Prairie Business November 2024

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

PRAIRIE BUSINESS AND GRAND FORKS HERALD STAFF AT THE AWARDS EVENT, FROM LEFT, PUBLISHER KORRIE WENZEL, EDITOR CARRIE MCDERMOTT, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT MARSHA JOHNSON, ACCOUNT MANAGER NICHOLE ERTMAN AND ADVERTISING DIRECTOR STACI LORD. / ERIC HYLDEN

INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY

FLOURISHING BY ANDREA BORSVOLD

RESHAPING EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS BY CARRIE MCDERMOTT

OLIVIA METZ

ACKERMAN-ESTVOLD WELCOMES OLIVIA METZ AS CIVIL DRAFTER/DESIGNER

MINOT, N.D. • OLIVIA METZ HAS JOINED THE ACKERMANESTVOLD MINOT OFFICE AS A CIVIL DRAFTER. METZ IS A JUNIOR AT MICHIGAN TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY, WHERE SHE IS WORKING ON THE COMPLETION OF HER BACHELOR’S DEGREE. METZ WILL FOCUS ON DRAFTING DESIGNS WORKING IN CADD AND ASSISTING THE CIVIL ENGINEERING TEAMS ON A VARIETY OF PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE REGION.

ACKERMAN-ESTVOLD IS A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURAL FIRM HEADQUARTERED IN MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA, WITH ADDITIONAL OFFICE LOCATIONS IN FARGO AND WILLISTON, NORTH DAKOTA, AND BOISE, IDAHO. THE FIRM PROVIDES PLANNING, DESIGN, AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES FOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CLIENTS THROUGHOUT NORTH DAKOTA AND SURROUNDING STATES.

VISIT WWW.PRAIRIEBUSINESSMAGAZINE.COM TO SEE THESE AND OTHER NEW HIRES, PROMOTIONS AND AWARD WINNERS IN THE REGION.

T R A N S F O R M I N G

H E A L T H C A R E

E D U C A T I O N

T hrough innovative de signs, T SP is helping the next gener ation of healthc are provider s From ac tive lear ning clas srooms to st ate-of-the-ar t simulation environment s, we create d ynamic space s that cultivate collabor ation, enhance student lear ning, and replic ate real-life exper ience s.

CARRIE MCDERMOTT EDITOR

INNOVATION AND PARTNERSHIPS BENEFIT HIGHER ED, RURAL HEALTH CARE

As I stepped outside one day in mid-October, it was raining beautiful golden leaves. At least it looked that way. It was the morning after our first hard freeze in Grand Forks and the trees “understood the assignment.”

Fall is definitely here and hopefully, you’ve had time to get out and enjoy the change of Mother Nature’s colors across the region. We’ve also had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), which is trending across social media. If you didn’t catch it, you’ll have to wait another 80,000 years.

This time of year, Prairie Business holds its annual awards event. It’s a fun party to celebrate the honorees of the three contests highlighting individuals each year. We had a great turnout and heard from several of our Leaders & Legacies award winners about leadership and family-owned businesses. You can read more about it this month.

November’s focus is on higher education, health care, and architects and engineers. These topics are covered several times a year in Prairie Business, and we strive to share new angles and unique stories about these important sectors.

We’ve got two features on higher education, one focusing on business programs at regional universities, and the other about the impact of trade and tech schools in our communities. Schools of business are offering popular programs including accounting, marketing, management and entrepreneurship. Technical and trade schools are offering stackable certificates for those already in the workforce, as well as streamlined programs that can get students into a career in a short period of time. We’re lucky to have such involved leaders helping to give people options and opportunities to learn about high-demand careers.

Did you know that more than half of the rural hospitals in the country don’t offer labor and delivery services? In North Dakota, 79% do not, according to the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Of the state’s 39 rural hospitals and rural emergency hospitals, 31 do not have obstetric services as of July 2024. The median drive time to a hospital in North Dakota with OB services is 58 minutes. This was surprising to me as I researched the topic, but it’s a fact that rural healthcare workers know all too well.

I spoke to leaders at independent rural hospitals and rural health experts to learn about their biggest challenges and their innovative solutions. The facilities are using their relationships with industry and with each other to build a network across the state that supports providers and staff by allowing them to share knowledge and expertise. Small, rural communities are an important piece of our economy and accessibility to health-care services is crucial. You can read more about the topic inside this month.

Finally, our architecture and engineering coverage focuses on K-12 facilities, and what it takes to modernize older schools compared to new construction. We talked to industry professionals who shared the challenges school districts face when trying to create safe and secure places of learning for students and staff. The biggest hurdle for districts is funding, all agreed.

National Rural Health Day is Thursday, Nov. 21, so thank a health care worker for all that they do. Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving and we’ll see you back here next month!

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

PUBLISHER

KORRIE WENZEL

AD DIRECTOR

STACI LORD

EDITOR

CARRIE MCDERMOTT

CIRCULATION MANAGER

BETH BOHLMAN

LAYOUT DESIGN

JAMIE HOLTE

ACCOUNT MANAGER

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 3535 31st St. S., Suite 205, Grand Forks, ND 58201. 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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ADDRESS CORRECTIONS

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Region’s support of

ENTREPRENEURSHIP GOES BACK DECADES

PAST COVERAGE FEATURED ROLE OF AGRICULTURE AND SMALL TOWNS ON THE ECONOMY

BY CARRIE MCDERMOTT

THE FEBRUARY 2004 EDITION OF PRAIRIE BUSINESS FEATURED AGRICULTURE TOPICS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

/ CARRIE MCDERMOTT

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series looking back through the archives of Prairie Business as part of our 25th anniversary celebration.

Agriculture was a topic covered by Prairie Business from the beginning. Looking back at editions from 2004, one of the features in the February edition focused on new steer-assist technology for farm and construction equipment. Autosteer is now common in precision agriculture.

“We purchased one for our farm and went from laughingstock and talk of the coffee shop to where everyone is now looking hard at it. I just knew this would take off,” Perry Rust said at the time. Rust was the general manager of Rust Sales, Inc., in Harwood, North Dakota.

An interview with Rust and customer Lynn Brakke of Moorhead, Minnesota, explained the benefits of the technology. Another ag feature in the same edition was more expansive.

Part of the Prairie Business coverage area is the fertile Red River Valley, where agriculture continues to be a leading economic sector. In North Dakota, it makes up nearly 29% of the state’s gross business volume, according to a 2022 analysis by NDSU. In South Dakota, it’s a foundation of the state’s economy, contributing about $32.1 billion and accounting for nearly 30% of South Dakota’s total economic output, the governor’s office says. Ag contributes to more than

15% of Minnesota’s economic activity and supports over 10% of jobs in the state.

We decided it’s time to bring agriculture back as a revolving topic and we’ll touch on it in the Prairie Business pages once again starting in 2025.

Rural development was featured in the June 2004 issue. The town of Crosby, North Dakota, had recently experienced a setback with the closure of a new pasta plant, and residents were concerned. The importance of big cities and small towns along the I-29 corridor was emphasized, and it noted that a Los Angeles Times article had extolled the virtues of small heartland towns a few months earlier.

“If you look at this region’s biggest success stories, they almost always came from a small town with a local person and local investors,” then-Prairie Business Editor Rick Killion wrote in his column, “Prairie Perspective.” And further down, he said cities like Fargo and Sioux Falls can’t afford to have small towns fail.

“We are relying on all of you to continue providing the leaders you have always provided,” he wrote. “There are many reasons you and your children succeed wherever you go, and we need to preserve all those reasons at their birthplace … in small towns all across North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.”

That’s still true today. Everyone benefits when a small town thrives. Locally-owned service

stations, family-owned auto dealerships, locally-owned pharmacies and others make the U.S. economy resilient.

Occasional Prairie Business columnist Matthew Mohr wrote about economic development, entrepreneurship and the importance of innovation in small towns.

“If every town nurtured a few entrepreneurs, no matter what kind of business they bring to the table, the region would take a giant step toward halting population loss,” he wrote.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, creating two-thirds of net new jobs and they drive innovation and competition, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy.

Delore Zimmerman, president and CEO of Praxis Strategy Group, was interviewed for an article in June 2004 on entrepreneur networks. No matter where an entrepreneur is located in the country, they all face similar challenges – isolation and the need to market themselves, build distribution networks, and manage growth. He described entrepreneur networking events such as The Entrepreneur Forum, 701TechForum, and North Dakota Bizpathways as “largely informative but are serving a valuable connective purpose.”

Today’s networking events are similar in intention – think TEDx Fargo events, Emerging Prairie’s events and programs, One Million Cups and Startup Sioux Falls, to name a few.

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INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY

ARE SUSTAINING RURAL HEALTH CARE

NORTH DAKOTA’S INDEPENDENT HOSPITALS AND CLINICS ARE BENEFITTING FROM COLLABORATION

BY CARRIE MCDERMOTT

When Pete Edis, MS, FACHE, stepped into the role of CEO at McKenzie Health in December 2021, he was faced with a steep challenge and high priority – to get a labor and delivery department into the medical facility. At the time, expectant mothers were having to travel more than an hour away to deliver their babies. Employers reported having trouble recruiting for jobs in Watford City, North Dakota, because the hospital lacked an obstetrics department.

“How are you going to get a family to move here if you don’t have the ability to have a baby? My predecessor had started the groundwork but it was not constructed yet. We didn’t have a staff, we didn’t have a unit. That became

the priority,” he said. The rural area in the western part of the state is known for its half-million acres of Little Missouri Grasslands in a region rich in oil reserves.

Fast forward one year and the McKenzie Health Hospital was delivering babies. That busy year was filled with huge hurdles and much collaboration.

“Bringing up labor and delivery was a monumental challenge at a time when many other hospitals our size are getting out of it. It was sorely needed in the community and I figured that out after being here a short amount of time,” Edis said. “In 2023 we delivered 67 babies and so far this year, we’ve delivered 75. That’s many more babies delivered here than in the past 30 years.”

PETE EDIS

RURAL INDEPENDENT HOSPITALS LIKE TOWNER COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER IN CANDO, NORTH DAKOTA, ARE ABLE TO SET AND SHARE BEST PRACTICES WITH OTHER RURAL HOSPITALS THANKS TO PARTNERSHIPS LIKE THE ROUGH RIDER NETWORK. / COURTESY TOWNER COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER

More than half of the rural hospitals in the country don’t offer labor and delivery services – in North Dakota, 79% do not, according to theCenter for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Of the state’s 39 rural hospitals and rural emergency hospitals, 31 do not have obstetric services as of July 2024. The median drive time to a hospital in North Dakota with OB services is 58 minutes.

One in five people in the United States live in rural areas, and according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), those who live in rural communities face numerous health disparities compared with their urban counterparts. Rural residents face higher risks of death due to limited access to specialized medical care and emergency services, and exposure to specific environmental hazards.

The greater risks are compounded because those in rural areas tend to be older and sicker than those living in urban areas. Rural residents have higher rates of poverty, less access to health care and are less likely to have health insurance, the CDC says. There are solutions. Gaps in rural health services can be addressed and

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RURALHEALTHCARE

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improved with initiatives such as preventative care, wellness programs and the sharing of resources.

Hospital closures are an added stressor to health-care challenges in rural areas. The American Hospital Association reported that between 2010-2021, 136 rural hospitals closed, 19 in 2020 alone. It’s not just hospitals. Nursing home closures are impacting rural communities, too. In North Dakota, Mohall’s Good Samaritan Society and St. Luke’s Sunrise Care Center in Crosby have closed in the last few years.

The challenges in rural health care are steep but not impossible, thanks to supportive communities and partnerships, like the Rough Rider Network. The Rough Rider Network was formed just two years ago by 23 critical-access hospitals in North Dakota, along with their more than 50 clinics, to allow them to stay independent but be able to tap into each other’s resources and knowledge and to have collective bargaining power with insurance companies and vendors. The network’s member hospitals care for more than 225,000 patients across the state.

Rough Rider Network Board President Ben Bucher said one of the main benefits of being part of the network is clinical integration, meaning access to shared medical knowledge and resources. Bucher is also the CEO of Towner County Medical Center in Cando, North Dakota.

“We can set best practices and share best practices. If there’s a certain hospital struggling with a particular medical condition, or maybe some sort of outbreak, we can use evidence-based medicine to share information. We want to make sure we have access to information physicians and nurses can use from their peers to help guide them through certain conditions,” Bucher said. “We can use shared services. For example, IT – not every hos-

pital has the luxury of having an in-house IT specialist. If you are lucky to have one, it can be quite expensive. What this network can do is share that expertise across the network. We don’t have one hired yet, but potentially this network could hire an IT director who would oversee all of the hospitals, which would lower the cost for us in Cando, in Harvey. We wouldn’t each need to have our own.”

He said the trajectory that health-care costs are on is not sustainable, and by creating the network, they’re trying to “bend the curve and find a way to lower health-care costs.”

“If we can come together with economy of scale, we’re able to negotiate better deals with certain vendors to lower our costs and ultimately, if we can save money, we can pass those savings on to our patients,” he said. “The other thing we can do is increase quality of care. We call that the triple-aim. Triple aim is healthier patients, healthier communities and at a lower cost. The quadruple aim would be happier employees, as well.”

Kylie Nissen is chief of staff at Cibolo Health, and executive director at the North Dakota Rural Health Association. Cibolo Health helps independent rural hospitals create networks with their peers to overcome the obstacles rural healthcare providers face. In her role, Nissen works with both the Rough Rider Network in North Dakota and the Headwaters Network in Minnesota.

“Each of those are their own clinically integrated network of rural independent hospitals. It’s a way for these rural independents to stay open, provide quality care and keep decision-making local in their own communities,” she said. “These networks are also seen as a recruitment and retention strategy. You can reach out and get help or provide assistance, so they’re never alone. You can feel pretty isolated in some of the little towns. When recruiting new professionals right out of college or trade school, they won’t feel alone, there’s always someone there to help.”

She and Bucher gave a presentation about the Rough Rider Network in late September at the National Rural Health Association RHC/CAH Conference held in Kansas City, Missouri.

“This is becoming known throughout the nation as a great way to keep rural health care alive, essentially,” she said.

At the Center for Rural Health, located at the University of North Dakota’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Grand Forks, acting Director and Assistant Professor Brad Gibbens and his team bring together expertise and help share knowledge and tools with a wide range of rural and tribal stakeholders. The center has 65-70 staff and faculty members who work in different capacities for all aspects of health care, including behavioral and mental health.

“We do assessments, strategic planning, help to write grants – we’ll come in free of charge and do a two- to four-hour grant writing workshop. There’s a lot of things we do at the community level,” he said. “Rural is a very good place for innovation and we’ve seen a significant amount of innovation coming out of the rural areas for years.”

DR. BATES, LEFT, IS THE DIRECTOR OF UROLOGY AT MCKENZIE HEALTH. / COURTESY MCKENZIE HEALTH

BEN BUCHER

KYLIE NISSEN

Under the Affordable Care Act, all nonprofit hospitals are mandated to complete a community health needs assessment every three years and then develop an implementation plan. The Center for Rural Health works with over 95% of the critical access hospitals to help them complete their CHNAs, Gibbens said. The most recent aggregate shows the top two community health issues reported in need of addressing are mental or behavioral health and substance abuse. The third-ranked need was attracting and retaining young families.

“People who live in rural communities, if they are going to survive, know they need younger families coming in. The fourth highest-rated concern out of rural North Dakota is having enough child daycare services,” Gibbens said.

To address community health needs and in some cases, growing populations, several rural health facilities in North Dakota are undergoing expansions. In Stanley, Mountrail County Health Center is taking on such a project. It will add services to the hospital, expand residences at its assisted living facility, and build a state-of-the-art nursing home facility.

The first phase is the nursing home addition, started over the summer and running through March 2026. Additional phases will include an ambulance garage addition, kitchen renovations, an infusion suite addition, MRI addition and a specialist care suite, and the final phase will be adding on to the assisted living facility, Rosen Place. The entire project is anticipated to be wrapped up by the end of 2027.

Gloria Larsgaard, an architect and project manager at EAPC’s Minot office, has been working on the replacement for the aging nursing home. She’s studied nursing homes for the past 10-15 years and has seen a change, moving from an institutional-type setting to one that’s more like home.

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RURALHEALTHCARE

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“The trend in nursing homes is private rooms. We really put a lot of care into making them look a bit more upscale and homey,” she said. “They have a couple of double rooms for family members who may want to share the room. We have a couple of bariatric rooms, which not all nursing homes can provide.”

Mountrail Bethel Home Administrator Stephanie Everett said the current facility is a 36-bed nursing home with 10-bed basic care. She talked about the challenges of maintaining an aging building.

“The nursing home is 60 years old and it’s falling apart. When you go into the plumbing, it’s all cast iron. Whenever they go in to fix something, it just crumbles. The rooms are too small, the bathrooms can’t take the lifts, it was built before we used lifts. The residents coming into the nursing homes need higher levels of care than they did 60 years ago. Right now we have twin-size beds. The new, bigger rooms will accommodate full-size beds. It’s just needed,” she said.

Like many leaders in rural areas, Everett wears several hats – she’s also the Mountrail County Medical Center CEO, and the Mountrail County Health Foundation director, and handles marketing and public relations for the health system. They’re part of the Rough Rider Network.

“You don’t make money running a nursing home or running a critical access hospital. That’s why fundraising is so important. In order to move forward for the next 60 years, we have to put money into the plant. I went to the county commissioners and they gave us a wonderful donation, a $25 million pledge, $15 million this year and $10 million for next year,” she said.

Fundraising is important for independent hospitals, which can depend on generous community contributions to help complete projects or add amenities to make patients and residents more comfortable.

Lynn Welker-Fevold, chief of Communications, Marketing, Strategy and Innovation at McKenzie Health, said contributions have helped turn a unique idea into reality.

“It’s a project that’s taken about three years to come full circle. It started during COVID,” she said. “We recently complet-

LYNN WELKER-FEVOLD

ed project that includes a greenhouse, which is almost finished, an expansion to our chapel and a courtyard for our long-term care facility, the Good Shepherd Home. It was probably about a $2.3 million project and we had well over 200 contributors to make this happen.”

The Benefit Fund of McKenzie Health raises money for all sorts of things, she said, from capital projects and equipment to educational opportunities.

“It offsets the needs we have at the health care facility along with quality of life and wellness items,” she said. “Our benefit fund board is excellent to work with. They’re very engaged in the community and very invested in what we’re working on.”

Jamestown Regional Medical Center is also part of the Rough Rider Network. JRMC President and CEO Michael Delfs believes the impact the high-value network is already having is positive. The quality of care for patients in rural areas is “amazingly good and will continue to be really good because we’re all working on the same things,” he said.

“All of us want to remain independent, not just because we want to, but because our communities need to know that the services that are important to them are what will be looked at,” Delfs said. “In some of the larger systems, often that system has such a huge geographic footprint, that they may have 100 different things that are a priority and your local community may not be it. This is a local way for us, as independent hospitals, to be really responsive to our

communities without trying to figure out how to become important if you’re part of a large system.”

JRMC has OB/GYN services and Chief Nursing Officer Trisha Jungels said it’s because they listened to women in the community about what their needs are.

“One of the super positive sides of JRMC being independent, is we have primary care providers that work for Sanford and Essentia in Jamestown, that deliver babies. In tertiary care, family practice doctors are not delivering babies. In partnership with primary care and OB/GYN, JRMC is able to safely and effectively deliver babies in this region,” she said.

“To paint a broader picture, most critical access hospitals are now out of or are getting out of delivering babies,” Delfs added. “We couldn’t handle more complicated births if we were just family medicine. Our program has the highest standards.”

Back at McKenzie Health, also part of the Rough Rider Network, Pete Edis appreciates being part of the network and having a group of colleagues who can act as resources.

“It’s brought us all together in very similar situations, to figure out how we each overcome those challenges,” he said.

Value-based care is a newer philosophy to describe health care that’s designed to focus on the quality of care, provider performance and the patient experience. Wellness programs, preventative care and coordination of care can help keep people out of the hospital. If a facility can show that patient outcome is positive, the providers are paid more because they’ve shown, thorough metrics, that they’re doing well in managing the patient. Some experts think it’s a revolutionary way to look at the health-care business in the United States.

Edis said he likes the idea of value-based care and showing outcomes.

“We have very good outcomes, very low infection rates. We replace shoulders, hips and knees at our hospital and we have a great surgeon. We appreciate being able to show those outcomes, and saying we deserve to get paid based on those outcomes. We are successful because our community supports us, not just financially, but by embracing the idea they can get great local medical care.”

VIEW OF THE FRONT OF JAMESTOWN REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER. THE RURAL HOSPITAL IS PART OF THE ROUGH RIDER NETWORK. / COURTESY JAMESTOWN REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER.

MICHAEL DELFS

TRISHA JUNGELS

UND’S NISTLER COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION HAS THREE DEPARTMENTS AND TWO SCHOOLS WITH SEVERAL ACADEMIC PROGRAMS. / COURTESY JILL OCKHARDT BLAUFUSS FOR UND

EMPOWERING EDUCATION

FOUR THRIVING BUSINESS SCHOOLS ARE LOCATED IN THE HEART OF THE MIDWEST

BY ANDREA BORSVOLD

Colleges and universities across the country are experiencing a resurgence of college admissions, some at their highest levels in the past five years. One of the programs seeing the greatest growth in recent years has been business, particularly at four state universities in the Midwest: North Dakota State University (NDSU), University of North Dakota (UND), University of South Dakota (USD), and Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM). The business schools range from 400 to nearly 2,000 full-time students, with popular programs including accounting, marketing, management and entrepreneurship.

All four colleges are accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, which is only given to the top 6% of college business programs worldwide. They each boast a student-managed investment fund with assets ranging from $200,000 to $3 million, providing students the valuable experiential learning opportunities involving real money and real risk.

THE EXTERIOR DESIGN OF UND’S NISTLER HALL COMPLEMENTS AND ENHANCES EXISTING COLLEGIATE GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE AT THE CAMPUS CORE. / COURTESY JILL OCKHARDT BLAUFUSS FOR UND

AMY HENLEY

“We need to recruit more women into business fields, particularly in analytic fields like finance and accounting.”

- Amy Henley, dean of Nistler College of Business and Public Administration, UND

they’ve had — which provide future students with assurance and confidence in their potential.”

Location Matters

Location is often a significant factor for students when considering colleges. Fargo, known both as a college town and a large metropolitan area, offers major industry opportunities. Kathryn Birkeland, the Ronald & Kaye Olson-endowed dean of the College of Business at NDSU, emphasizes the importance of connections to entrepreneurship and industry for students’ post-graduation prospects.

“One of the unique aspects of our college of business is that we’re located in downtown Fargo — we are not on the main campus. Our students can participate in all the activities of the main campus, but we have some downtown-specific, business student-specific recruiting events which are really quite useful,” she said.

In addition to these recruiting efforts, students in the Fargo area benefit from a weekly networking event called StartupBrew, a morning meetup for “entrepreneurs, innovators, creatives and community members alike to come together and explore the entrepreneurial journey,” as their website explains. Business leaders are invited to speak, providing university students with valuable connections over coffee — similar to the networking practices of seasoned professionals.

Innovative Programs and Engagement

Geographically, these notable universities are situated along the Red River and directly south, drawing students from across the Midwest, from UND in Grand Forks, North Dakota, to NDSU and MSUM in Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota, respectively, culminating with USD in Vermillion, South Dakota. The oldest business school among them, UND’s Nistler College of Business, celebrated its centennial in 2017 and

recently opened a new $70 million building, Nistler Hall, in 2022.

“We take pride in our new building and the fact that we secured $50 million in private donations to make this building happen,” said Amy Henley, dean of Nistler College of Business and Public Administration at UND. “If you walk through this building, you’ll see the stories we tell — stories of our incredible alumni and the careers that

Further south, the Beacom School of Business at USD hosted its third annual Business Analytics Adventure this summer, a five-day event designed for high school students to experience the campus, engage with local business professionals, and earn one general college credit from USD.

Business schools continually create new opportunities for students to connect both with peers and professionals in their fields, as exemplified by UND’s Women in Business Club. What

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KATHRYN BIRKELAND, THE RONALD & KAYE OLSON-ENDOWED DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AT NDSU, WALKS WITH STUDENTS ON THE CAMPUS. / COURTESY NDSU

HIGHEREDUCATION

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began with six students two years ago grew to over 100 students by the end of the first year.

“That shows me that we have motivated women in business here in the college, but it also shows me that they are looking for opportunities to engage with others and make connections,” said Henley. “We need to recruit more women into business fields, particularly in analytic fields like finance and accounting.”

Expanding Horizons

Newest on the business scene at NDSU is the summer learning experience program called Bison to the Bakken.

“The goal of the program is to introduce undergraduate students studying business, engineering or agriculture to the oil and gas industry, coal industry and all of the economic activity associated with the industry in western North Dakota,” according to the website.

Meanwhile, MSUM is pushing international boundaries with its Doing Business in Germany study abroad program. Led by two German-speaking professors, this program takes over 20 students to Germany each year, allowing them to connect with the head of the Global Division of Ernst & Young, a globally connected multidisciplinary professional services organization.

“[Doing Business in Germany] fits with one of the requirements for all the students in the Paseka School of Business: that they must engage in some form of experiential activity. Students can participate in a course and be part of our Dragon Investment Fund, complete an internship, study abroad, or join the Executive Mentorship Program,” said Dr. Peter Sherman, dean of the College of Business, Analytics and Communication at MSUM.

Sherman also discussed the college’s focus on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) throughout the curriculum, specifically in the Paseka School of Business at MSUM.

“Our advisory boards have indicated that they want our students to graduate with the ability to functionally use AI in all aspects of business because it is a critical component of the modern landscape,” he said. “A year and a half ago, we were discussing how to ban AI in the classroom; now we are figuring out how to embrace it.”

Echoing this sentiment, Dr. Timothy O’Keefe, dean of the Beacom School of Business at USD, said, “We’re setting the standard of business education by embracing AI and integrating it into our curriculum. Our faculty are

CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

DR. PETER SHERMAN

Trade and tech schools a better OPTION FOR SOME STUDENTS

TWO-YEAR DEGREES, HANDS-ON TRAINING ARE HELPING FILL WORKFORCE NEEDS

Dr. Carrie L. Brimhall, president of Minnesota State Community and Technical College, has seen tremendous change at the school over the years. Now on her 27th year with the institution, she said about 9,000 students are receiving non-credit instruction annually, and most of those are working in business and industry to gain additional skills. Nearly 8,000 students are taking credit-based courses each year, over 2,000 of those are students at 47 area high schools.

“We’re impacting upwards of 16,000 lives annually. We serve a large region and have four campuses – Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Moorhead and Wadena,” she said. “We merged together in 2003 and last year we celebrated our 20th anniversary as a merged college.”

Each campus is different in terms of what it provides, which makes sense because community colleges were designed around the needs of the region. Health care programs are “king” on the Moorhead campus, Brimhall said.

“It feels like we could keep adding programs and never meet the demand. We have a pretty broad suite of healthcare programs including nursing, lab tech, surgical tech, dental hygiene and assisting, radiology tech in Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls has echocardiography. We do non credit CNA training.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

STUDENTS LEARN AT THEIR OWN PACE IN THE WELDING PROCESS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM AT NORTHLAND COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE. THE DIPLOMA WAS DESIGNED IN COOPERATION WITH REGIONAL MANUFACTURING COMPANIES TO PREPARE THE STUDENT FOR A CAREER IN A WELDING OR WELDING-RELATED FIELD. / COURTESY NORTHLAND COMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22

dedicated to shaping forward-thinking business leaders who are equipped with the confidence and ability to harness the power of AI to drive innovation.”

“With AI technologies gaining prominence in the business sphere, we aim to prepare students to effectively utilize AI and other technologies in solving critical problems in business,” USD’s website states.

A Bright Future Ahead

NDSU’s prestigious Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth encourages research on human progress and flourishing related to nationwide or regional issues.

“We consider how to adjust public policy in areas like education or healthcare to achieve better outcomes,” said Birkeland.

Moreover, MSUM’s Online Project Management program has received notable recognition, being named the No. 1 program in the U.S. by Best Accredited Colleges, one of the top three accredited online degree programs by Intelligent.com, and among the Top 10 Best Project Management Certificates online by Forbes Advisor.

Business schools are flourishing in the tri-state area, each offering unique opportunities for both first-time students and returning professionals. With options for scholarships and flexible learning formats — parttime, full-time, online, or in-person — these programs cater to diverse needs, from certificates to PhDs, along with job placement assistance. For those considering a business degree, exploring these exceptional programs can be a significant step toward achieving career goals.

CARRIE MCDERMOTT

DR. CARRIE L. BRIMHALL

TRADE ANDTECHSCHOOLS

N O v EM b ER 2024 vOL 25 ISSUE 11

A DENTAL HYGIENE STUDENT AT WORK AT THE MOORHEAD CAMPUS OF MINNESOTA STATE COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE. / COURTESY MINNESOTA STATE COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 23

So we do a lot in the healthcare area. We’re seeing about a 10% growth in students there,” she said.

The average cost of higher education in the U.S. has more than doubled in the 21st Century. At an average cost of $38,270 per student per year, according to the Education Data Initiative, attending a four-year university is out of reach for many Americans. For others, it’s not part of their career path. Some are choosing community colleges or trade and technical schools, which offer degrees in two years and most often, job placement.

The number of students enrolled in vocational-focused community colleges in the U.S. increased 16% from 2022-2023, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Skilled workers are needed in the manufacturing and construction trades, along with the health care and the energy sectors.

Industry partnerships are often key to a program’s success. M State works with about 500 businesses of all sizes annually, Brimhall said. The college is seeing a resurgence in the construction trades programs, which allow people to work and attend school at the same time. More students are going into education and

early childhood development, another sector reporting shortages.

“We still have a lot of students taking business, accounting, and HR courses. Commercial Driver License (CDL) is really popular now – we’ve figured out how to teach CDL in about 40 hours to get people behind the wheel of a truck and make money quickly,” she said. “People want meaningful work and want to work at a place that’s going to invest in them and care about them, so we fit that. We have great applicants.”

In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Dr. Cory Clasemann is starting his first year as Southeast Technical College’s president. The school just set a record for the largest and most diverse number of students in college history this fall, with an enrollment increase of 7%, at 2,659 students. Twenty-seven percent of the student body are age 24 or older and 21% represent a diverse racial and ethnic background.

South Dakota’s Build Dakota Scholarship fund just celebrated its 10-year anniversary. The scholarship program has been very well received and is making strides in filling workforce

M STATE STUDENTS WILL BENEFIT FROM THE PLUMBING TECHNOLOGY DIPLOMA PROGRAM’S HANDS-ON PLUMBING EXPERIENCES, AN INTERNSHIP IN THE FIELD, AND POTENTIAL INDUSTRY INCENTIVES. / COURTESY MINNESOTA STATE COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

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TRADE ANDTECHSCHOOLS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24

shortages, Clasemann said. Through partnerships with more than 500 businesses, the program has provided almost 4,000 scholarships and attracted more than $21 million in matching funds.

“An incoming student has an industry sponsor and Build Dakota covers all the costs, their tuition, fees, and program costs. At graduation, they have an agreement to work for that sponsor company for three years,” Clasemann said. “They have that guarantee of a job on day one, so they know exactly what it is they’ll be doing. It really helps with motivation and they leave with no debt.”

DR. CORY CLASEMANN

The scholarship is offered for certain in-demand occupations, and between the four technical schools in the state – Southeast Tech, Mitchell Technical College, Lake Area Technical College, and Western Dakota Technical College – there’s an industry match for just about any student.

Hands-on learning is important, and some of that takes place in labs on campus, and there are also opportunities for students to get out of the classroom and into the real world. For example, the construction programs may have students work on a Habitat for Humanity project, or a Media Design Technology student may create websites for area businesses.

“It’s especially good for our first-generation students who may not know what the college experience will be like, and they can see the range of possibilities. It can expose them to so much more they may not otherwise see,” he said.

In-demand programs such as emergency medical technician, medical lab tech, nursing, and sonography will benefit from the new state-of-theart Healthcare Simulation Center that opened earlier this year at the college. It was made possible with financial support from industry community partners including Avera Health, Sanford Health, Forward Sioux Falls and the state of South Dakota. It was designed as a miniature hospital so that students can learn in an environment that mirrors where they will be working after graduation.

“There’s been a stigma with two-year colleges and with those trade professions, but we’re breaking those down and making good progress in changing the conversation,” Clasemann said. “We’re seeing the generation coming up wanting to see the applicability of what they’re learning. They want to know from the beginning, where am I going? It makes it appealing to them. For people who have been at the same job for years and want something different, it helps them find their passion.”

Heather Koland is the respiratory therapy program director and instructor at Northland Community and Technical College in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. She’s worked as a respiratory therapist for 27 years, first with Altru and now at Essentia Health. She’s in her fifth year of teaching at the

college and has helped grow the program which had just four graduates in 2019, to a robust 39 students this year. And if more instructors were available, they could accept additional students into the program.

“Our (program) numbers were originally very low. COVID kind of pushed us to the forefront but not enough for what we needed,” she said. “We’re using a hybrid model. We give students the opportunity to attend in the classroom with an instructor present, they can attend over Zoom in a virtual classroom at the same time, or they can do it online for theory content.”

Respiratory therapists are the professionals called when a patient can’t breathe. Koland said, “We know everything there is to know about lungs. We run the ventilators, most people know it as life support. We give treatments to patients with asthma or COPD, those are the patients that ultimately we deal with. We’ve always been there.”

The pandemic shone a spotlight on the profession. The coronavirus is an infectious respiratory disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and during the pandemic, respiratory therapists were on the frontline. There weren’t enough therapists to handle the patient demand and it quickly became overwhelming. Now the occupation is in high demand.

“We can work in any capacity. A lot of us work in an acute care hospital. We have some in clinic settings, some that work in disease management, we can do a lot of transport – we pick up patients in ambulances, helicopters and airplanes,” Koland said. “We can run heart-lung bypass machines, so there’s a wide scope of what we can do. We aren’t limited by our degree – we can go on to be physician assistants, just like nurse practitioners, it’s just a different path we can take but we all end up in the same spot.”

At the East Grand Forks campus, the respiratory therapist students come into class for four days each month for hands-on training. The rest of their learning can be done online around their work schedules. Koland

helped set up a secondary lab section at CentraCare in St. Cloud, Minnesota, for students who are coming from the Minneapolis area or surrounding communities. Those who are north of St. Cloud come up to the East Grand Forks campus. This means less travel and they can stay closer to home.

Koland said her ultimate goal is to set up a similar mirroring lab section in the western part of North Dakota, where they are hurting for respiratory therapists. Students who live there could stay close to home while earning their degree, and then hopefully become employed at rural hospitals in that region.

Industry partnerships have been crucial in expanding the program, she said. Some of those partners help recruit students from within. Some of the program’s popularity comes from word of mouth, too.

“We also work with Bemidji Sanford, which is sponsoring students, and Alomere Health in Alexandria. We work with the hospital itself to put students in our program. We will train them and send them back and they will then be employees. We’re feeding back into that system,” she said.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of respiratory therapists is projected to grow 13% from 2023 to 2033, faster than the average for all occupations. About 8,200 openings for respiratory therapists are projected each year on average, over the decade.

“The more we can meet the students where they are and feed into the health systems, the better off everyone will be,” Koland said.

YOUR BANK FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS.

ARCHITECTURE ANDENGINEERING

AN AERIAL SHOT OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE GRAND FORKS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT’S VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL, TAKEN SEPT. 24. / COURTESY CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERS

RESHAPING EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS ARE ENHANCING LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

BY CARRIE MCDERMOTT

A school is often the heart of a community and people are invested in education in their towns. The educational landscape is evolving, requiring functional, inspiring and transformative spaces for today’s learners and tomorrow’s workforce. Those designing and building facilities in the K-12 sector consider all the aspects of a modern school facility and what it takes to modernize older buildings so they are safe and secure while allowing for innovation.

Architect Katie Becker, with JLG Architects in Minneapolis, says the biggest issues for school district projects are cost and value. Considerations include long-term value and lifetime costs, and recognizing that certain things may need to be replaced in five years and others, in 20.

“It really is understanding value in all of its terms – what does your community value? What is the best bang for your buck?” she said.

One of the three biggest trends Becker has seen in K-12 design is the re-emergence of career academies and technical education centers (CTEs).

“There was a time when CTE classes like shop or FACS (family and consumer sciences) were being eliminated, but we’ve seen a huge shift in the last few years where they’re bringing back career tech education and redefining how education is being delivered,” she said. “It’s challenging the sta-

“We want to make sure we’re solving that biological need to feel safe from the get-go.”

- Katie Becker, architect with JLG Architects

tus quo, providing students opportunities with real-world application, and it’s engaging with those local communities to support the local workforce.”

JLG has worked on a few recent projects highlighting that are the Grand Forks Career Impact Academy, under construction currently, a remodel and addition at Park Rapids Area High School, and CTE buildings at Bismarck High School.

The second biggest trend is designing for physical health, mental health and social health needs, both for students and staff.

“It’s understanding biophilic design, diversity, neurodivergence, and I think it’s going to continue to evolve and be explored,” Becker said. “We’ve just scratched the surface. Buildings can’t solve all those problems or stressors that staff have been presented with, but we want to make sure buildings aren’t contributing to the challenges.”

KATIE BECKER

The third trend is safety and security. Becker says JLG takes a threepronged approach to this. The first is tapping into the biological need to feel safe.

“We want to create opportunities in the building to build community. If you can start there, students feel safe to come to school and they’re more likely to thrive,” she said. “It’s not just physical safety. It can look like feeling secure in your emotions, or for the adults, finances or relationships. We want to make sure we’re solving that biological need to feel safe from the get-go.”

The second prong is letting the building code work as a benefit. The third is to take an intentional approach by incorporating a philosophy called CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design).

“Incorporating those principles, looking at layered checkpoints or lockdown points throughout the building, and incorporating passive supervision – more eyes on the street makes more people accountable for what’s happening in the building,” Becker said. “We really try to address it from all those angles because they’re all critical pieces to a holistic feeling of safety.”

Sean Sugden, partner and senior architect and education design expert with EAPC Architects Engineers in Fargo, is one of four CPTED-certified professionals at the firm. He said having those certifications allows the firm to be more specific in offering safety assessments.

A few years ago, he reached out to the North Dakota Safety Council and asked them to rate some of the firm’s recent projects. They wanted to ensure they were on the right track as designers, he said. Schools rated included Missouri Ridge School in Williston, South Prairie School in Minot, which was an addition to the high school, and Bismarck High School where an auditorium and gym were added, among other work. The firm was able to use those high ratings to continue working to make educational facilities safer.

“We were retained recently through the Grand Forks Public School District, they had set aside $18 million for safety. We assessed all of their facilities and came up with a three-tiered list of their biggest concerns,” Sugden said.

Security enhancements within the district will include more secure entrances and updating mass notification systems to distinguish between different emergency situations.

Another of the firm’s projects was Endazhi-Nitaawiging (“the place where it grows”), a charter school for Red Lake Nation in Minnesota. The school isgrounded in Ojibwe values as a way to immerse younger students in Indigenous knowledge and culture.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 AT PARK RAPIDS AREA HIGH SCHOOL, CTE OPPORTUNITIES COME TOGETHER TO ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION BETWEEN STUDENTS AND PROGRAMS. INCORPORATING INTERIOR GLASS PROVIDES VIEWS INTO EXPLORATORY LABS, GENERATING EXCITEMENT IN CTE PROGRAMMING FOR STUDENTS AND PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PASSIVE SUPERVISION AS PART OF THE BUILDING’S HOLISTIC APPROACH TO SAFETY AND SECURITY. / JLG ARCHITECTS

ARCHITECTURE ANDENGINEERING

THE BISMARCK HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM AND GYM ADDITIONS INCLUDE A 680SEAT NEW AUDITORIUM (PICTURED), THREE BASKETBALL COURT GYM, WEIGHT/ FITNESS ROOM, WRESTLING ROOM, NEW SECURE ENTRANCE AND RENOVATED VISITOR LOCKER ROOMS. / COURTESY EAPC ARCHITECTS ENGINEERS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29

“They wanted to include something called land-based learning. There’s four exterior classrooms – a wetland, a forest, a prairie, and a garden. There’s glass all around it. It’s very important to them to have that connection to nature and have the entrance to the east. We coupled that with the CPTED natural surveillance. People think windows are bad, but not really. If you can stop someone outside in the parking lot, that’s way better than if they’re already in the school,” he said.

Murals inside the building help create connection and ownership, which reduces criminal activity.

“That’s a great example where we tied it in meaningfully,” Sugden said.

His colleague, Paul Breiner, is the director of K-12 projects at EAPC in Bismarck. He used the Belcourt Freshmen Academy project as an example of a tech-heavy building. In the design phase now, the standalone building is set up to be a transition space for students moving from middle school into high school, and will be for just freshmen.

“It will have a lot of integration with technology in terms of computers, a smart lab, things like that,” Breiner said.

Priorities on new school buildings include HVAC and mechanical systems.

“We’re looking at operating costs long term. We’re looking at doing a geothermal well field in that project,” Breiner said. “We’ve done a lot with looking at the (building) envelope, making sure we have proper insulation and meet some goals of operating this building for 80% less than a typi-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32

AT ROSEAU COMMUNITY SCHOOL, JLG WAS INSPIRED BY THE NATURAL SURROUNDINGS AND BROUGHT THE BENEFITS OF NATURE INSIDE THROUGH BIOPHILIC DESIGN PRINCIPLES, SUCH AS ACCESS TO NATURAL LIGHT AND NATURAL PATTERNS AND FINISHES THAT SUPPORT POSITIVE IMPACTS ON MENTAL HEALTH, LEARNING, AND OVERALL WELL-BEING — KEEPING STUDENTS AND FACULTY HAPPY AND HEALTHY.

/ COURTESY MICAH J. ZIMMERMAN/AMDAK PRODUCTIONS LLC

Youdon’t hireengineers whoare “goodenough.” Youhirethe very best. Incidentally,sodowe.

ThereisnoB -Team.

TRADE ANDTECHSCHOOLS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30

cal building like this costs. We’re looking at upfront costs versus lifecycle costs. They’re estimating getting their money back in 8-9 years.”

Grand Forks-based Construction Engineers is working on the Grand Forks Public Schools projects, partnering with EAPC. They’ll work on the new Valley Middle School and a new central kitchen for the entire district.

Ben Matson, senior project manager at Construction Engineers, said the company is also involved with the new Nathan Twining Elementary and Middle School that will be located at the Grand Forks Air Force Base. He said this school, in the design phase, will be a model for energy efficiency features. It will be LEED-certified and there’s been discussions about making it a net-zero project, meaning it has a target of completely negating the amount of greenhouse gasses produced by human activity.

“It will have geothermal wells, the ability to have solar arrays. It will be good to see how that comes together,” Matson said.

Construction would presumably start next spring, assuming the grant applications and other government entities sign off on it and give the green light, Matson said.

Mike Barsness, a senior project manager and K-12 education leader at Kraus-Anderson’s Bismarck office, works primarily with the smaller, Class B schools in North Dakota. He says the most crucial thing these districts want or need is funding.

“A big problem with a lot of our Class B schools in North Dakota, is they’ve got limited facilities already from a square-footage standpoint,” he said. “Construction costs are probably 30-35% higher now than four or five years ago. Most are dealing with having to pass referendums, which are tough enough to pass any time. Now when people see the increased costs, it’s a big challenge.”

One of the things Kraus-Anderson has been doing as a construction company is diving more deeply into facility needs with their clients, Barsness said.

“We’re going in and doing facility assessments and helping them understand what their issues are today. We do the deep dive with clients before they address space needs, go for referendums, or address educational needs. Let’s get a handle on the facilities – what we’ve got, what we’ve got coming and what the challenges are,” he said. “Making best use of what you have is kind of our North Dakota heritage. If there’s a way we can repurpose or remodel, let’s look at things like that.”

In addition to upgrades in HVAC systems and security features, Barsness says schools built 20 or 30 years ago were built from primarily masonry, but right now North Dakota has a severe shortage of masons.

“Those costs are going up and up. We’re starting to see some alternative construction methods to try to pull the cost down again. Now we’re seeing more metal stud-framed walls with impact-resistant sheetrock. It’s not anywhere near as durable as masonry but the cost point is down,” Barness said.

The experts agree that the education spaces of the future will be made up of welcoming, safe and adaptable spaces that encourage innovation as the role of community in schools increases. From a workforce and legacy standpoint, when students can see that their community supports them, they become more invested in that community and view it as a place they want to live in after graduation.

“I do think community and schools are going to continue to thrive with each other,” JLG’s Becker said.

ARTIST RENDERING OF THE BELCOURT FRESHMEN ACADEMY. / COURTESY JAVA NYAMJAV

BEN MATSON

MIKE BARSNESS

PRAIRIE BUSINESS CELEBRATES WITH AWARD WINNERS

HONOREES FROM 3 CONTESTS CELEBRATED AT ANNUAL PARTY

PRAIRIE BUSINESS STAFF

FARGO – Prairie Business staff and invited guests gathered on Sept. 26 for an evening celebration to honor recipients of the magazine’s annual award categories. This year, the event also marked the 25th anniversary of the regional business magazine, which was recognized with special remarks by Publisher Korrie Wenzel.

He shared snippets about the magazine’s first edition, with a cover story noting the ties between higher education and industry – something that’s still covered in Prairie Business today.

“We know that education and business are incredibly intertwined, that engineering and architecture are siblings within the same sector and that construction and technology are ever-present on the region’s business landscape,” Wenzel said. “The goal of Prairie Business is to tell the stories of the region’s businesses and business people, using our relationships as our source material. Since September 2000, we’ve been doing just that.”

Honorees from 2024’s Leaders & Legacies awards, along with the 2024 winners of Top 25 Women in Business and 2023’s 40 Under 40 and their guests, enjoyed socializing and celebrating. More than 125 people attended the banquet, held at the Radisson Blu in Fargo.

A total of 73 honorees were recognized, including eight named as Leaders & Legacies. The honor is bestowed upon those who have created a lasting impact and legacy in business. It was created in 2019 as Prairie Business magazine’s most prestigious award and recognizes executives from around the region who have had successful careers, including leaving a legacy of exemplary leadership.

Three of those eight winners were in attendance and spoke briefly after accepting their awards.

PRAIRIE BUSINESS STAFF AND INVITED GUESTS GATHERED ON SEPT. 26 FOR AN EVENING CELEBRATION IN FARGO TO HONOR RECIPIENTS OF THE MAGAZINE’S ANNUAL AWARD CATEGORIES.

/ ERIC HYLDEN

2024 LEADERS & LEGACIES AWARD HONOREE ALLEN ARVIG AND HIS WIFE, CARMEN, ATTENDED THE ANNUAL PRAIRIE BUSINESS AWARDS EVENT HELD SEPT. 26 AT RADISSON BLU IN FARGO. / ERIC HYLDEN

Allen Arvig is president and CEO of the telecommunications and broadband company Arvig, which was founded by his parents. He spoke about his father, who became a master electrician and in the late 1930s was working for Todd Electric in Wadena. The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 provided federal loans for the installation of electrical distribution systems to serve isolated rural areas of the U.S.

“My father formed a company and started doing that and wiring farms for electricity as we went,” he said. “In my early years, I remember living in a small trailer house in the summertime, 1946-48, I lived in North Dakota, going from Ray to Minot to Williston to Bismarck.”

When the family moved to Perham, Minnesota, in 1950, his father bought a telephone company, and that’s where the Arvig business began, he said.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be among the Leaders & Legacy honorees. My father and uncle Tom started Arvig Bros. Construction. This is an

CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

PRAIRIE BUSINESS EDITOR CARRIE MCDERMOTT PRESENTS BUTLER MACHINERY CO. PRESIDENT TWYLAH BLOTSKY WITH THE 2024 LEADERS & LEGACIES AWARD AT THE MAGAZINE’S AWARDS CELEBRATION PARTY HELD IN FARGO SEPT. 26. / ERIC HYLDEN

PRAIRIEBUSINESSAWARDS

November 2024

early preview of what was to become the East Ottertail Telephone Company, where I started my career in 1954 as the janitor and toll statement collector,” he said.

Today the company provides much more than phone service. It’s become a premier internet service provider in Minnesota and one of the nation’s largest privately-owned telecommunications providers with more than 900 employees and a 9,000-square-mile service area.

“If my parents could see what the company has become today it would be unrecognizable to them,” Arvig said. “As we approach 75 years, it’s humbling to have been part of this family business for the best part of seven decades but even more meaningful is to have done this all with my wife, Carmen, and my family at my side.”

Twylah Blotsky, president and dealer principal of Butler Machinery Co. was the next Leaders & Legacies honoree to receive the award.

“Those who know me well know that I usually run from a microphone, but it’s truly an honor to accept this award. We are a third-generation company. Butler Machinery is a Caterpillar dealer and AGCO equipment dealer in the Dakotas and part of Nebraska, on the ag side. If you count our predecessor, Butler Construction, that was started up in Grand Forks, we are 100 years old,” she said. “Running a business is hard. Running a family business is even harder.”

She took over the family business five years ago and has worked in the business her entire life, starting with mowing lawns while in elementary school.

“This award means a lot to me for my father,” Blotsky said. “My leadership started young, being the youngest of four kids. I was the one who had the gift of my parents’ time when everyone else had left the household. One way to look at it is you have both sets of eyes on you, on everything. But the other way to look at it is it was truly a gift of their time that I got when I was a teenager.”

Her father would take her with him to visit equipment yards or job sites and they’d talk about business and about leading, she said.

“My lessons started young and they carry through to today,” she said. “Five years ago when I had the opportunity to take over the company and buy out my brother, it was really easy to say, ‘We need to go back to our roots.’ And those roots include making sure you take care of your customer, making sure you treat your team right, and in the end that will be possible. In the end, that’s where you put your time and energies. With this award, it’s really about the 900-plus people that work at Butler. They’re the ones that make my job a joy and worthwhile to do it every day.”

Jared Nesje, CEO and principal architect at TSP, Inc., in Sioux Falls was the third honoree to speak.

CoNTINUeD From PAGe 35

PRAIRIEBUSINESSAWARDS

November 2024

“Leaders are defined by followers, so I’m up here because of the people I lead,” he said. “It’s an honor, it’s wonderful. We’re at 95 years, of course I didn’t start that company but I’m part of that dash, between start to finish. It truly is about the people. We’re an upper Midwest architecture and engineering firm, we believe in our communities and can hopefully provide service and take care of them. My job of being named a leader is because I’ve got great people.”

Wenzel read a statement from Leaders & Legacies honoree Charles Gorecki, who was unable to attend. Gorecki is CEO at the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) in Grand Forks.

“Although I am unable to be with you in person today, I am deeply honored to receive the Prairie Business magazine’s 2024 Leaders and Legacies award. This recognition is also a testament to the incredible team at the Energy and Environmental Research Center,” Gorecki wrote. “It’s a privilege to lead such a dedicated group of individuals working tirelessly to innovate in the fields of energy and environmental technology. This award reflects what can be accomplished when people come together with a shared vision for the future. Thank you again for this incredible honor.”

Standing ovations were given to all three honorees.

A social hour was held before the award presentations, which were announced and handed out by Wenzel and Prairie Business Editor Carrie McDermott.

The 40 Under 40 honorees are exemplary male and female business leaders from around the region who have gained notable achievements in their careers and communities.

Steve Sauter, executive vice president with Interstate Bearing Systems in Bismarck, said he was “incredibly honored” to be named to the 40 Under 40 list.

“This recognition is a reflection of the amazing team I’m privileged to work with at Interstate Bearing Systems, and I’m grateful for their support and dedication. It’s also a reminder of the exciting opportunities that lie ahead in our industry, especially as we continue to innovate and grow in the ever-evolving marketplace,” Sauter said. “I appreciate Prairie Business magazine for highlighting the work of young professionals in

the region, and I look forward to seeing the continued impact of everyone on the list.”

Brittany Caillier, director of philanthropy at Altru Health Foundation in Grand Forks, said she was honored and humbled to be nominated by her Altru colleagues and for the growth the organization has experienced at the foundation over the past few years.

“It’s an honor to be among such distinguished young leaders, women in business and leaders and legacies,” Caillier said. “It’s inspirational to hear some of the stories from those winning the Leaders & Legacies Award as I continue my own leadership journey.”

The Top 25 Women in Business honorees were given to female business leaders who have achieved remarkable success in their business and industry.

Gretchen Stenehjem, marketing director at First International Bank & Trust, Watford City, was all smiles as she connected with friends and colleagues. The family-owned bank was started by her husband’s grandfather, she said. She went to work there when her children were young and after her teaching career.

“I work with my husband, my two sons and a daughter,” she said after the presentation. “My youngest daughter is a physician, but is a bank owner, too. We’re all in different locations. It’s an honor to be named as a businesswoman when I’m a teacher. As many in the room have mentioned, we are what we are because of our hard-working staff. That’s what brought us to the top and the place we are right now, is our dedicated staff and we treat them like family because they are all family to us.”

Architect Tracy Jordre with JLG Architects, Fargo, another Top 25 Women in Business honoree, said she was “flabbergasted” when she found out she’d made the list.

“It’s an unbelievably unexpected and amazing honor,” Jordre said. “I never in a million years would have expected it.”

Four advertisers in the debut issue of Prairie Business continue to advertise in the magazine today. They were named by Wenzel and thanked for their continued support over the years. They are the University of Jamestown, Minnesota State Moorhead, Northern State University and Dakota Carrier Network. The awards event spon-

sors were North Dakota State College of Science, McGough Construction and The Green House. Musical entertainment for the event was provided by Billy Lurken of Mitchell, South Dakota.

The award winners included the following:

2024’s

Leaders & Legacies

Allen Arvig, president and CEO, Arvig, Perham, Minn.

Thomas Astrup, president and CEO, American Crystal Sugar, Fargo, N.D.

Twylah Blotsky, president and dealer principal, Butler Machinery Co., Fargo, N.D.

Charles Gorecki, CEO, UND’s Energy and Environmental Research Center, Grand Forks, N.D.

Nicole Kivisto, president and CEO, MDU Resources, Inc., Bismarck, N.D.

Dan Miller, principal architect and K12 practice studio leader, JLG Architects, Alexandria, Minn.

Jared Nesje, CEO and principal architect, TSP, Inc., Sioux Falls, S.D.

Todd Van Dusen, CEO and shareholder, Brady Martz & Associates, Minot, N.D.

2024’s Top 25 Women in Business

Stephanie Aalund, account director, Noridian Healthcare Solutions, Fargo, N.D.

Paula Anderson, president and owner, Sterling Carpet One Floor & Home and Sterling Siding & Remodeling, Grand Forks, N.D.

Anita Bahr, chief people officer, Moore Holding Company, West Fargo, N.D.

Lacey Bergh, senior vice president of health delivery, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, Fargo, N.D.

McKenzy Braaten, chief communications officer, EPIC Companies, West Fargo, N.D.

Gwen Butler, president and partner, Odney, Bismarck, N.D.

Meghan Compton, chief clinic operations officer, executive vice president, Altru, Grand Forks, N.D.

Elaine Doerfler, owner, speech-language pathologist, Myna Therapy Services, PLLC, Fargo, N.D.

Stacy DuToit, chief executive officer and shareholder, Brady Martz & Associates, Bismarck, N.D.

CoNTINUeD From PAGe 36

Janette Esala, senior director, performance marketing, DigiKey Corporation, Thief River Falls, Minn.

Angie Hillestad, national assurance partner, Eide Bailly, LLC, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Jessica Jarmin, executive vice president, Tactis, Fargo, N.D.

Tracy Jordre, principal architect and workplace expert, JLG Architects, Fargo, N.D.

Audri Lagge, senior project manager, Great States Construction, Fargo, N.D.

Sherri Leonard, director of collaborative delivery, Rice Lake Construction Group, Deerwood, Minn.

Lindsay Mack, senior vice president, human resources and training director, Cornerstone Bank, Fargo, N.D.

Amy Mazigian, senior vice president of Western North Dakota, Gate City Bank, Bismarck, N.D.

Shea Miller, member/owner, Ebeltoft. Sickler. Lawyers, Dickinson, N.D.

Melissa L. Miranda, owner, Step By Step Accounting, West Fargo, N.D.

Heather Novak, executive director, United Way of Grand Forks-East Grand Forks, Grand Forks, N.D.

Rammie Olson, vice president, business relationship manager, Bremer Bank, Fargo, N.D.

Sue Salter, president and CEO, Make-A-Wish South Dakota and Montana, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Gretchen Stenehjem, marketing director, First International Bank & Trust, Watford City, N.D.

Fredel Thomas, vice president of admissions and marketing, Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell, S.D.

Sidney Van Schepen, mechanical engineer, TSP, Inc., Sioux Falls, S.D.

2023’s 40 Under 40

Gabrielle Abouassaly, diversity, equity and inclusion consultant, Sanford Health, Bismarck, N.D.

Riley Akervik, finance director, Central Valley Health District, Jamestown, N.D.

Ryan Anderson, senior project manager, JE Dunn Construction Company, Williston, N.D.

Emily Bivens, executive director, Jamestown Area Chamber and Jamestown Tourism, Jamestown, N.D.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

SOLVING YOUR MOST COMPLEX CHALLENGES.

PRAIRIEBUSINESSAWARDS

November 2024

Tiffany Boespflug, RN, Women’s Way coordinator, health promotion team leader, Grand Forks Public Health/city of Grand Forks, Grand Forks, N.D.

Marcus Boykin, vice president, retail manager, business lender, Gate City Bank, Williston, N.D.

Zach Braaten, chief operating officer, L2 Contracting, Fargo, N.D.

Jake Braunagel, aviation group leader, KLJ Engineering LLC, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Andrew Budke, project architect, JLG Architects, Grand Forks, N.D.

Brittany Caillier, director of philanthropy, Altru Health Foundation, Grand Forks, N.D.

Michael P. Carlson, general counsel and secretary, Sterling Management, LLC, Fargo, N.D.

Michael Casper, president, Great States Construction, Fargo, N.D.

Jordan Cook, market president, Border Bank, Fargo, N.D.

Dustin Dale, regional market director, RESPEC, Rapid City, S.D.

Christa Devries, project engineer, Banner Associates, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Alexa Ducioame, project manager, Moore Engineering Inc., West Fargo, N.D.

Ashlee Erickson, operations supervisor, Noridian Healthcare Solutions, Fargo, N.D.

Brian Halvorson, president and CEO, Heartland Trust Company, Fargo, N.D.

Brandi Hedin, business insurance advisor, Marsh McLennan Agency, Fargo, N.D.

Diana Hermes, general manager, advertising manager, Wick Communications / Daily News and News Monitor, Wahpeton, N.D.

Spencer Hilde, general manager, McGough Construction, Fargo, N.D.

Andrew Honeyman, business development manager and senior mechanical engineer, CMTA Inc., Fargo, N.D.

Jared Huibregtse, business manager, Bartlett & West, Bismarck, N.D.

Bobbie Jo Larson, chief risk officer, Bravera Holdings Corp., Mandan, N.D.

Jan Larson, director of marketing of communications, Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell, S.D.

Kevin Leier, co-owner and COO, Heartland Bison Ranch; lead administrator, Little Flower Elementary School; North Dakota Educational Hub

TOP 25 WOMEN IN BUSINESS HONOREES

GRETCHEN STENEHJEM, MARKETING DIRECTOR AT FIRST INTERNATIONAL BANK & TRUST AND TRACY JORDRE, ARCHITECT WITH JLG ARCHITECTS, POSE FOR A PHOTO AFTER AWARDS WERE HANDED OUT. / ERIC HYLDEN

director, North Central Education Cooperative, Rugby, N.D.

Jared Mack, senior audit manager, Eide Bailly LLP, Bismarck, N.D.

Tina Morey, financial advisor, Legacy Financial Partners, Minot, N.D.

Miranda Myers, director of retail banking, Alerus, Fargo, N.D.

Madison Quamme, director of social media and public relations, Flint Group, Fargo, N.D.

Neil Roesler, executive director, legal, Sanford Health, Fargo, N.D.

Steven Sauter, executive vice president, Interstate Bearing Systems, Bismarck, N.D. Tahralee Sauvageau, vice president of operations, Cornerstone Bank, Fargo, N.D.

Wade Senger, principal engineer, East Central regional vice president, Interstate Engineering, Jamestown, N.D.

Justin Sonnenberg, systems and architecture IT manager, Arvig, Perham, Minn.

Jarrod Steffan, regional president, Bravera Bank, Dickinson, N.D.

Luke Tatge, creative director, Epicosity, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Bennett Uhler, civil engineer, Houston Engineering Inc., Fargo, N.D.

Dan Walter, senior project manager, Kraus-Anderson Construction, Bismarck, N.D.

Andrew D. Williams, assistant profession, Public Health program; executive director, North and South Dakota Perinatal Quality Collaborative, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Grand Forks, N.D.

CoNTINUeD From PAGe 39

PRAIRIE BUSINESS EDITOR CARRIE MCDERMOTT PRESENTS THE 40 UNDER 40 AWARD TO EMILY BIVENS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT JAMESTOWN AREA CHAMBER AND JAMESTOWN TOURISM. / ERIC HYLDEN

ESSENTIA HEALTH MAKES FORBES LIST OF BEST EMPLOYERS BY STATE, RANKS FIRST IN NORTH DAKOTA

Underscoring its commitment to providing engaging and rewarding career opportunities for its nearly 16,000 colleagues, Essentia Health has been recognized on Forbes’ sixth annual list of America’s Best Employers By State, for North Dakota and Minnesota.

Essentia is one of five organizations — across all industries — to make the list in North Dakota and is ranked as the state’s top employer overall.

“We are honored to be recognized by Forbes as North Dakota’s best employer,” said John Higgins, vice president of talent management for Essentia, in a release. “By fostering a rich and rewarding work environment for our colleagues, we are also improving the care we provide to our patients and the communities we’re honored to serve.”

To compile the list, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to survey more than 160,000 employees working for companies nationwide that have more than 500 employees. Survey participants were asked how likely they were to recommend their employer on a scale of zero to 10. Respondents were also asked to evaluate employers they’d worked for within the past two years, and organizations they knew within their industry or through friends or family who worked there.

Essentia employs close to 16,000 people in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin. Our goal is to create a sense of belonging and an inclusive environment in which the contributions of all are welcomed, and Essentia is regarded as the best place to work and receive care.

At our very core, AE2S is all about people. Beyond engineering, we are committed to empowering our clients, employee-owners, and all those around us to develop a vision for a better tomorrow.

AIA NCARB

Brent Dammann

Our latest K–12 projects address enrollment, safety, academics, and community.

Marshall County Central Schools, Newfolden MN

Thompson School, Thompson ND

PRAIRIENEWS

JIM GALLOWAY RETIRES FROM JLG ARCHITECTS,

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF

LEADERSHIP

HIS AWARD-WINNING ACADEMIC, RESEARCH AND STUDENT LIFE DESIGNS SPAN

THE MIDWEST

FARGO, N.D.• After more than three decades in the architecture field, JLG Architects’ Jim Galloway, AIA, Higher Education Principal leader, is embarking on retirement, a release states. Galloway is the “G” in JLG Architects, joining the firm 28 years ago as an original partner alongside Dan Miller, JLG’s CEO Michelle Mongeon Allen, and the firm’s late co-founder Lonnie Laffen. Galloway has been part of the firm’s growth from a single office with four employees to a 35-year, nine-office national design firm recognized in MSN Money’s 50 Most Admired U.S. Companies, as well as Engineering News-Record Mountain States’ 2019 and 2024 Design Firm of the Year.

An award-winning Registered Architect, Studio Practice Leader, and Principal Leader, Galloway has worked on over 500 university projects, earning JLG national recognition as one of the nation’s Top University Architecture Giants. His award-winning academic, research, and student life designs span the Midwest, from state-of-the-art business centers to alumni centers, memorial unions, historic preservations, libraries, and residence halls. Galloway is also the Principal-In-Charge for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota; a“living library” designed to embrace the Badlands, honor ecological systems, and be a global and regional model for sustainable living.

“As one of JLG’s original owners, Jim has been the quintessential trailblazer, building a legacy of integrity, design excellence, industry leadership, and firm mentorship. We are proud to keep the ‘G’ in JLG, honoring the outstand-

ing work of one of this firm’s original leaders and most impactful visionaries,” Mongeon Allen said.

Galloway is a LEED-Accredited Professional and council member for the North Central Region of SCUP – Society of College and University Planners. He has also been active in dozens of civic and professional organizations, committing over 30 years to advising thought leaders and advancing education initiatives, from Planning and Zoning Commissions to the Chamber of Commerce, Young Professionals, YMCA, Economic Development Corporation, and many others.

“Jim has made an enduring impact on JLG while dedicating his life to elevating the profession through the enrichment of communities and campuses across the Midwest,” Mongeon Allen said. “When the four original partners sat around our conference room table in 2007 at a pivotal point in the firm’s history, Jim advocated for the vision that would eventually lead us to our 2014 transition to employee ownership. Our collective goal was to continue to do the very best work for and with the very best people. Jim helped JLG do just that, create a legacy firm that would live on beyond the four of us – generating unlimited opportunity, award-winning regional and national projects, and a people-first culture our employee-owners are proud to be part of today.”

Jim (James) Galloway is originally from Park River, North Dakota. After graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1988 from North Dakota State University, Galloway moved to Iowa City, Iowa, to accept a position as architectural associate at Hanson Lind Meyer, where he remained until 1991 before transitioning to an architect role at HGA Architecture in Minneapolis. In 1996, Galloway moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota, taking on the role of architect at Johnson Laffen Architects, named for the firm’s original founders, Lonnie Laffen and Gary Johnson. In 2000, Galloway made partner, which renamed the firm to Johnson Laffen Galloway (JLG Architects).

DYLAN LUND

TANNER BLINSKY JAREK BERGER KIM ANDERSON

KLJ WELCOMES FIVE NEW EMPLOYEES IN NORTH DAKOTA

Bismarck, N.D. • KLJ Engineering LLC (KLJ), is proud to announce the addition of five new employees in North Dakota. Kim Anderson, Jarek Berger, Anthony Benham, Tanner Blinsky and Dylan Lund are the latest additions to the team.

Anderson joins the Operations group as a Project Specialist bringing more than 10 years of administrative support document processing, and customer service experience to KLJ. She is skilled in coordinating complex workflows, managing eligibility and billing processes, and enhancing operational efficiency through meticulous organization and strong problem-solving abilities. She earned her associates degree from Bismarck State College.

Berger is joining KLJ’s Environmental group as an environmental specialist. Berger joined KLJ as an intern while completing his bachelor’s degree in environmental science from the University of Jamestown.

Benham joins KLJ as a civil designer with the Municipal group. He is a seasoned architectural, mechanical, and civil designer with more than 35 years of experience. He has expansive knowledge in developing site, grading, and utility plans from conceptual design to final construction

ANTHONY BENHAM

documents for numerous projects throughout his career. He earned his associate’s degree in architectural drafting and estimating from the North Dakota State College of Science.

Blinsky joins the Construction group as an engineering technician. He has nearly a decade of experience in the construction field. His expertise spans from gate valve, water main, and sewer replacement to manhole and culvert installation, milling, concrete replacement, asphalt paving, erosion control, and landscaping. Blinsky will earn his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from North Dakota State University in the spring.

Lund is the latest addition to the Environmental group as an environmental specialist at KLJ. He brings more than two years of experience in environmental science and management. His expertise includes overseeing environmental contamination incidents, including spill oversight, remediation efforts, and stakeholder coordination, ensuring compliance and safeguarding natural resources. Lund earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental science from North Dakota State University.

KLJ looks forward to their contributions to the company’s continued success.

KLJ WELCOMES TWO NEW EMPLOYEES IN NORTH DAKOTA

Bismarck, ND • KLJ Engineering LLC (KLJ), is proud to announce the addition of three new employees in North Dakota. Lauren Miller and Megan Schimmel are the latest additions to the team.

Miller joins the environmental group as an archaeologist with expertise in forensic anthropology, archaeological mapping, and federal compliance. Her experience includes working with federal agencies, ensuring compliance with federal project requests and creating geospatial data using ArcGIS. She has a background in academia, historic preservation compliance, and Section 106/NEPA laws. She earned her

Master of Science degree in Forensic Anthropology from the University of Central Lancashire.

Schimmel is a designer joining the municipal group at KLJ. Schimmel has a strong academic foundation in civil engineering, currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Mary. In addition, she has demonstrated leadership skills through various roles, including managing teams and operations in various positions. KLJ looks forward to their contributions to the company’s continued success.

MEGAN

Q.INSIGHTS & INTUITION

How does your organization cultivate a progressive workplace culture?

Seth Arndorfer

CEO

Dakota Carrier Network Bismarck, N.D.

Long-held characteristics of DCN include open communication and continuous learning, both of which are important in cultivating a progressive workplace culture. Two examples of open communication are that employees know that my door – as well as that of my predecessor – is always open if they have suggestions or concerns and, after each board meeting, our leadership team shares the information that was presented to the board at an all-team meeting with the opportunity for employees to ask questions and provide their thoughts. To help foster continuous learning, team members have training goals and we help them achieve those through opportunities to develop their technical skills as well as “softer” skills like leadership and customer service. But a big change happened this year. After a trial run in 2023, we implemented a hybrid remote work policy that created “buckets” of time that employees can work remotely. Each quarter, each employee gets 80 hours of remote work time to draw upon. There are very few restrictions: supervisor approval is needed, employees must maintain availability and productivity while working from home, and if they are working somewhere other than home it must be noted. This flexible work environment helps to prioritize employee well-being and has been attractive to prospective employees as well. Several prospective employees – of all ages – have told me that they appreciate DCN has the flexibility to work remotely but that there is a “fence” around it to keep it from being a free-for-all.

Like many organizations, First International Bank & Trust (FIBT) believes that culture and employee engagement are crucial to the success of our business. Engaged and happy employees provide better customer service and are more productive and present. Rather than just hope we have engagement or rely on our instincts, our company conducts an annual Gallup Employee Engagement Survey. The results of this survey are shared and analyzed for each team and the entire organization. Action plans are developed by the teams for buy-in and to ensure progress is made in areas that our employees value. To keep our workforce engaged, we invest in educational sessions that benefit personal and professional growth. Some examples include extensive Leadership Development programs, coaching for individual contributors, and an internal Women’s Leadership Program. Outside of formal training and employee education, FIBT continues to enhance employee benefits to support all phases of life as well as expanding our wellness initiatives. And most importantly, employees at FIBT like to have fun and spend time with one another. Employee events like volunteering at local charities, a Halloween costume contest, floor crawls to get employees out of their offices and meeting other team members, and walking challenges help to accomplish that!

Davy Director,

We have found that workplace culture must be willing to adapt to the changing expectations of the workforce. A progressive, positive, and ever-evolving culture has been crucial to JLG’s growth, from our two original founders 35 years ago to our current roster of over 200 professionals. Our culture is grounded in the firm’s continued legacy of maintaining a willingness to provide open and suitable communications to employees throughout the firm. This philosophy is core to striving toward our staff’s continued engagement and understanding of JLG’s business. We have employee-owners across several states, yet we work as one team and our firm’s infrastructure of process and policy allows for consistent communication. Supporting this system are JLG’s core pillar values, which we live and work by, including integrity, honesty, and stewardship. A culture that supports collaboration, personal well-being, community volunteerism, and mentorship is critical to the steady growth and success of our team members. JLGers are encouraged to contribute to a physically and emotionally supportive workplace, which includes spaces tailored to neurodiversity, young architects, family needs, and support staff functions. With competitive pay and benefits, stock ownership, and mental health and well-being incentives, JLG continues to strive for an environment whereby our staff are empowered to take ownership over their professional careers. JLG leadership recognizes that the culture of our growing firm will continue to evolve and change into the future. However, we feel confident in our continued ability to meet those challenges due to the cultural foundation that has been built during the company’s first 35 years.

Ryan Anderson, AIA

Vice president and senior architect Ackerman-Estvold Minot, N.D.

Cultivating a progressive workplace culture is a conscious shift from traditional culture, but is essential for fostering innovation, inclusivity, and employee satisfaction. I really appreciate how the culture of Ackerman-Estvold always felt special, but about five years ago the leadership team felt there needed to be a distinctive shift. Our focus needed to actively encourage open communication and value other’s unique perspectives. We have been working on transparency, having our leaders share more information, and involving employees in decision-making processes. With this change you can feel you are oversharing items that seem minimal, however, frequently the leadership team knows what is happening in a wide array of areas within the company, while our staff has a narrower focus on projects. They appreciate hearing a broader overview that impacts the entire company. We have also taken an approach in seeking to hire individuals from various backgrounds, promoting an environment where all voices are heard and respected. Taking the time to really dig into a prospective employee’s work background and prior work experience can provide a unique and diverse addition to the team.

The newer, younger workforce really values flexibility and we need to make the adjustment to really understand where we can provide that to employees while still maintaining deadlines for our clients. It is finding balance.

Offering options such as remote work or flexible hours demonstrates trust in employees and acknowledges their work-life balance needs. We have found this shift has led to increased productivity and job satisfaction. Ultimately, a progressive workplace not only benefits employees but also contributes to the long-term success of the organization.

O U R B U S I N E S S

Jason Haagenson

BYTHENUMBERS

CIVILIAN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, SEASONALLY ADJUSTED

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.1%, and the number of unemployed people, at 6.8 million, changed little in September. These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.8%, and the number of unemployed people was 6.3 million. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult men (3.7%) decreased in September. The jobless rates for adult women (3.6%), teenagers (14.3%), Whites (3.6%), Blacks (5.7%), Asians (4.1%), and Hispanics (5.1%) showed little or no change over the month.

REASONS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT, SEASONALLY ADJUSTED

The number of people jobless less than five weeks decreased by 322,000 to 2.1 million in September. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed over the month at 1.6 million. This measure is up from 1.3 million a year earlier. In September, the longterm unemployed accounted for 23.7 percent of all unemployed people. The labor force participation rate was 62.7% for the third consecutive month, and the employment-population ratio was little changed at 60.2%.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

EMPLOYMENT AND AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS BY INDUSTRY

In September, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 13 cents, or 0.4%, to $35.36. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 4%. In September, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 8 cents, or 0.3%, to $30.33.

EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY, MONTHLY CHANGES, WITH CONFIDENCE INTERVALS

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 254,000 in September, higher than the average monthly gain of 203,000 over the prior 12 months. Employment continued to trend up in food services and drinking places, health care, government, social assistance, and construction. Employment in food services and drinking places rose by 69,000 in September, well above the average monthly gain of 14,000 over the prior 12 months. Health care added 45,000 jobs, below the average monthly gain of 57,000 over the prior 12 months.

Ifyou’rethinkingaboutgrowingyourfamily“someday,”EssentiaHealthishere foryoueverystepoftheway.Foreverymilestone,expectspecializedcare. Foreachtendermoment,you’ll findasupportiveandcaringteam.

James