New Providers. New Possibilities. Trinity Health is working to meet the needs of the region, adding providers across multiple medical specialties. :HȇUH QRW ȴQLVKHG \HW ,PSURYLQJ DFFHVV WR KLJK TXDOLW\ PHGLFDO SURYLGHUV LV RQH RI RXU VWUDWHJLF JRDOV DQG RXU mission to help you and your family stay as healthy as possible!
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We’re just west of Garrison Dam Largest “Man-made” dam in North Dakota
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For more information visit: www.pickcitynd.com or call 701-487-3327
2016
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2151 36th Ave SW, Suite B Minot, ND | 701-852-5224 | www.bopprelawfirm.com
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Serving her country (Minot AFB)
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Strong sense of family (Minot)
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Minot Daily News
Building Minot’s music scene
Berthold producer promotes next-generation agriculture
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Achieving your dream (Minot)
What it’s like to emcee in North Dakota (Minot) Publisher Editor Managing Editor Advertising Director Art Director Writers
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Contents 34
Nationally recognized for exceptional work (Rugby)
Perfect fit for Perfection Auto Body (Harvey)
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Community investment (Tioga)
Hooked on Garrison
Steve McLister Michael W. Sasser Kent Olson Jim Hart Mandy N. Taniguchi Jill Schramm Eloise Ogden Andrea Johnson Kim Fundingsland Allan Blanks Phil Torres
Hometown: Next Gen 2016 edition is published by the Minot Daily News which is located at 301 4th Street Southeast in Minot, North Dakota. www.minotdailynews.com
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The misunderstood generation
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Botton sings praise of Minot State
From cattle to cats (Bottineau)
Dreams come true in Minot
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A new dining option (Towner)
Civil engineer gives time to community volunteering (Minot)
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Culinary bliss (Velva)
Cabinet maker builds business on hard work (Kenmare)
Jeff Feller above and beyond (Minot)
Minot’s very own ice cream man
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Star treatment to the Star City (Velva)
Coffee afficianados open coffee house in Stanley
Stanley is for families
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Cesar Alvarez wants to learn and do as much as he can (New Town)
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Back to the roots of country music (Newburg)
Food artist (Minot)
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St. John woman teaches in school she attended
Millennials and real estate
Dear Readers: Welcome to this year’s annual Hometown Magazine, dubbed Hometown: Next Gen for the 2016 edition. This year, we wanted to spotlight younger men and women in the northwestern North Dakota region who are among their generation’s movers and shakers. From the music and arts to business and agriculture and other fields, this sampling of North Dakotans demonstrates that achievers and leaders are found in any demographic. Furthermore, we hope you find it encouraging that the future of our region and state is in the hands of some inspirational and ambitious people, who are blazing trails, innovating and representing the values and drive that define our communities. These amazing neighbors certainly inspired us. We hope you enjoy Hometown: Next Gen as much as we enjoyed putting it together and meeting some of the fine men and women who are helping secure North Dakota’s tomorrow.
Michael W. Sasser,
MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
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Editor
g n i v Ser her
Katie Brugler: I love putting on my uniform every day
1st
country By ELOISE OGDEN
Regional Editor • eogden@minotdailynews.com
1st Lt. Katie Brugler is a logistics readiness officer with the 5th Bomb Wing at the Minot base.
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Eloise Ogden/MDN
Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE
1st Lt. Katie Brugler of Minot Air Force Base spent some of her youth at Minot AFB. Now, she’s a logistics readiness officer assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing. She said she’s happy to be back here. “We moved here when I was 8 in 1997. My dad was a B-52 pilot,” she said. Her parents, John and Barbara Stuwe, now live at Omaha, Neb. Her dad is a retired Air Force colonel. Brugler was born in California. Her dad was in B52 training at Castle AFB and when he finished that training his first B-52 assignment was to Griffiss AFB at Rome, NY. Brugler was 3 months old when they moved. “We were there until it closed and then we went to Langley (AFB), Virginia, for a couple years before we moved here,” she said. The Stuwe family moved to Minot AFB in 1997. “I was a fourth-grader at Dakota Elementary,” she said. She went to Dakota Elementary School on base for three years, seventh- and eighth-grade at Memorial Middle School, also on base, and then was a freshman at Minot High School-Central Campus in downtown Minot before the family moved again. Brugler’s parents are both meteorologists who met at a weather station in Madison, Wis. “My mom was a stay-at-home mom when we were little and when we moved here she wanted to go back to work,” she said. Barbara Stuwe hosted a noon show and did the weather at KMOT-TV. “I remember when we’d go shopping downtown my mom was a local celebrity,” Brugler said. Brugler said she and her family loved living at Minot AFB. Even when she was in college before she joined the military she said people would always ask her how it was being a military kid. “I always said that Minot was my favorite base we lived at – I think to prove some people wrong. People have a bad impression about Minot and Minot winters,” she said. “We loved it here and it’s mostly because of the community,” Brugler said. “In the B-52 community on base we made such good friends – lifelong friends still – and being a military kid you don’t often have lifelong friends because you move around so much. Our next-door neighbors from when we lived over on Linden Loop here on the base, came to my wedding last year. We’ve kept in touch all these years.” After Minot AFB, Brugler and her family moved to the Omaha, Neb., area where her dad was stationed at Offutt AFB. She and her sister, Carolyn, finished high school there. Brugler graduated from high school in 2006 and decided she wanted to get her degrees in music. She studied with a professor on the East Coast where she did her undergraduate degree in music performance at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her parents transferred a few more times while she was in college and then retired back to Omaha. Her sister went to the University of Nebraska and stayed in Omaha. Carolyn Stuwe is an elementary music teacher in Omaha. Brugler completed her master’s degree in music performance at the University of California. “I went back across the country to the University of
California at Santa Barbara and did my two-year degree master’s of flute performance. I’m a flutist,” she said. “It was when I was finishing up my master’s that I call my quarter-life crisis. I thought about what I really want to do with my life. I’d always thought about serving but I was just so involved in music,” she said. She wasn’t sure she wanted to live gig-to-gig as a musician. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to get my doctorate in it either. I felt a growing desire to serve so I talked to a recruiter. When I was in the last year of my master’s I applied for Officers Training School,” she said. She found out two weeks before she graduated with the master’s degree that she had been accepted. “That’s one of the great things about the Air Force is that they didn’t care that I had two degrees in music. They care that you have a bachelor’s degree,” she said. “I really just wanted to wear the uniform. I knew I was going to learn something new.” She said public affairs was one of her top choices as a career field and logistics “which is what I ended up being selected to do,” she said. Her job title in the Air Force is logistics readiness officer and she’s assigned to Minot AFB’s 5th Bomb Wing. “It’s a lot of the behind-the-scenes support for the mission. We have a broad spectrum of things that we do,” she said. “We take care of all the fuels on the base, we take care of all the vehicles. My job right now is I’m the vehicle management flight commander. We have 1,200 vehicles in our fleet here at Minot and we have 120 mechanics and fleet analysis folks that I take care of, making sure all the vehicles run and without that the mission wouldn’t happen.” She said the supply warehouses are also part of logistics. “We move the parts for the B-52s and the missiles in and out and for repair and stock,” she said. There is one logistics readiness squadron on the base and it supports the dual wing (5th Bomb Wing and 91st Missile Wing) nuclear mission. “That’s one of the coolest things about being an LRO here. At my last base we only had one wing that we supported. Getting here and getting to see two completely separate missions, it’s a really unique cool thing about serving here at Minot,” Brugler said.
1st Lt. Katie Brugler is a logistics readiness officer with the 5th Bomb Wing at the Minot base.
Eloise Ogden/MDN
Brugler was commissioned in March 2013 and prior to her Minot AFB assignment, her first assignment was at Misawa Air Base in Japan where she spent two years. Brugler had asked for an assignment in Europe so it was a little bit of a surprise for her to be assigned to Japan. She said the Japanese people are so rich in their culture and history. “They’re so proud of who they are and they’re so kind. I felt safe there too. There’s so little crime over there. It was a great first assignment,” she said.
Katie Brugler is shown in this photo with her dad, John Stuwe, now a retired Air Force colonel, on the Minot Air Force Base flightline when the Stuwe family lived at the Minot base. Brugler, a first lieutenant in the Air Force, is assigned to Minot AFB.
Submitted Photo
She said the air base Misawa is far north. “It’s a very rural part of Japan and their economy is driven a lot by the base. I got to meet and work with a lot of really great Japanese people,” she said. Right before she joined the military, Zac Brugler, now her husband, came into her life. They had a long-distance relationship while she was in Japan. “He’s a civilian and he was based out of Kansas City and my family was in Omaha so I was just trying to get back to the central time zone in the states. I put all those bases on my list and I got sent back here. I was very happy about coming back here,” she said. She arrived at Minot AFB in May 2015. Zac Brugler is a mechanical engineer with Honeywell FM&T. They got engaged in February last year in Japan. “We knew I was coming up here so he did a proposal to his company in Kansas City to work remotely up here, and they approved it. He actually works from our home here. We feel very lucky that they allowed us to do that,” Katie Brugler said. For anyone who might be considering going into the military, Brugler said, “I love being an airman and I love the Air Force. I personally can’t imagine life without the Air Force because I grew up with it too. But I love working for an organization that has such strong core values and takes such good care of our people. “I love putting on my uniform every day and I (like) being a part of an organization that stands for something so much greater than ourselves,” she said. She said the military is for someone who is looking for that belonging and that family. “It’s not a job, it’s a lifestyle because the military asks you and your family to make a lot of sacrifices and you have to See BRUGLER — Page 8
MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
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Brugler
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be prepared for that. But to me, and I think to most people who are in the uniform, it’s worth it. The sacrifices are worth the service that we get to give,” she said. Brugler said her parents are extremely supportive of her decision to be in the military. “I think at first it was just such a turn from where everyone thought my life was headed but they have been nothing but supportive. They are very proud of me,” she said. When she joined the military she said she didn’t think of it as the family business. “I wasn’t doing it because it’s what my dad
did. But I think looking at it now it’s something that they take pride in,” she said. Brugler’s maternal grandfather, Donald Robertson, who turned 90 in August, also was in the military. He joined the Army Air Corps in the 1940s and served at the end of World War II. “He was a radio engineer and actually he served for a couple years and then worked for the military as a civilian. He was in Misawa, Japan, in 1951, setting up radio equipment that’s over there now. That was really cool for me to be over there 60-some years later,” she said. The military is her career but music continues in Brugler’s life. “I saw a lot of my friends lose their love and their passion for music,” she said. She
said when a person has to rely on it for their dinner and income it no longer is a hobby. “I never wanted to get to that place. I never wanted to get burnt out. I never wanted to regret giving it up either,” she said. “I feel very lucky looking back on the decisions I made coming out of grad school because that’s the thing – it’s always going to be part of my life.” Brugler plays the national anthem for ceremonies as well as plays in church, with the Minot Symphony Orchestra and the Minot Community Concert Band. She’s also emceed the International Military Ball held in Minot this past April. The International Music Camp near Dunseith also is an important part of her
life. For seven years she and her sister were campers at the music camp. “We even kept coming back after we moved away. Then I worked there for seven summers all through college and grad school before I joined the military,” she said. Brugler volunteers at the music camp in the summertime. “Tim and Christine Baumann, the directors, were my counselors 12 years ago and are some of my best friends for a really long time,” Brugler said. The Baumanns also direct the Minot Community Concert Band. Although she’s traveled many places, she said of the music camp, “I’ve gone back there every year for almost 20 years so for me I call it my favorite place in the world.”
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Throughout Minot, people would describe Jordan Calavera as a role model to youth and an undisputed champion for the community.
MINOT
As
From left to right, martial arts and boxing instructor Jordan Calavera proudly stands besides his students Noah Doell, Jahlil Bryant, Seth Mason, Nashua Birdinground, Zach Bruns and Jerome Daye. Allan Blanks/MDN
Jordan Calavera, part-owner of Calavera Martial Arts & Boxing Club, inspires Minot fighters to pursue their dreams both inside and outside the ring By ALLAN BLANKS
Staff Writer • ablanks@minotdailynews.com
As the proud son of Richard Calavera, Jordan has embraced his father’s passion for martial arts and extended the Calavera legacy by becoming part owner of Calavera Martial Arts & Boxing Club. Since 1971, fighters have traveled across the country and around the world to study muay thai, jujitsu, kick boxing, women’s self defense, boxing and a host of other forms of combat. Along with the Calaveras’ exceptional knowledge of fighting comes their high standard for humanity. Respect for self, respect to others and adopt the Calavera family atmosphere both inside and outside the gym are the core values practiced and preached throughout training. “People learn how to better themselves by practicing self-respect and respect towards others,” Jordan Calavera said. “Everybody gains a large amount of confidence when they are here, especially those who put forth the effort. We have people who are here almost every day and then we will have members who come a couple times a month. Those who come a couple times a month develop skills but their understanding isn’t as good as those who are here more often.” At 30 years old, Calavera is flexible yet exacting. Those who train with Calavera experience a patient coach, a precise technician and an extended family member. “We’re a family,” Calavera said. “We have people come from all over the country and across the world. Some people may come to Minot for work, others are here with the military and when everyone comes to our gym we instill a sense of family.” Calavera’s sense of family is inspired by his father and the community of Minot. “Minot is home to me,” Calavera said. “I grew up here, graduated from Minot High and there is a strong sense of family here. When I think about Minot, I see See BOX — Page 10
MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
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Box
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a place that is peaceful. At times the weather can create a struggle but people live here because of their strong connection to family.” During the winter season, residents of Minot band together with shovels and assist neighbors by removing deep layers of snow. For Calavera, lending a helping hand was learned at an early age. “I was born into boxing,” Calavera said. “I grew up in the gym and saw all forms of martial arts.” Professional MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), boxing, kick boxing, judo, karate, taekwondo, jujitsu and muay thai were seen and practiced daily throughout Calavera’s youth. Growing up, Calavera idolized Minot’s
the street, there might not be an opportunity to fix their mistakes. We encourage every kid to carry themselves properly and to have morals.” As a resident of Minot, Calavera understands that a good attitude goes a long way. Calavera has endured some of the coldest winters in the U.S. and witnessed the devastating flood of 2011. Life has taught Calavera that overcoming hard times starts with a good attitude. “In life nothing is given to anybody,” Calavera said. “Everything has to be taken and worked for to achieve what you want. If you don’t work for what you want, life will be very frustrating. Same thing with boxing, academics and life.” Founded in 1971, the Calavera Gym is the longest operating gymnasium in North Dakota and the most notable establishment
We preach respect more than anything. The kids understand that if they get into trouble in here, we can fix things. However, if they get into trouble in the street, there might not be an opportunity to fix their mistakes. We encourage every kid to carry themselves properly and to have morals.
– Jordan Calavera
own Dennis “Magic Man” Allen. “Dennis Allen was Minot’s most successful professional boxer,” Calavera said. “He grew up in Minot, he earned the nickname ‘Magic Man’ because he made a name for himself in the community and in the world. I’ve gone to New York City and when you mention Dennis Allen to a boxing crowd, they know who you’re talking about. I grew up idolizing guys like Dennis Allen because they were good people. They taught me right from wrong.” Along with learning various forms of selfdefense, Calavera developed his business skills from his father. “I learned everything from my dad, especially in the gym,” Calavera said. “I try to instill everything I learned from my dad into all the kids that come here.” Children from Minot, surrounding cities and throughout Canada make their pilgrimage to the Calavera gym. Each day, Calavera strives to teach them confidence, improve their self-esteem and share life lessons that can translate into success both inside and outside the ring. “We preach respect more than anything,” Calavera said. “The kids understand that if they get into trouble in here, we can fix things. However, if they get into trouble in
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for combat in the state. “We’re a fighting country (the U.S.),” Calavera said. “This country was brought to existence through fighting. This is a place where people can settle their differences, resolve the chips on their shoulders and I believe boxing along with martial arts in the gym is the safest and most extreme way to express yourself.” According to Calavera, learning how to properly defend yourself is excellent for releasing stress, building confidence and improving one’s physical fitness. “I feel that everyone needs a release from stress,” Calavera said. “Times are changing and no matter where you look, everyone seems to be stressed. So, when people come through the door I recognize that and I like to help them disperse that the best way that they can. It could be a hard workout or an intense focus on a technique, it’s important to help people concentrate on what we’re doing in here and not what’s going on in their regular life. What we do in here is therapy.” Before a single punch is thrown, Calavera believes it’s important to understand the psychological motivations of a student. “You’re not going to get punched on your first day at our gym,” Calavera said. “In fact,
Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
you probably won’t even throw a punch on your first day. There’s a lot more to boxing and martial arts. Fighting is very physical, it’s extremely mental and highly mathematical. There are consequences for not doing things precisely.” Regardless of age, each student will listen to stories describing the triumphs and missteps of famous fighters. Calavera shares these chronicles to remind students that technical fundamentals along with respect apply to everyone. “Muhammad Ali is one of the greatest boxers ever and he developed skills that people had never seen before,” Calavera said. “When it came to his fundamental boxing, his skills have been around since the existence of boxing. Muhammad Ali perfected those skills with knowledge of the fundamentals.” Although Calavera strives to produce confident students, he provides cautionary tales about the arrogance of others. “I’ve seen some tough guys come in this gym who had extreme confidence,” Calavera said. “People like that soon discover what it’s like to be in a fight with someone who knows how to protect themselves. It doesn’t take long for overconfidence to disappear and return to a respectable level.” Based on the Calavera method, confidence is earned through consistent displays
of respect and constant applications of correct technique. For those who participate in combat oriented sports, the acquisition of confidence may require one to take a punch. “Getting punched is not that bad,” Calavera said. “Even in a controlled sport like boxing, there is danger. You have to be smart and you have to be defensive to protect yourself. Now throwing a punch is a completely different story. Anybody can throw a punch but if they can throw a punch correctly is the question. Sometimes a street fighter will enter the gym. Street fighting doesn’t really matter in here, learning the fundamentals and the skillset of plainly throwing a punch correctly can be difficult.” The process of instilling confidence can take several repetitions and absorb an ample amount of time. However, those who complete the path towards mastery of fundamentals will relish a new-found confidence that gives them a competitive edge in their field of choosing. “Confidence is huge,” Calavera said. “When you go in for a job interview, if you don’t have self-confidence you’re really going to blow it. The person who is hiring you and going to pay you isn’t going to want you to work for them if you don’t have self-confidence. So, boxing or martial arts is one of those things that instills confidence into you day-by-day.”
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Coa ee icionados Michael and Alisha Gaughan are the owners of Red Berry Coffeehouse in Stanley. Andrea Johnson/MDN
STANLEY
Michael and Alisha Gaughan first bonded over a good cup of coffee. Alisha was working at a coffee shop when Michael came in one day. At the time he wasn’t a big coffee drinker, but Alisha made it her mission to convert him and make a cup of coffee he would enjoy. He kept coming by and eventually the couple got married. These days they are the proprietors of the Red Berry Coffeehouse, which opened in March at 501 12th Avenue SE, No. 102, in Stanley. “I wanted coffee, so I told her she needed to come out here and get one opened up,” said Michael Gaughan, who came to Stanley about 1 1/2 years ago to work in the oilfield. Alisha joined him in Stanley about 1 1/2 years ago. The couple had been living in Bozeman, Mont., though
Michael
open coffee house in Stanley
By ANDREA JOHNSON
Staff Writer • ajohnson@minotdailynews.com
Michael is originally from Oregon. It took some time for their business plan for a coffee shop to take shape, but coffee lover Alisha knew what she wanted to do. For her, coffee is both a comfort beverage and a drink she enjoys like a wine connoisseur might savor a good red. “I grew up drinking coffee,” said Alisha, who fondly recalls going on coffee dates with her mother to different coffee establishments. While her mother drank real coffee, the young Alisha enjoyed steamers or Italian sodas until she was deemed old
enough to drink the strong stuff. She later worked in the coffee industry for several years. The Gaughans also have good friends who run a coffee bar in Bozeman. The Red Berry Coffeehouse, located in a new office complex in Stanley, boasts comfortable seating, a chalk table where waiting children can scrawl artwork while their moms and dads enjoy coffee or lunch, board games and a community bookshelf filled with books for the taking. By customer demand, the Red Berry Coffeehouse started offering lunch. “We started doing that July 1,” said Alisha. She said the menu includes things like a salad bar and fare such as panSee COFFEE — Page 14
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Coffee
Continued from Page 13
nini sandwiches. Customers had lamented the dearth of places to eat a fresh, healthy lunch in Stanley and the Gaughans saw an opportunity. They also offer different types of coffee and hope to foster more appreciation of all the different varieties that are available. “There’s kind of a coffee purist movement going on,” said Alisha. The Second Wave in the coffee business, she said, was marked with the rise of a Starbucks on every corner. But some of the drinks that have been popular, such as espressos, mean that the natural taste of the coffee bean are disguised with syrups and creams and roasting.
The Third Wave of the coffee movement demands a new appreciation of the different varieties of coffee bean. The Gaughans say it’s all about dialing back the roasting and developing and pulling out the flavor of each variety of bean. “We want to celebrate what the farmers are doing,” said Alisha. The coffee beans used at Red Berry Coffeehouse are supplied by Heart Roasters from Portland, Ore., one of the most respected coffee suppliers. At Red Berry Coffee House, the drip coffee includes a sign with the country of origin. The Gaughans say that their customers are starting to notice that coffees tastes different and ask more about what type it is and where it is from. The coffee shop sells coffee beans so cus-
tomers can make a favorite cup at home. Eventually, the Gaughans say they would like to hold coffee tastings, kind of like the wine tastings that are common in that industry. Alisha said it would be hard for her to pick any one variety as a favorite, but right now she really enjoys a variety called Cubano Flat White. The coffee shop now has six employees and is open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. The Gaughans are living the lives of busy business owners. Alisha said she tries to keep regular hours for herself, but it is sometimes challenging when one of her employees is scheduled to be off and another pair of hands are needed. Michael continues to work full-
time delivering fuel for Farmer’s Union Oil Co., but handles some of the marketing and other aspects of the business. The couple is also taking part in community life. They hope to work with business students at the local high school. Some of their employees are high school students who are planning to launch their own businesses. The Gaughans are happily giving them advice. “We’re passionate about entrepreneurship,” said Alisha Gaughan. The couple also just agreed to foster a puppy through the Raise Your Paws in Tioga. They are happy to make Stanley their home and the location for their business. Even with the slowdown in the oil business, they see signs of a successful community. Stanley is a family community, say the Gaughans, and not just an oil community.
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MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
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Gaaskjolen helps make Stanley a better place By ANDREA JOHNSON
STANLEY
Stanley is for
Staff Writer • ajohnson@minotdailynews.com
Jenny Gaaskjolen and her husband, Zachary, believe that Stanley is just the place to raise their young children. “We kind of like to say Stanley’s for families,” said Gaaskjolen, who is the branch manager at BNC National Bank in Stanley. Gaaskjolen said Stanley was just named the best place to live in North Dakota by onlyinyourstate.com. It ranks high for its high education rate, low cost of living, high median household income and low crime rate. Jenny, who had previously worked in banking in Rapid City, S.D., moved to Stanley with her family in June 2012, where she became the branch manager at BNC National Bank. Her husband is an engineer with Brosz Engineering and serves on the Stanley City Council, while Gaaskjolen also serves as president of the local Chamber of Commerce. Gaaskjoken, who is originally from Spearfish, S.D., said she’s used to the small town life. She and her husband also seem to like the town because there are a variety of activities that her 5-year-old and 18month-old will be able to take part in as they grow up. So far they have enjoyed taking their children to the city park to play, to the farmers market that is held on a regular basis during the summer months, and to the local swimming pool. “And the lake,” said Gaaskjolen. “We love the lake ... We go to VanHook.” The farmers market that the family enjoys so much is new this year and was launched in part through community efforts of master gardener Wanda Nelson and other growers in the area. Community leaders like Gaaskjolen have helped promote and support the farmers market, which features handmade items and locally grown fruits and vegetables. “It’s building and we hope it will keep growing,” said
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Jenny
FAMILIES Jenny Gaaskolen is the branch manager at BNC National Bank in Stanley and an active part of making the community a great place for her two children to grow up in.
Andrea Johnson/MDN
Gaaskjolen. Stanley, like other towns on the edge of the oil boom, has been affected by a slowdown in oil activity, but Gaaskjolen said she thinks the town council has been smart about development. The diversified economy benefits from other sectors, including agriculture, education, business and health. When they promote the community, they also focus on economic development as important for quality of life. “They kind of go hand in hand,” said Gaaskjolen. Stanley has participated in Vision West ND’s Main Street Success Project, along with Bowman, Beulah, Crosby, Hettinger, Killdeer, Ray and Stanley. The Stanley High School DECA Club and Future Business Leaders of America chapter, along with the Ray FBLA, Hettinger FBLA, and Girl Scout Troop 10163 conducted an online survey in February of people in their communities about what people most want to see in future development. Common responses included child care, restaurants, niche businesses, department stores, recreational activities and facilities, and a shop local campaign. Gaaskjolen said that survey will help in future development. Stanley is already showing signs that business is picking up, with busy streets and new businesses.
Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
“Now that we do have a Shopko, Stanley is fortunate that we can do all our shopping here,” said Gaaskjolen. Gaaskjolen and other community leaders have also focused on other events that will keep people coming back to the community. Crazy Days in Stanley was also a popular event in early August as was a wine walk. Gaaskjoken also serves on the Stanley Area Community Foundation which has a sizable endowment fund for a community with about 2,000 people. “We have reached $1 million, which is pretty substantial for a community our size,” said Gaaskjolen. Local nonprofit groups that serve different areas of the community apply for grant funding for projects that benefit everyone and help make Stanley a wonderful place to live. Some of the most recent grants that were awarded went to the Parks and Recreation Board for a new ball field, the Booster Club, a local food pantry and the Golden Age Club, among others. Gaaskjolen puts her marketing degree to use by marketing the endowment fund and other things that are going on in the community. Attendees at a recent high school reunion received welcome bags with information about all the good things going on in the community and the best way to help Stanley continue to be the best town to live in in North Dakota.
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Jeff Feller By KIM FUNDINGSLAND
Staff Writer • kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com
Jeff Feller knows his stuff and knows it well. He should. He began working in the technology field at age 14. Today he is co-owner of Bitzpc of Minot and has been recognized nationally as a “Top Talent Under 40” in the July/August issue of Technology Integrator magazine, a publication dedicated to today’s technology enthusiasts. “I was quite honored and kind of excited,” said Feller when asked about his response to the honor. “It brought a big smile to my face that my customers nominated me. Very, very cool!” Feller responded by sending an e-mail to many of his Bitzpc clients, thanking them for being a customer and for trusting him with their technology needs. It was a gesture very fitting for the 34-yearold who believes whole heartedly in excellent customer relations. “I consider myself a technology solutions specialist,” said Feller. “Customers have certain things they want or need. I come up with whatever it might be to meet those needs and find a solution that works for them.” Finding technology solutions is nothing new for Feller. He began doing it at a very young age while a student at Surrey school. He helped set up Surrey’s first ever network, even getting donations for necessary equipment to do the job properly. “We got the entire school networked to one modem so everyone was connected,” said Feller. “I did that over the summer as a volunteer before I was 14. That was a long, long time ago.” As remarkable as it was that Feller was trusted to do such work at a very young age, he was more than prepared to do so. His father worked in technology, mostly with Apple Computer products, for 35 years at Minot State University. The younger Feller followed in his father’s footsteps. “That’s why I had many computers in my room, my own lab to learn from and figure things out on my own,” recalled Feller. “I don’t know how young I would have been, but it was the black and white Apple days. We didn’t have much for technology classes out in Surrey so I had to be kind of selftaught.” Feller’s expertise with computers eventually led to him being hired at Magic Internet of Minot. He was only 14 years old. With no driver’s license, his mother had to drive him to work. “I was working with tech support and doing web-related things through age 18 or 19,” said Feller. In 2001, shortly after graduating from Surrey High School, Feller joined his brother Jason to open up their own business across from Jim Ryan Chevrolet in Minot. “It is crazy to think back that when we started we had enough time to play NBA Live against each other until the next customer came in. Now we
Jeff
above and beyond
MINOT
couldn’t even dream of having that kind of time,” laughed Feller. The Fellers built a reputation for quality work and the business began to grow. By 2007 they made the move to their current location at 1800 22nd Avenue SW. Once there Bitzpc expanded and began to take more steps up the business ladder. Today Bitzpc provides a wide variety of quality technology products and services, always with the motto, “If it’s not good enough for our families or ourselves, we won’t sell it.” Feller says he considers himself and the business to be successful, especially considering the statistics that say many small businesses don’t make it past three to five years. The 34year-old acknowledges that a certain amount of stress comes with co-owning a business, but he is more than ready to do more. “I’m very, very hungry for more. I’ve always had the dream of having multiple locations, possibly getting into other markets,” revealed Feller. “I’m nowhere near satisfied in terms of that but working towards it is not that easy sometimes.” Feller said he can remember the early days of Bitzpc when his paychecks were small and business was slow. However, he says, it all worked out for the best because expenses were minimal while the brothers learned valuable lessons about their business. Can anyone do it? Feller says it is possible. “You have to be very good about being selftaught and you have to have the interest and the passion. I didn’t go to college at all. The technicians I know have that interest and passion and they are the ones who are the most successful,” stated Feller.
Kim Fundingsland/MDN
This is the second location for Bitzpc. In 2000, they originally located on South Broadway but made a major move to their current location in 2007.
MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
19
Minot’s
very own
By ANDREA JOHNSON
MINOT
Staff Writer • ajohnson@minotdailynews.com
Twelve
Home Delivery, Food Services of Twelve-year-old America and Oscar Hultz is an ice Doyle Sheehan. cream man with big ice Some of the cream dreams. items on the Ever since he started menu include his ice cream truck busifudge bars, ice ness, Oscar’s Ice Cream, cream sandearlier this year, the Jim wiches, ice Hill Middle School sevcream bars, popenth-grader has been sicles, freezie talking about expansion. pops, ice cream “He’s talked about excones and drumpanding statewide,” said stricks, among his mom, Shannon Nyothers. All of the bakken. frozen treats are Eventually, he might pre-packaged. even franchise the busi“I still like ness. them all,” said Oscar said those Oscar, even dreams are far in the futhough he has ture, but so far his fledgeaten a lot of ice ling ice cream business is cream while drivthriving. ing around in the It all started last winvan. ter when Nybakken saw Shannon Nyan ad for a converted bakken said she truck for sale on Facehas some she likes Andrea Johnson/MDN book. better than othKevin and Paula Bur- Oscar Hultz, 12, a seventh-grader at Jim Hill Middle School, is the owner of Oscarʼs Ice Cream. ers. ckhard of Minot had Oscar has also bought the vehicle at one been selling Tsometimes has filled out the necessary forms all by himself. His time and had thought of turning it into an ice cream truck and mother has done it a couple of times too. shirts saying “Oscar’s Ice Cream.” He has pledged to donate one using it to teach their children about business. But they never Oscar agreed to pay his parents back for their initial invest- dollar from each sale to a charity that helps poor families in had time to do it and ended up putting the vehicle up for sale. ment if the ice cream business made a profit. India buy goats. Shannon Nybakken thought the Burckhards’ original idea He has received a lot of support for the T-shirt sales. He said “He has a no-interest loan with us,” said Shannon Nysounded like the perfect opportunity to teach Oscar about en- bakken. the lunch ladies at Jim Hill bought the T-shirts and plan to all trepreneurship. The business launched the day before Mother’s Day in May wear them on a Friday. “Oscar loves ice cream and he makes ice cream treats all the and quickly proved popular. His friends also think his business is pretty cool but Oscar, time,” said Nybakken. Oscar has paid back his parents 25 percent of the initial loan, a savvy businessman, doesn’t plan to offer too many discounts Oscar also enjoys watching cooking shows and trying to but they asked him if he wanted to expand his operations since to his friends for ice cream. If he did, then he wouldn’t make too make complicated dishes for his family, so his ice cream treat it was going so well. much money, said his mother. making is an extension of his general love of cooking. Oscar’s Ice Cream truck made a stop at some of the area Oscar decided he wanted to buy a second ambulance which Shannon Nybakken and her husband, Kirk Nybakken, was on sale at Tom’s Repair in Minot and have it converted into schools on the first day that teachers were back for the new bought the vehicle from the Burckhards for $1,500 and paid to a second ice cream truck. Oscar said that involved putting in school year and several of the teachers bought treats. have it renovated into what he wanted. It took about two freezers, an inverter, a music system and having it painted to Oscar plans to continue operating the business next summonths to alter the vehicle. add the words “Oscar’s Ice Cream,” among other alterations. mer, when he will hire employees to drive the ice cream trucks. Meanwhile, Oscar learned the other steps involved in He said he thinks the ice cream business has been popular During the summer months, Shannon Nybakken and a famlaunching his own business. He applied for a food truck license ily friend have volunteered to drive the ice cream trucks to dif- because people like ice cream and because it was something with the Department of Health and registered his company as ferent locations in the area from about noon to 9 p.m. Nybakken people wanted. Oscar’s Ice Cream LLC with the state secretary of state’s office. said that schedule changed when Oscar returned to school on “People in the community were craving something wholeHe has also trademarked the name of his business as Oscar’s Ice Aug. 24. There was no reason to keep going to the city parks some and small town,” said Nybakken. Cream. “It brings back childhood memories for the older people and when all the kids are in school, she said. “Oscar pays sales tax every month,” said his mom, and The business sells 28 ice cream treats, supplied by Sunrise it creates new memories for the younger people,” added Oscar.
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Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
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Building
Minot’s
MUSIC SCENE
By PHIL TORRES • Staff Writer • ptorres@minotdailynews.com
MINOT
Derek
“A lot of the time I try to cook for them,” said Hoffart. That personal touch goes a long way for the bands who are frequently on the road fending for themselves. One thing that works in Minot’s favor is its geographic location. Many bands based out of the Midwest, especially Minnesota, plan out their tours so they can make it to the West Derek Hoffart, owner of Still Oak production company, has been leadCoast while performing as many shows as time allows. That puts Minot in an advantageous ing the way to put an end to the idea that there isn’t anything to do in position to draw these bands here as part of their touring. Minot. One challenge for local concert promotion is the promotion of How is he doing that? By being a one-man concert prothe show itself. “It was a lot of word of mouth,” he said moter and booker. Before he began Still Oak, Hofof the publicity behind the shows. The success of fart tended bar at Nola’s Lounge where they Hoffart’s grassroots efforts have a lot to do had DJs and karaoke. Those events with the networking that he does. “I sparked the idea for booking bands know a lot of people around town, on his own. which helps with promotions,” “It just kinda went from said Hoffart. there,” said Hoffart. “I He also acts as his started visiting festivals own street team, postand wanted to bring ing flyers for his that atmosphere to shows around Minot.” 2011 town. “It took marked his first me awhile to concert under figure out the Still Oak where to banner feaput up t u r i n g posters. Mankato, The local Minn.busibased nesses group are reUseful a l l y Jenkins. g o o d T o a bout this day, it,” he a lot of said. t h e “ I t bands he s t a rted books are small, now alumni of with the the Hararts fest, it mony Park has really music festival started groovin Minnesota. ing,” he said, “Good music hoping to broaden has a lot to do with the kind of music it,” he said of his people take in. “If show’s prosperity. you’re not into the “The demand is there. It’s Derek Hoffart whole festival scene, you just finding the venues,” he owner of Still Oak might not have heard of these said of continuing his success bands,” said Hoffart. production company with concert promotion in Minot. “It’s good for people to broaden The hardest part of booking shows their horizons. It’s easy to follow the is “making sure everything is on point.” Photo by Phil mainstream but (the fledgling bands that he Torres/MDN That entails lights, audio for the show and makbooks) don’t have it like the bands in the maining sure the band is on time.
A big part of what I do is bring people together through music.
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Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
stream. They’re on tour constantly. It’s tough to do because they don’t make much money for recording albums. Every band I’ve ever booked enjoys what I do. It makes me feel like I’m doing the right thing,” said Hoffart. One thing that Hoffart is good about avoiding is something that those in the industry refer to as “pay to play.” Pay to play is the act of turning in money in order to play a show. It doesn’t matter where the money comes from (out of pocket, through ticket sales, etc) it’s the act of turning money in before a musician performs that qualifies it as pay-to-play. This practice is mostly implemented by independent promotion companies. A company that isn’t located in your city rents “dead nights” at local clubs to host these unpaid events. They typically send flattering spam emails through social media to new bands notifying them of shows they can play, either battle of the bands or showcases. In order for a band to get booked on one of these shows, the company expects (or pressures in some cases) the bands to sell tickets or turn in money directly. The money is collected during load-in and the band sees no compensation or a very small percentage of the money they made. The promotion company pays the club rent and takes what’s left as profit for themselves with very little effort and no promotion. Essentially these companies are acting as unnecessary middlemen, something Hoffart does not do. In some cases (and normally after watching the national
pay-to-play companies operate) clubs will take up this practice. This occurs normally when the club has given up concentrating on good booking practices or are down on their luck and desperate. One of his most memorable moments was when Useful Jenkins sold out Nola’s their second time in town. “Music is a huge part of my life. It helps me get through everything. That’s why I recommend everyone should check out new music. Give it a try at least,” he said. Before he started booking bands under the Still Oak banner, he would go and check out local bands around town. “I get emails from different bands wanting to come,” he said. “I have started making Minot a music destination. It all comes down to finding venues.” Hoffart doesn’t want his shows to be just for adults either. “Being a single guy with two little kids, I want to bring them to shows too,” said Hoffart of making all ages shows. What many concert-goers might not know is that a band’s management looks at ticket pre-sale numbers to determine if they’ll continue to come to a particular city or skip
i t the next time the band goes on tour. “Support live music. It takes the people coming to the shows for the bands to keep coming, not just my shows either,” said Hoffart.
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MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
23
A third-generation farmer, Nathan Fegley is living his dream. Fegley, 33, took his agricultural degree straight back to the farm after graduating from North Dakota State University. “I don’t know that I ever didn’t want to come back and farm,” he said. “I just did whatever it took to stay on the farm. I had cattle for a while. Then I sold them to build this place up.” He lives on the land his grandfather purchased in 1939 from a moonshine operation. One of the family stories is about a horse that fell through an old still on the property. The horse was unhurt. The original family homestead dates back about 35 years earlier and is farmed by Nathan Fegley’s cousin today. The farm purchased by his grandfather has grown in size over the years. It had been farmed by Fegley’s father and uncle until his uncle’s death in 2000. His father, Clayton, took on another partner, whom Fegley bought out when he came back to farm. The two make a good team. “He likes that someone else is managing the business side of it,” he said, as he jokingly adds, “As long as I break stuff that he can fix, that’s what he loves.” It’s not just his father’s mechanical ability and love for shop work but his experience and patience that Fegley admires. “My father is much more patient on marketing than I am,” he said. “It’s nice to have him to discuss what to do and when we should sell. Usually I will have a kneejerk reaction and he is patient and he usually comes out on top.” Farmers today have marketing tools his grandfather couldn’t have dreamed about, and Fegley has experimented with different things, like hedging, in the past. He and his father also have diversified their crop base, growing corn, canola, barley, soybeans, peas, sunflowers, wheat, durum and flax at different times. “That’s what’s great about North Dakota. We can raise so many crops,” he said. “We are at more of an advantage because we can diversify.” The Fegleys are additionally diversified in operating a business that produces grain for seed, particularly peas and wheat but also other crops. His father and uncle built a seed plant in 1997 to clean grain for seed. When Fegley came into the operation, the plant was nearing the end of its useful life. He and his father decided they wanted to build new facilities and expand the operation. “You have to keep evolving your services and offering more to your customers so they feel it’s a value to them to continue to do business with you. If you start losing sight of that, your business can go down pretty quickly,” Fegley said. Fegley has come to understand the importance of making sure the customer’s needs are met. It’s his goal to help ensure their operations are successful.
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BERTHOLD “Some people just have this notion that you are the only one who needs to make money. Our economy works so much better if everybody is making money,” said Fegley, who particularly caters to his core group of customers. “I try to make sure I take care of them first. They have been with me since I started. I think the strategy has worked out pretty well and will continue to work out for me.” To assist in their operation, Fegley and his father utilize a federal visa program that brings South African workers to the United States for seasonal employment. Fegley said a local agronomy company introduced the workers to the area when it used the visa program to obtain seasonal staff. Area farmers liked what they saw and, facing a labor shortage themselves, began hiring the temporary workers. The Fegleys hired a South African who has been with them for a few years, working from April to December, and they have been well satisfied with the program. “You treat them well and they treat you even better,” Fegley said, noting the workers typically seek to earn money to invest in their South African farms. Having an extra hand on the farm also gives him the flexibility to get involved off the farm. Fegley is Ward County Farm Bureau president and has served since last November on the state Farm Bureau board, representing the counties of Bottineau, Renville, McHenry, McLean, Sheridan and Ward. Fegley enjoys rubbing shoulders with other producers. “It’s nice to converse with other people and see how other people handle themselves. You learn a lot from other people,” he said. “I enjoy visiting with people and learning from their experiences.” Farm Bureau State President Daryl Lies of Douglas said the state board benefits from having younger farmers represented. “What happens today in this month and this year is going to affect them for a lot of years to come,” he said. “It’s good to have that perspective on the board, and it’s good to have Nathan on the board, who has the diversity on a farm of not just producing commodities but he’s also on the business side of it in dealing with the sales of seed. That gives a different look at commodities.” Fegley is not afraid to ask questions and force the board to make sure it has all its information vetted when it makes decisions, Lies added. I really appreciate that he’s not just a yesman, a rubber stamp. He wants to dig into the issues so we have the best discussion at our board meetings so we can make the best possible decisions,” Lies said. “He asks the right kinds of questions and tries to stimulate the rights kinds of discussion.” Berthold Mayor Alan Lee describes Fegley
Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
Berthold producer promotes next-generation agriculture By JILL SCHRAMM
Staff Writer • jschramm@minotdailynews.com
Nathan Fegley stands next to the seed cleaning operation on the farm he operates with his father near Berthold on July 12. Photo by Jill Schramm/MDN
as having been a thoughtful council member who wasn’t afraid to speak up and defend his position when necessary. “He’s hard-working,� he said. “If there’s ever a problem, whether it’s in his portfolio or not, he just digs in to help,� Lee said. Fegley had served as street commissioner and chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Fegley served four years on the city council in Berthold, where he lived before moving his family to the farm last February. His wife, Katie, works for Farm Credit Services in Minot, and they have three young children.
Fegley said a number of young people have come back to Berthold to farm or take area jobs in recent years, breathing renewed life into the community. He sees a solid future for members of the younger generation who have come back to farm. That future may look different from farming today, though. “They are always going to consolidate and get bigger. Is that a good thing? I think it just depends on who is running that farm. I think in the Berthold area, we have pretty productive land and pretty good operators for the most part. I don’t think you will see this land-
scape change very much because everyone is fairly successful around here,� he said. The biggest changes will be in production and technology advances, he said. “Technology is going to be the biggest driver of everything here in the future,� Fegley said. His farm has been an early adopter of some of the modern technology in ag equipment. Fegley also subscribes to a service that takes satellite images and analyzes for density of vegetation or detects problems in the field. As for production, the industry al-
ready is noticing improvements with new varieties of grains, often coming not from university research but private companies. The willingness of private companies to invest indicates that agriculture has a positive future, Fegley said. Market development plays a major role in sustainability as well, he added. Creating uses for flax in ink and pet foods, for instance, is an example of the way agriculture has expanded its market. Fegley strives for sustainability in his own operation because he hopes to see it continue for many years to come.
“I definitely enjoy it. I like the manufacturing,� he said. He loves the process of planning, putting the tools in place and taking the actions that result in a tangible, measurable product in the end. At harvest, you find out where you made the right decisions and where you need to think differently, he said. It all comes down to management. “You have to stay on top of it,� Fegley said. “The business side of it gets more and more all the time. You spend more and more time in the office. You have to watch everything so closely because you have so much money out there on the line.�
The community of Berthold has thrived during their century of existence! Located just 23 miles west of Minot, Berthold is home to approximately 500 people.
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Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D. After SDSU she attended Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. “There’s a lot of testing, a lot of requirements and you have to do a lot of volunteer hours at vet clinics to get experience,” she said. She shadowed a veterinarian as part of those preparations. All of the preparations were to get experience prior to getting into veterinary school. “It’s definitely a process,” she said. “Now there’s interviews, there weren’t at the time.” Overall, Olson attended three years at the university in South Dakota and four years at the university in Iowa, specializing in livestock and horses, but mainly livestock. Olson never intended to become a zoo veterinarian and actually wasn’t sure if she would be returning to this area. Her then boyfriend, then fiance and now husband, Wyatt Olson, who is originally from Minot, also grew up here. “We decided to stay here and there was a job opening at Minot Vet Clinic,” she said. She was there for six years. When Dr. Rory Fischer, a Minot
LEFT: Ann Olson, right, holds Westin, and Sydney Clark, left, holds Lane, Ann and Wyatt Olsonʼs twins, at Minot Farmers Market in Oak Park, July 28. Ann Olson sells produce at farmers markets. She became Minotʼs Roosevelt Park Zooʼs first full-time veterinarian.
BELOW: Dr. Ann Olson, shown at Roosevelt Park Zoo in December 2015, became the zooʼs first full-time veterinarian. Photos by Eloise Ogden/MDN
Dr. Ann
Dr. Ann Olson was quite young when she decided she wanted to become a veterinarian. “I think I knew when I was really little – probably first grade. I loved animals and I had an aunt who was a vet tech and that kind of started my interest in become a vet,” said Olson Growing up on a farm at Des Lacs, she said, “We showed cattle, sheep and horses in 4-H at the fair and Achievement Days,” she said. This was along with participating in open class junior point shows throughout the state in the summer. Olson started preparing for her future work while in high school. “I took just whatever I could in my high school. I had some really great science teachers at Des LacsBurlington. One is still there, one just retired,” she said, naming Mary Sandbo and Tom Schmidt. “Those two were the science teachers I had through high school and they were very influential.” Olson completed her undergraduate work in animal science and pre-veterinary studies at South
See ANN — Page 30
By ELOISE OGDEN
Regional Editor • eogden@minotdailynews.com
Dr. Ann Olson wanted to become a veterinarian at an early age MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
29
Ann
Continued from Page 29
Vet Clinic veterinarian who did contract work at the zoo left, she replaced him. At the time the veterinarian for the zoo was contracted through the Vet Clinic. Olson did her other duties at the Vet Clinic and the work at the zoo. “I would go there maybe one day or half a day a week,� she said. After the flood the veterinarian’s position expanded. “There was so much to do and they offered it to be a permanent parttime position and now it’s a full-time position,� she said. Olson became the first full-time veterinarian at the zoo. Working with the big wild animals was very interesting for Olson. She said helpful to her was the experienced zoo staff. “We had a staff who had been there for a long time,� she said. Brandi Clark, curator and vet technician with the zoo, has worked there for a number of years. “She was my mentor there because I really didn’t have another mentor for the zoo,� Olson said. “I gained a lot of experience from her knowledge and then learning from other vets and meeting other vets, going to other zoos
and getting to know more people in the business.� Working with the zoo inhabitants – “It was always interesting. You tried to be as prepared as possible and do your research, and just prepare for any possibilities,� she said. She said the North Dakota state veterinarian is a great resource for them. In March 2015, Ann Olson and her husband became the parents of twin boys,
I think it’s mostly having a sense of community and having a chance to give back and help others. –Dr. Ann Olson
Lane and Westin. She returned to her position at the zoo after their birth and in May of this year Dr. Vikki Socha took over as the full-time zoo veterinarian. Now Olson is back-up veterinarian to Socha. Olson’s also the safety coordinator for the zoo. “You hear a lot about safety at zoos – keeping the public safe, keeping the animals and keeping the staff safe. Safety is becoming a really huge component of what we do every day. It always has been but it’s even more so now,� she said.
Kyle Hanson (ZZVJPH[L 9LWYLZLU[H[P]L *LSS! 701-621-6042 kyle.hanson@thrivent.com
Focused on you goals and values
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Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
It’s kind of like a craft show only it’s with antiques and junk.� She said they also go to auction sales and sometimes people will contact them just “out of the blue� when they’re selling a relative’s house. “We do repurposing – we paint and sometimes take things and make other things out of them,� Olson said. Junk and Disorderly is on Facebook. Ann and Wyatt Olson lived in Minot until 2011 when they moved back to her parents’ farm at Des Lacs and built a home
there. This summer she also started selling produce at the Minot Farmers Market under the name Hilltop Farm. “This is the first time we’ve ever done farmers market,� she said. “We have extra produce so it’s a nice way to share it with others.� It also is another source of income, she said. This summer, Olson also became president of the Magic City Lions Club in Minot and she recently joined the YWCA board. “I think our service group, the Lions group, is really growing and there’s younger people,� she said. “We have a wide variety of experiences and we have a really great group of people who work well with each other. It really is community-based and focused and they’re very committed to giving back to the community doing fundraisers, donating funds to different projects and also doing projects in the community.� She feels that participation in community groups is beneficial. “I think it’s mostly having a sense of community and having a chance to give back and help others, and fellowship – getting to know other people in the community that I wouldn’t have come across if I weren’t in that group,� she said.
Lynn Grabow, FIC -PUHUJPHS (ZZVJPH[L *LSS! 701-629-0029 lynn.grabow@thrivent.com
109 Main Street S, Box 933 • Stanley, ND 58784 6MÄJL! 701-628-2394
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Nowadays, Olson said she’s doing “a little bit of everything.� “It’s nice to have more flexibility to be home with the boys. I’m still doing some large animal work through the (veterinary) clinic for certain clients,� she said. She and two other women, Johnna Varty of Berthold and Marcie Kohler of Minot, have a junking business called Junk and Disorderly. “We travel to junk shows,� she said. “We collect antiques.
* 9
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Dakotah “Faye” Poitra, right, has been writing, mixing and mastering his own music since 2008.
Submitted photo
MINOT
WHAT IT’S LIKE TO
and get paid,” said Poitra of the practical monopoly he has on the hip-hop scene in the Generally speaking, when one state. thinks about hip-hop talent, one While he is now enjoying success early in would picture an emcee in New York City or Los his career, Poitra can recall a time when his Angeles. art was the butt of other’s jokes. Additionally, when one thinks about the “People like me for stuff I used to be made music that comes out of North Dakota, country fun of,” said Poitra. “I enjoy it more than anymusic is the first genre that comes to mind. With thing.” that said, there is one man in Minot who is trying Poitra has a clear message for his critics: to change both of those cliches. “I hope it’s fun driving behind me. I used to North Dakota’s premier hip hop group care, and at a certain point you realize that “Money Stackz” was founded in 2008 by Dakostuff doesn’t matter. No time for the haters.” tah “Faye” Poitra and his friend Eddie Mack. He hopes that others can learn from what “We started it out of boredom,” said Poitra. “It he has gone through to get to where he is. just started taking up all of my day. You just sorta “When you take yourself seriously, I find the things you’re passionate about.” think people will start taking you seriously.” What started with just recordings in the baseHis advice to others trying to follow in his ment quickly developed into a full-blown busifootsteps is to stay determined. ness. “You don’t think you’re good at something “Just keep doing it. If you think you’re until you try it,” said Poitra. Their song “Placetired, just keep doing it. Nobody is going to ment Time” is available now on iTunes and By PHIL TORRES move you forward.” Google Play. Staff Writer • ptorres@minotdailynews.com Despite all of these successes, Poitra unThat’s when now member Rhett Hoffman derstands why a major record label may be started collaborating, and in 2013 released “Motivation.” Fast forward two years and they’ve made a name for themselves in the hesitant to sign him. “If you don’t have a huge fan-base, they’re taking a chance,” said Poitra. “I do Peace Garden State. Poitra took what some might consider his biggest weakness, his geographic location, and turned it into his biggest strength. When many musi- publicity, booking, everything myself. I’m just looking for distribution.” His newest release, “Born Identity,” was named after a number of people who saw cians in any genre ultimately try to make a name for themselves in a larger market, Poitra has essentially become the big fish in a small pond, so-to-speak. In their eight his childhood pictures commented that he looked like Matt Damon. “Born Identity” is an exercise in “finding out who I am as a person,” said Poitra. years of existence they’ve played hundreds of shows. Poitra recalls Bone Thugs-n-Harmony was the first rap group he heard. Since “I’m becoming really comfortable and really happy. It is a really positive album.” He admits his style is similar to another popular emcee. then, he actually opened for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Kid Ink, Machine Gun Kelly, “Drake is pretty-much who I sound like now,” said Poitra. Similar to Drake, Poitra Bubba Sparxxx, Twista, Mystikal, Devin The Dude, Rittz, PROF, Waka Flocka Flame, Hopsin, Dizzy Wright, Jarren Benton, Nappy Roots and Obie Trice to name has lofty aspirations. “I want to be rich and well-known. I want to be one of the best,” said Poitra. a few. While hip-hop does consume quite a bit of his time, “I don’t just rap all the time,” Poitra had a memorable experience while on tour with Krayzie Bone in Pine City, Minn. While Poitra was in the green room at the show, he noticed Krayzie Bone’s said Poitra. He is actually a fan of things generally not associated with the rap comHennessy bottle unattended and decided to take it as a souvenir. “I still have his munity. Other hobbies of his include anime, cartoons and final fantasy. “I’m a reHennessy bottle at home,” said Poitra. ally big nerd at heart,” he said. When it is all said and done, Poitra wants to lift people up with his music. When it comes to the lack of other emcees in the state, Poitra believes it is beneficial for his career. “Try to spread love instead of hate. Be open and I guarantee you’ll enjoy life a lot “It helps me because there is not a lot of us. There aren’t a lot of us that do shows more,” said Poitra.
emcee
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Businesses can only function if they make a profit, and the only way they know if they’re making a profit is through an accountant. That’s where Amanda Loughman comes in. Amanda (Degenstein) Loughman is a 2002 graduate of Rugby High School. While in high school, she was actually leaning toward a career in science. “I always wanted to be forensic pathologist,” said Loughman. After she graduated high school, Loughman attended Minot State University where she ultimately obtained a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Her adviser at Minot State, Carla Cabarle, played a critical part in her decision making; she encouraged her students to go toward their CPA studies and perform volunteer tax returns. She opened up Loughman’s perspective of what someone with an accounting background could do. “If you really didn’t like the tax returns, that’s not what it was all about. For me, I didn’t want to be part of a public accounting firm,” said Loughman. “I am not one that wants to prepare someone’s tax returns for a living.” As part of her senior class requirements, she had to take a controller-ship class to graduate. “We had to pick some place to intern at,” said Loughman. “Finding a business that would take me as an intern was difficult,” she said. Luckily for everyone involved, the Heart of America medical center had a temporary opening. Good Samaritan Hospital Association was founded by farsighted, pioneer Lutheran pastors dedicated to community service. The association, which has sustained Rugby’s hospital and medical services since 1904, is supported by 27 area churches of several denominations. Today the Good Samaritan Hospital Association, doing business as Heart of America Medical Center, includes a 20-bed critical access hospital, surgical suite and a nursing facility. She used the opening as an opportunity to fulfill her internship requirement and subsequently get her foot in the door. Her decision to take the opening proved to be advantageous. “The lady who left to create the opening decided that she didn’t want to return,” said Loughman. She has worked at HAMC since December 2006, where she started out as an accounting clerk. Since then, she has grown into different accounting positions, such as accounting assistant, accountant, comptroller, and now the chief financial officer. Her ability to find mistakes has had a lot to do with her success in her position. So much so that she has caught the attention of peers. Loughman was recognized in July 2016 as one of Becker’s Hospital Review’s Rising Stars: 50 Healthcare Leaders Under 40 for her role as the CFO of a complex medical center that includes acute care, long term care, retail pharmacy, hospice, clinics, and more. “At first, I was just impressed with the nomination itself. I wasn’t anxious to win the award,” said Loughman. She was especially grateful for the nomination because it came directly
34
from the CEO. “It was the biggest honor, for him to see me for who I am. I don’t think anyone else would have noticed,” she said. What else that isn’t lost on her is the reinforcement she received from Rugby itself. “The community support was incredible. I feel like I’ve accomplished something that I can show my grade school teacher and show them that I did accomplish something. I wish my dad was here so he could have seen it.” Loughman, along with her husband, Jay, have four children: five-year-old daughter Hayley, seven-year-old daughter Emma, 13-year-old son Christian and 15-year-old daughter Brittany. Loughman has been an active volunteer in 4H, Girl Scouts and Destination Imagination. Her ambition for volunteering for youth organizations stems from her children. She explains that in a small community, she has had to create the things that she grew up enjoying herself. Loughman has been a Girl Scout leader for over 11 years. She has been a Destination Imagination coach for about six years and has taken a team to Knoxville, Tenn., for DI twice. Destination Imagination especially has a special place in her heart. DI is a volunteerled, educational non-profit organization that teaches 21st century skills and STEM princi- Submitted Photos ples to kindergarten through university age Amanda Loughman is an active volstudents through creative and collaborative unteer in local Girl Scouts, 4-H, and Destination Imagination. problem solving challenges. In fact, the opportunity to take her son to the DI Global Finals in Knoxville was something she did her- with the pageants because of her two youngest daughters, she self with her father growing up. Her trip to Knoxville gave has been impressed with the other participants. “It is really Loughman the opportunity to “relive my childhood with my interesting to see the talents out there. It’s just insane to see that much talent that close to home. If I wasn’t an auditor, I dad, with my son.” Loughman is serving her second year on the historical so- would definitely be in attendance,” she said. The young accountant is hopeful for her future and reciety board of directors responsible for the operations of the mains resolute in achieving more of her goals. Loughman will Prairie Village Museum. “I was nominated by the board by one of their members to be graduating with her masters degree in accounting and fihelp with fundraising,” said Loughman. The Geographical nancial management next spring, through University of MaryCenter Historical Society continues to be the sole owner and land University College. She is working on her CPA and CMA operator of the museum. Member volunteers and a handful of licenses through the state. “Once I get bored, I do move up. Right now, I’m pretty paid staff like Loughman have helped build the museum into the institution that it is today. She also serves as the treasurer much as far up as I can get,” said Loughman. She hopes to ultimately end up with a career in forensic acfor Calvary Evangelical Free Church in Rugby, acting as their counting or criminal investigation. bookkeeper. “I think that would be so interesting. Get it back to what This is her third year volunteering as an auditor for the Rugby Preliminary Pageant. “When I heard about the pageant, I’ve always wanted to do” said Loughman. “Instead of disI have to get these kids in here,” she said. While she’s involved secting dead people, it’s dissecting their books.”
Businesses
Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
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P E F P EI R T R F• F F E CO T ER C T
HARVEY
By JILL SCHRAMM • Staff Writer • jschramm@minotdailynews.com
Ryan Schneibel grew up around cars, hanging out at the local Standard service station run by his grandfather and father on the end of Main Street in Harvey. He hasn’t strayed far, now working with cars himself as owner of Perfection Auto Body in Harvey. He said he had been interested in vehicles and in wildlife management in high school, but his career choice was influenced by which profession offered better opportunities in North Dakota. After receiving his degree as an auto body technician from Bismarck State College, he worked for a shop in Moorhead, Minn., a couple of months. That’s all the longer it took for him to realize he really was a small-town kind of guy and needed to get back to Harvey. “I actually like North Dakota. I actually like Harvey. It’s nice and small. Everybody knows everybody,” he said. He returned to his hometown and worked at Doug Helm’s auto body shop in nearby Martin for 12 years. He had the encouragement of his wife, Sheena, when he decided to go into business for himself. Sheena, also a Harvey native, attended a Moorhead technical college to study sales and marketing management. The Schneibels married in 2010, and Sheena, who had dreamed of
Ryan
“Since we opened,” Ryan said, “I have never had a slow period.” It means long days, often starting at 6:30 a.m. But family time is important, and the shop closes by 6 p.m. so Ryan can be home with his family. Although, sometimes his family comes to him. The Schneibels are still working to finish upper level space for an office and break room, but there’s a desk and toys in place already so Sheena can do office work while Londynn plays. Sheena also works full-time as office manager for an appraisal and realty firm in Harvey. Ryan gained some management experience working with Helm in Martin, which made the transition to his own business easier. For Sheena, the office administration was challenging because she had to learn a new industry and new skills, such as working with sales tax. Fortunately, she said, her husband was patient with her. Having family members who are business owners also has been a blessing because they have been able to share advice, she said. One of the most important pieces of advice has been to work hard but always remember to make time for family, she said.
ending up in New York or Chicago, found herself back in Harvey. At first, she hoped it would be a temporary stop, but after the birth of their daughter, Londynn, now 4, she began to appreciate the advantages of raising a family in a small town with relatives close by. Suddenly, Sheena was Ryan’s biggest advocate for putting down roots and taking that scary leap into the world of business ownership. Sheena said her parents both owned businesses, and seeing what they were able to accomplish encouraged her. The Schneibels acquired land from Sheena’s aunt and uncle that provided space to erect a metal building. The Schneibels, with the help of family, labored to complete the interior work space themselves. Ryan had left his job in Martin and worked with a heating and cooling company while constructing his building. Perfection Auto Body opened June 15, 2015. On June 20, a major hailstorm moved through the Harvey area. “We were busy,” Sheena recalled. “Our first week, he was already two months out on work.” It also helped that Ryan had developed a reputation for his work during his 12 years in Martin. Sheena said Perfection Auto Body was the right name for the business, given her husband’s attention to detail and cleanliness.
Ryan Schneibel, owner of Perfection Auto Body, works on a vehicle in his shop Aug. 18. Jill Schramm/MDN
Perfection Auto Body accepts work with any type of vehicles and differs from some shops in using the newer waterborne paints rather than solvent-based paints. The business has been successful, and the Schneibels are hoping for even greater success in years to come. Their goal is to see the business expand and eventually add employees. They also believe it is important to support other businesses in the community, referring work to local mechanics or auto parts places when more than body work is needed. The Schneibels take seriously their role as business owners in the community. They give back to support community activities as much as they can. Ryan, a captain with the Harvey Fire Department, has been with the department for 13 years. He is the department’s only third-generation firefighter, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Leonard Schneibel, and father, Rick. The Schneibels also are active in First Lutheran Church, leading the youth group there. Ryan is a member of the Harvey Eagles, and he and
PA EU RT FO E • CB T I O OD NY
Sheena are involved in the club’s activities. The club provides a building that can host events and serves monthly and holiday meals to raise money for its charitable activities. In addition, the Schneibels enjoy golfing and supporting the local course. Harvey Mayor Ann Adams, director at the Harvey Chamber of Commerce, said the Schneibels are an example of the positive influence young business people are having on the community. They are members of the chamber, and Adams said they are supportive of their town as well as being part of Harvey’s future lifeblood. “We are just excited to have young people open businesses in our town,” Adams said. The Schneibels plan to remain in Harvey for a good long time, perhaps forever. Looking around at what they’ve built with Perfection Auto Body, they take pride in a sense of ownership. “It’s a good feeling,” Sheena said. “It’s been probably one of the best steps we have taken together, for our family and for us.”
MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
37
The Oil Capital of North Dakota
www.tiogand.net
a g o i T Welcome To
A Place To Grow Since 1901
Somebody needs to step up and try to make some of these things happen.
COMMUNIT Y INVESTMENT
– Melissa Johnson Community investor
TIOGA
Melissa Johnson enjoyed growing up in Tioga so made a conscious choice to return after obtaining her physical therapy degree. She’s invested herself into the community to ensure that Tioga will remain a great place to live for herself and her family. Her investment began when her oldest son, Brennan, 10, was just a toddler. Johnson hoped he could eventually attend preschool, but Tioga had none. Her response was to cochair a committee to investigate the possibility of starting one. The committee surveyed the community and met with the school board, which eventually opened the first preschool program. Space constraints as Tioga grew forced the school to end the program, but three private programs arose to fill the need. The preschool committee raised money to help get programs started before disbanding because its job was done. In addition to Brennan, Johnson, 33, and her husband, Ben, an attorney, have a daughter, Kambree, 7, and son, Madden, 4. Her children have been her motivation for getting involved in the community, Johnson said. “I have been devoting my time to areas that my family, especially my kids, would benefit from,” she said. “Somebody needs to step up and try to make some of these things happen.” Four years ago she joined the park board, now serving as president. During those years, the board oversaw construction of a new swimming pool with splash pad to replace the pool whose useful life had ended. The board has been working on plans to remodel the pool house facility and has completed resurfacing the tennis courts. In addition to the main park near the pool, the city maintains the smaller Odegaard, Centennial and Legion parks. The park board also assists with maintaining property at Tioga Dam. When a fundraiser was needed for the pool construction, Johnson took the suggestion of some new residents to hold a Color Dash event. She coordinated that project two years.
Johnson also volunteers at Tioga’s community-run theater, serves on the decorating committee and teaches Sunday school music at St. Thomas Catholic Church, coordinates internal events for her employer, Tioga Medical Center, and is TMC’s liaison for participation in community events. Johnson joins her husband in coaching kindergarten through sixth grade basketball through a joint school and recreation program. “In a small town, you have to give of your time and talents to make sure that these things run,” Johnson said. “I want my kids to see a sense of community commitment and responsibility, because I did. My parents have been very involved as long as I can remember.” Her father, Gary Spooner of Tioga, led the effort to re-open the local theater as a community venture after the previous owners retired. Johnson came home from college the first weekend it re-opened to volunteer with concessions and cleaning. She’s still works with concessions and cleans, with her husband and children now joining her. The theater, open weekends, has a roster of rotating volunteers. Johnson said she’s motivated to support the theater because she doesn’t want to see it fail, given how hard her father and other family members worked to get it going. It also impresses on her children the value of community, which she stresses in engaging them in helping her keep local parks clean and free of litter. Johnson said Tioga has a good group of volunteers who help out in areas from planting flowers in the parks to organizing communitywide events. She finds a strong volunteer spirit among her co-workers at TMC. Johnson has been employed at TMC for
nine years. She became interested in physical therapy as a career in fifth grade. Job shadowing opportunities confirmed her interest. Her mother, Marcy Spooner of Tioga, was a nurse, and a number of family members have careers in the medical field, so it was a logical bent for her, she said. Johnson gets to see patients presenting with a variety of conditions as one of three physical therapists in a small-town facility. The department also has a physical therapy assistant and an occupational therapist. In January, Johnson and TMC’s occupational therapist became LSVT certified in the treatment of Parkinson-like conditions. They obtained the training after learning at a conference about the dramatic benefits to patients, and they are filling a void for that therapy in northwest North Dakota and northeastern Montana. The rural lifestyle and ability to be close to both their families were important to Johnson and her husband, who is a native of Froid, Mont., when they considered where they wanted their careers to take them. They met at the University of Mary in Bismarck, where Johnson received her degree. She worked in her field for a year in Grand Forks while Ben pursued graduate work at the University of North Dakota. Johnson said they knew they wanted to move to Tioga so when a physical therapy job opened at Tioga Medical Center, she took the job and Ben later followed to open his legal practice. “My family, and his family being close, was kind of the pull to come back here so our kids could grow up with a strong sense of
Photo by Jill Schramm/MDN
Johnson is reaping well for having sown in Tioga By JILL SCHRAMM
Staff Writer • jschramm@minotdailynews.com
family,” Johnson said. Johnson can truly say she is back home because she even lives in the house that she grew up in, moving in after her parents decided to downsize and relocate. Living in a safe community where work and friendships are rewarding and her children are happy gives her every reason to stay. “This is our home,” she said.
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HOOKED ON GARRISON
GARRISON
McKaila Matteson is the director of the Garrison Convention and Visitorsʼ Bureau. Sheʼs shown at the CVB office located in the North Dakota Firefighterʼs Museum on Main Street in Garrison.
Eloise Ogden/MDN
“Get Hooked on Garrison” is Garrison’s community slogan. McKaila Matteson, director of the Garrison Convention and Visitors Bureau, lives up to the slogan. She’s hooked on her hometown. Born in Bismarck, Matteson has lived in Garrison her entire life and graduated from Garrison High School there. “I’ve never known any other community to be home besides Garrison. I absolutely love it, I would not change it,” she said during an interview in the Garrison CVB office at the North Dakota Firefighters Museum on Main Street. Matteson said the Garrison community has always been active and remembers it being that way even when she was going to school. “Actually, how I got more involved in the community – volunteering and getting to be a part of several events was because my parents (Mike and Tone Matteson), especially my dad, are very active in the community. He always got us involved,” she said. “We started off, whether it would be at the Kota Theater volunteering to sell tickets and work the movie,” she recalled. “I still remember the first Beach Party that we had,” she said. She said her dad was a go-getter behind that event. “I remember selling Popsicles out of the back of a pickup,” she said. “At the Dickens Village Festival we’ve been everything from street urchins to the play – selling food on the street all the way to now selling the tickets. I’ve pretty much
By ELOISE OGDEN
Regional Editor • eogden@minotdailynews.com done anything in between. I owe that to my parents. So growing up we volunteered a lot and we got to know a lot of the community events,” she said. During her senior year in high school, Matteson was part of a co-op program through the school system in which she could get credit for working at a local business for an hour every day. “I took on working here (Garrison CVB) that hour as a co-op student,” she said. The North Dakota Firefighter’s Museum was established in 2006. Shortly after the museum was established the CVB started, she said. Both have the same staff person. As a co-op student, Matteson worked with the then CVB director and that summer continued to work there. Matteson attended the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks for a year. When she returned to Garrison after her first year of college, she worked that summer at the CVB and Fort Stevenson State Park as well. The CVB job was open and Matteson decided to apply for it and make it a full-time career. She also completed online schooling in sales marketing and management. She said the CVB work and the events in Garrison just keep growing. The annual Dickens Village Festival, CANDISC bicycle tour and the North Dakota Firefighters Museum are among activities and places growing, she said. “Everything just seems to keep growing, which is posi-
tive. It definitely keeps me busy.” Matteson also is director of CANDISC. She attends sports shows for the CVB portion, mainly in Minot and Bismarck, and for the museum goes to fire school and often the convention as well. Last year Garrison CVB had a booth for the first time at Norsk Hostfest in Minot. She said those attending Hostfest are interested in music and history, and Hostfest is a good way to especially promote the Dickens Festival. “It was a unique experience and we had never done it before. I think it was successful for us,” she said. Matteson works with many individuals and many groups. She said many events are run by organizations or groups of individuals but the CVB gets involved in those activities as much as possible such as SkyFest Over Fort Stevenson, the Governor’s Cup and Frontier Military Days. “It’s a busy job and I have some things new every day,” she said. She is the only full-time CVB person and there are no part-time people on staff, although occasionally others will volunteer to help her for a time. CVB works closely with other offices and organizations in the community. “I love it,” Matteson said of her job. “Obviously, growing up I was always involved in the community. I love to volunteer and I love to be involved, and I enjoy all of these events.” Garrison is very special to her. “I think that’s what makes our community special from the rest is there’s always something going on and all of our events are run from volunteers. It’s people in the community that have the same vision of making Garrison a better place, providing opportunities for residents and tourists to enjoy the community,” she said. She said they are trying to get more young people involved in volunteering for the activities but many of them have young families so it’s hard for them to try to make time for volunteering and having jobs as well. She said they have found when new people move to the community that volunteering is a good way for them to meet people. Matteson said Garrison has been so successful because it not only has the support of its residents but tourists as well, which is a huge draw for the city’s economic development. She said many of the weekend or summertime lake users or cabin owners buy groceries and gas in Garrison, or stop at other businesses for purchases. “It’s good for our economy – that’s for sure,” she said. What’s ahead for Matteson and for Garrison? “Obviously, I hope to stay here for the remainder of my life. I love Garrison, I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else besides this community. It’s the perfect community to call home,” she said. She said she hopes to continue Garrison’s events that have “always been kind of the building blocks to our community and continue to have Garrison be a progressive community. A lot of our businesses are locally owned, which I think is something to take pride in and obviously, our lake is a huge draw and it’s right out our back door. “We take pride that there’s other people out there helping on that vision as well as providing activities and events for all ages, especially family oriented,” she said. “It’s just to keep looking in the right direction as being a progressive community and staying high at the standards that we are in providing things. I love Garrison, I just absolutely love it,” she said.
MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
43
By ANDREA JOHNSON
Staff Writer • ajohnson@minotdailynews.com
Carissa
Carissa Botton of Minot is always on the move. Botton is a recruiter at Minot State University.
Photo by Andrea Johnson/MDN
Botton sings praise of Minot State
44
Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
Carissa Botton isn’t the sort of person who likes to sit still, which is part of her philosophy of leadership. “It’s really important for me to stay active,” said Botton, an enrollment services representative at Minot State University. “... Being active is really important to anyone who wants to be a leader.” So she makes certain to build time for activity into an already busy day. During the course of an ordinary work day, Botton often finds herself on the move. “I think I’ve traveled to over 70 high schools this year,” said Botton. At those high schools, Botton has sung the praises of Minot State to high school students who are making a decision about where they want to spend the next four years. She sees it as a mark of success that there are fewer students who are planning to live in the dorms this year at Minot State. At first glance, that may not look positive, but Minot State has a policy that requires first year students to live in the dorms unless they live within a certain distance from Minot. Fewer students in the dorms means that more students from the area have enrolled at Minot State. Botton’s target audience for recruiting are the students who live within a 60-mile radius of Minot. “That’s my primary territory,” she said. Botton, a Minot native, really wants those students to make the choice to be invested in Minot State and, by extension, Minot. She believes in the community and has gone out of her way to help make it a better place by founding hip, young projects like the Minot Street Art Movement. By encouraging art projects in public locations, Botton hopes to promote the walk-ability of Minot neighborhoods, improve urban vitality and simply make more art available for the public to enjoy. She founded the movement over a year ago. Over that time, five street art projects have been finished at downtown locations such as Central Avenue Variety Store, Off the Vine, and on the back of Main Street Books. Volunteers have showed up to help create the art. Botton is also an organizer of TEDx Minot, which has been active for about two years. “Think of TEDx as hosting an awesome dinner
MINOT
party, with great food, inspirational videos, brilliant speakers and mind-blowing conversation,” Botton explains. “TEDx events are truly unique and will unleash new ideas, inspire and inform.” Different salons have been hosted in Minot, where ideas are discussed. TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, is a nonprofit that got its start at a conference in 1984. TED events cover a variety of topics and are held in various formats in communities all over the world, according to ted.com. Similar organizations are held in towns across North Dakota. TEDx helps people to “think globally and act locally,” said Botton, who believes that Minot residents can borrow from what is happening around the world and apply it right here in North Dakota. Botton is also a member of the university’s Stragtegic Planning Council, serves a marketing committee member for the United Way, an organization that raises money to help worthy organizations in the community, and is a Chamber Ambassador for the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce. “My biggest goal is to shake Minot awake and decrease the apathy,” she said. In the past, Botton said she thinks area residents have been complacent about what is going on in town and haven’t paid attention to local politics or what is going on in the community. That worries her, because she believes Minot has such a great future. It is important for young people to stay involved, she said. “We care, we live here,” said Botton, who lived in downtown Minot at one time and can see a day when downtown Minot will be a place others will want to live and enjoy. “This is someplace we care about and where we want to stay.” She said downtown Minot could use a gathering place for people, a grocery store and access to space that isn’t just for people of modest incomes. Botton is young and ambitious, so Minot might not be her home forever, but for now she is determined to make a difference. “I’m really excited about the future of Minot,” said Botton.
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The misunderstood generation By Stephen Schauer
Millennials, long associated with assumptions made of them by older generations, are often described as spoiled, impulsive, detached, indecisive, and entitled: the generation that grew up in the age of the “helicopter parent,” who “received a trophy just for showing up,” who “cannot make a decision without first consulting social media.” While those statements may have some truth on a basic, superficial level, it is looking more and more like those broad generalizations could not be further from the truth. The children of the digital age are poised to make the most significant impact on consumerism and marketing since the first baby boomers brought televisions into their homes. So significant is the impact millennials have already made that everyone from business leaders and financiers to politicians and educators rush to take note of the habits of a generation once described by the Seattle Times as “the best-dressed, least-able, least-equipped generation ever,” to plan their marketing and outlook strategies for the future. Now they may have better fashion sense than many of us, but they actually turn out to be quite able, and the most equipped generation to navigate and lead in this global, consumer environment. Millennials over the past decade have gone to college, begun careers, purchased homes, and are starting families; The individuals who reached adulthood around the turn of the 21st century are finally all grown up, and these children of the digital age are defining how we as a society connect to the world at large, from what we buy and how we buy it to how we engage with our peers. And they are doing so more significantly than any generation before. Since the marketing industry redefined itself when baby boomers first invited advertisers and public relations groups into their living rooms during the early ‘50s, until the birth of the millennial generation, there has been ample time to perfect their technique. Subsequently, the millennial generation, is a generation that grew up during the technological explosion of the ‘80s and ‘90s; during the advent of cable television, the internet, cellular telephones (also their smarter counterparts); and in the heyday of direct marketing and personalized advertising. Of course, it is no big surprise that the generation that grew up bombarded by advertising of all kinds, and from all directions, tends toward skepticism and distrust when it comes to promotional material and advertising of any kind; everything from buying food, consumer goods, services, and considering structured employment announcements. Millennials are more likely to use social media, listen to their friends or utilize consumer reviews, than to be affected or influenced by mass marketing cam-
Submitted Photo
paigns or advertising material. This makes conventional marketing almost completely ineffective for millennials. There is no denying that digital shopping, for most millennials, is second nature in some way, shape or form. However, regardless of whether millennials perform research and purchase online, or simply use online retail stores for research, and shop at a brick and mortar store to purchase, technology will continue to be a critical step on that path. According to a marketing research group study “Nearly threefourths of millennials do online research before buying a product, and subsequently “tend to prioritize access over ownership,” which basically means millennials prefer low cost subscription services such as Pandora and Netflix over actually owning CDs and DVDs. Not surprisingly, this non-ownership trend has helped to proliferate the rise of services such as Zipcar, Uber, Bike Sharing, and services that don’t require a major financial commitment. A separate study by the Intelligence Group tracked the shopping habits of 1,300 people aged 18 to 34 and found “A little more than a third of millennial shoppers buy only ‘necessary’ purchases.” The results of both studies indicate significant breaks from the conventional image of millennials as spoiled impulsive shoppers. Amongst the research, however one surprising trend with the shopping habits of millennials has taken shape. It comes with their choices while shopping for food, tending to shy away from previous trends of frugality, focusing instead on “quality vs quantity.” Millennial trips to the grocer are heavily focused on the “fresh” perimeter sections of the stores such as delis, artisanal cheeses and clean label options, avoiding big box, one-stop shop outlets such as Kroger and Aldi whose focus still lies with the heavily processed, mass marketed options typically found in the “center of the store,” in lieu of stores focused on quality and culture, like Trader Joes and employee or community owned cooperatives that create not only economic, but social value as well. This comes as no small surprise as millennials take up the mantle as the standard bearers of the coopera-
tive and clean label food movement. The common consensus is that everything about how millennials interact with the world is dramatically different from previous generations. From their views about family, life and spiritual goals to how they shop for groceries and other goods. But how different are they really? It is true that the predilection millennials have toward technology differs substantially from past generations. And equally, there is no denying technology is a major factor in how millennials engage with the world at large, not simply on a consumer level, but on a funda-
mental level. The true question is, are the factors that determine the actual decision to purchase homes, consume a particular product, choose a church for their family, or a school for their children all that different from the generations that have come before? Millennials may have less disposable income than their spoiled upbringing suggested, however it turns out they like to shop just as much as the generations before them; they simply have better, faster resources. They have a global peer network willing to weigh in to offer insight and advice at a moment’s notice. They have instant access to professional reviews and product comparison. In a matter of minutes, they can tell which stores in town have a particular product, which homes are on the market and which restaurants are featuring half-priced apps and $4 pitchers of beer. Additionally, they know how much it costs, and if it is cheaper to shop online or go to the store (although often forget to calculate the cost of shipping). The tools and resources may be very different, but at the end of the day, they are still striving to make the best possible decision for themselves, their family and their budget, and that concept seems pretty timeless and cross generational to me. Stephen Schauer will be the manager of the new KJ’s Fresh Market at Dakota Square Mall.
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W orship Services ELCA
Lutheran Church
Saturday Worship.............. 5:00 pm Sunday Worship ....8:30 & 11:00 am Sunday Church School.........9:35 am Wednesday Activities Church School ......... 4:15 & 6:30 pm Food, Faith, Family Supper... 5:30 pm Adult Ed & Confirmation ...... 6:30 pm LYO (Sr. High Youth Group) .. 7:45 pm
ELCA 1415 17th Ave. SW • 838-3360 (September - May) Saturday Worship: 5:00 pm Sunday Worship: 8:30 & 11:00 am (June - August) Saturday Worship: 5:00 pm Sunday Worship: 9:30 am P a s t o r s Ta r y n M o n t g o m e r y & A l e x H o o p s Welcoming, Deepening & Serving in Faith breadoflifeminot.com
Pastor John Streccius Please call the office for summer worship hours
CHRIST LU
Bethany Lutheran Church ELCA
Bread of Life
1800 Hiawatha Street 852-1872 zionlutheranminot.org
HERAN
215 3rd Ave. SE 838-5196
Sunday Worship 8:15 & 10:45 am Fellowship - 9:15 am Sunday School - 9:30 am
Wednesday Worship 6:45 pm Pastor Janet Hernes Mathistad Pastor Gerald Roise bethanylutheran.tv
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“Born anew by water and the spirit� Saturday Worship ................................5:00 pm Sunday Worship ...................................9:30 am Wednesday Activities Faith and Family Supper.................... 5:30 pm Children’s Education Class................ 6:00 pm 7th & 8th Grade Confirmation .......... 6:00 pm 9th Grade Confirmation ..................... 7:00 pm
Member LCMC
www.christlutheranminot.org
WWW.FAITHLUTHERANMINOT.COM
www.fbcminot.org Classic Worship Service ........................... 8:30 am Adult Sunday School................................ 9:45 am Contemporary Worship Service... 9:50 & 11:05 am Children’s Church..................................... 9:50 am Sunday School (All Ages) ....................... 11:00 am Wed. AWANA (Sept. - May) ..................... 6:30 pm
Call Church Office or visit our Website for Schedule Rev. Kent Hinkel, Senior Pastor Sam Kautzmann, Student Ministry Elaine Carlson, Children’s Ministry Director
Sunday Worship 11:00 am
SUNDAY SERVICE: 9:30 AM
Pastor Desiree Uhrich, Pastor Derek Harkins, Vicar Kayla Hill
200 3rd St. SW 852-4533
Sunday School 10:00 am Sunday Coffee Fellowship 10:30 am
234 14th Ave. SE #318 Park South Building
First Baptist Church
Faith United Methodist Church 5900 Hwy 83 North Minot, ND 58703
VISITORS
Pastor Tom Sumers 701-838-1540 www.faithumcminot.com
Meeting at North Hill Baptist Church
Minot Baptist Church “Sending The Glorious Light of Jesus Christ to a Dark & Needy World� Sunday ............................................9:45 am Morning Worship ..........................11:00 am Evening Worship............................ 6:00 pm Wed. Evening Worship .................. 7:00 pm
500 46th Ave. NE • 839-1351 Pastor David Miller (Independent Fundamental KJV) www.minotbaptistchurch.com
Connecting people to God’s word
524 21st Ave NW • Minot • 701-509-4348 www.calvarychapelminot.org
Weekly Worship Saturday ~ 6:30-8 pm Weekly Bible Study Wednesday ~ 6:30-8pm
From cattle Bottineau veterinarian cares for animal community By JILL SCHRAMM
Staff Writer • jschramm@minotdailynews.com
to cats Jill
Dr. Ji ll Franks, veterinarian and owner of Turtle Mountain Veterinary Clinic in Bottineau, examines George, a gold tabby at the clinic July 20. Jill Schramm/MDN
BOTTINEAU
Jill Franks knew from childhood that she wanted to be a veterinarian. But the way it played out wasn’t exactly as she had envisioned, and she couldn’t be happier about that. “One of the things they tell you in freshman orientation in vet school is don’t box yourself in,” she said. She was told not to get too set on the type of veterinary work she wanted to do because life can take some strange turns. “They were right about that. I didn’t think I was going to do much small animal work and didn’t think I was going to own a practice, and I do about 50 percent small animal and I own a practice now,” she said. “I thought all I was going to do is work on beef cows and horses and work for somebody else, and I was very wrong about that.” The owner of Turtle Mountain Veterinary Service in Bottineau since 2005, Franks, 38, moved her practice into a newly built, modern facility there last February. Growing up in Indiana, Franks said, she was a typical animal-loving little girl with a horse to tend. “I had the opportunity to actually work on a pig farm when I was in high school and that’s what got me interested in production animals. Through my college experience it morphed into more interest in beef cattle production and I still have a very strong horse interest as well,” she said. She attended Purdue University for her undergraduate and veterinary degrees. “I knew that I wanted to do a lot of beef cattle work so I needed to move west to get into more beef cattle country,” she said. That brought her to Looking back, it was Jamestown, where she worked two years in a multia pretty bold move, veterinarian practice that handled both livestock and but it worked out very pets. Opening her own practice was the last thing she well. This was ever wanted to do. However, she was restless in absolutely the place Jamestown. “I just wanted to make a change from that job so I was meant to be. started looking at other opportunities. There was this – Dr. Jill Franks opportunity in Bottineau, to come and basically open Veterinarian your own practice,” she said. “So I came and visited. I really liked the area. I got a very good vibe from the community persons involved in recruiting a veterinarian. And there were some incentives in place from the economic development corporation. So I basically took a chance. “Looking back, it was a pretty bold move, but it worked out very well. This was absolutely the place I was meant to be,” she said. An outdoor enthusiast by nature, she has had limited time to explore the area’s outdoor activities because her practice has been so busy. From the beginning, she has offered after-hours services. She started as the only veterinarian with an assistant and receptionist. In 2012, she hired her first associate veterinarian. The weekday clinic also expanded to add Saturday hours. Bottineau had been about two years without a veterinarian before Franks came See VET — Page 54
MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
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Vet
Dr. Jill Franks checks on a patient in the new surgical suite at Turtle Mountain Veterinary Clinic in Bottineau July 20.
Continued from Page 53
to fill the void. The building used by a former veterinarian still was available for lease but it was empty. “I didn’t know anything about running a business. I had to buy all new equipment. There was nothing in the building. It was basically just a shell,” Franks said. “I had to stock it with inventory. I had no idea what I was doing. But I figured it out. It was definitely a struggle, both financially and from a standpoint of learning how to be a business person.” Her best business decision was in hiring a good accountant, and she was fortunate to have the economic development corporation to turn to, she said. “The economic development corporation was very helpful to me, just in networking with the people in the community, just finding what I needed. I think that was a really good source for me,” she said. Then there was the adjustment the community had to make to a new veterinarian, and a female one at that. However, Franks found the community generally accepting. For those who were more hesitant, the ambitious and hard-working vet eventually won them over. Jeff Monson, a local rancher, considers it a boon for Bottineau to obtain veterinary services after having been without for so long. “It was too long,” he said. “We were in a real bind. Our nearest vet for that time was either Towner or Minot.” He is also glad to have someone like Franks when he needs a veterinarian. “She’s good to work with. She tells you what she’s doing. If you don’t understand something, you just ask her and she will explain it,” he said. Franks and her employed veterinarians all are good about explaining medical situations in plain language, he said. The clinic serves an area extending about 100 miles wide, from Mohall to Rock Lake, and from the Canadian border to about 30 miles south of Bottineau. This summer, the clinic operated with seven people, including Franks and another part-time veterinarian. The clinic had a vacancy for a fulltime veterinarian, and Franks figured if filled, a
Jill Schramm/MDN
technician would need to be hired to assist as well. More staff created a need for more room and larger, more modern and efficient facilities. Franks began making plans for a new building in 2012. Construction started in January 2014, and the new clinic opened in February. “It was a very long and exhausting process,” said Franks, who added she’s glad she made the effort. The new building has been a definite asset with a larger surgery room, separate cat and dog holding rooms and separate areas for cattle and horses that include a hydraulic chute for cattle handling and a padded surgical room for horses. Diagnosing illness in animals is a challenge Franks enjoys. “It’s like a puzzle and you have to solve it,” she said. “For me, the thing that I enjoy the most about this profession is the fact you have to problem solve. Sometimes you get a case pre-
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sented to you and you have to just work your way through it step by step until you get to the answer.” For sure, she’s been stumped occasionally. “There are times we don’t get an answer, and it’s frustrating for everybody involved,” she said. She was suspicious of rabies on one occasion when a steer presented with symptoms. Although rabies isn’t a common consideration when dealing with cattle, her suspicion turned out correct when the steer died the next day and was tested. She also diagnosed a horse with rabies, which was confirmed when the horse died shortly afterwards. Often by the time symptoms are apparent, it is too late to save an animal, she said. Franks and some of her staff take precautionary rabies shots, but there are other diseases that can pass from animals to humans. Physical hazards also abound around unpredictable animals. “I feel like it’s actually a very dangerous job, especially working around large animals. The risk of getting kicked or crushed are huge. I have definitely been in some sticky situations. I’ve had three broken ribs and a collapsed lung from a horse. I have had a broken jaw from a horse,” Franks said. Although never seriously bitten by a dog or cat, she is conscious of the possibility and tries to be as safe as possible in handling them. “I have had enough experience at this point that I can read body language very good. I know when an animal is fearful and that I need to take some precautions,” she said.
Her years working with animals have given Franks some unique experiences. “Some of the more interesting things are what animals eat, especially dogs. I have removed an entire bed that was in pieces from a dog. I had another dog eat another dog’s harness,” Franks said. She and her husband, Bottineau native Rob Olson, have four horses and two dogs of their own at their rural Bottineau residence. Franks enjoys the country living. “When I am not here, I like being there, where it’s quiet and peaceful,” she said. It’s especially restful after a long day working with animals and people. Franks said she’s more of an animal person than a people person. As a new veterinary school graduate, Franks concedes, she probably had the worst bedside manner. “That was the part that somebody should have sat me down and told me about before I got into it. I am probably the most introverted person that you will meet. I didn’t realize just how much I would have to interact with people and be a shoulder to cry on, and there’s so much education I have to give the clients,” she said. “I have learned how to adapt to that. My people skills have improved tremendously. “From a business standpoint, it has gotten easier,” she added. “I still have a lot to learn, and I have actually developed a very big interest in practice management through this whole process. ... I don’t know that I will ever stop learning about business management, but I definitely enjoy living here for sure.”
As the events coordinator at Scheels, Will Robertson is happy to share his passion for the outdoors with customers and loves living life in Minot. Allan Blanks/MDN
By ALLAN BLANKS
Staff Writer • ablanks@minotdailynews.com
MINOT
Every
Every success story starts with a dream. For Will Robertson, his childhood passion for the outdoors inspired lifelong friendships, exciting adventures and the career of his choosing . At 25 years of age, Robertson is considered a charismatic leader and a celebrated events coordinator at Scheels. As the premier outdoors and sporting goods establishment in Minot, Scheels reflects Robertson’s zest for hiking and enthusiasm for helping people. “Scheels has opened my eyes to a lot of passions,” Robertson said. “I’ve been able to discover kayaking, mountain biking, pool, darts and hunting. As I expanded into my event coordinator position, I’ve worked with organizations around the community to help bring a shotgun demo to Minot. Working at Scheels has helped me to build connections with people who love what they do and follow their passions.” Those who regularly visit Scheels describe Robertson as a friendly representative with extensive knowledgeable about each department and product in stock. “I’ve always been outgoing,” Robertson said. “I was always taking public speaking and studying public relations classes during my high school and college career. I really like connecting with people and I have a genuine interest in what people like to do.” As a child, Robertson discovered the breathtaking beauty of the wilderness and embraced the untamed excitement provided by the great outdoors. Today, Robertson is an avid explorer of Minot’s parks and loves to share his outdoor pursuits with close friends and family members. “I enjoy sharing a lot of time with my friends,” Robertson said. “I love trap shooting at the Minot Gun Club, visiting the state parks, playing frisbee by North Hill and walking around Oak Park. I’m all about being outside.” For Robertson, thinking outside the box is a natural talent that was cultivated at Minot State University. “My experience at Minot State University was really positive,” Robertson said. “I graduated with a degree in English with concentrations in music, Spanish and public relations. The faculty at MSU are really top quality and did a lot to prepare me for
and management. Kevin was a fantastic mentor who fostered my passion for the outdoors and helped me to build quintessential qualities like confidence and good judgment.” Although success has come early and often to Robertson, he’s never forgotten his community roots and always gives credit to the people who shaped his achievements. “When you meet someone who appears to be succeeding or living their dream, I think it’s only fair to refer to the classic phrase ‘It takes a village,’” Robertson said. “I’ve put a lot of hard work and time into what I do but I’ve had some fantastic mentors over the years that have given me the tools that I need to succeed.” Holding true to his outdoor mentality, Robertson understands the importance of being equipped with the right attitude and having the correct tools to complete the journey. Robertson credits Scheels for furthering his career with numerous resources and an abundance of opportunities. “My experience at Scheels has been awesome,” Robertson said. “It’s a really great place to work and develop as a professional. They really equip you with the tools to progress in your career and provide a constant focus on self-improvement so you can continue to be your best.” Living the American dream is what Robertson strives to do and he’s grateful to pursue his happiness in North Dakota. “North Dakota is just a special place,” Robertson said. “The things that North Dakota does exceptionally well is give you the space to explore nature and be around down-to-earth and good rooted people. People here are living the American Dream.” As Robertson reflects on his life, he remembers the kindness of neighbors and anticipates a bright future in Minot. “Minot is the Magic City,” Robertson said. “It’s a unique place filled with amazing individuals. It’s big enough that you have all the attractions of a major city but it’s not so big that it’s forgotten who it is. Minot offers that hometown spirit, which is a place you would want to raise your kids.”
Dreams come true in Minot Will Robertson finds success in the Magic City the workforce.” Before Robertson moved to Minot, he spent many years singing in choirs, and developing his leadership skills with the Boys Scouts in Stanley. “When I was in Stanley, I was blessed to meet an outstanding scoutmaster by the name of Kevin Mell,” Robertson said. “He really taught me a lot about leading a group of people, relating to others and understanding the importance of balance
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C
ESAR ALVAREZ wants to learn and do as much as he can By ELOISE OGDEN
Regional Editor • eogden@minotdailynews.com
Cesar
Cesar Alvarez of New Town was only a fifth-grader on 9/11 in 2001 but the day when terrorists attacked the United States changed his life. He felt he needed to do something for his country. He didn’t live on the East Coast or couldn’t get there. He went to see Marc Bluestone, then a principal at his school, and along with teachers and students they held a communitywide school bake sale at the school for about two days. “I remember we sent off a check for about $3,000 to the New York City Red Cross. That was such a rewarding experience for myself just to feel like helping,” he said. “Ever since then I’ve always wanted to give back and get involved, and try to make a positive difference in my community and our country. I just want to be somebody that’s pro-active and really wants to make connections, bring communities together and really work toward progress. But that’s what started it all,” Alvarez said at a recent interview. Since that day in 2001, Alvarez has graduated from New Town High School as valedictorian of his class, graduated from Harvard University, traveled to Europe, Africa and Central America and in some of those areas taught and helped at schools, worked for Three Affiliated Tribes’ council representative Judy Brugh and the Legal Department, interned with Sen. Kent Conrad and worked at the National Congress of American Indians office. Now he works for Three Affiliated Tribes’council representative Ken Hall and also is running for a state office. Those are some of his endeavors achieved so far. Following that experience during 9/11 in 2001, when Alvarez was in the fifth grade, he got a keen interest in politics because of his quest to know more. “President Bush was our president but I wanted to know more than that,” he said. He followed the news closely. “I was so interested. I started reading things and paying a lot more attention to civics lessons and whatnot,” he said.
NEW TOWN
When he got into sixth grade he got involved in student government and ran for class president and got elected. “It was definitely out of my comfort zone. I was very quiet. All of a sudden I just wanted to get involved. It was a really cool experience. I got really immersed in it and we did a lot of community events,” he said. He became a fundraising king for helping raise funds for many different causes and reasons. “I just wanted to give back and just learn as much as I can and use that for good,” he said. There was no stopping him as he continued through school and continued to get more involved in student government and many other activities. “It was rewarding as well, and I just got more and more involved,” he said. His uncle, Roger White Owl, also inspired him. “He was my uncle but he also was kind of a big brother – just very close,” Alvarez said. White Owl, when a student at Minnesota State University-Mankato, became the first Native American elected student body president at MSU-Mankato, Alvarez and his family were there for the ceremony. “It was very awesome to see, and it kind of became more real for me, like, ‘Wow, if he can do that, I’d like to do that too,” Alvarez said. When White Owl returned to New Town and taught political science, American history and tribal government at Fort Berthold Community College, now Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, in New Town, he inspired his nephew even more. High school came along and Alvarez continued to get involved. He served as class president all the way through senior year and was also involved in working on fundraising events and community projects. He got a job as soon as he could, working at the local Jack and Jill store. “It was rewarding to work hard and get that pay check to buy whatever I wanted,” he said. See CESAR — Page 58
MAIN: Cesar Alvarez of New Town says his life mission is to be a positive impact on peopleʼs lives. Currently, he works for Three Affiliated Tribes council member Ken Hall in intergovernmental affairs. Photo by Eloise Ogden/MDN
ABOVE LEFT: Cesar Alvarez, right, participates on a panel in Washington, D.C., in the U.S. Capitol when he worked in Washington last year. ABOVE: Cesar Alvarez visits with people in Max earlier this summer. Submitted Photos
MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
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Cesar
Continued from Page 57
He continued to work at the store through the summers and as much as he was allowed to work during the school year. “I try to stay active and involved, and I like to work. It also was a really good way to get to know everybody in the community more,” he said. The Jack and Jill family became another family to him too. While in high school Alvarez participated in extra-curricular activities as well, naming sports, speech competitions, band and choir. “I tried it all. I try to go in as open-minded as I can for anything I do,” he said. Alvarez took part in several government programs in high school, including Governor’s School at North Dakota State University, a program for sophomores and juniors. “It was my first time really leaving the reservation and going away for awhile on my own to somewhere different,” he said. He went to Fargo and stayed there for six weeks when he was a sophomore. “It was very scary for me. I wanted to do that for many reasons – to try something different and to meet new people but also I wanted to go somewhere big for college. I’ve got to practice for that. I’ve got to live away from family and my tribe and where people might not know me,” he said. “That was an opportunity for me to try to get to know friends I still have across North Dakota now.” He was the only Native American attending the program. Alvarez took advantage of as many programs as he could. Many of them were free. He attended the International Music Camp near Dunseith for three or four years in the drum program to sharpen his drum skills. He misses that he doesn’t play drums as much now. In college he was involved in band for awhile. Before his high school senior year he had the opportunity to go to Europe through the People to People program. He was invited to an informational session at Minot State University and as soon as he heard about it, he wanted to go to Europe. But he knew he would need to raise the money for the trip. “I just did a lot of community events and fundraisers,” he said. His work money provided his spending money for the trip. Alvarez and the People to People group spent three weeks traveling to six countries – England, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Netherlands. “It was just awesome,” he said. “That whetted my appetite for global.” College was next for Alvarez. He was valedictorian of his senior class at New Town High School and wanted to go to Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Why Harvard? “I guess it started in sixth grade again,” he said. He said he and his mother, Marcy Young Bear, had many conversations about life. “She and my grandmother (Maggie Young Bear) are my rocks,” he said.
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Cesar Alvarez speaks at his campaign kickoff event in May. His uncle, Roger White Owl, is in the background. Submitted Photo
“I had a conversation with my mom one day,” he said. He asked her, “What is college?” He said his mother explained, “That’s where people go after high school and make something of yourself, that’s where you go and get ready for life professionally.” He asked her to name some colleges and one of the names she mentioned was Harvard. He told her he wanted to go to Harvard. ‘OK, you’re going to Harvard,” his mother told him. “That was planted in my mind and I was excited when she said that because she believed in me and I felt like I already got accepted,” he said. “Then I went over and told my grandma the same thing and she said, ‘Well, alright, you’re going.’ That’s all there was to it.” My mom and grandma really believed in me and made that happen for me just by that believing. It’s the family support that I’ve always had. That’s what I’ve always prided myself on and I cherish that,” he said. When it came time to plan for college, Alvarez put together a list of eight or 10 colleges. Harvard was one of them. “I had all kinds of schools on my list,” he said. But Harvard was his main goal. To apply there, he completed a lengthy application about his life – essay upon essay upon essay– and an interview in Minot with Tom Wentz, a Harvard graduate. “We had a good discussion on all kinds of things,” he said. It was Alvarez’s senior year in high school. Duke University in Durham, N.C., was the first college to accept him. But Harvard was the hold out and he wouldn’t find out until March 31. When March 31 came, he was practicing at
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school in New Town for state band competition coming up in Bismarck. “There’s a no cell phone policy, of course, but about 4 or 5 p.m., I noticed my phone had five hits,” he said. He asked his teacher if he could check his phone for an email. “I told her I’m sorry but can I please check my phone for an email. And she already knew, the whole town knew. She said ‘OK.’ That’s when I found out I got accepted. It’s still a blur to me what all happened but she was one of the first to know,” he said. He had said when he decided which college he would accept that he would be wearing that college’s hoodie. He went to an FFA breakfast wearing his Harvard hoodie. “And that was it,” he said. “Lo and behold, I got accepted to all of them,” he added. He knew he had to pay for his college so applied and was awarded a number of scholarships. Everything worked out, he said. The next chapter of his life was about to begin. Getting ready to leave for college, he said, “I was so excited and so scared too.” He thought: Am I going to succeed? This is so far you can’t just drive home. He had no friends or family at Harvard or in that area. His mother, grandmother and uncle drove him part of the way and his father, Cesar Alvarez Sr. of Chicago, drove the rest of the way with him. “Every state I just got more and more scared and thought, ‘Oh my god, what did I just get myself into.” His dad stayed a couple days with him to help get him situated and then headed back. After his dad left, he thought he’d at least do a
semester and if he didn’t like it, he’d go back home. “But I made friends and I got involved in all kinds of groups to kind of build my home and get myself comfortable there,” he said. He knew there would not be a lot of Native Americans or North Dakotans at Harvard. There were only two North Dakotans there and he had met both of them at Boys’ State at NDSU. Alvarez majored in political science and after his first year at Harvard, he returned to Fort Berthold Reservation to intern with Three Affiliated Tribes’ Councilwoman Judy Brugh, who also was secretary of the council. It was his first direct action working for a government global level. “That was pretty cool,” he said. He also went to Guatemala with the Hamilton Friends organization to volunteer at a school and help build desks. He returned home in time for the Little Shell Celebration, an annual powwow held west of New Town. “I never miss Little Shell,” he said. He’s a men’s traditional dancer. Back at Harvard, Alvarez took advantage of programs offered there and applied for some of them. During his second summer there he was accepted for summer study in African studies in Ghana. For 10 weeks he studied at the University of Ghana at Accra, the capital city. A Harvard professor from Ghana was the instructor. During his time in Ghana he and others also taught English and helped with the lunch program at a local school. “It was so rewarding and an experience you wouldn’t otherwise get. There was no running water, no air conditioning or anything like that. It was a very humbling experience,” he said. The dorm where they lived didn’t have hot water, no phone service and they slept under mosquito netting. Alvarez didn’t get a haircut for weeks. “It was a great way to kind of discover myself, and learn more about myself and grow as an individual,” he said. His trips to Guatemala and Ghana showed him what a Third World country is like. “We have it so made. That’s why I’m a firm believer in international experience whatever that may be or whenever you might do that in your life. It’s something you always should try to do because it connects you with people and it broadens your perspective,” he said. During his last summer at Harvard before he went into his senior year he interned for Sen. Kent Conrad in Washington, D.C. His work there also included giving tours of the Capitol when constituents and other special guests came to Conrad’s office. “It was fun to give tours of the Capitol and give some history. I loved it. I got to meet all kinds of folks from North Dakota and outside. While at Harvard he also gave many campus tours. With college behind him, now it was time for the next chapter of his life. See CESAR — Page 59
Cesar
Continued from Page 58
“I always knew that some day I would end up here,” he said, referring to Fort Berthold Reservation and North Dakota. “East Coast life is cool and it was nice, but it’s not home,” he said. After graduating from Harvard in 2013, he spent a month with family members in Chicago and then returned to Fort Berthold for a job with the Three Affiliated Tribes’ Legal Department headed by Damon Williams. He worked as a legal scholar doing research. “I learned a lot about our history. I have an interest in law school too so he (Williams) was a great coach for me,” he said. Alvarez then worked in Washington, D.C., with the National Congress of American Indians, the country’s largest and oldest advocacy organization for tribes. It was a yearlong fellowship but the organization asked him to stay another year. There, he mainly covered education policy, native youth issues, veterans policy and native languages. It was time to decide what to do next. “I kind of missed North Dakota,” he said. He had been living on the East Coast for several years, with the exception of visits home. “I felt I don’t want to be a visitor. It’s nice but I miss home, “ he said. He wanted to get back to his family but there were other reasons as well. Alvarez is the oldest
of his siblings. He has two sisters, Cassandra Sun and Autumn Sun, both of New Town, and two brothers, Morgan Alvarez and Diego Alvarez, both of Chicago. When he left for Harvard in 2009 it was the pre-oil or beginning of the oil boom. He also wanted to return to the area to find out more about what was happening on Fort Berthold and in Minot since he was away. “I wanted to get back to North Dakota and see what is going on and to try to get involved,” he said. He also wanted to know more about the impacts of the oil boom on the area. He returned to New Town last August, took some time off and then started working for Three Affiliated Tribes councilmember Ken Hall in intergovernmental affairs. “I still do a lot of the work I did in D.C. I keep in touch with a lot of the folks I worked with there, just in another capacity. It’s very rewarding, but I also get to do a lot of cool stuff in the state,” he said. He’s also running for an open seat for the District 4 state House of Representatives. No matter what he’s doing, Alvarez said, “I try to go hard on everything I do. I try to learn a lot about so much our state has to offer – where we’ve come from and where we’re going,” he said. Looking ahead for people of his generation and this state, he said nationally and even a state trend, North Dakota has an aging population. “That’s just the numbers.” He said there are many young people in the state and it’s just the matter of keeping them here.
“It’s time for us to take the mantle as millennials and really step up and open businesses – venture out and open up businesses, to really utilize technology to advance our communities, stepping up and getting involved in public service – running for school board, for city council, for county commission, for legislative offices – and if you’re not doing that at least staying informed and getting involved and coming to community events. That’s what we need to do,” he said.
It’s time for us to take the mantle as millennials and really step up and open businesses. – Cesar Alvarez
He said economies need to be diversified and built up. “I think we’re the right people who can do that with our experiences, with our technologies and especially with social medias we’re so connected with other people across the world, across the country, people in our professions. We have access to the world at our fingertip, whether it’s your computer or your phone. And with our education we really can. We really need to utilize that technology for the
betterment of our communities,” he said. “We need to build up these economies,” he said. “We don’t want to make big cities out of them. We like the rural life but we can step it up a little bit and really build up.” “That’s what I would see that we really need to do is find ways to bring my generation back home and keeping us here. We have to step up and do that but we also have to if the communities are going to invest in this for us,” he said. Looking ahead five or 10 years for himself, he said, “My life mission has always been to be a positive impact on people’s lives. It’s something I’ve developed and kind of a little mantra to myself. That can mean many things. One thing I have my eye on is law school. I would like to go to law school. It’s a matter of when right now.” “I really want to be a good representative for my community and really help people who need help,” he said. “In the tribal ways, lawyers are really the modern-day warriors of tribal communities in the courtrooms and an array of things. I really would like to work on public policy and I think having that background would help. “I do want to be in community service in some way. I want to be involved in a positive way and trying to make my community better” he said. “We’ve got to vote, too. Voting is so critical,” he said. “If you don’t want to run for something, vote and get your opinion out there.”
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Velva It just takes once Once you’ve roamed our sun-splattered sidewalks... Once you’ve lost yourself in our vast city parks...
The Star City North Dakota Once you’ve seen the fresh young faces at our award-winning school... Once you’ve met our friendly residents and shopkeepers... 2QFH \RXmYH EHHQ KHUH IRU Ä YH PLQXWHV \RXmOO NQRZ \RXmUH KRPH DW ODVW
Verendrye Electric Cooperative Minot/Velva 701-852-0406 or 1-800-472-2141 www.verendrye.com
Star City Senior Citizens Center • Social Activities • Healthcare
• Meals Program • Bingo & Other Activities
338-2628 • 122 Main Str eet
Tj Moulton’s Home Improvement and Repair 302 N. Main St. Velva, ND 58790
Your One Stop Pharmacy, Gift Shop & More!
16 Main St. N, Velva ND 58790 Mon. - Sat. 9am - 6pm (701) 338-2911
107 Main St. N. (701) 338-2971
velvafreshfoods.com Here you will find featured departments and services, view the weekly advertisement, find recipes and more!
mo
Roofs, decks, doors handyman services & re. ,)3#%.%$ ).352%$
Tuesday 8am-5pm Senior’s (55+) Day 1 Buy First Nine Get Nine FREE!! Open Friday and CALL NOW Saturday nights from 6pm-10pm prime rib FOR TEE TIMES and steaks and seafood night first (701) 338-2363 Saturday of every month
Booking now for special events. Available for: Weddings, Receptions, Birthdays & Private Parties Golf Carts & Accessories OPEN DAILY 8am-Dark www.starcitygolf.com
Sara’s Place Breakfast till 11am Daily! OPEN 7am - 8pm Mon-Sat
Homemade Burgers, Pizza, Ice Cream & More!
PO Box 40 • Velva 701-338-2821 Serving the Velva & Minot area!
701-338-2188 17 N. Main Street Velva, ND
Committed To The Communities We Serve! Velva 701-338-2029
Minot 701-838-5141
Butte 701-626-7153
Willow City Minot AFB 701-366-4508 701-727-6111 www.ntiernd.org
1. Choose Your Meat 2. Choose Your Bun 3. Choose Your Toppings 4. Choose Your Condiments
& ENJOY!
@FinishLine
Star
to the
treatment
VELVA
City
When residents of Velva want star treatment, they turn to Michelle Schmaltz, the owner of Michelle’s Affair, located at 508 Highway 10. Patrons of Michelle’s Affair can experience soothing pedicures, beautiful manicures, stylish hair cuts and purchase a variety of attractive floral arrangements. As Velva’s first all-in-one flower shop and salon, Michelle’s Affair is quickly earning a strong reputation for its high-quality service and unique products. “In Velva, the combination of the two is
something that has never been,” Schmaltz said. “We’ve had flower shops and salons alone but nobody has every combined the two. I think it’s convenient for everybody to have a full-service salon as well as a flower shop. People come in and get their hair done and leave with a bouquet of flowers.” Nicknamed the “Star City,” it’s only fitting that patrons of this spectacular Velva establishment have a pleasant experience. “This is a very welcoming and peaceful atmosphere,” Schmaltz said. “I want people to come in and forget about everything that has
When
Michelle Schmaltz, the owner of Michelleʼs Affair, has opened Velvaʼs first all inclusive flower and salon shop. Allan Blanks/MDN
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Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
By ALLAN BLANKS
Staff Writer • ablanks@minotdailynews.com
Michelle’s Affairs, opens Velva’s very first all inclusive flower and salon shop
happened all day. If they want to talk, that’s great. If they choose to relax, that’s okay too.” Throughout Michelle’s Affair, each station provides a special element to relax the senses. “Everything fits together and flows together really well,” Schmaltz said. “This is more than I ever dreamed, and I want people to feel that this is an absolutely amazing place in which they can come back to.” Equipped with a state-of-the-art tanning bed and industry leading products, clients look forward to an enjoyable escape from the hustle and bustle in their active lives. “The tanning bed and the waxing rooms is a relaxing place where people can lay down and enjoy the experience,” Schmaltz said. “The pedicure area allows people to sit back and enjoy themselves after a really long day.” As the holiday season quickly approaches, everyone is trying to look and feel their very best. At Michelle’s Affair, manicures have become extraordinarily popular. “The nail portion of the salon has picked up tremendously,” Schmaltz said. “Today, I have four people booked. Women are getting out here and they’re showing everybody their nails. They’re telling everyone about the service they received here. The calls are coming in like boom-boom-boom. Even for the men, they have a relaxing feeling and describe this setting as a calming place to be. The positive feedback has been great.” Genuine, personable and professional are the qualities that customers appreciate about Schmaltz’ service. “The smile on someone’s face when they look in the mirror is an amazing experience,” Schmaltz said. “You can see the excitement and happiness on people’s faces as they’re having a transformation done in their hair. People are loving life and feel really beautiful as they’re getting their hair cut or colored.” When it comes to understanding people, Schmaltz is a natural. “I love working with people,” Schmaltz said. “It’s a great feeling to be able to know somebody.” Before opening her flower shop and salon, Schmaltz excelled as a child-care provider, bartender and server. Throughout her early adult life, Schmaltz benefited from the flexible schedules of her professions which allowed her to share ample time with her children. As her children began to grow older, Schmaltz considered pursuing the business
venture of her dreams. “At 39 I decided that it was time for me to go after my career,” Schmaltz said. “So, I went back to school and I was in college the same time my son was.” After graduating from college, Schmaltz briefly took up employment in Minot and Velva before opening the doors to her very own establishment. While working at a bar next door, a proposition was made to Schmaltz which gave her the space needed to operate her business. “When the proposition was made, I took it,” Schmaltz said. “So, after taking the proposition I was like, oh my gosh, now what? We moved in, did all the remodeling, put in the flooring and we did everything ourselves except for the electrical and plumbing.” The floral section combines bright candy red bricks and a warm display of popular flowers. “The flower portion of the salon is vibrant and everybody loves our selection,” Schmaltz said. “No matter what mood someone is in, flowers automatically put smiles on their face.” Roses, carnation, daisies and special orders can be seen throughout the floral section of Michelle’s Affair. No matter the occasions, Schmaltz prides herself in providing the perfect flower for the situation. “Flowers for prom season, weddings, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day are very popular,” Schmaltz said. “If a client has a particular flower they are searching for, they can let me know and I’ll have it ordered and shipped in within a day.” Whether it’s upgrading someone’s appearance or providing the appropriate flower, Schmaltz believes that every service offered should be with absolute kindness. “You never know what someone is going through,” Schmaltz said. “So, it’s important to do your best every day to do something nice for someone and make them feel good about themselves. Just listening to someone can make a difference.” For Schmaltz, leading a life of kindness and professionalism has earned the respect of a loyal clientele along with her children. “What I did was a big jump,” Schmaltz said. “It’s a rewarding feeling when my kids look at me and say it’s never too late to do what you want to do.”
bliss
Culinary
By ALLAN BLANKS
Staff Writer • ablanks@minotdailynews.com
Sonja Kessler, left, owner of the Lariat Bar, is excited to stand beside bartending extraordinaire Katie Broe. At the Lariat Bar, Mason jars are filled with refreshing beverages while patrons enjoy “The Blitz,” the signature sandwich at the Lariat. Photos by Allan Blanks/MDN
Sonja Kessler creates a culinary buzz by celebrating the food, beverages and character of Velva Sonja Kessler is a visionary who embodies the entrepreneurial spirit. Blessed with a passion for helping people, Kessler is sharing the American dream by celebrating the foods and beverages that define Velva. Kessler is owner of the Lariat Bar in Velva, located at 508 Highway 52 W. Kessler, alongside her fiancee and business partner Katie Broe, are happily engaged and enjoying their opportunity to succeed in the bar and restaurant industry. “I’ve always wanted to have a business of my own,” Kessler said. “Owning a restaurant is something I always wanted to do.” During Kessler’s journey, she experienced a multitude of emotions and challenges to bring her vision to fruition. Today, Kessler is a proud business owner
Sonja
who uplifts her community. “We’ve never said no to anyone who wanted to do anything,” Kessler said. “We want everybody to feel like we’re going to be there for them.” The Lariat Bar is a venue that raises money for charitable causes, assists with programs such as Kickstands for Cancer and supports local businesses. Using her imagination as a guide, Kessler strives to make a strong impact and a powerful first impression. As patrons enter the Lariat Bar, the sight of Mason jars paired with the sweet and smoky barbecue inspired appetizers greets the senses of incoming customers. Patrons are serenaded by the sounds of laughter shared with friends, as country classics resonate from the jukebox.
Throughout the evening, the sounds of cue balls breaking the rack are emitted on the classically designed pool tables while patrons hold friendly conversation during a game of darts. “We’re planning to start our pool and dart league,” Kessler said. “We have the classic bar games and we’re looking forward to giving everyone a league to compete in because they haven’t had that in a few years.” To complement the traditional bar games is an upgraded dance floor accompanied by a performance stage. “We have a pretty nice dance floor,” Kessler said. “We’re bringing in deejays, providing karaoke and we’re going to start bringing in bands.” For Broe, the Lariat Bar is a welcoming place that highlights everything wonderful
VELVA
about the Velva community. “This is a place where people care about each other,” Broe said. “We make an effort to learn and stock everyone’s favorite beverage and we remember birthdays.” When Jeanne Kambeite, a popular bartender, turned 77, Kessler, Broe and numerous patrons of the Lariat came together to celebrate a hometown legend. “We gave Jeanne (Kambeite) a glowing tiara and treated her like a star,” Broe said. “It was really great to see her so happy.” Kambeite has prepared beverages for nearly 50 years and remains a crowd favorite. From happy hour until the last call, regulars and patrons alike have enjoyed the light, See VELVA — Page 65
MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
63
By JILL SCHRAMM
Staff Writer • jschramm@minotdailynews.com
Cabinet maker builds business on hard work KENMARE
Shane Harris took lessons learned as a teenager about hard work and went into business for himself at age 20. Harris, 30, owns Modern Woodworks in Kenmare, a carpentry business that employs two full-time and three part-time workers. “I had no intention of starting my own business,” said Harris, who began working with his father in Harris Construction at age 14. “I had intentions of just taking over his business. I ended up going to school for carpentry just because I liked it, and it was something to maybe do in the winter time.” A 2004 graduate of Kenmare High School, Harris worked part-time while attending Bismarck State College at a cabinetry shop owned by another Kenmare native. “I am sure they were sick of me asking questions, because I was eager to learn,” he said. “I learned a lot there. Still didn’t know it all when I came back here and started. The first few kitchens I did, I learned a lot.” Not long after finishing his schooling, Harris took notice when the Kenmare Economic Development Corp. offered a building for sale. It had been a farm implement dealership and later a welding shop and manufacturing shop for workover rigs for the oil field. Harris put in the only bid and, using money he had saved over the years working for his father, paid cash for the building. “That was 10 years ago. It just took off. I never expected to be doing this for this long,” Harris said. For a time, Harris worked with the building as it was, although a former welding shop wasn’t really suitable for carpentry. He soon discovered the inefficiencies and invested in reno-
Shane
MAIN: Shane Harris stands outside his Kenmare business, Modern Woodworks, July 25.
TOP LEFT: Shane Harris purchased and gutted an existing building to construct a woodworking shop, which he later expanded to accommodate his growing business. TOP RIGHT: Shane Harris stands July 25 next to one of his best investments – a computerized machine that replaced a table saw for cutting cabinet pieces.
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Photos by Jill Schramm/MDN
Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
vating the entire building. Initially, he used only part of the building, renting out the remainder to a car dealership. A couple of years later, he bought a computerized router, which required more room. The car dealership had moved out, so Harris moved into the space and later added on to the building. All the construction and carpentry involved in the renovation and expansion he did himself. “A lot of hours up here that I probably don’t even want to add up and know,” he said. Having worked construction previously, though, he noted, “I was accustomed to long hours. It didn’t bother me any.” His father sold his construction business a few years ago, but until then, Harris put in hours there, too. “Especially when the oil field came through, I worked a lot of weekends,” he said. “It was really a tough decision for me to leave that because I enjoy that a lot as well. ... When I decided to go on my own, I was just going to try it for one year. If it didn’t work, Dad would have a job for me waiting. But I never ended up going back to work for him full-time.” His father, Kirk, said it was with mixed feelings that he sold the business that his grandfather had started rather than handing it down to his son. Yet, he enjoys seeing his son’s success. “I knew he could do it,” he said. “I am very proud of him.” Kirk Harris said he’s not surprised at Shane’s work ethic because it was instilled in him as a kid. However, he was surprised at how Shane was able to use that work ethnic to build up his
Velva
Continued from Page 63
fun, and refreshing “Summer Crush.” Considered a tropical oasis in a glass, the Summer Crush is a signature drink at the Lariat Bar that provides splashes of cucumber vodka and a touch of watermelon pucker. “It has a really light and fruity flavor,” Kessler said. “The cucumber vodka infused with the watermelon pucker creates a balanced flavor which is very popular.” To complement the “Summer Crush” is the almighty “Blitz.” “It’s two of everything,” Kessler said. “Two chicken strips, two mozzarella sticks, two onion rings, two pieces of bacon and two pieces of cheese topped with a smoky barbecue sauce between a sourdough hoagie bun. The blitz is quickly becoming our signature sandwich because it has the right consistency of smoky flavors, crispy textures, saltiness and a perfectly proportioned bun.” Patrons and regulars alike have attempted to devour the culinary masterpiece; few can handle the fried favorite let alone conquer the entire entree. “A lot of people try to finish the whole Blitz in one sitting,” Kessler said. “The Blitz comes on a tray with a basket of crinkle cut fries. Many have tried to eat the whole order but it almost seems impossible to do. So far, I’ve only seen one guy be able to do it.” The Lariat Bar provides a wide range of beers on tap to quench one’s thirst. Along with tap beer making a good pairing with the menu items, Kessler believed it
business as quickly as he did. Shane Harris appreciates the opportunities he had to work with his father over the years, especially at a young age, because that experience has been invaluable. He discovered at a young age that he enjoys building things with his hands. “I bought a table saw when I was 14 years old, which we still use in the shop every day,” he said. He added he was fortunate to have his father’s advice about running a business and the bookkeeping help of his mother, Julie, during the startup of Modern Woodworks. “That was a big help to just know what to do or how to do it or what I should be doing,” he said. Harris said he prefers building cabinets to managing the dayto-day business so is glad for family help, which now includes his wife, Amy, who does the office and bookkeeping tasks. The couple has three young children. For about two years, Harris sold appliances on the side, thinking it was a good complement to his cabinetry business. He discovered his limit with all that he was doing, though. He sold the appliance sideline to his mother-in-law, Carol Stanley, who still operates the business out of the Modern Woodworks building in exchange for secretarial services. Harris employed high school students part-time in the shop when he started. He began hiring full-time staff after a couple of years. “It’s a lot more efficient now than I was then, of course. We
would be unique to bring tap beer back to her region. “We have your classic domestic beers and for the summer we provide Summer Shandy’s,” Kessler said. “Sometimes it’s about bringing something back for the people to enjoy again. There are a lot of people who drink PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) and beers that were considered popular during your grandfather’s time. The older brands have made a comeback.” Having a strong pulse on her market, Kessler seeks to be a strong provider of IPA’s (India Pale Ale), craft beers and top shelf liquor.
do things a lot different now. Everything is a lot easier,” he said. Just the purchase of the computerized router has enabled his business to produce products in much less time than when everything was manually handcrafted. Every project is designed using computer software before construction starts. “We can build any dimension – anything you can dream up,” he said. Modern Woodworks serves customers in about a 100-mile radius and did a lot of work for residents living in the oil patch during the boom. Its business base is the rural area and farm homes, although Modern Woodworks has fitted a number of Lake Metigoshe homes. The most distant job was in Denver, where Harris built cabinets for an uncle. He relied on a contractor there to get measurements. “We double-checked and triple-checked all our measurements. We did everything through email,” he said. “We managed to get it all in a trailer in one load, went down there and it went really smooth. It all fit. It was one of the best jobs we have done.” Harris still has dreams for Modern Woodworks and hopes to make more improvements and possibly even expand the building again someday. He’d like to offer more to his customers. “I wish I could display more things. People like to see what they are buying. Eventually, a showroom would be really nice to have,” he said.
young entrepreneur remained determined to achieve her childhood dreams. “A lot of people told me that I should go to school and gain some business experience,” Kessler said. “So, I waited a couple of years and decided to take the next step.” With the encouragement of friends and family, Kessler earned her associate’s degree in restaurant hospitality management from Le Cordon Bleu Online. Pleased with her educational experience, Kessler’s enhanced understanding of business made the pursuit of her dreams increasingly obtainable. Briefly after graduating, Kessler became a
It’s two of everything. Two chicken strips, two mozzarella sticks, two onion rings, two pieces of bacon and two pieces of cheese topped with a smoky barbecue sauce between a sourdough hoagie bun. – Sonja Kessler
owner of Lariat Bar in Velva, describing “The Blitz” signature sandwich
“We want to have something for everybody,” Kessler said. “We have farmers, business persons and people from all walks of life stopping by and if somebody wants a martini or a draft beer, variety is really important.” Before Kessler had the chance to make an impact on Velva’s bar and restaurant scene, her determination to succeed was tested multiple times. Kessler’s first opportunity arose when a local bar called the Pioneer went for sale. However the chance to grab hold of her dream quickly slipped from her grasp. Although one chance eluded Kessler, the
bartender and discovered the secret ingredient to her success. “The business classes that I took helped me to consider my demographic,” Kessler said. “I thought about where my business is going to be, who I’m selling a product to and other things that impact a business. So, when I did my research, I found that the average age here is 38. Growing up, the average age was much older in Velva but as I looked around I saw a lot of my friends coming back to the area.” For the second time in Kessler’s young restaurant career, a building became avail-
able for purchase. With an affordable price provided by the newly vacant property, Kessler was confident that her second attempt would fulfill her childhood aspirations. However, disappointment struck again and tested Kessler’s desire to follow her dream. “I was really upset,” Kessler said. “Then, I heard about a bar that was available to be sold or leased. I thought to myself that this bar is huge, it has a kitchen and I started envisioning about what I could with this place.” After talking to the owners, Kessler’s passion for the restaurant profession opened the doors to a hardfought and long awaited dream. “They (the previous owners) were completely awesome to us,” Kessler said. “They really helped us in the beginning a lot. They showed us how things worked and what we needed.” As Kessler’s friendship with the previous owners grew, so did her rapport with the regular patrons. “We have the best regulars anywhere,” Kessler said. “When we were starting, everyone came together to help us out and I remember receiving presents like matching glasses for the bar. The regulars really were a great help to us.” Alongside the committed regulars were Kessler’s devoted family. “My parents and my sisters worked with me,” Kessler said. “I remember my dad working the bar during an event we had. The combination of the community, this town and my family made this place a wonderful place to be.”
MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
65
Kenmare Dental Clinic
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318 1st Ave. NE Box 638 Kenmare, ND 58746 Carl E. Zeltinger General Manager
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October 22nd-29th 2016
P.O. Box 8 Tolley, North Dakota 58787
Phone: 701-386-2457 Toll Free: 800-737-7237 Fax: 701-386-2472 Mobile: 701-240-7830
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Farmers Union Lumber Everything For Your Floor Covering Needs! 701-385-4201 FAX: 701-385-4204 1011 North Central Ave. Kenmare, ND 58746
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701-385-4257 West Side Park, Box 895 Kenmare, ND 58746
PO Box 727, Kenmare, ND 58746 • 701-385-4287
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• Cuts • Colors • Perms • Manicures •Facials • Waxing • Tanning • Body Wraps 23 West Division St., Kenmare, ND
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KENMARE HONKERS • 298 great students in K-12. • Fully Accredited School by the State of North Dakota • Wide variety of courses offered in the High School, (classes are offered on-line, lTV and traditional classroom).
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For more information call 385-4996 or write Kenmare Public Schools PO Box 667 Kenmare, ND 58746
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A new dining option
TOWNER
After a long day at work, often times people are too tired to do the cooking at home. While there are a lot of options in larger towns, places like Towner with an estimated population of more than 500 people are limited in that regard. Or at least they were until Hannah Ness and Wylie Watkins came into the fray. “I never actually dreamed of owning a bar,” said Ness. “It was kind of a spur of the moment opportunity that we couldn’t pass up. December first we bought the bar and we’ve been renovating ever since.” Hannah Ness was born in Rugby, lived in Towner until she was 5 and has lived in Williston for the last 10 years. Watkins, originally from Oregon, moved to the area for work in the oilfields. “Work was just slow in Oregon and my brother moved to Williston and (I) just sorta followed him,” said Watkins, who met Ness shortly after relocating for work. “Hannah and I wanted to own our own businesses,” he said. They learned of the Longhorn being for sale after they came back to Towner to visit her family. “We ended up hooking up with the owner and we just kinda went for it,” said Watkins. Following Ness’ lead, the pair hope to create a
By PHIL TORRES
Staff Writer • ptorres@minotdailynews.com
After
Submitted Photo
The Bearded Moose in Towner, coowned by Hannah Ness and Wylie Watkins, gives locals a new dining and entertainment option.
nice bar for people to go to in town. “Before, it was cluttered and super outdated,” he said. “We want to have a place the community can be proud of.” The Longhorn Bar and Grill at 302 Main Street in Towner, formerly owned by Simon Burckhard, will now be called the Bearded Moose. “We’re right on main street,” said Ness. “It’s pretty much the first thing you see in town.” Ness says this won’t be just a bar with a few hot food items. “We will have a full service restaurant,” she said. The new menu will fea-
FINANCIAL
ture staples like burgers, steaks, salads and sandwiches along with a full-service bar. “We want to have a small menu that’s a really good small menu,” said Watkins. Her plan on carving a niche in the community mainly consists of listening to their clientele. “Our main goal is to give the people what they want,” said Ness. “We plan on building on the back of the building for families.” Their business plan for the restaurant is fairly straight forward. “There was a huge opportunity for a restaurant,” said Ness. “We had a very generous low interest loan given to us from the economic development board in Towner.” McHenry County, where Towner is located, has set a mission to help communities and new businesses like the Bearded Moose grow through economic development incentives. Their focus includes a wide range of topics, most noteworthy including working with partners in the region and state to promote and expand their tourism as well as to maintain a high quality of life. The Bearded Moose will be working with U.S. Foods to provide the food for their menu. U.S. Foods has a program called Serve Good that includes products that are responsibly sourced or that contribute to waste reduction. This past June, they became one of the first broad line distributors to introduce a nationally available Cage Free Pasteurized Liquid Whole Egg product under a private label brand. This
product, which is American Humane Certified by the American Humane Association, combines the safety of pasteurization with the humane treatment of hens raised in a cage-free environment. Ness hasn’t had an issue with staffing, mainly because of the lighthearted atmosphere. “People seem to want to be here,” said Ness. “I have five or six applications that I haven’t even gotten to yet. In a small town, we want a good reputation but I also want them to have a fun environment.” She recalls working at places where she didn’t want to go into work and didn’t want that to be the case at her establishment. Ness says the response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. “They’re super excited for a younger couple to come in and put the time in and make something nice for the community,” said Ness. They also hope to turn their new establishment into an entertainment venue with the hope of giving those in Towner a place to relax and enjoy themselves. “In a small town, there really isn’t a lot to do,” said Ness. On Oct. 14, Fargo-based cover band 8th Hour will be at the Bearded Moose. They have also had Minotbased Moment’s Notice perform, definitely giving people something fun to do. Above all, Ness is grateful for the community pulling together around them and giving their support. “We appreciate all the support of the community, friends and family. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without them, that’s for sure,”
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MinotDailyNews.com• Hometown 2016
69
Suyi Hou:
Civil engineer gives time to community volunteering By ELOISE OGDEN
Regional Editor • eogden@minotdailynews.com
MAIN: Suyi Hou, a civil engineer, is shown in his office at Karvakko, P.A. in southwest Minot.
Eloise Ogden/MDN
RIGHT: Hou, a Young Professionals-Minot member, rings bells for the local Salvation Army. ABOVE: Hou, back right, and others with Habitat for Humanity, when the organization held a heart-shaped pancakes fundraising event on Valentineʼs Day last year. Submitted Photos
MINOT
By day, Suyi Hou is a civil engineer, mainly working on transportation projects involving highways and other roads and city streets. Currently, much of his work is North Dakota Department of Transportation projects. During other hours as much as it allows, he’s an active community volunteer. Hou moved to Minot in June 2014 and is a civil engineer with Karvakko P.A., a company with offices in Bemidji, Minn., Minot and in the state of Michigan. Home for him is LaMoure in southeast North Dakota. Hou was born and raised in China. He’s lived in Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, but the majority of his time in the U.S. has been in North Dakota. He moved to LaMoure when he was 16, where he finished high school. He then went to North Dakota State University in Fargo, graduating with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering. Engineering was not in his family’s background. His birth parents are doctors in China. Of his U.S. parents, his mom is an accountant and his dad is a business owner. “When I started in college it wasn’t civil engineering right away. I started off as an archi-
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By
tectural student and did that for a semester,” he said. He decided his personality did not match becoming an architect. “I like to get out there in the field and watch everything get built,” he said. “The architectural thing was sitting in a studio, working on a project for hours and hours, and I don’t think that was the best fit for me just because I need to be out in the field at the same time as well.” “I figured I wanted to do design work and also I wanted to see things get built so that’s why I switched. Civil engineering – I think that’s a perfect combination between design and construction,” he said. Hou said civil engineering is very broad and has five different branches – transportation, environmental, water resource, geotechnical and structural. Currently, many of his projects are transportation. “Transportation and structural engineering were my top two choices – structural was my No. 1 and transportation was No. 2. Basically I took a lot of classes related to those two fields after all the general (courses),” he said. After college, Hou moved to Bismarck for his first full-time job with Holly Beck Surveying and Engineering. There he did construction inspection, preliminary surveying, construction
Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
staking and material testing. “I did a lot of technical stuff – hands on – from the ground up,” he said. Over a year later he moved to Minot for his present position with Karvakko. After graduation, Hou could take the Fundamentals of Engineering examination to become certified as an EIT (engineer in training). After four years of experience in addition to passing the EIT, the next exam is the professional engineer examination to qualify as a professional engineer. Now in his fourth year as a civil engineer, he will be able to take his PE examination late this season or early next year. The test is offered twice a year. This year with Karvakko, he’s been doing a lot of the management of the projects he’s involved in. He also does business development, preplanning or predevelopment for the projects, and marketing and public relations as well. Last summer he was involved in a microsurfacing project on U.S. Highway 2. “Microsurfacing is just a type of pavement like the pavement treatment method. My project was from Minot 15 miles to the west. That was the biggest microsurfacing job DOT had last year,” he said. This year, he’s been working on a multi-use trail project in Wilderness Park for the city of
Garrison. He said the trail will be 10-feet wide with ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) ramps. As of this summer, the design plan and the cost estimates have been sent to the N.D. Department of Transportation for its review. The project is funded by the federal government through a SRTS (Safe Routes To School) grant. Currently, he’s working on a project involving installing several turn lanes for U.S. Highway 83, north of Minot between Glenburn and Lansford. “This year I’m doing this project on my own from ground level all the way up to the management,” he said. Last year he had an intern from the University of North Dakota to help him so he didn’t have to be at the project every day. Hou has become very active in community organizations in Minot. He’s been the co-chair for the Minot Young Professionals’ professional development team for almost a year, and on the YP Network Leadership Team and YP in Energy. YP Minot has four teams: marketing, outreach, professional development and social. He became a member of the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce’s Ambassadors Committee this summer, and also is involved in the Chamber’s Infrastructure Committee. Last year
he participated in the Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee and Energy Committee. He’s also participated for two years in the Chamber’s Junior Achievement Program, teaching third-grade classes at Sunnyside Elementary School about the city. He’s also involved in Habitat for Humanity Northern Lights Chapter and United Way. He has interest in volunteering. “When I started I didn’t know how much benefit I was getting out of this. Or, at the very beginning I was just looking at volunteering,”
he said. By being so involved in various organizations and the Chamber in the past two years, he said he’s met many people. “You also meet a lot of newcomers who want to be a real part of it too,” he said. “At the same time besides meeting a lot of new people, it’s actually a learning process for me just because when you run into different people with different lines of work you can learn so much from each no matter what they do and where they’re from. It’s also a very good
opportunity to build your own network as well,” he said. What would he tell someone in high school who hasn’t decided what they want to do when they graduate? “The first thing I would consider is get education. It doesn’t matter if it’s two-year (college) or four-year. You need to learn some basic skills before you can actually get into society finding a good job and making an impact,” he said. “After that, it just depends on your personality. If you’re outgoing and like to meet people,
there’s a lot of ways out there to be involved. You really have to throw yourself out there and you’ll be surprised how much you can gain – just don’t be afraid,” he said. “You’re not the only one that doesn’t like to talk that much or you’re not the only one out there that doesn’t like to make mistakes. There’s thousands, millions of people just like you who doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know where to volunteer, doesn’t know how to get involved, but if you don’t start somewhere you’ll never get to anywhere. I’m glad I did,” he said.
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country music
Back to the roots of By PHIL TORRES
Staff Writer ptorres@minotdailynews.com
Lexi
Lexi Wyman, seen here performing at Roosevelt Park on Fourth of July, has opened for the likes of Travis Tritt and Montgomery Gentry.
Phil Torres/MDN
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Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
Lexi Wyman has been singing and writing songs since the age of 7, influenced by her love of country music and life on her farm in Newburg. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve been performing for my family,” said Wyman. After her grandparents bought Wyman her first electric guitar at 12, she began to follow a path that led to a strong commitment to songwriting. By the time that she was 14, her mother had set her up with her first acoustic guitar. “I just started writing,” she said of how her musical journey began, recalling the first song she wrote called “Haylen.” “I’ve come a long way. The songs make sense now,” joked Wyman. She certainly has come a long way since getting her first guitar. Wyman began studying music locally at Jacobson’s Music in addition to teaching herself. “Youtube was a big help,” said Wyman. While her local studies were important in her early development, her trip to the Treasure State was a pivotal moment of her burgeoning career. In August 2012, she attended the Big Sky Songwriters Festival at the foot of Lone Peak in Big Sky, Mont. She learned about the festival through a family friend who lived in the Big Sky area during that time. My mom and I were pretty nervous. We took a leap of faith and I’m glad we did,” said Wyman. While there, she was mentored by some of the biggest songwriters in country and pop music. “Everyone there had written hit songs,” said Wyman. “It was awesome to hear them talk about music.” While at her songwriting seminars, she learned how to write whatever came to mind instead of limiting herself to a handful of topics. “I learned that I shouldn’t worry about what I write,” said Wyman. Attending again in December 2013, it had become apparent to the mentors that she was quickly developing as a songwriter. When she was sitting in a group session where everyone was performing for a mentor, one piece of advice stuck in her head. “He said ‘you don’t want to tell it, you want to show it,” said Wyman. After singing “A Cowboy,” a song that would eventually make it onto her first album, she recalls how impressed that mentor
NEWBURG
was. Her advice to someone who’s thinking about following in her footsteps as a songwriter is to just keep writing. “Every single song I write and perform, I get better,” she said. “Don’t be afraid and step over that line of fear.” Ultimately, the decision to take the next step and record her music was made. One of those mentors that she worked with, producer Dave Goodwin, would eventually end up producing her first album. “There are definitely people in the business to be careful of. I was so lucky to get with the right people who took me under their wings. The biggest reason I got in touch with these amazing musicians is because of Dave Goodwin,” said Wyman. “The fact that he had the confidence in me is amazing.” Wyman completed her debut eponymous LP of her original work alongside her new-found producer. Recorded in Bozeman, Mont., and Nashville, Tenn., Goodwin brought in many musicians to join Wyman on the LP. Her sessions in Bozeman were used to lay down her vocals along with initial rhythm and guitar tracks provided by a group of musicians from Wyoming. After that, she filled out the sound for her record more than 1,700 miles away in Nashville. Those sessions in the Music City featured the likes of Bruce Bouton (Garth Brooks), Jim Kimball (Reba), John Bohlinger (Lee Brice), Ray Scott (”Drinkin’ Beer” & “Those Jeans”) singing with her on “Drink For Two,” Kim Parent (Brooks and Dunn, Christopher Cross, Grand Ol’ Opry), Jack Sundrud (Poco, Great Plains) Chris Anderson (Blackhawk, Outlaws) and others including fellow North Dakotan Austin Pressler. The fact that these musicians took the time to perform on her debut album is a testament to how strong her songwriting ability is. “I learned so much from watching them and being in their presence,” said Wyman. She has also opened for Blackhawk three times, was on a two week tour with The Morrison Brothers Band, opened for Travis Tritt in Velva and Montgomery Gentry in Williston. “There was a really great turnout,” said Wyman of her opening performance for Montgomery Gentry at this year’s Summer Jam. “Troy Gentry listened to my whole set
and it was really cool. Troy said how impressed he was with my set.” She even made her live debut of her song “All Kinds of Crazy” at her festival performance. Unfortunately, others who learn of her musical endeavors aren’t always as supportive. “When you’re telling someone what you do, you see the apprehensiveness in their face,” she said. “I really believe that if you have a passion for something, you shouldn’t have to do something that doesn’t make you happy.” While growing up in the Peace Garden State has proven to be advantageous, she has faced some challenges due it as well. “Especially living in rural North Dakota, it was hard to find musicians,” said Wyman. That said, she found a backing band that does a great job supporting her during her
live performances. Her band consists of Dallas Wood (lead guitar) and brothers Elijah (bass) and Isaiah Roise (drums). “It’s been fun to do shows and travel with them,” said Wyman. Wyman’s approach to writing is simply writing what she knows and is passionate about. “A lot of music I write about is about the small town life. They’re very country in their lyrics and very much about the country life. When you listen to it, you think about the rural life.” In part due to her approach, she ends up with a product that is equal parts relatable to everyone and speaks to people on an personal basis. “I think country music is so organic and it makes me feel at home and feel safe,” she said. “The lyrics are so pure and easy to relate to. I write for myself, but I also write for every-
one else to be able to relate to it.” Along with her love for music, she also enjoys a number of other activities. In terms of academics, her favorite subject is math since she enjoys solving problems. She loves the outdoors, especially hunting and fishing. As for athletics, “I really like them all,” said Wyman. “As my music started, I had to prioritize. Music always came first for that.” That exact sentiment can be found on Sundays when she can be seen singing in her church at Dovre Lutheran in Newburg. In August 2014, she was asked to participate in the Miss Geographic Center scholarship pageant in Rugby, thinking it would be a great learning experience. Although her first pageant, she titled and was Miss Geographic Center 2015, which placed her in the 2015 Miss North Dakota pageant, winning recog-
nition for highest GPA and Best Talent/Non Finalist. “I never thought that I would be in a pageant, but I’m really glad that I did it,” said Wyman. While Wyman is optimistic for her future, she hasn’t lost touch with her roots. “I feel so lucky to be from North Dakota. There’s no (other) place that I would want to come home to,” she said. Wyman remains resolute when it comes to achieving her goals. “If you don’t go after what you want, you won’t get it,” she said. “I am always writing more songs.” Wyman plans on spending part of her winter in Nashville to begin recording material for her new EP. “It’ll be fun to see how this one ends up,” she said. “I have really high hopes and think everyone will love the outcome.”
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Food artist
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Kip Hammerschmitt creates limitless possibilities
Hometown 2016 • MinotDailyNews.com
By ALLAN BLANKS
MINOT
Staff Writer • ablanks@minotdailynews.com
For
For most people, a strawberry or an apple is an item grown solely for consumption. To Hammerschmitt, a strawberry can transform into a breathtaking flower while an apple has the ability to morph into a beautiful swan. Hammerschmitt is a food art extraordinaire who aspires to start an arts and crafts business in Minot with her best friend and collaborator, Morgan Amato. “We want to start our own arts and crafts shop,” Hammerschmitt said. “Our goal is to change the image and experience that people expect from an arts and craft store. We want to provide decorative thumbtacks, keychains containing acrylic prints, hand-painted tote bags, thumb charms and more. Our arts and crafts shop will offer more than pipe cleaners and feathers.“ Hammerschmitt and Amato have a vision of offering traditional craft supplies with modern age technology. Someday soon, Minot residents can visit a shop containing acrylic print machines and logo design programs to inspire creativity and personal authenticity. “I really want to encourage gender, cultural and body type expression,” Hammerschmitt said. Amato, a native of Missouri, met Hammerschmitt a few months ago and was instantly impressed with Hammerschmitt’s creative talents. “Kip (Hammerschmitt) is probably one of the best artists I’ve ever seen,” Amato said. “Kip’s work is extremely illustrative and very expressionistic.” Throughout North Hill’s Marketplace Foods, Hammerschmitt’s culinary artwork is in high demand. As a popular food artist, Hammerschmitt amazes patrons with her ability to transform fruits and vegetables into culinary masterpieces. “When my mom took over the deli department, she suggested that I try food art,” Hammerschmitt said. “So, I made a bird and it turned out really well. After that, I challenged myself to create difficult pieces such as frogs and deer, which was pretty fun.” During Hammerschmitt’s artistic process, a knife is used to carefully construct lifelike features into the fruits and vegetables selected by patrons. “Children are super-interested and excited about the food art,” Hammerschmitt said. “The parents usually spot the designs first and then they stop to point out the art to their kids.” Across the deli and hot food section of North Hill’s Marketplace Foods, Hammerschmitt’s drawings are used to advertise products by generating visual excitement for customers. Illustrations of bunnies can be seen during spring while deer are drawn throughout the winter season. “People really like the drawings,” Hammerschmitt said. “Sometimes people touch the artwork which smears the drawings. I guess people don’t believe that my artwork is a drawing, so they touch it, which can be a sign of See FOOD — Page 82
ABOVE LEFT: Kip Hammerschmitt spends an afternoon at Minotʼs Oak Park to embrace nature and sketch the outdoors. Allan Blanks/MDN
St. John woman teaches in school she attended By ANDREA JOHNSON
Staff Writer • ajohnson@minotdailynews.com Elizabeth Belgarde is living out the goal she first made as a child, but it has taken a lot of hard work for her to make her dream a reality. “I always wanted to be a teacher,” said Belgarde, 21, who began her career this fall as a kindergarten teacher at St. John Public School, the same school she attended as a youngster. “My mom was a teacher.” Belgarde said her mother, Mica Belgarde, had been a Head Start teacher earlier in her career and she was also strongly influenced by some of the elementary school teachers she had when she was a little girl in St. John. By the time she was a sophomore at St. John High School, she was set on elementary education as her future career path. She also knew that meant planning to take the right classes and working toward college even before she had earned her high school diploma. Like many North Dakota high school students, Belgarde took advantage of the dual credit classes that were of-
ST. JOHN
fered by her high school, which enabled her to earn college credit and high school credit at the same time. “When I graduated, I had 12 college credits,” said Belgarde. She had originally planned to take her required undergraduate credits at Turtle Mountain Community College in Belcourt and then transfer to a university. However, she learned of an opportunity to become a part of a cohort of students at the community college all working toward earning an elementary education degree. She also wanted to stay around the area because her grandmother was ill and she wanted to spend time with her. With 12 credits under her belt, she got started right away on the college degree when she graduated from St. John High in 2013. “I started summer school two days after graduation,” said Belgarde. “I graduated on a Sunday and went back to school on a Tuesday. I gave myself a two-day vacation.” Belgarde worked hard in her classes and was able to
Elizabeth
See TEACHER — Page 82
Elizabeth Belgarde
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Food
Continued from Page 80
flattery.” For Hammerschmitt, life is an artistic experience that provides moments of clarity and colorful knowledge. When the visual world of art doesn’t beckon Hammerschmitt’s presence, you can find her studying the wide universe of language. “Language learning is something I really like exploring,” Hammerschmitt said. “I took French in high school and I’m trying to re-learn German because I’m from Germany and I used to know it.” Up until Hammershmitt was 5 years
old, she resided in Germany where she has fond memories of eating her neighbors’ berries. Along with savoring the sweet berries, Hammerschmitt is delighted by succulent candy and cream filled cakes produced in Germany. “Germany has a lot of sweets that are really good,” Hammerschmitt said. “One thing that I like a lot that few others like is cured minced pork. I like its consistency and it’s perfect for sandwich bread.” Before indulging in decadent desserts, Hammerschmitt recalls the delicious cuisines prepared by her grandmother. “My grandma makes potatoes for every single meal,” Hammerschmitt said. “Potato soup, potato pancakes, fried potatoes and
diced salted potatoes.” Gourmet food is both a passion and an artform for Hammerschmitt. In Hammerschmitt’s personal time, Asian dishes are the preferred choice. “Oddly enough I’m not good at cooking German food but I’m really skilled with Asian dishes,” Hammerschmitt said. “I like the spices, peppers, vegetables and noodles involved. The food is flavorful, I like stir frying and it’s fun to cook with a big wok.” Outside of cooking and art, Hammerschmitt enjoys playing video games with family and friends. “My mom is like the perfect parent for me,” Hammerschmitt said. “She has similar hobbies as me. We both like to play video games. Most of the game consoles I
have are hand-me-downs from my mom. We also like animals.” Currently, Hammerschmitt has three pets — two rats named Lily and Temmy along with a frog named Damien. “Damien looks like an uncooked chicken tender,” Amato said. “He’s pink with neon pink eyes and he likes to sing at night.” According to Hammerschmitt, Damien’s singing voice resembles the sound of a cricket chirping. For Hammerschmitt and Amato, believing is the first step to seeing. If Hammerschmitt can see flowers sprout from a strawberry, becoming a part owner of an arts and crafts shop appears to be a real possibility.
Teacher
Continued from Page 81
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finish her elementary education degree in three years. She passed the required certification and was able to work as a substitute teacher even before she completed the degree. She also was able to help with testing at St. John. The added experience in different areas was all incredibly valuable, said Belgarde. She did her student teaching mainly in a third-grade classroom at St. John and found that she loved working with that age group. “I liked the fact that their minds are still so young,” said Belgarde. “They’re asking tons of questions. They’re so eager to learn. They’re open to learning new things, too. They’re not scared to touch some weird substance if you bring it in for science, or bugs.” When Belgarde was offered the kindergarten teaching position, she wondered if it might be different to teach even younger kids, but she is finding that she loves this age group too. “They’re so outgoing, so excited to learn,” she said. “They’re just fun to be around. They come up with such unique questions. They’ve got a lot of energy. They take a lot of your energy!” Belgarde said she finds it rewarding to be the one to teach the youngsters. “When they learn something new, the look on their faces is just priceless,” she said. Belgarde is also coaching the junior high volleyball team after school. “I go from one job to another,” said Belgarde. “I get about 10 minutes at night and then I start volleyball practice.” Away games will also require her to travel with her team, so she will be juggling a busy schedule all year long. At 21, Belgarde is also in the enviable position of being on her own and self-supporting. “It feels awesome to be able to have your own house and your own car,”she said. She said she was frugal during college and lived at home with her parents and also applied for all available college scholarships. She was saving her money with the goal of being able to support herself and live on her own. She bought a home in St. John, where her family lives and where she still feels at home. “It’s got such a homey feeling,” said Belgarde of St. John. She feels she is right where she belongs and feels fortunate to be teaching in the same school she grew up attending. “I’m looking forward to staying put for now,” said Belgarde.
Millennials and real estate
The millennial age group are those beBy Scott Louser tween the ages of 18 and 34 years and have been described as approaching everything differently. The group is comprised of approximately 75 million Americans and by some estimates have overtaken the “Baby Boomer” generation in population. Working with this new group has required a much different understanding and approach. Millennials embrace the concepts of FOMO (fear of missing out) and YOLO (you only live once). Expectations are for convenience, high technology, quick responses and ‘do it yourself’ until a point is reached where a professional is requested. Interestingly, this group thrives on collaborative environments and teamwork. Millennials are experiencing extremely high college loan debt and are putting off major decisions such as marriage and large purchases until later in life. From a real estate perspective, millennials tend to enter the market by doing online searches long before actually taking steps to commit to a purchase. Research shows anySubmitted Photo where between six and 18 months of “looking” is invested before a millennial may contact an agent. Further, communication phone calls or face to face meetings. Social is predominately via text messages, not media is used extensively for both research
and communication and millennials tend to rely heavily on reviews and recommendations rather than personal referrals. Millennials have expectations that real estate listing data will be available via text messages, mobile and single property websites, listing syndication to national portals, video and virtual tours. Furthermore, there is an expectation that contracts will be signed and negotiated digitally and transactions will be cloud based and always accessible. When considering that millennials are early adapters to such technologies as Hulu and NetFlix to replace cable television, Twitter and Facebook as news sources over traditional news, cross-fit training as opposed to free weights and the trust placed in sites such as ride sharing or child care services, it becomes more clear where this generation is moving. In fact, recent research suggests that nearly 40 percent of millennials choose not to eat cereal for breakfast because it takes too long to clean up afterwards. Convenience and access matters; they matter a lot. When a generation is used to the computing power of the iPhone (which has more computing power than the Apollo
rockets) it’s no wonder they adapt to the speed of change. Service providers, in particular in the real estate industry, need to adapt and be prepared to work with this generation on their terms. Their terms include communicating using their chosen media and responding quickly with valued information and services when the consumer has indicated a readiness to take action. Real estate amenities such as community and shared spaces, public transportation and access to neighborhood shopping and entertainment districts may replace the traditional desire for excessive square footage, garages and destinations such as shopping malls. One thing is for certain, smart phones have already taken the place of land lines and desktop computers and in fact have become the most important possession and tool to this age group. As these changes rapidly presents themselves, the question is, who will be best positioned to respond to the consumer demand? Scott Louser is the Broker / Owner of NextHome Legendary Properties and chairs an advisory group at the National Association of Realtors on Real Estate as a First Career Choice.
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Is your home costing you too much money in upkeep? It may be time to downsize
Your Solutions Realtor Cindy Strandberg
833-1956 1st Minot Realty 219 South Main St., Minot, ND 58701 • 852-0136
• Call Cindy today for your free CMA
Clyde Thorne
Marla Rae Uscensky
Your local VA & USAA Realtor cthorne@srt.com
Scouting for a home? Let Clyde be your guide! Coldwell Banker 1st Minot Realty 219 S. Main St Minot, ND 58701
701-240-8594 C • 701-852-0136 O
701-852-3505 1541 S. Broadway Minot, ND 58701
jazzy@minot.com • (701)720-0215
You Otter stop in and say hi
1219 Burdick Expressway East • 857-1416 • www.rpzoo.com
Natural Health Shoppe “May your health span equal your lifespan” Essential Oils Natural Health and Beauty items Zyto Scans By Appointment Protein Powders Probiotics Diffusers and MORE!
1620 S Broadway Minot, North Dakota (701) 839-4346 naturalhealthshoppe@yahoo.com Follow Us on Facebook!
Come Checkout Our Full Cantina Bar! Try our popular Margaronas!
What We Do with Nationwide Warranty
Vehicle Collision Repair
RV Body Repair
Semi-Tractor Body Work
Boat & Fiberglass Repair
Vehicle Detailing
Phone: (701) 852-5126 / (800) 761-1160 • Fax: (701) 839-4488 2705 North Broadway, Minot, ND 58703 Connect with us!
PROUD! And Here For Good!
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• SEAFOOD • MP EXPRESS • FULL SERVICE DELI • WORLD CLASS PRODUCE • MARKETPLACE WINE & SPIRITS • HAMBURGER GROUND FRESH DAILY • AWARD WINNING CAKE DEPARTMENT • FRESH BREADS AND DONUTS BAKED DAILY • ON SITE BUTCHERS FOR SPECIAL ORDERS CUTS OF MEAT MARKETPLACEFOODS.COM 1930 S. BROADWAY 701-839-7580 OPEN 5AM-MIDNIGHT
NORTH DAKOTA PRIDE, SERVING MINOT FOR 26 YEARS
ARROWHEAD 1600 2ND AVE SW 701-839-7948 OPEN 6AM-11PM
NORTH HILL 2211 16TH ST NW 701-857-4060 OPEN 6AM-MIDNIGHT
BROADWAY 1620 S BROADWAY 701-837-4961 OPEN 6AM-MIDNIGHT
The T he Minot Mino ot Area Chamber Cham mber of Commerce Com mmerce has been b working ng hard for its members s for 90 years yearrs We’re W e’re helping break ground ground and celebrating milestone milestones. es.
Stay on top off Chamber happenings throug gh our website through Face ebook and Facebook
“Lik ke” ” us “Like” on Fac cebook. Facebook.
Leadership Institute builds Community Leadership tomorrow’’s leaders ers today. today y. tomorrow’s