regarding job details, par ticularly skilled trades; lack of skilled workers; young labor pool unaware of oppor tunities
Finding skilled workers; lack of student awareness/interest; housing
Finding skilled workers; insufficient wages/ benefits; lack of education, training oppor tunities
Limited awareness of oppor tunities among potential workforce; insufficient wages/benefits; engaging workers lacking GED
Finding skilled workers; disconnec t between industr y needs, education; insufficient wages/benefits
Tuition reimbursement, scholarships; expand career prep ser vices; student/youth engagement
Internships; flexible work arrangements; par ticipation in youth education, mentoring
n/a
Increase flexibility to meet workforce needs; expand tuition reimbursement, internship programs; increase professional development oppor tunities
Forecast, communicate workforce needs; increase internships, tuition reimbursement programs; increase professional development oppor tunities
Add internships, scholarships, apprenticeships; increase involvement in community integration, skills development; increase awareness of career development resources
Par tnership with veterans; employee referral program; internships
Expand career awareness par tnerships; increase internships, scholarships, apprenticeships; increase involvement in community integration, career development
Par tnerships with educational institutions; scholarships, tuition reimbursement; internships
Improve business culture, work environment; increase internships, scholarships, apprenticeships; expand training oppor tunities
(continued from page 26)
Dennis Daugaard and the South Dakota Workforce Initiatives Cabinet summarized in a final report released by his office on Sept 2
“Over 1,000 people provided input for this report,” Daugaard said in a statement. “We heard from educators, community leaders, businesses and elected officials from all across the state We’ve been actively engaged in workforce efforts over the past few years. By exploring the new tools and strategies laid out in the report, we can improve those efforts at the state and local levels ”
The governor ’ s regional workforce summit campaign began in April with an event in Mitchell, followed throughout the spring and early summer with summits in Watertown, Brookings, Rapid City, Aberdeen and Sioux Falls Each summit included data on growth and change in the state’s labor market, panel discussions and breakout groups to discuss workforce challenges, initiatives and case-specific solutions that have been applied to resolve those challenges, as well as sector-specific strategies that can be pursued to further address challenges (See accompanying table for specific takeaways from each event )
Some of the most commonly cited challenges regarding South Dakota’s workforce included: misperceptions of young people and their parents regarding technical and other careers; unrealistic career expectations and a lack of early real-world work experience; misperceptions of potential new employees regarding work opportunities and community amenities; a lack of available and affordable housing; a lack of specialized services to support minority cultures and competition from other employers Summit attendees also pinpointed a need for educational institutions to continually update their education and training offerings to meet the current needs of the business community
Participants also highlighted examples of successful approaches being taken to overcome those challenges, including business-education partnerships, industry participation in high school career days and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) competitions, industry participation on curriculum advisory boards and cash incentive programs for employee referrals
Butler Machinery Co ’ s Caterpillar service technology program, ThinkBIG, was highlighted in the final report as an example of a successful industr y-sponsored Career Technical Education course Through the program, the company sponsors students at Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown and offers
them paid internships to complete their training.
In Aberdeen, Molded Fiber Glass Cos and Northern State University have partnered to provide employees with English language classes and GED (general educational development) classes. Since launching the program, the company has noted improved communication across its workforce, increased utilization of its labor supply, increased employee retention and reduced costs and quality risks.
Cross-section collaboration, as is being utilized by companies like Butler Machiner y and Molded Fiber Glass, was cited frequently at workforce summits as a strategy worth pursuing. Through collaborative efforts, it can be expected that internships would be created, career awareness campaigns could be launched, industr y-dr iven cer tifications and cur r iculums could be developed, incentives could be developed to keep workers in the state and outreach could be enhanced for currently disengaged populations
The report also pinpointed specific strategy items for each sector, including business, education, government and other community members The report recommended that businesses increase workplace flexibility to meet the needs of a changing workforce, expand the number of apprenticeships and develop creative solutions to provide transportation for workers Further, the report also includes a checklist for each sector to use to evaluate their current standing and provide insight into the development of an action plan to further address their challenges.
In a column written after the final report was released, Daugaard said the state’s workforce needs must be addressed if it is to remain “ open for business.” He announced the state will commit $1 million to be used as matching funds for community workforce development plans, but reiterated that overcoming the workforce shortage will require a collaborative effort among all sectors. “It’s going to take continued dedication from people of all sectors over a long period of time,” he wrote “As we continue to work together to address our workforce challenges, let’s remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint.” PB
Kris Bevill Editor, Prairie Business 701-306-8561, kbevill@prairiebizmag comView the entire report, along with videos and reports of individual summits at southdakotawins.com/workforcesummits/
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Finding funding in rural America can be like searching for a needle in a haystack .
Will a federal investment fund help?
BY ROB SWENSONAnew, $10 billion loan fund has been designed to boost the national economy by helping finance needed infrastructure improvements in rural America.
Projects in rural areas that could benefit from the financing help include community facilities, water systems, energy operations and broadband infrastructure.
“This fund represents a new approach to our support for job-creating projects across the country,” U S Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack said recently in announcing the creation of the fund
“With new efforts like this, we can move beyond existing programs and help encourage substantial private investment in projects that grow the economy and improve quality of life for millions of Americans,” said Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa.
Vilsack chairs the White House Rural Council, which President Barack Obama created by executive order in 2011 to promote economic prosperity and the quality of life in rural communities
Rural America offers promising investment potential, but investors in urban areas are not always aware of the opportunities, according to Vilsack and other officials
“The financial community should look at investing in rural America not just as a good thing to do there is a huge opportunity for them to see a return on their investment in rural America as well,” Vilsack has said
Colorado-based CoBank, which is part of the U S Farm Credit System, is the anchor investor in the new fund.
“The continued success of the U S rural economy and the improvement of rural communities depends on the strength of our infrastructure,” said Robert Engel, CEO of CoBank, in announcing the bank’s participation “To remain competitive, we must develop innovative financing strategies that will ensure infrastructure investment keeps pace with the needs of agriculture and other key rural industries.”
Creation of the U S Rural Infrastructure Opportunity Fund was announced in late July at the White House Rural Opportunity Investment Conference in Washington, D.C.
Jasper Schneider, state director for USDA Rural Development in North Dakota, says details of fund implementation still are being developed But he considers the creation of the fund to be a significant step ahead for rural America.
“In my experience the bottleneck for development in rural areas is access to capital,” Schneider says “I think there’s a tremendous opportunity in rural America to leverage resources between public and private funds ”
The oil-production boom in western North Dakota and good prices for agricultural products have strengthened the state’s economy and added to investors’ interest, Schneider says
“Anytime we can get capital flowing in rural America, that’s a good thing. It stimulates the economy. In the long run, it lays the foundation for economic growth,” he says
Regionally, private investment executives and business leaders have reacted positively to the creation of the infrastructure fund.
Creating funds to help get more investment capital to rural America is a great idea, says Blaine Crissman, who attended the national conference He is the founding partner of Badlands Capital in Sioux Falls, S.D. The company focuses on business investments in fields such as manufacturing and agribusiness in the Dakotas and other rural states in the region
“The economy in the Great Plains is stable and growing,” he says. “It is important to keep this momentum and spread it to rural parts of the region by providing appropriate types of capital for business and employment growth ”
Mark Luecke, who runs the venture capital firm South Dakota Innovation Partners, also likes what the USDA is doing
“They are actually creating a pipeline of projects that investors might not otherwise have access to,” says Luecke, whose company invests in research startups in fields such as agriculture
“USDA does a good job of putting these types of programs together, and leveraging one program with the next one, ” Luecke says
Mark Shlanta, CEO of SDN Communications in Sioux Falls, spoke on a panel at the conference where the new fund was
announced SDN provides broadband connectivity and related hightech services to businesses and institutions.
Shlanta, who is also a community-development leader in Sioux Falls, was a member of a panel that discussed opportunities for improving the telecommunications infrastructure in rural America. The discussion focused largely on satellite communications and enduser connectivity
“One of the things the conference tried to stress was better coordination and cooperation when capital infrastructure projects are being rebuilt, making sure that different needs are coordinated,” Shlanta says
If a road is going to be widened, for example, the work should be coordinated with providers of water and telecommunications services There’s lots of room for improvement in that kind of communication throughout the United States, not just in rural America, he says
Capitol Peak Asset Management, which has offices in Denver and Washington, D C , is managing the Rural Infrastructure Opportunity Fund The firm is actively recruiting investors beyond traditional finance providers, such as banks and insurance companies.
Capitol Peak in partnership with CoBank also is identifying critical infrastructure projects that would be appropriate for the fund and could help spur economic growth, create jobs and benefit rural economies, says Leo Tilman, executive chairman of Capitol Peak
New investors could include pension funds, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds as well as family offices with high net worth individuals
Tilman says the new fund is enabling new types of investors to participate in stable investment opportunities that will provide much-needed capital to rural America.
“It’s a very exciting story in so many ways, ” Tilman says “It’s time for the financial and investment community to contribute more deeply to the rural economy. ”
The fund leadership set in motion by Vilsack will strive to deliver tangible results for rural communities, such as the construction of hospitals, improvement of water systems and the expansion of access to broadband connectivity, Tilman says
The early response from prospective investors and projects “has been overwhelming,” he says
Prospective borrowers who want to make sure that their projects are not overlooked for consideration may contact Capitol Peak They also may contact CoBank or their local USDA office
Other new funding tools also have been created to assist in the development of rural America
Earlier this year, Vilsack announced the creation of a fund to help small businesses and create jobs The fund is designed to facilitate equit y investments in ag-related businesses. Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners, which manages the fund, and nine
Farm Credit institution partners have pledged to invest more than $150 million.
Among the investors and partners in the fund is AgStar Financial Services, a cooperative and Farm Credit association based in Minnesota
AgStar is pleased to partner with Advantage Capital and other Farm Credit institutions in the $150 million fund, says Aaron Knewtson, an associate vice president with AgStar
“We believe this fund will raise awareness throughout the investment community and serve as the impetus for more funds under the Rural Business Investment Program,” Knewtson says
Federal officials point out that other agencies also are reaching out to help stimulate economic growth and job creation in rural America
Membership of the White House Rural Council includes about 25 federal departments and agencies, such as the Small Business Administration Matt Varilek is the regional administrator for SBA Region VIII, which includes the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah
-Jasper Schneider, North Dakota director USDA Rural DevelopmentSBA loan guarantee and advisory programs are designed to help small businesses everywhere and might be especially beneficial and accessible to enterprises in rural areas, he says Denver-based Varilek says he has a special interest in making small businesses throughout his heavily rural region aware of SBA programs. He’s a native of rural South Dakota. “It’s a personal issue for me, ” he says
Representatives from departments such as Commerce, Energy, Labor and Defense also serve on the Rural Council and contribute to its efforts
“All these agencies are charged with finding ways to facilitate investments in rural places,” Varilek says PB
Rob Swenson Contributing Writer RobSwensonMediaServices@gmail.com
“In my experience the bottleneck for development in rural areas is access to capital.”
BY KRIS BEVILL
Wind is a constant presence for those living on the northern Plains, yet the number of wind farms built to capture that ever-present piece of the Plains environment is only a fraction of what could be, according to the American Wind Energy Association South Dakota, which generated 26 percent of its electricity from wind in 2013, has 783 megawatts (MW) of installed wind capacity generated by 474 turbines, according to the group. It ranks only 19th among states for total megawatts of wind capacity installed Only 15 percent of North Dakota’s power was produced from wind in 2013, but the state outranks its southerly neighbor in terms of megawatt capacity and turbines installed as it produces more wind power for export to states such as Minnesota
According to AWEA, North Dakota has 1,681 MW of wind capacity and 995 turbines, garnering a 12th place ranking among all states. Minnesota fares better yet, with 2,035 MW of wind capacity and more than 2,000 turbines, putting it in the top 10 in both categories Meanwhile Texas, the leading producer of wind energy in the U.S., boasts more than 12,000 MW of wind capacity from nearly 8,000 turbines
Clearly, the Dakotas have only begun to tap into their steady energy resource, but that appears to be beginning to change due to a couple of factors Demand for renewable energy is ratcheting up in states with renewable energy standards and utilities need to meet those requirements as well as the overall increasing demands for power Wind power offers an economic way for utilities to meet those
needs and the upper Midwest has an abundance of some of the best feedstock in the world, garnering solid interest from wind farm developers at the local and international levels.
“Wind energy offers tremendous economic and environmental benefits, and after energy efficiency, utility-scale wind is the lowest cost way to reduce carbon emissions while providing significant amounts of reliable power, ” says Rob Morgan, chief development officer for Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES Americas), a renewable energy company with a portfolio of more than 7,000 MW of renewable energy in locations throughout the continent
The company, which is based in Colorado with regional offices in Texas and Minneapolis, has been developing projects in North America since 1997 but didn’t log its first North Dakota project until earlier this year with the purchase of the Border Winds Project near the Canadian border in Rolette County. Construction began in June and is expected to be complete in October next year, when ownership will transfer to Excel Energy The wind farm will be spread across 23,000 acres and will be capable of producing 150 MW of power from 75 turbines. The cost of the project is not being disclosed, but Morgan says Xcel Energy expects the project could reduce customer costs by about $45 million over its lifetime.
RES Americas purchased the partially developed project from Sequoia Energy and was drawn to the project for several reasons, according to Morgan “We saw it as being a project with good economics in a desirable location,” he says. “Not only is there demand for power in the region, there’s also an interest in renewable energy, so we had confidence that the project would be of interest to buyers, whether they were looking to own the asset, or just contract for the power ”
Morgan says renewable energy standards are a driver in the development of wind projects, but he believes securing an extension of the production tax credit (PTC), which expired at the end of 2013, is the wind industr y ’ s highest priority
Rob Johnson, founder and principal of Dakota Plains Energy Inc., says the PTC isn’t vital for his latest project, the massive Dakota Power Community Wind project located in Lincoln County near Sioux Falls in southeastern South Dakota Renewable energy standards definitely play a role in the project however, because the energy produced at the wind farm is expected to be transported via the Rock Island Clean Line to 13 states in the eastern U S , 11 of which have renewable energy standards. “When you look at what they can generate for renewable, it’s pretty hard for most of them,” he says “So they’re going to need power to be imported in, and that’s where we come along ”
The DPCW has been in development since 2011, when Johnson began the site selection process. The company zeroed in on Lincoln County in 2012 due to its ample wind, local support and close proximity to the Rock Island Clean Line, which will begin about 60 miles away in O’Brien County, Iowa The scope of DPCW is massive if built to its proposed 1,000 MW capacity it would be one of the largest wind farms in the country Even if the final megawatt capacity is reduced by half, it would still be the largest wind farm in South Dakota and one of only about 10 wind farms of its size in the U.S., Johnson says.
The vast majority of wind energy projects in the U S are backed by private investors, but because the size of the DPCW project is so large, Dakota Plains Energy opted to use a community-fund model to finance its development The company was granted an intrastate public offering to allow South Dakotans to purchase shares of the project for $1,000 each, which Johnson says is affordable enough to allow many people to participate. “We’re making it very equitable for citizens,” he says “It’s probably the broadest community wind project in the United States ever done, as far as the opportunity for investors.”
By Sept 12, the company had raised $1 25 million of its $1 5 million equity goal and Johnson expected the goal would soon be reached. The project was in Phase 2, which includes signing on additional acreage to the approximately 23,000 acres already netted for the project, as well as conducting necessar y environmental studies and continual monitoring of the wind energy through meteorological towers.
Eventually, after the site has been prepared, the company intends to sell the project to a larger company or a large utility to build out the wind farm rather than complete the project on its own. “A 500 megawatt project will cost about $1 billion when it’s done and we just can’t raise that kind of capital in South Dakota,” Johnson says He anticipates the project could be complete by 2018.
As a native South Dakotan, Johnson is a proponent of the state’s wind energy potential he’s also developing the 98 MW Campbell County Wind Farm near Pollack, S.D. but he admits the challenge lies in transporting that energy to population-heavy markets such as the East Coast He hopes to change that with the realization of the DPCW
“It’s my vision that DPCW will open the door for other entrepreneurs to follow suit,” he says “When we prove it can be done and the Rock Island project is profitable and works for their investors, other folks will come knocking on the door.” PB
Kris Bevill Editor, Prairie Business 701-306-8561, kbevill@prairiebizmag comJeremy Neuharth is a tech guy who loves finance In fact, he enjoys both industries so much that in 2010 he cofounded a technology company that focuses specifically on providing software solutions to banks and credit unions, primarily through custom software development, but also via online marketing services and website development With just five employees, Fargo-based Sycorr Inc is admittedly small, but it takes it niche role seriously. All Sycorr employees, present and future, attend bankers’ school on the company ’ s dime and must possess a passion for finance. If you want to be a Sycorr employee, “ you better love banking, or you ’ re going to be miserable,” Neuharth says
There is one thing Neuharth doesn’t love about the banking industry, however, and that is the level of technology being applied by industry members. It’s not entirely their fault. As Neuharth points out, financial institutions have had their hands full just keeping up with changing regulations and major back-of-the house technology initiatives, leaving little time or resources to implement the latest technological advancements.
In order to better gauge where the industry is as a whole with regards to technology implementation, Sycorr rolled out a complimentary service earlier this year, called Sycorr Insights, that allows banks and credit unions to see how they stack up against their competitors in areas including social media, mobile responsiveness and web security.
But the company soon uncovered a statistic that was entirely unexpected
Input gathered through the service showed that 97 percent of the more than 11,000 banks and credit unions in the U.S. are susceptible to clickjacking, a method used by hackers to obtain an individual’s password by guiding them to a dummy website that looks nearly identical to the intended site When the unsuspecting user tries to log on to his/her account on the fake website, the hacker obtains the password needed to access the user ’ s account on the real website.
The solution to clickjacking is simple according to Sycorr Five minutes and a simple line of code “x-frame options deny” are all it takes to make a website clickjack-safe, but Neuharth says many banks and credit unions likely inadvertently left themselves susceptible to clickjacking because they have been focusing too narrowly on protecting core data, putting up fire walls and carrying out other more intensive security issues the banking equivalent to installing a high-tech security system in your home but leaving the front door unlocked
Clickjacking is often used in combination with other hack attacks, such as phishing emails, so it’s hard to predict how frequently hackers use clickjacking to steal personal information Still, Neuharth says the statistics Sycorr uncovered were alarming enough that the company chose to risk offending potential customers by going public with the information in order to alert the industry to the issue.
“It’s not like we could go out and help [everyone,]” he says “We felt it was bigger than us trying to get clients.”
Clickjacking is just one of many tools in hackers’ ever-expanding toolkits, of course, and financial institutions must constantly work to stay ahead of all the latest attack methods.
Gary Inman, senior vice president, information technologies at Bell State Bank and president of the Nor th Dakota Information Technology Council, says clickjacking is not believed to be one of the most commonly used hack attacks because it is a relatively time-consuming effort for the hacker. And while the Sycorr stats sound concerning, Inman points out that the study examined banks’ public websites, which are not usually the same websites used for Internet banking or financial transactions “So even if you clickjacked a bank’s public website page, you ’ re not necessarily going to directly get in to a transaction system to be able to steal money, ” he says
Still, Inman admits the threat of hack attacks and variety of methods used keeps the IT community on its toes, especially those working to protect clients’ money “Banks are generally all about risk management,” he says “One security breach at a bank can be devastating, so security is at the forefront of pretty much everything we do ”
Inman says banks will most certainly continue to beef up their internal IT teams as they try to prevent becoming the next security breach story “The bad guys are always attempting to be one step ahead of you, so just while you ’ re going to fix and understand the last way they did it, they’re on to their next,” he says “We sometimes call it an arms race Everyone’s just trying to weapon up and figure what they’re going to do next to stay ahead of their enemy. ” PB
Kris Bevill Editor, Prairie Business 701-306-8561, kbevill@prairiebizmag com
The Minnesota Angel Tax Credit Program is reaching out to a broader audience. The popular state program that has attracted more than $260 million for high-tech startups in Minnesota since 2010 will focus much of its efforts in the next two years on helping businesses located in Greater Minnesota and those owned by women or members of minority groups.
Half of the $120 million in investments that the program hopes to attract over the next two years will be targeted at emerging businesses in at least one of those three categories.
The Angel Tax Program was launched four years ago to get money into the hands of high-tech startups that need cash because they are considered too risky for conventional bank loans. Software
firms, medical device companies, biotechnology businesses and clean technology firms were among the 128 high-tech businesses in Minnesota that received funding under the program last year.
Starting in 2015, though, even more types of emerging companies will be eligible to participate in the program. Officials have expanded the list to include businesses in agriculture, tourism, forestry, mining, manufacturing and transportation.
The program works by giving 25 percent tax credits to individuals or investment firms that put money into emerging companies. For example, an investor would receive a $100,000 state tax credit for investing $400,000 in a startup business certified to participate in the Angel Tax Credit Program. With $30 million in angel tax credits available over
the next two years, that translates into $120 million in investments going to promising Minnesota startups.
Minnesota companies that received investments last year include Mill Creek Life Sciences in Rochester and Living Greens Farm Inc. in Faribault. The vast majority of the businesses that attracted investments, though, were headquartered in the sevencounty Twin Cities metro, including 85 businesses based in Hennepin County.
Of the 248 Minnesota startups that have received funding since the Angel Tax Credit Program was launched in 2010, just 18 were headquartered in Greater Minnesota. Eight startups participating in the program were minority-owned and 14 were owned by women.
Officials hope that targeting investments at those three groups in the next two years will broaden the impact of the program. Leftover tax credits not tapped for investments in those businesses by Sept. 30 of each year will be made available for investments in businesses that don’t fall into those categories.
Qualified startups must be headquartered in Minnesota and certified to participate in the program. They must have fewer than 25 employees, with at least 51 percent of the workers and total payroll based in the state. They also must have been operating for no more than 10 years and cannot have received previous equity investments exceeding $4 million.
Although all tax credits have been exhausted for this year, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development will begin accepting applications for participation in the 2015 Angel Tax Credit program in November.
More details about the program are available at www.mn.gov/deed/angelcredit. PB
Monte Hanson Media Relations Manager Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development monte.hanson@state.mn.usMinnesota’s Angel Tax Credit program has provided funding for hundreds of startups since its launch a few years ago, but the locations and types of businesses receiving funding has been less diverse than DEED would like. Below is a quick look at the program’s results to date and its shift for the future.
- Launched: 2010
- Startups funded to date: 248
- # of funded startups in Greater Minnesota: 18
- # of funded startups owned by minorities: 8
- # of funded startups owned by women: 14
- Amount dedicated to funding minority- and womenowned businesses in Greater Minnesota in the coming two years: $60 million
Like most communities in the nor ther n Plains, Wahpeton, N D , is growing The 2010 U S Census pegged the city’s population at 7,766 Jane Priebe, economic development director for the city, says that number is now likely to be nearly 7,900
Wahpeton is also facing the now all-too-familiar growing pains associated with the region’s strong economy and expanding businesses not enough workers and not enough houses. The economic development office recently conducted a survey of 17 Wahpeton businesses and found availability of skilled labor to be the top concern for all participants, followed closely by overall availability of employees and affordable housing
But Wahpeton has a secret weapon that other communities lack North Dakota State College of Science. Founded in 1903, NDSCS is one of the oldest public two-year colleges in the nation and its presence is felt throughout every aspect of the Wahpeton community The school is the city’s largest employ-
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er, it is a major economic driver for the city’s engine and the various activities offered through the school from athletics to musical performances provide social opportunities for community members Perhaps most importantly for businesses in the community, particularly in recent years, is the school’s ability and willingness to collaborate in the recruitment and training of indemand workers
“We have a long history in working very closely with the business and industry there in providing those educational opportunities and having access to that immediate workforce,” says NDSCS
President John RichmanManufacturing is a mainstay of Wahpeton’s business sector and many of the city’s manufacturing businesses work frequently with the school, offering internships to students and serving on advisory committees to help provide the most valuable education possible to NDSCS students.
WCCO Belting, which currently employs about 200 people, has a long-running relationship with the school and has provided sponsorships and internships to its students for several decades. WCCO CEO and President Tom Shorma credits NDSCS as being one of the reasons why the company his father founded 60 years ago has been so successful, and why Wahpeton is a great place for business in general.
“Over the years, the signature traits of the type of student that attends NDSCS is one who is willing to show up for work on time and will work hard, is a person who is mechanically oriented, and is someone who really enjoys doing things versus watching others do things,” he says “The people that NDSCS brings into the commu-
nity really fit in with our business culture. As such, we have employed hundreds (if not thousands) of students who work parttime while they attended college and frequently they become fulltime even after they have graduated ”
Total fall enrollment at NDSCS in 2013 was 3,168 students, one of the largest enrollment numbers in the school’s history Prior to the final tally for this fall, college officials said they expected enrollment this year is to be at or near 2013’s number in spite of declining high school graduation numbers, a trend Richman says is expected to continue until 2018
One factor contributing to the school’s strong enrollment numbers is a gradual overcoming of the two-year school stigma parents and young people are beginning to realize the solid career potential for many of the skilled jobs that require two-year degrees Larger efforts like National Manufacturing Day help to spread the word to high school students by offering tours of local manufacturing firms and educational institutions and on Oct 22, students in the Wahpeton area will have the opportunity to participate in the second annual local tour, which will include visits to NDSCS, WCCO Belting, Bobcat and Com-Del Innovation/Heartland Precision Shorma says WCCO employees enjoy visiting with the students and demonstrating what the company does. “We also participate in order to demonstrate to students and their parents that great careers do exist locally and that not always do they need the traditional four-year degree to get them,” he says “Many times the students, and in many cases their parents, don’t even know what type of great career opportunities exist locally ”
Richman and Shorma represent Wahpeton in the Valley
Prosperity Partnership, a coalition of industry, education officials and community representatives from communities throughout the Red River Valley Richman, who serves on the group ’ s workforce subgroup, says the VPP has so far laid out what he believes are good overall objectives to set a strategic direction for continued success throughout the valley. One of the workforce group ’ s objectives is to encourage communities to grow their own workforce Local businesses can help by identifying potential new workers in their industry, engaging them through part-time work as high school students and sponsoring their postsecondary education, he says “What we ’ re trying to do is have a collective, collaborative approach to how we position the valley for today as well as into the future,” Richman says
For Wahpeton, which prides itself on the tight-knit business community and forwardthinking leaders, that goal may already be met
PB Kris Bevill Editor, Prairie Business701-306-8561, kbevill@prairiebizmag.com
Multi-million-dollar projects used to come along only once in a blue moon in North Dakota, says Tim Atkinson, chairman of the board at North Dakota Guaranty & Title Co. These days, it’s not uncommon for several $100-million-plus projects to be in the works at any given time across various sectors in the state
“It’s an exciting time to be in business,” he says.
“Exciting” may be an understatement, considering NDGT can often be found behind the scenes in residential and commercial real estate deals throughout North Dakota and eastern Montana, providing the admittedly nonglamorous but essential services necessary to complete property sale transactions, including abstract services, title insurance and closing services In just the last three years, NDGT has insured more than $1 billion in commercial transactions It is currently the largest company of its kind in North Dakota.
Company President Nick Hacker says a significant portion of NDGT’s business is focused on commercial and industrial projects in the Bakken and the company has ramped up its energy-specific skills to meet the demands of the oil and gas boom. But he emphasizes that all commercial sectors throughout North Dakota are very active. “Yes, there is a lot of volume that comes out of the Bakken as a result of the oil boom, however we ’ re continually doing roadways, railways, work in the coal corridor, as well as on wind farms and other types of facilities such as government facilities that are being built across the state,” he says “It’s not just the Bakken It’s anything and every-
thing unique in North Dakota and eastern Montana ”
About 100 people are currently employed at NDGT’s eight locations in western North Dakota and one in Sidney, Mont nearly twice as many people as there were just three years ago Founded in Bismarck in 1955, the company expanded slightly in 1985 with the acquisition of an abstract company in Mandan. In 1996, it acquired a guaranty and title company in Dickinson In 2007, it fortuitously began expanding more rapidly throughout western North Dakota, initially adding an office in Minot and eventually growing to include locations in Mohall, Killdeer, Watford City and Williston
“We like to joke that we could see all of this oil activity coming in western North Dakota, but of course nobody could,” Atkinson says, noting that the company ’ s main criteria for expanding to a new marketplace is an identified need for a higher level of service than is currently available
Delivering top-notch customer service has been the company ’ s mission since its creation and continues to be a dominating factor in every in-house decision, according to Hacker and Atkinson Earlier this year, NDGT unified the names of its North Dakota locations to make NDGT a more recognizable brand for its customers. The company has also embraced technology to better connect employees across offices and enable them to assist on projects remotely “If a developer is moving a project in Williston but they are located in Bismarck, instead of it becoming more complex they can work with the Bismarck office on the Williston project and not miss a beat,” Atkinson says. “Any one of our offices can help with any project and have full access to all of the people in our company. ”
Hacker says the company also invests in customer service training for its employees and adopts current best practices whenever possible to better serve its customers. “We are extremely focused on the customer and we do that through our people,” he says
Another of its customer-centric tactics is to hire local people who are already familiar with the specific community and train them as needed to fill open positions. “We’re not necessarily out there throwing an ad in the paper for someone with 10 years of experience,” Hacker says “We’ll take somebody with a year or two of office experience and grow them into our industry.”
The company intends to continue expanding in the future, with a primary focus on new markets in North Dakota and surrounding states. Atkinson says the company is considering diversifying into complimentary areas as well as expanding its core business into new markets, but it will stay true to its philosophy of entering only those markets with a need for a higher level of services “Our expertise is really the decades of land title information services that we provide and are recognized for that will continue to remain our core, ” he says “That said, what will our business look like in 20 years? It could be entirely different than it is today Who can say?” PB
Kris Bevill Editor, Prairie Business 701-306-8561, kbevill@prairiebizmag.com
