Prairie Business October 2022

PREMIER BUSINESS MAGAZINE OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS | OCTOBER 2022

CONSTRUCTION

PAGE

THE TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECTS OF HIGH OIL PRICES

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BUILDING A CYBER FORTRESS

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Send in timely topics

By the end of this month, little hands will be knocking and doorbells ringing, the ones initiating the sounds asking for a treat. For Prairie Business, Halloween has come early – only, we’re not begging for candy but asking for your story ideas. Don’t worry, there is nothing scary here.

Prairie Business likes to look at trends in industries, but because we cover so many different industries across three states we obviously miss some things.

That’s where readers can help.

Business leaders are the experts at their companies and industries. Our questions are: What’s going on? What trends are you noticing? Is there anything on the horizon?

Prairie Business, as it has done for the past two decades, reports on the interesting topics of business in the Dakotas and western Minnesota. It also shares columns from business leaders, and promotes companies with its many partner ads.

But – and I am the first to admit this – there is always room for improvement. What would you like to see in Prairie Business?

As mentioned, we always want to stick with trend stories whenever possible, but other business news also is important. So how about sending in your story ideas and news tips at the address below?

As a reminder, companies may also submit their new hires, employee achievements and promotions and other company news. The magazine’s Prairie People, which highlights new hires and promotions, is published every Friday at prairiebusinessmagazine.com and is included in the print and digital editions whenever possible as space allows.

Also on the website, readers may sign up for the monthly e-edition. See, that wasn’t so tough. Nothing scary here.

Nor will you find any Halloween scares in the following pages. This month’s issue, per usual, is all about business.

We hope you enjoy!

Andrew Weeks

I look forward to hearing from you at aweeks@prairiebusinessmagazine.com or 701-780-1276.

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ANDREW WEEKS

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LAYOUT DESIGN

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NICHOLE ERTMAN 800.477.6572 ext. 1162 nertman@prairiebusinessmagazine.com

Prairie Business magazine is published monthly by the Grand Forks Herald and Forum Communications Company with offices at 375 2nd Avenue North, Grand Forks, ND 58203. Subscriptions are available free of charge. Back issue quantities are limited and subject to availability ($2/copy prepaid). The opinions of writers featured in Prairie Business are their own. Unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, artwork are encouraged but will not be returned without a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

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Building a future in the construction industry

Those in the know say a career in construction is still a worthwhile pursuit

By Andrew Weeks

The construction industry, as with other trades across the country, has been impacted by labor and supply challenges, which at some points during the past couple of years have seemed like a full-force gale.

But the daunting waves caused by the global pandemic have left regional companies undaunted as they hoist their sails to chart a path through the storm.

Some of the challenges are easing a bit, industry leaders say, but they still expect some stormy seas ahead. They also note that overall the future is bright for their industry, though finding enough laborers currently is still one of the challenges.

“It’s super busy and everybody’s looking for labor. That’s good and bad,” said Lance Monson, preconstruction manager with Construc-

tion Engineers in Grand Forks, North Dakota. “It’s good because there are a lot of opportunities and a lot to do. But it’s also tough because the trades, like masonry and concrete, continue to get harder to find workers; it feels like the more labor intensive jobs are harder and harder to fill.”

He said years ago there was a push for everyone to seek a higher education, but times have changed, some of it enhanced by the pandemic. “You don’t need to go and spend $20,000 on college,” he said. “You can go to a trade school and find a trade as a career.” Monson doesn’t knock a four-year education, but knows that path is not for everyone and said the company supports efforts to enhance people’s understanding of the trades. As an example, it is helping North Dakota’s McKenzie County School District build an

ONE OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERS’ PROJECTS IS THE CLAY COUNTY RESOURCE RECOVERY CAMPUS, A $21 MILLION GARBAGE TRANSFER STATION IN MOORHEAD, MINNESOTA. IMAGE: COURTESY OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERS

accredited skill center for trade workers and other adults called the Bakken Area Skills Center.

“It’s another avenue for people to get education and hone the skills they need to continue a career or start a career that’s not in an office setting, necessarily,” he said.

Construction Engineers, while not the construction company of the project, also made a $100,000 donation to the Career Impact Academy in Grand Forks.

Oliver Finneman, director of preconstruction at McGough, said his team also is trying to find creative ways to build the workforce.

“It seems like there’s a number of programs out there trying to encourage, or bring education to high school aged kids about trade work,” he said. “We’ve been supporting those efforts.”

One way it does this is by partnering with a Fargo-based company called Be More Colorful, which creates virtual reality job site tours.

“They’re building a database of all these different exposures so you can see a day in the life of a chiropractor or see the day in the life of a plumber through VR headsets,” Finneman said. “We’re working with them on a current project to help them develop content they can share (about our industry).”

Exposing high school students to the trades also is something that is on Ryan Christenson’s mind. Christenson, a self-perform lead with JE Dunn, recently moved from Minneapolis to Dickinson, North Dakota, to oversee the construction of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. It is a “once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said

Oliver Finneman

THE COULEE BRIDGE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA IN GRAND FORKS IS ANOTHER PROJECT OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERS. IMAGE: COURTESY OF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERS

By Andrew Weeks

As construction companies look to fill positions, schools in the region play a vital part.

Rick Simon, construction electricity instructor at Northland Community and Technical College in East Grand Forks, Minnesota, says he has companies that contact him all the time to ask about students ready to jump into the field.

“I have pretty good placement rates with them,” he said, noting when students make it through the school’s program, they are ready to hit the ground running.

“A lot of young guys are in demand right now coming out of school because they, for the most part, are trained. They know what they’re doing. Usually if they make it through our program, they are hard-working young men – and that’s what contractors are looking for. They don’t want to put a lot of money into somebody and have them quit a year into it.”

Simon, who also is a contractor, said students are ready and excited to get to work. Many of his students come from farming backgrounds, but some also have family members who work in the construction industry.

“For the most part, they know what they’re getting into and they’re ready for the work because that’s what they’ve been doing already with their dad or their brother or for a small contractor before they got here,” he said.

However, one challenge he sees is that some companies who take on first-year students want to keep those new hires, often telling them they don’t need to go back to school. But Simon said it is always best to finish school training.

“I hear it, the young guys tell me they’re the person the company is looking for and they’ve been told to not go back,” he said. “But they want to finish, because once they finish they don’t have to go to night school; they’ll have all their schooling done.

“If you came right off the streets working for an electrical contractor, I know you have to go to four years of night school once a week. My students don’t have to do that when they graduate.”

Overall, Simon is optimistic about the future of his industry in the region, in part knowing the caliber of young people completing trade and technical training.

“We are really a strong industry. I would say as a whole, all the trades are very strong, ours in particular,” he said, noting it also pays well. He encourages students to get their journeyman license.

“I have two journeymen working for me at the moment and they’re both in the $30 an hour range; it’s a good amount of money,” he said. “The next step would be to get a master’s license, and then the person could go on and start their own business. Or they could be that guy working in a maintenance position or be that guy like me, who has a job as a contractor and is an instructor.”

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early in September when he was just finishing details on his move. His plan once settled into his new project is to tap area schools.

“Workforce has changed drastically” over the past couple of years of the pandemic, he said. “We saw a lot of people that dropped out of the trades for a while. Whether it was because they had to take care of their families or a number of different reasons, a lot of trade people kind of disappeared from the workforce. We’re kind of starting to see that come back now, but in my role as the self-perform manager, that’s just about a daily discussion – how are we going to find carpenters and laborers and whatnot? There’s just not the workforce pool that there was, whatever, two or three years ago.”

One answer to the problem: schools.

“A lot of the work we’ve been doing, and that I’m planning to take care of out there (in Dickinson), is to start meeting with high school kids and do some apprenticeships and job site visits, those kinds of things, just to get some interest,” he said. He’d like to personally talk with students about “what it’s like to get into the trades. This is what it looks like, here’s where your career could go.”

Good traits of potential hires

People who want to make a difference in the field, who are willing to learn and take on new challenges and responsibilities, are standout traits for Monson at Construction Engineers.

“We’re not opposed to taking on somebody who has no experience if they’ve got some work ethic and are willing to learn,” he said, noting the company’s apprenticeship program helps train individuals.

“We’ll provide a path for anybody who wants to work toward a career in construction,” Monson said.

But is he finding those people?

“I’d say it’s challenging,” he said, “but I don’t know that it’s unique to the construction industry. … Other than, again, the trades that

THE MCGOUGH TEAM VISITED THE CONSTRUCTION SITE OF THE FARGO PARKS SPORTS COMPLEX PROJECT IN AUGUST. IMAGE: COURTESY OF MCGOUGH

There’s demand to place construction students in jobs, says Northland Community and Technical College instructor

are more physically demanding are probably the harder roles to fill.”

Spencer Hilde, general manager at McGough, said he looks for base skills in potential hires but also those who fit well with company culture, which includes thinkers. “As construction managers, our job basically is to solve problems on behalf of our clients, to find solutions, and so we need people that are geared that way to help serve our clients and solve some problems and be a team player.”

Christenson said technical skills come in handy at JE Dunn, but the thing that stands out even more

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is drive and attitude – “those are the two things we look for when we‘re going to hire somebody, when we’re going to hire a carpenter or laborer,” he said. “I would rather hire a person that comes in and says, ‘I’ve never thought of the nail in my whole life. But I’m going to show up for work at six in the morning and I’m not going to complain. I’m going to listen and I really want to learn.’”

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The trickle-down effects of high oil prices

Industry leaders in North Dakota discuss impact, share outlook

By Sam Easter

The tricky thing about rising gas prices, Lance Monson says, is that they don’t hit you just at the pump – they hit your supply chain there, too.

Lance Monson is a preconstruction manager at Grand Forksbased Construction Engineers – a role that has him crunching numbers and closely watching prices as projects launch. Despite its fleet of gas-hungry construction equipment, gas prices aren’t nearly as big a part of the budget as labor and building materials.

But for the latter especially, months of high gas prices have buoyed costs that get passed down the line – from the pump to the supplier to him.

“Although we’re paying more for metal panels, it’s hard for us to parse out how much of that is because of fuel price, and how much of that is because of the panel material itself,” Monson said. Russia still hadn’t invaded Ukraine; a steady drumbeat of infla-

tion hadn’t spurred a hawkish Federal Reserve to big hikes in interest rates.

Monson shared the story of a client who wanted to pay for a foundation and wait six months to pay for the building still to be built on top of it.

“We just told them that, great, here’s the number today, you can ask us six months from now what the number is on it then. Otherwise, we’re going to have to put 20% on it to guarantee it to you,” he said.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why oil prices have skyrocketed. Dean Bangsund, an applied economist at NDSU, points out that oil is a global commodity that has been affected by the war in Ukraine, sanctions against Russia oil and exports and a post-pandemic bounce in the travel demand.

“As is usually the case with many of these big issues, there’s not a particular one factor that you can really put your finger on that is a driving mechanism,” Bangsund said. “There’s usually a contribution of a number of things.”

It’s not all bad news. Joe Morrissette, the top staffer in North Dakota’s state budget office, notes that the state could see record revenues from its oil taxes during this two-year fiscal cycle – with the price of North Dakota’s oil far outstripping the conservative estimates the state made.

The projection that the state relied on, Morrissette says, is roughly equivalent to the West Texas Intermediate price – a widely used standard – somewhere in the mid-$50s.

“We’re not quite double that right now, with the price in the low to mid-$90s. But we were double that for a considerable period of time,” Morrissette said. “...Through the end of July, the forecast adopted by the Legislature that our budget’s based on assumed we would have collected a little over $1.9 billion in tax revenue. And so far, we’ve collected $2.8 billion.”

But Morrissette points out that it’s no guarantee those big revenues will continue. When the state set oil tax revenue records in the 2013-2015 biennium – at about $6 billion – it was followed by lean times in the next cycle. And despite the big spending boon coming toward appropriators, inflation is pushing upwards on costs around state government.

“There’s some agencies in state government, like the DOT (Department of Transportation) and Water Commission that do a lot of construction,” Morrissette said. “Well, they deal with supply chain issues, and they deal with inflationary pressures and cost escalation on those things.”

Sara Otte Coleman is North Dakota’s tourism director. She said that high oil prices seemed to have an effect on travel earlier this year, especially with hotel occupancies dipping in parts of the state more impacted by road trips.

But Coleman said there are signs the travel mood is improving. The state has access to cellular location data that can help track tourism. Those numbers, she said, show that for a week in late August, North Dakota led the country in year-over-year increase for road trips.

“People have decided ‘I still want to take my family on vacation, I still want to get away before fall,’” she said. “And so we’re seeing stronger numbers later this summer.”

Monson previously spoke with Prairie Business in early 2022, when many business observers had hoped pandemic-era price uncertainty was about to fade. That hasn’t come to pass – but he’s still as adamant now, just as he was then, that it’s important to plan for tough times no matter how rosy the outlook.

“Eight months ago we said we were seeing a (price) plateau and hoping for a decrease. I don’t want to try and make any predictions, but we’re hoping for the same thing now,” Monson said. “But we’re not planning for it. And, we never really did stop planning for increases.”

Rewards of working in the construction industry

Christenson said a career in construction lends itself to a variety of experiences, including working outside. At the end of the day – or at the end of a project – there also is something to show for his hard work and planning.

“It’s different every day,” he said. “There’s very little monotony in what we do – and it’s tangible. When we finish a project, I can go and look at a job, I can drive my kids past a building and say, ‘Hey, I worked on that for two years. That was just a parking lot before we started.’”

Also, the pay is decent and there are a variety of options. “Just within our company,” he said, “if you want to work for a few years in Texas and then want to move out to Colorado or wherever, there’s a million different opportunities.”

Hilde and Finneman echoed similar sentiments. “For me it’s the uniqueness; each project is exciting and unique,” Hilde said. “You’re working with a unique team, and every building has different challenges. You’re never bored.”

Monson said, “It’s fun to have something that’s mentally challenging. There’s also a decent amount of variety.” And there’s the ability to work one’s way up the career ladder, from carpenter to superintendent, “maybe running crews and running projects.

“It’s a good opportunity for anybody, whether you’re just getting out of high school or if you’re 40 years old, there’s a spot for you to jump in and grow your career.”

TOP: VALLEY CITY STATE UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR THE ARTS. BELOW: THE CHARLOTTE & GORDON HANSEN STADIUM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF JAMESTOWN. BOTH PROJECTS ARE PART OF JE DUNN’S PORTFOLIO. IMAGES: COURTESY OF JE DUNN

Building a cyber fortress

Tech experts say the best way to protect against cyberattacks is with layers of defense, including training employees

By Andrew Weeks

When it comes to cybersecurity, think of it like a castle.

“You have the castle and you have the drive, you have the high walls, you have the guard towers, you have the drop gates, you have the moat,” said one cybersecurity expert. “You have the clearfield, and then you have the woods – all of those different layers help protect the internals.”

Good advice from Eric Wilkens, director of cybersecurity at Arvig, headquartered in Perham, Minnesota.

Wilkens, who was named to his current role in summer 2021, said cybercriminals are always vigilant in their nefarious efforts and, as such, companies and individuals must also be vigilant, constantly on guard to protect their networks and information.

In this case, the old maxim holds true: the best defense is offense.

An uptick in attacks

Cyberattacks have been around as long as the internet, but shady characters always try to find new ways to wreak their havoc – or

use old means in new ways. Of the latter, for instance, they are always scheming with additional ways to lure victims to their phishing attacks –deceiving emails that, if opened, may infiltrate a network and grab personal and company information.

Malware and ransomware also are serious threats to companies and individuals – the latter which lock computers, allowing criminals to steal proprietary information and hold it ransom until their demands are met, usually in large sums of money.

wilkens

Over the past two-plus years of the global pandemic, these nefarious efforts have increased due to more people working remotely, the cybercriminals taking the opportunity to deceive and attack.

At the start of the pandemic, many companies were unprepared for remote work and sent their employees home without proper cyber protection in place, Wilkens said. Unfortunately, for some compa-

nies the learning lesson was heavy-handed, some falling victim to attack ploys.

“The pandemic, it was kind of interesting,” Wilkens said. “We saw an overall uptick in phishing attacks by people using the pandemic and people’s fear. Cybercriminals love to pull off the fear.”

The attack could have been something as simple as an email that alleged a company’s new COVID policy. An employee would click on it, and immediately the system was infiltrated, its information breached.

Thus the fortress scenario: protect the castle before any entry by the enemy.

Scott Kaylor, manager of cybersecurity and network services at NISC in Bismarck, North Dakota, said the entirety of the pandemic has been interesting to watch with regard to cyber attacks and defenses. He said there are “attack vectors” or “pivot points” in the simplest of things, such as the aforementioned, non-suspicious-looking email.

That’s why vigilance is a must when it comes to combating cybercrimes.

“Our job is to provide as many layers of defense as we can to catch them before they do anything,” Kaylor said.

“With everybody working from home, we’ve definitely seen an uptick in cybersecurity. We’ve had ransomware attacks happening quite regularly. Unfortunately, a few members fall victim to those types

of attacks. They’re pretty detrimental for a business because it encrypts all of their data, and basically cripples them to the point where they almost have to pay to get their data back.”

What’s more, he said these ransomware culprits often operate like a business.

“It’s not a good business, but there are people who invest dollars in these organizations to encrypt people’s data and then, once they get paid, everybody (working in their scheme) gets paid,” Kaylor said. “I think that’s primarily why we are seeing more of that happening in today’s society.

... It’s crazy.”

When it comes to cybercriminals targeting businesses, does size matter?

Kaylor says no.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a small business or a large business,” he said, noting both mom-and-pop shops and large corporations can become compromised. Going after the big money, however, usually lends itself to targeting larger companies.

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Don’t forget the personal computer

It is not only a company’s computers that cybercriminals target.

“I think there are a lot of vulnerabilities out there, and very widespread vulnerabilities,” Kaylor said. “I think in today’s society, it’s easy to compromise and exploit these vulnerabilities. … Our job is to put up as much offense as we can to keep the threat actors out of our networks.”

That applies to home systems, too.

scott kaylor

He said “people are at home where defenses are maybe a little lower. They’re not in their offices behind the corporate company firewalls and things like that.”

Likewise, Wilkens said it is important for home computers to have layers of defenses, including anti-malware programs. “And install security patches whenever they are released,” he said, noting both Apple and Windows do frequent and important updates.

“Make sure you’re installing those updates,” Wilkens said, explaining there are several worthy anti-virus and anti-malware programs on the market to help protect personal computers.

But he warns: “If you get an email – and this will go back to phishing – asking you to click on a link to verify your information, never click on the link unless you specifically ask for it.”

If you ask for a password change and a link is sent to you, that’s different, he said, because you requested it; but don’t click on a link that invites you to change a password.

“For instance, if you get an email with a link that says your account has been compromised, click here to reset it. Don’t click that link. Go to the site on your web browser and verify your information yourself.”

With passwords, he suggests using a long phrase instead of just letters and numbers, something meaningful that only the user would remember.

More layers of defense

Kaylor said there are all types of things businesses should be doing to protect their systems, including making sure employees receive regular training so they know what to look for if something suspicious enters their inbox.

“We’re all human,” he said. “There’s a certain percentage of us who are going to click on things that we probably shouldn’t, because we’re in a hurry, and so education and training during the year is very important.”

Multi-factor authentication also is another layer of protection, for businesses and individuals. “And,” Kaylor said, “I think it’s really important for organizations to partner with a third party that has a good security operation center that can monitor things happening on your networks. You can be alerted much quicker when the threat actors try to compromise your systems and start doing their recon on your networks.

“Having someone watching that 24/7 is really important to stay on top of those types of things.”

Wilkens said the many layers of defense basically protect one’s castle of information. Don’t take that lightly, because criminals are always trying to find new ways to breach it.

“Attacks come from everywhere, all the time,” he said.

Why Top Performing Organizations Are Creating a Culture of Security

By Eide Bailly

In today’s business environment, understanding your current security risks just makes sense. After all, studies have found that U.S. organizations face the highest costs when a data breach occurs, topping out at $8.64 million per breach.

A proactive stance on cybersecurity risk can equate to major savings for organizations. A collaborative approach between security and networking has been shown to significantly lower the cost of a breach. In fact, organizations who formed incident response teams and tested their incident response plans were able to reduce the cost of a data breach by almost 40%.

So, if we know that a strategic approach that focuses on security processes and formal incident response leads to lower costs and less time lost, why don’t most companies do it?

It all begins with building a culture of security within your organization and understanding what that entails.

Defining a Culture of Security

You can’t talk about a culture of security without first understanding what cybersecurity is. Cybersecurity is the combination of people, processes, products and technology that protect you and your organization from cyberattacks. It’s a critical practice aimed at protecting your data and the sensitive information your clients entrust you to handle.

Cybersecurity is not about a specific tool or product. Rather, it’s a mindset shift within an organization. It’s moving from reactive to proactive.

Creating a culture of security is crucial to making sure your organization is implementing the necessary tools and processes to minimize risk. This culture is driven from the top down through executive decisions and internal promotion of effective cybersecurity processes and procedures.

Building this culture of security utilizes a practical, strategic approach. It’s an ongoing process with constant attention to potential threats and a focus on how to protect your company long-term.

Who is Responsible for a Culture of Security?

Ultimately, many organizations believe security lies within their IT department. However, culture isn’t set by the IT department. A true culture of security begins with a tone at the top.

Ask yourself:

What steps have you taken to identify and protect your most valuable IT assets?

What is your level of confidence that your business network(s) and data are secure?

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What are your biggest concerns related to IT security and cyberattacks?

Top-performing organizations seek to align their cybersecurity risks to overall business risks and objectives.

The Five Stages of Cybersecurity

As a leading cybersecurity consulting firm, we’ve seen our fair share of effective and ineffective security practices. Here are the five stages we recommend as organizations create comprehensive, in-depth cybersecurity action plans.

Stage 1: Foundational Security

Stage 2: Policies and Awareness

Stage 3: Key Processes

Stage 4: Incident Preparedness

Stage 5: Security Monitoring

Stage 1: Foundational Security

The best plans begin with the proper foundation. Stage 1 assesses basic functions within your organization and common entry points for potential cyberthreats, providing an ongoing “health check” for your IT.

From your processes to your tools, network, and security practices, smart business is all about adapting to change and remaining secure. Because the last thing you want to do is leave yourself—and your data—out in the open.

To begin, ask questions like:

What are some best practices that I can enforce in my organization?

How do I measure my current security risk?

Where should I focus my energy?

Next, identify where your critical data and assets are within your network and how they are accessed. This includes things like:

• Administrative Access

• Data Backup & Recovery

• Email Security

• Endpoint Protection

• Network Security (Firewall, IDS/IPS, etc.)

• Multi-factor Authentication

• Password Manager

• Wireless Security

Stage 2: Policies and Awareness

Once the foundation is laid, it’s time to set up the policies you need to keep things running efficiently and securely. This includes an acceptable use agreement and a writeup of company cybersecurity policies. This should include disaster recovery, business continuity and work from home standards, among others.

CREATING A CULTURE OF CYBERSECURITY INVOLVES MORE THAN JUST CREATING POLICIES; ORGANIZATIONS NEED TO MAKE SURE THE INDIVIDUALS UTILIZING THEM UNDERSTAND THE ‘WHY.’ AWARENESS AND CONTINUAL EDUCATION WILL BE VITAL TO THE SUCCESS OF YOUR POLICIES. AFTER ALL, ATTENTIVENESS TO CYBERSECURITY RISK IN THE WORKPLACE REALLY IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS.

Creating a culture of cybersecurity involves more than just creating policies; organizations need to make sure the individuals utilizing them understand the “why.” Awareness and continual education will be vital to the success of your policies. After all, attentiveness to cybersecurity risk in the workplace really is everyone’s business. From security training to email phishing exercises and remote worker education, it’s important to prepare and educate your staff, as they have the greatest ability to expose your organization and leave it more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Stage 3: Key Processes

Now that you’ve checked your current systems and have proper education in place for your people, it’s time to align key processes. Ideally, these processes will center around areas where your organization has exposed vulnerabilities and increased risk. Typically, these include:

• Asset Inventory

• Mobile Device Security

• Patch Management

• Security for Remote Workers

• Standard Configuration

You should also set up regular processes for vulnerability scanning. Cybersecurity risk is ongoing, so processes must be routinely updated to address the ever-changing threat landscape.

Stage 4: Incident Preparedness

There is always potential for an incident to occur, and the worst time to plan is during or after the incident. Preparation is critical to minimizing the impact of an incident and essential for building a culture of security. Integrating proper systems, processes, and awareness practices can lead to lower downtime and lessen the financial impact of an incident.

Creation and implementation of a proactive incident response plan is vital to the success of recovering. Incident response is how

you respond to an attack when it happens. The primary goal of incident response is to minimize damage by quickly responding to an incident while preserving necessary evidence to prevent future attacks.

An incident response plan does not have to be lengthy or overly complex. An ideal incident response plan should:

• Define what an incident is

• Identify who is responsible (both internally and externally) for assisting in response to an incident

• Outline the process of identifying and responding to potential Incidents

A strong, well-documented incident response plan makes for better prepared organizations. In fact, NetDiligence’s Cyber Claims Study Report notes that incident response preparedness saved organizations $2 million on average.

Once a plan is in place, it is best to exercise your plan to identify gaps and efficiencies that can be made. Doing so prepares the teams involved to respond quickly and effectively to an incident.

Stage 5: Security Monitoring

The last stage focuses on ongoing support. After all, maintaining a culture of security is a constant process.

A few ways companies can ensure security monitoring include:

SIEM Solution: A SIEM aggregates the log data from various services (e.g., endpoints, anti-virus, firewall, etc.) and can correlate events to provide better visibility of activity within your network.

24/7 SOC (Security Operations Center): Analysts constantly monitor for and respond to anomalies identified within your network. Threat Hunting: Searching your network for common attack tactics and indicators of compromise.

Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs): Offloading the monitoring and hunting in your environment to a third party to manage your security stack. MSSPs only present relevant data to organizations so they can focus on what really matters.

How to Establish a Culture of Security

Establishing a culture of security begins with a top-down approach that aligns cybersecurity risk with business goals. It’s more than just protecting your systems and data— it also involves proactive processes that focus on security basics and continual education. Cybercriminals are relying on human error and fear to help them gain access. Proper preparation and vigilance within your cybersecurity program will have the greatest impact in preventing successful attacks.

Digi-Key celebrates opening of Product Distribution Center expansion

By Andrew Weeks

If there is a word to describe Digi-Key Electronics Product Distribution Center expansion, it is “big.”

Really big.

Digi-Key celebrated the opening in August of its new PDCe – a $400 million, 2.2 million square-foot facility that will meet the company’s growing needs for at least the next decade.

“This is a significant milestone for all DigiKey employees and our community,” said company President Dave Doherty. “For us, it’s deeper roots in Thief River Falls and a commitment to continue investing in this community and the state of Minnesota.”

Doherty thanked the company’s partners, and said Digi-Key could not have the success it has achieved without that support.

continued on page 24

DIGI-KEY ELECTRONICS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST THE OPENING OF ITS PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION CENTER EXPANSION, A 2.2 MILLION SQUARE FOOT FACILITY IN THIEF RIVER FALLS, MINNESOTA. DURING THE EVENT INVITED GUESTS, INCLUDING THE MEDIA, TOURED THE EXPANSIVE FACILITY. THESE IMAGES TAKEN DURING A MEDIA TOUR SHOW AREAS OF THE NEW DISTRIBUTION CENTER. IMAGES: ANDREW WEEKS / PRAIRIE BUSINESS

continued from page 23

“We don’t have a magic bullet. We’re not proud enough to think we can change the world by ourselves,” Doherty said, but noting with partnerships, the impossible can happen.

“Everything that is good is what it means to have Digi-Key in Thief River Falls,” said Mayor Brian Holmer.

“I didn’t plan to go this far,” said Ron Stordahl, Digi-Key founder and CEO, noting his original goal – which hasn’t changed – “was to just do the best job possible for clients.” When asked what other company successes he envisions for the future, he said it is tough to tell. “The growth has just been so phenomenal.”

Company reps and dignitaries also touted the jobs the expansion effort has and will yet create.

Work on the PDCe started in 2018. At the time, the company received a $40 million grant from the state of Minnesota for job expansion, Laura Stengrim, Digi-Key’s public relations and marketing communications manager, previously told Prairie Business, noting the company is well on the way to fulfilling that goal. It so far has added nearly 680 new employees.

During the celebration, which included a luncheon and tour, visitors were surprised by the entry of a robot during the lunch – a symbol of the innovation that is Digi-Key and what the future holds for the company that has a global clientele.

The new building is connected by skybridge to the main headquarters and existing distribution center, which is about 800,000 square feet – dwarfed by the new building that is large enough to fit 22

football fields inside. It is one of the 10 largest warehouse buildings in North America.

The facility has 27 miles of automated conveyor, with the average order traveling more than 3,200 feet inside the building.

The new facility allows Digi-Key to pick, pack and ship nearly three times the previous daily average of 27,000 packages to customers in more than 180 countries around the world.

Founded in 1972, Digi-Key offers more than 13.4 million products from more than 2,300 quality name-brand manufacturers. The

company employs more than 5,200 – 3,600-plus in Thief River Falls alone – and has an annual sales of more than $4.7 billion.

Designed by Minnesota-based Widseth, McShane Construction served as general contractor and more than 80 subcontractors were hired to help complete the expansion.

The company received a certificate of occupancy in April 2021, but has been going slow with the new facility’s launch. It was still not full-scale in August Doherty said. The company is taking it slow to make sure all of the technology is online and running smoothly.

brings full-service under one roof brings full-service under one roof

Literally. The custom home builder is set to open a new location. The Lights on Sheyenne Street in West Fargo early next year, giving clients a comfortable space to do it all–see finishes, discuss floor plans and meet with the team’s onsite real estate team. Streamlining the home building process to make it as easy as possible for clients is their mission and it's the team’s approach and partnerships that make it happen.

WHAT THEY DO

“We know it can be overwhelming, especially for homeowners looking at building a home to their specifications from the ground up,” said Ron Lemer, senior Vice President at Horizon Homes. “But regardless of what they’re envisioning or where they’re at in the process, we know that having a designated design, real estate, construction and lending team within arm’s reach eases the burden.”

No matter where homeowners are starting from, whether a concept from Pinterest or a floor plan from Horizon’s website, the goal of the process is the same—to create a home that fits the homeowner’s unique needs, wants and budget. The Horizon team is there through it all to provide guidance at every stage, whether homeowners know what they want or are starting at ground zero. They also work alongside each client’s lenders and realtors, whether they’re under the Horizon Homes roof or not.

WHAT THEY CAN BUILD

Horizon Homes offers a variety of floor plans homeowners can select and customize with specific finishes as well as a team that can design a home that’s truly unique, from $380,000 starter homes to those $1 million and up. Whether clients want to build within Fargo-Moorhead or in lakes country the team works within about a 100-mile radius.

The builder’s Expanded Traditional Rambler floor plan has been a top choice for many clients with growing families. The sixbedroom, three-bathroom home features a charming front-covered porch, one bedroom on the main floor that can double as an office, a completely open concept on the main floor, and high vaulted ceilings.

THEIR PARTNERS

Horizon Homes’ on-site partners play a large part in making the home building experience a good one for each and every client. Whether homeowners need mortgage or construction financing, two of their most frequent lending partners, Ultima Bank Minnesota and Capital Credit Union, are there to help.

Ultima Bank Minnesota

“Horizon Homes has been a great startup story. They launched their home building company in the spring of 2020, right at the height of the Covid pandemic. We’ve worked alongside them on many jobs,” said Doug Lee, market president, Capital Credit Union. “We trust their team and their decision making and are confident that they will help many people build their dream home.”

Ultima Bank Minnesota (UBM) worked alongside Horizon Homes on a neighborhood construction project located in South Fargo. “We provided the construction financing needed to get this project off the ground. UBM works with builders and homeowners throughout the region, providing construction and permanent financing” said Ron Lemer, Senior Vice President and Chief Lending Officer.

Horizon’s independent realtor agency is also available to assist homeowners who need to sell a home. Gena and Michael Syvertson are award-winning realtors who have devoted their lives to the profession they love.

"Our goal is to make our clients 100 percent satisfied,” said Michael Syvertson. “When Horizon Homes approached us to team up with them, we joined them because we knew these were people with the same values and integrity we believe.”

Ultima Bank Minnesota (UBM) originated in 1904, in a small farming community in northwest Minnesota as Farmers State Bank of Winger. Winger is a small farming community in northwest Minnesota. Since that time, the bank has expanded with five locations in northwest Minnesota, serving clients across the United States, in part due to it’s cutting-edge electronic banking products.

As a result, UBM is a nationally recognized, highly ranked community bank that has developed its own internal financial services software, Ultima Dashboard Suite.

“Ultima Bank Minnesota is pleased to play a role in Horizon Homes’ success”, adds SVP Lemer.

Capital Credit Union

Michael and Gena opened REALTY XPERTS and have since helped hundreds of clients through the home building experience and sold more than $1 billion dollars in Real Estate with the underlying mission of 100 percent satisfaction.

To learn more about Horizon Homes visit buildyourhorizon.com or get started on your home-building journey by calling the Horizon team at 701-356-3100 or emailing sales@buildyourhorizon.

Realty Xperts

Capital Credit Union has been serving members in North Dakota since 1936, offering personal and business services including auto loans, home equity loans, mortgage loans, checking accounts, savings accounts, business loans and more. They have 11 branches across the state, including those in Bismarck, Mandan, Fargo, Beaulah, Hazen and New Salem.

Michael and Gena Syvertson founded Realty Xperts in 2021. Over their 30 years of combined experience, the duo has won several awards, including an earning #1 ND Team in Close Volume and Revenue during their tenure at Remax/Legacy. Realty Xperts prides itself on being able to serve a wide variety of clients, whether they’re buying, selling, looking for a first home or a luxury retirement place.

Real Estate Development

By Matthew Mohr

Our region has had continual growth and the amount of new construction seems to be never ending. Property in our area, which was being sold a few decades ago for pennies per foot, has skyrocketed to many dollars per foot. This continual push for more buildings and the upward price spiral has created an environment that has seemed to make some big winners with few losers.

Whenever a market gets to this point, where anything and everything seems to be successful, something and some people will eventually get hurt.

True professional developers use sophisticated modeling when evaluating a project returns and risks. Solid financial analysis, including calculating the owners cost of capital, return on investment benchmarks, and a net present value based on various rents, business conditions and many factors will be performed.

Recently, I visited a very sophisticated manufacturing plant in Ohio with some colleagues. The building has some incredible engineering. Piping and control mechanisms with electronic monitoring systems were in place to ensure the product being produced was done right every time. The building engineering had to account for specialized containers to hold 5,000 gallons of liquid with area for expansion in the future. Pouring a concrete floor and putting production in place simply would have not worked. This facility took foresight, excellent technology and expert engineers to build. The risk to the owners amounts to many millions of dollars and the owners know their business well, so they did everything possible to make sure they would achieve a positive return on their investment. There are many individuals and whole organizations in our market claiming to be real estate development professionals. With demand for property along with excess money available from investors, buildings have been built all over the region and many are able to provide some returns, but long-term continuous and positive cash flow is far from guaranteed. Some of these organizations and investments will fail.

When market demand is as strong as we have experienced in our region, it is easy to have inexperienced contractors and unsophisticated realtors achieve what appears to be success. Over the longer term, eventually those lacking experience, especially those who “cut corners” or “shoot from the hip” will fail.

Two of the most notable real estate management-development businesses in our area are Goldmark and the Kilbourne Group. Both follow somewhat different paths yet both have grown and prospered along with managing their respective business for the long term. “Goldmark, now primarily engaged as a real investment trust named Sterling Multi-Family REIT and Sterling Office and Industrial REIT, started with small properties, then when they gained positive after

continued on page 34

CREATING SPAC ES .

FO ST ERING TEAMWORK.

As a unif ie d re al est at e in ve st me nt fi rm , En cl av e' s de ve lop me nt , co ns tr uc ti on an d mana gemen t te am s cr ea te spaces an d plac eswher e ou r pa rt ne rs , co mm un it ie s an d te am me mb ers th ri ve

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Bu ild Yo ur Fu tu re Wi th En cla ve

Matthew Mohr

Taylor Aasen

Bismarck State College

Major: Mass Communications

Graduation Date: Spring 2023

Career path: Broadcast Journalist

“Reporting is what I’ve always wanted to do and I understand my mom’s love for it now. I think it’s all about meeting new people. That has been the best experience for me – really, just meeting interesting people who want their story to be told.”

Building Upon a Legacy

A

Bismarck State College student

follows in her mother’s footsteps by pursuing a career as a broadcast journalist

By Andrew Weeks

While growing up, Taylor Aasen remembers watching her mom, Debbie Aasen, cut VHS tapes as a broadcast reporter. Times have changed since then, the tape having been replaced by digital technology, but the fundamentals of news gathering and reporting have remained the same.

Now at age 24, Aasen is treading the same path – albeit with newer technology – that her mom, who died in 2015, followed all those years ago.

Aasen is a second-year mass communications student at Bismarck State College and works at the same station, KX News in Bismarck, that her mom worked at for a number of years before Parkinson’s disease shortened her life. In her role at the station, Aasen shares weather updates and reports news, the latter being her favorite.

“I started at KX last year when I moved here (from Mohall, North Dakota),” she said. “I started as a camera operator. When we were losing our weekend meteorologist, I jokingly one day said ‘I’ll do it – you know, point at the green screen and say things to clouds and stuff.’”

It was no joke for those who heard her, though. “They took me seriously and so now I work as a weakened weather anchor, and then I moved my way up to reporting as well,” she said.

After working as a journalist for a while now, Aasen understands why her mother loved her career so much. It’s mostly about the people, telling their stories on the air.

She definitely keeps busy between school and work, always trying to find a balance.

At Bismarck State, Aasen is the executive producer of MystiCast, the broadcast department of Mystic Media, the school’s multimedia studio.

“I put together the show and write up scripts and make sure students are on top of their game,” she explained. After school, she’s at the news station.

It’s a tough juggle sometimes, with long days and sparse meals, but the reward comes with the people she is able to meet almost daily. She especially enjoys human interest stories – “I think everyday people are interesting,” she said – and recalls one memorable story she reported about a farmer who traveled from Washington State to Minnesota in his John Deere tractor.

She also has covered events about Parkinson’s disease, the illness that altered her mother’s life and impacted their family, and a number of other local stories.

Aasen said she looks forward to establishing a long-term career as a broadcast journalist, and noted that reporting for a national news outlet doesn’t interest her as much as it does staying close to home. She takes to heart the news mantra that local news is paramount.

People tell her, “‘Oh, you’re going to go national one day,’ but I like the local field,” she said. “I think that’s what North Dakota really needs, people who care about their local communities, and so I would love to just continue to report local.”

However, she added: “I would love to do personal interest stories. That’s my jam. ... I like meeting interesting people. I just want to continue working at KX and continue to bring local news to North Dakota.”

For now, she keeps busy doing the juggling act of work and school, with a graduation date of May 2023. She said she chose Bismarck State because of its hands-on learning opportunities. There are plenty of opportunities to “learn by doing” at the college, she said.

continued on page 32

BetterLife,Now and For Generations

50,000+ Good PayingJobs

Schools,Roads, andFloodProtection

Thanks to ouroilandnaturalgasindustry, overfiftythousandNorthDakotanshave goodpayingjobs. Taxespaid by theindustryfundschools, roadsandfloodprotectionacrossthe state.Americaitselfis more secureandenergy-independentbecauseofourstate’soilandnaturalgas.Withour vast reserves, thebenefitswillmakelife betterforgenerations.

MoreSecureandEnergy IndependentNation

Generationnext

continued from page 30

Being involved with Mystic Media has allowed her benefits that she otherwise would not have had, better preparing her for her current and future roles in TV news.

Students get to work with studio lighting, set up the camera for the shots they want to capture, and other technical details.

“You can be creative and at the same time really learn,” Aasen said. “I think that’s important, because I’m just not a book learner. With a lot of your four-year universities, you have to learn about the equipment before you even get to touch it, whereas here you’re right in it, right away, and that’s really helped me in my career so far and at KX for sure.”

Dustin Anderson, production coordinator and MystiCast advisor at BSC, said Aasen caught on quickly when she first started at the college.

“Taylor didn’t have much video experience coming into that first semester and you could tell she was worried she wouldn’t get it figured out right away, but she did,” Anderson said. “She took off and never looked back. I would say that every video that she turned in was better than the last, which as an advisor/instructor is what we can only hope for.

“Taylor has produced a wide variety of video content in her short time at BSC and shows confidence in doing so. She has been a big help getting other students engaged and her confidence has spread to others.”

Hands-on learning is important to Aasen, but so is continual learning – another reason she enjoys journalism: Every day is different

TAYLOR AASEN, A SECOND-YEAR MASS COMMUNICATIONS STUDENT AT BISMARCK STATE COLLEGE AND WHO WORKS AT THE SAME STATION, KX NEWS IN BISMARCK, THAT HER MOM WORKED AT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS BEFORE HER PASSING IN 2015, SAYS SHE ENJOYS MEETING PEOPLE AND TELLING THEIR STORIES.

IMAGE: COURTESY OF TAYLOR AASEN

and there is always something new to experience. It does have its challenging moments, however, including the bane of every journalist’s career – deadlines.

“I think the hardest thing for me to adjust to was the deadlines,” Aasen said, noting that in school she can spend time learning programs and being more creative. “Whereas once I got into my career, I was thrown right into it.

“People are there to help, but when you have to do two stories a day, and put care into something that you have to in by 4 p.m., it’s definitely tough to send that care along with the rush of a deadline, I think, and so that was a big surprise to me.”

As for being in front of a camera, “The first time we saw Taylor read from a teleprompter, we knew she had chosen the right field,” Anderson said. “It’s not always easy for everyone to do that, and she nailed it. She is a natural on camera and it just seems easy for her.”

“I’ve been told I’m a natural,” Aasen said. “However, I don’t feel like that.” But she likens it to other aspects of life. “When that red light goes on in your life, you can’t do anything else, so you just do it, otherwise you’re going to look like an idiot. You just have to go with the flow. It is definitely nerve-wracking. My nerves have come down a lot now, since I’ve been in front of the cameras often, but you definitely get sweaty palms. … But once that light goes on, you just do it. You don’t think about it.”

A combination of life experiences, schooling and people have helped Aasen to get where she is today. It is her mom, however, whom she feels closest to when in the studio, whether at school or at work, knowing she is following in her footsteps, building upon that legacy as the family’s next broadcast journalist.

The sky’s the limit for young Aasen, who said she’s always enjoyed writing and telling other people’s stories.

“That,” she said, “was a way that I connected with my mom too, and so I finally just decided to follow in her footsteps. And here I am.”

Working at the same station as her mom did years ago is a bit “weird” for her, Aasen said, noting at least two people still work there who once worked with her mom. “It’s much different than the newsroom I grew up in. However, it makes me respect her even more that I know the hardships of the job. But I also now know why she enjoyed it so much because you get to meet interesting people who are passionate about their stories being told. I am recognized often as her daughter because the viewers remember and loved her so much, so it makes me feel connected to her in a way I never thought possible.”

She also said, “Reporting is what I’ve always wanted to do and I understand my mom’s love for it now. I think it’s all about meeting new people. That has been the best experience for me – really, just meeting interesting people who want their story to be told.”

‘I LIKE THE LOCAL FIELD,’ SAYS TAYLOR AASEN. ‘I THINK THAT’S WHAT NORTH DAKOTA REALLY NEEDS, PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT THEIR LOCAL COMMUNITIES, AND SO I WOULD LOVE TO JUST CONTINUE TO REPORT LOCAL.’

COURTESY OF TAYLOR AASEN

continued from page 29

debt repayment, cash flow continued to invest in bigger and different property based on market demand.

Kilbourne Group, as most people knew them, was, and still is, a driving force behind the redevelopment of Downtown Fargo. Downtown Fargo had languished for years. The folks at Kilbourne Group saw an opportunity and went to work at full speed. At the time, this was a big risk and took vision. How sophisticated their analysis was is hard to know, but they succeeded. Today there are lots of people trying to copy Kilbourne. Some will have some success, but more will fail.

When thinking of getting involved with real estate development, remember the saying, “When a person with money and no experience meets a person with no money, but experience, soon the person with money will have experience and the person who only had experience has both money and experience.”

Valley City State University receives $600,000 grant to address teacher shortage

VALLEY CITY, N.D. • Valley City State University received a $600,000 grant from the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction to help prepare more teachers to fill critical teaching needs across the state.

The grant will fund the VCSU Grow Your Own Scholarship Program, according to the school. The program offers scholarships to individuals aspiring to become a licensed teacher in North Dakota. It is specifically designed for paraprofessionals and substitute teachers working in North Dakota school districts.

“Valley City State University has one of the best teacher preparation programs in the nation. This grant allows us to offer scholarships to cover tuition costs for individuals working toward their teaching degree in North Dakota,” VCSU President Alan LaFave said in a statement. “We lead the state in preparing future educators and this grant opens doors for more individuals interested in joining the education workforce.”

Scholarships of $3,200 will be awarded through this program. This amount covers tuition costs for an entire semester for a full-time student.

Scholarships for two semesters for currently enrolled, or electing to enroll fulltime, in VCSU’s Online Teacher Education Program. This program includes areas of elementary, business, English, history, mathematics, Spanish, social science, and technology education.

Scholarships for three to four semesters for students seeking a teaching degree with a specialized endorsement area. Endorsements available include English Language Learners, Early Childhood/Kindergarten, and Special Education.

Individuals interested in learning more about this program can visit www.vcsu.edu/ education or call 701-845-7304.

Matthew Mohr is president of Dacotah Paper Co. based in Fargo, North Dakota.

Students get real-world experience in trading and investments at NDSU

FARGO, N.D. • Students at North Dakota State University interested in stock market trading, investment analysis and portfolio management can gain real-world experience in the Bison Fund, a student organization that helps manage more than $2.7 million in investments.

The university in a news release said the Bison Fund allows students in any major to evaluate companies based on industry, sustainability, management and competition using Bloomberg computer terminals in the commodity trading room in Barry Hall.

The room is supported by the endowment for the Center of Trading and Risk in the Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics and is used as collaboration for the Bison Fund. The terminals, used by business experts across the country, let students place trades while also monitoring and analyzing the financial market in real time.

The Bison Fund, which works under the guidance of an NDSU advisor and a board of experienced industry professionals, has tripled in value during the past five years. NDSU students followed through on a commitment to growth by diligently monitoring holdings, updating each other on recent news, earnings and financial models, and making informed investment decisions.

Agribusiness and applied economics student Dylan Kallman said working with the Bison Fund has helped him learn in-depth modeling skills that will help him succeed in business after graduation. Interpersonal communication and critical thinking also are an important aspect of the organization, Kallman said.

“Working with the fund is a major differentiator for students passionate about pursing a job in the field of finance,” said Kallman, from Lino Lakes, Minnesota. “Many employers require a minimum amount of experience and the Bison Fund provides that in real time while students receive their degree. It also opens the door to a number of internships that will additionally help them stick out to employers.”

PRAIRIE

What keeps you motivated in your role as a leader?

Q.INSIGHTs & INTUITION

Reed Montgomery Vice President Adams Inc.

Fargo, N.D.

Success of the company as a whole.

In a leadership role many times your success is correlated to the company’s success. If the company is having success, the driving force behind that success is the employees.

I like to lead by example. Doing whatever job is needed to help get our projects completed. Whether that be in the designing and planning stages or out in our warehouse loading and unloading trucks, packaging material, or cutting material to fit a custom project. It also helps having a great team who works well together and helps motivate each other, especially when things get busy or if one of us is stuck in the designing process, being able to talk and work things out as a team helps us all work more cohesively.

Motivation is easy to come by, it’s the discipline and hard work that brings our team success.

As a leader, what keeps me motivated is understanding my purpose and the ability to serve and make a difference in the lives of others. I am passionate about making an impact and developing and empowering others. I am excited to come to work every day to be inspired by a team that I have the opportunity to be a part of and lead. By building positive and trusting relationships, I am motivated by the ability to inspire, guide, and influence the right actions for the right reason and to be a leader of the people. So what keeps me motivated in my role as a leader is simply being an influential, relational, and authentic leader and having the understanding that my purpose as a leader is to make a positive difference in the lives of those that I serve.

Carol Enderle President CHI St.

Alexius

Health Dickinson Dickinson, N.D.

I am motivated when I see how people are positively transformed by the supportive educational community at Dakota Wesleyan University. First and foremost, it is motivating to see students explore and find meaning and purpose in their lives. I am also motivated by helping my colleagues find and sustain purpose in their own professional lives. I am energized by the DWU culture because it values everyone.

I am motivated to meet the leadership challenge of constantly pursuing ways to sustain and grow that kind of environment. I think it’s also important to note that I’m able to stay motivated because of healthy habits I always try to maintain. I enjoy being outside with family, playing basketball, and reading to my son each evening.

As we know, we all need to find ways to refill our tank!

Dr. Daniel R. Kittle President Dakota Wesleyan University Mitchell, S.D.

Blain Johnson Owner and President Paramount Planning Grand Rapids, Minn.

Having a passion for the work we are doing is one of the key elements in keeping myself motivated in the projects and clients my company is working with and in my visions as a leader.

I believe that individuals are naturally motivated to do certain types of work and a strong desire to complete certain tasks that they truly believe in. Passion goes beyond financial compensation or materialistic rewards and fills one with a feeling of doing something that will benefit the greater good. If I do not believe in what I am doing, I cannot imagine having the enthusiasm to lead my company and employees in the work they are doing.

It sounds cliché, but passion for the work you do will lead you through the natural highs and lows of your business and career as a leader; keeping you focused on creating the best products for those you serve and leading to a more rewarding career. It then becomes extremely easy to stay motivated to do your best work on a daily basis.

gettingback to business

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 315,000 in August, and the unemployment rate rose to 3.7%.

REAL EARNINGS

US IMPORT AND EXPORT

Prices for US imports declined 1% in August following a 1.5% decrease in July. Lower fuel and non-fuel prices in August contributed to the decline in US import prices. The country’s export prices fell 1.6% in August, after declining 3.7% the previous month.

Source: U.S. Bureau

STATE EMPLOYMENT SUMMARY

Unemployment rates were higher in August in 16 states and stable in 34 states and the District of Columbia,according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. All 50 states and the District had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier. The national unemployment rate rose to 3.7% over the month but was 1.5 percentage points lower than in August 2021. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 10 states, decreased in 1 state, and was essentially unchanged in 39 states and the District of Columbia in August 2022. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 46 states and the District and was essentially unchanged in four states.

Real average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased 2.8% from August 2021 to August 2022. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.6% in the average workweek resulted in a 3.4% decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period. Source:

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