Minot Daily News SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2020 MinotDailyNews.com • Facebook • Twitter
Economic Development
New Year, New Decade, New Opportunities for New Businesses By BRANDON CARR
Staff Writer bcarr@minotdailynews.com The start of the new year was also the beginning of a new decade, which gave opportunities for new businesses to migrate to Minot. Now, amid the crisis of COVID-19, many establishments have been affected. In March, the government and the health department forced restaurants to be drivethru only in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. As the coronavirus continues to spread, revenue is still flowing for most businesses. After much anticipation, Culver’s opened its doors to the public on Feb. 17 at 3000 South Broadway, becoming the sixth location in North Dakota. The Wisconsinbased restaurant is known for its creamy custards, cheese curds, and never frozen, made to order butter burgers. With the global outbreak, long drive-thru lines have become the norm. To show their appreciation, certain Culver’s ran a special promotion called Culver’s Cares for those that worked in the health care industry, first responders, and those in emergency. The promotion ran for specific states from March 23-29, which involved a free value basket and a free kids meal with the purchase of a value basket on particular days. To limit person-to-person contact, Culver’s put out a statement via email that its top priority is to ensure the overall well being of customers and employees. In limiting the spread of the virus, “we are temporally closing our in-restaurant dining rooms and will only be
serving guests in the drivethru to limit person-toperson contact. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you, but we feel this is a necessary step we need to take in this current environment.” Manager Patty Hageman said with drive-thru being the option of service, the restaurant can finally slow down orders and focus only on the full line of cars that continue to wrap around the building. “We take orders over the phone. The customer has to have their card information available for payment. Our curbside assistance is available. Just park across from the drive-thru and call the store to let us know you’re outside, and an associate will bring your order to you. Our store hours are 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Saturday.” After opening its doors to the public this past February, Prairie Sky Breads, before the outbreak, had regulars stopping in for their favorite treats and drinks. Following other
TOP LEFT: Taco Feliz informs customers of status during the pandemic. MAIN: Customers fill the parking lot of newly opened Dollar General for supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic.
BOTTOM LEFT: Customers visit newly opened T-Mobile inside Dakota Square Mall.
Photos by Brandon Carr/MDN
establishments, the restaurant closed its dining area to comply with social distancing. One suggestion that paid off was the addition of curbside pick-up. Prairie Sky Breads closed its doors for a few days to put in place a
plan on how to proceed moving forward. It contacted city officials about putting out black metal barriers for curbside designation, and the establishment received the OK in less than 24 hours. In addition to curbside delivery was the option of or-
Good tourism By CIARA PARIZEK
dering online from its official website. The opportunity to call ahead to place an order over the phone is available as well. Customers can now come to the establishment and pick up their orders or place to-go orders at the counter. With the new in-
stallments, the staff and the customers didn’t experience long lines of people waiting. The agony of not having has become concerning for both the customer and the consumer. Sky Bread sees See STORES — Page 2
Canadians come down to experience Minot
Staff Writer cparizek@minotdailynews.com The people who live in Minot are not the only ones that enjoy what the Magic City has to offer. Canadians make the trip across the border to take some family time and shop. Stephanie Schoenrock works with Visit Minot and she explained that there are many reasons why people from Canada come to Minot. One of the most commonly heard reasons, especially in retail stores, is that the selection of items in Minot is more vast. Some retail corporations may only have stores in the United States and may not deliver items across the border. Therefore, Canadians have to drive hours to Minot. In addition to having a bigger selection, some of the products that are sold in the states are not sold in Canada. For example, their Walmarts might not carry some products that the Walmarts in the U.S. have. Minot is centrally located for the people of rural parts of Canada and it’s generally a shorter drive than it would be to get to a larger city with shopping centers. During the key season between July and November, Canadians join the people of Minot in many different activities besides just shopping. They have come to have a new favorite place to eat at locally owned restaurants like Prairie Sky Breads, Minot’s Daily Bread, Starving Rooster, Ebeneezer’s and Souris
LEFT: People enjoy local shopping in downtown Minot BELOW: A Roosevelt Park Zoo staff member works on training the red pandas to give high-fives. Submitted Photos
River Brewery. “(Minot) has a lot of excellent local options and they know that visitors truly enjoy the variety,” Schoenrock said. The Escape Room, Scandinavian Heritage Park and Roosevelt Park Zoo are popular for families and friends while they make a weekend getaway or are on holiday. The abundance of different events and activities that Minot puts on attracts Canadians looking for something new to go to, or perhaps it’s an annual event they thoroughly enjoy so they return to experience again. Two of the most popular annual events they like to attend are The Big One Craft Show at the fair-
grounds and the Norsk Hostfest. Schoenrock said she and the others of Visit Minot keep track of the Canadian holidays so they can plan events for when they think visitors will come by. She also recognizes that some families have traditions or events they attend or hotels they like to stay at. The families take their children to those events and hope that it will continue. “They try to find a balance of what’s new and different, and what’s tradition,” she explained. Depending on a variety of circumstances, families may drive down in their own vehicle, or people who are traveling alone may
take a bus with others. Schoenrock said that individual vehicles are more common than busses. Tourism isn’t always a bad thing. When citizens of Canada
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come to visit, they bring their culture and stories to Minot. Upon their return home, they take culture and stories of North Dakota with them, as well.
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Minot Daily News • PROGRESS: Economic Development
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Looking toward 2020 and beyond in McKenzie County By DANIEL STENBERG
Economic Development Coordinator/ McKenzie County While 2010-2019 brought much growth and excitement into our county, we look forward with curiosity and anticipation to what 2020 and this new decade will bring. Construction is going strong on the second elementary school in Watford City with plans for it to be operational and occupied by the start of the new school year this fall. Last year the McKenzie County Job Development Authority kicked off a housing development subsidy program that incentivizes singlefamily home construction. Additionally, $5 million has been allocated for a shovel-ready lot program that provides funding for infrastructure, so we are looking for that to spur substantial residential construction this year and into 2021. Efforts are continuing to be made among business, education and government as to how to best provide career and technical education training to high school students as well as workers who may be looking to upgrade their skills through the McKenzie County Skills Initiative. Funding for local economic development projects in McKenzie County come primarily from the McKenzie County Job Development Authority and the Watford City city-sales-tax-funded Rough Rider Fund. The majority of the Rough Rider Fund commitments go toward the recently completed projects of the new McKenzie County Healthcare
Stores
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Increasing the supply of single-family housing remains one of the biggest priorities for the McKenzie County Job Development Authority. Systems facility and 260,000-plus square foot Rough Rider Center. Our Job Development Authority has financially supported the Wolf Pup Daycare facility, McKenzie County Sportsmen’s Club gun range construction, Fox Hills Golf Course expansion, Summit Silver
Creek Residential Treatment facility, new building for the McKenzie County Heritage Park, trail maintenance on the Maah Daah Hey Trail, and the NDSU Williston Research Extension Center seed cleaning facility. Vawnita Best is the City of Wat-
ford City’s Community Development coordinator. Daniel Stenberg is the director of the McKenzie County Job Development Authority. Keith Olson is the Small Business Development Center director and shares his time between his Watford City and Williston offices.
The Small Business Development Center provides free and confidential business consulting services to those looking to start or expand their businesses in our area. Please call 444-7419 for more information, or visit econdev.mckenziecounty.net.
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the discernment that its regulars are going through, so they decided to adjust its menu. First was lowering the cost of bread. Bread is an item that can last for months after its sale date if it’s frozen. During these harsh times, the company noticed and once again put a plan in place to help the common man. The second was going from hot to cold sandwiches and melted desserts. It’s harder to deliver hot sandwiches with curbside pickup. And no one wants melted ice cream or soggy cake. Because of the pandemic hours of operation have changed. Hours for service are Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and later 5-7 p.m. Sunday’s hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Specializing in street tacos, Taco Feliz received a perfect score of five out of five from customers days after the Mexican restaurant opened its doors to the public. After four months of service, the dine-in restaurant is
Photos by Brandon Carr/MDN
TOP: A Culver's staff member completed curbside delivery to awaiting customers outside the restaurant. RIGHT: Mi Mexico Express remains closed inside Dakota Square Mall food court as dine-in restaurants remain closed due to coronavirus.
still flourishing, said Angelica, who is one of three workers. In February, Taco Feliz
added breakfast to its already stacked lunch and dinner menu. Breakfast hours are from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., lunch
and dinner hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Menudo, the traditional Mexican soup, is available during weekend breakfast hours only. Angelica said, “although we have tons of cars waiting outside, we are only allowed to serve three to five customers at a time inside the restaurant. Another option we offer is a curbside delivery system where you call and place your order over the phone, and we bring it to you as you wait outside.” Dollar General opened its new location at 1106 Fourth Avenue near Oak Park. The value name brand affiliate offers convenience to customers with everyday low prices on food, housewares, seasonal items, cleaning supplies, clothes, health & beauty products, home decor, seasonal items, and party preparations for great prices. With world-class training, competitive wages, and benefits, Dollar General has become one of America’s fastest-growing retailers. In the communities it serves, Dollar General is a supporter
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of literacy and education. For customers interested in learning how to read, speak English or prepare for their high school equivalency test can find brochures at every register before checkout. Helping more than 11 million people take their first steps towards literacy and education, the Literacy Foundation had awarded more than $172 million in grants to nonprofit organizations since 1993 when the program first began. Store hours were 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, hours of operations have changed. Before entering the store, there’s a bright green poster board taped to the window that reads, “Attention, to our valued customers. We apologize for any inconvenience, but until further notice, our store hours will be 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.” With an outward-facing entrance next to Barnes & Noble Booksellers, the telecommunication company, T-Mobile located inside Dakota Square mall opened its doors to the
public in February as part of the Herberger’s redevelopment. Dakota Square Mall general manager Chuck Massey said he is thrilled that the 5G network has come to Minot. “The addition demonstrates our commitment to offering the Minot community a wide array of multiuse shopping options,” he said. Joining T-Mobile shortly before the new year was Mi Mexico Express at the food court inside Dakota Square Mall. The family-run business has been a source of authentic Mexican cuisine in the Magic City for many years. Specializing in celebrations, Mi Mexico offers a free meal on your birthday (dine-in only), daily lunch specials, and military discounts on all food. Including Mi Mexico Express, the food court inside the mall is empty due to the coronavirus pandemic. Other businesses that opened recently include Dakota Burger Company, Slim Chickens and Family Dollar.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
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Minot Daily News • PROGRESS: Economic Development
Minot facilities draw tourists to sporting events By BRANDON CARR
Staff Writer bcarr@minotdailynews.com In Minot, the strategic plan to attract more tourists for sporting events has become a top priority, according to Executive Director Stephanie Schoenrock of Visit Minot. Schoenrock says the organization will shift its focus to attract more sporting events while catering to those events as more guests arrive in the Magic City. Visit Minot recently hosted the Magic City Figure Skating competition, which is a massive event. People from North Dakota and Canada were in attendance. During the event, the guests received welcome packets with location information for shopping and dining, while supplying the participants on the ice with water and granola bars. “We had the statewide Special Olympics Basketball Tournament at the Minot State University Dome,” said Schoenrock. Hundreds of people came to the multi-day event. “Depending on the sport, we provide banners, packets, and treats for participants while also putting up referees in hotels and sometimes funding as we do for our powerhouse soccer group so they can put on a great tournament. Soccer has a tremendous following in this community,” she said. One of the best ways to attract tourists is with amenities and or incentives. Some organizations use hashtags during live events so tourists could see themselves on the jumbotron via pictures or text. Many offer halftime displays where contestants have the opportunity to perform in front of huge crowds for prizes as their family cheers them on. When it comes to marketing and advertising, content is vital in the world of sports. Since the rise of social media, the two go hand in hand. Social media is the tour guide where tourists can genuinely get a first-hand look at the facility, team, and of the organization. Minot State University Director of Communications Michael Linnell said everyone’s budgets for marketing and advertisement are starting to dwindle. The use of social media has revolutionized the reach you could have. Social media allows smaller operations to reach thousands that they wouldn’t have been able to before. “Our marketing department led by social media specialist Rick Heit works hard on delivering the message, especially on how it’s sent out. We pay attention to where it’s going, who’s reading it, and what the click-through rate is. Social media is used to generate interest, to register people, and to be able to interact during the game. With the video board, we do an interactive in-game quiz, where the next person that scores before heading to the bench wins a prize. It’s all administered through an app now. It’s a digital commodity.” Linnell said Minot State University works with Visit Minot in regard to hotels and activities for tourists and promotions during sporting events, and they work with the local media as well for coverage. The MSU Dome is one of the most extensive indoor facilities in the region. The Dome holds high school indoor track and field, youth soccer indoor championships, youth wrestling, and regional and state basketball tournaments, which is one of MSU’s biggest draws. “It’s a process to get on rotation for state tournaments,” said Linnell. “It’s something we’ve traditionally had. The updates to the Dome over the last couple of years consisted of changes to the concourse, new seats, and we redid the floor to make sure that we stay viable for those state tournaments because they are our biggest draw. You can’t sell out a 10,000-square-foot arena if you don’t have the right facility. Those are the kind of upgrades we’ve made to compete for those tournaments, so it’s not just that we get them, but we do it right.” Elly DesLauriers, director of marketing and development for the
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ABOVE: Inside Maysa Arena at 2501 W. Burdick Expy., Minot. Jimmy Lafakis/MDN
RIGHT: Drake-Anamoose fans clap in support inside the Minot State University Dome during the regional tournament for Class B Boys Basketball.
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ABOVE: Minot Park District's tennis court inside Hammond Park at 200-298 8th Ave NE, Minot. Minot Park District, said she and multimedia coordinator Madeline Knutson work together to meet with organizations and or boosters of the events. “One of the first questions offered is, what support can we supply to make this event big?” “We’re more than willing to supply them help in that area,” said DesLauriers. “Madeline is amazing at that. She will be out taking pictures, sharing photos, videos, and all of the above. These tournaments will have their own social media pages, so when a tournament moves from town to town, they’ll already have an established page, and then the people hosting the event will take it on for that year,” she said. Working with a multitude of organizations, the Minot Park District is in charge of bringing tournaments to a majority of facilities like Jack Hoeven Park and Corbett Field for baseball, Hammond Park for tennis and Maysa Arena, which is the main attraction for hockey tournaments. The arena sees thousands of attendees, especially during weekends. Maysa has three ice rinks, but
Baseball diamond inside Jack Hoeven Park at 2630 7th Ave SW, Minot. two are currently working. The third rink had turf installed this past winter, which according to Director of Parks Ron Merritt has been an amazing draw. “There are some projects on the horizon,” said Merritt. “The expansion of adding a fourth rink is a possibility. We’re talking about expanding the shell of a fourth rink with our board right now and putting turf in one of them until we would need the fourth ice sheet. They’re talking about adding (an) aquatic (center) down the road as well as a permanent field house built next to Maysa Arena that will house a large turf area and multi-surface court.” DesLauriers said the Minot Park District works with a lot of different user groups like Visit
Minot, to program the facilities mentioned above. Those tournaments impact the community economically for Minot. “We see a lot of people come (to Minot) for our hockey tournaments from mites, squirts, peewee, (high school), and college,” said DesLauriers. “When they come to the Maysa for tournaments, that means people are staying in our hotels, eating at our restaurants, and shopping at our stores. The facility alone has a huge economic impact.” Merritt said he wasn’t sure how many nights people were staying in town. Still, people are coming from the entire region for basketball tournaments and other activities that are happening in the city. A lot of the facilities are generat-
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ing revenue like the Minot Municipal Auditorium, which recently held three successful high school girls basketball tournaments and the public golf course. During the summer, travelers from all over come to play, including Canada. Tourists and sports enthusiasts travel with the hopes of embarking on a new journey. The adventure and mystery of what lies ahead bring about a joy that is satisfied with one’s success. Visit Minot, Minot State University, and the Minot Recreational Center work with one another to draw tourists to Minot for sporting events. Although the games play a part in the draw, the upkeep and renovations to the arenas/venues are the attraction.
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Minot Daily News • PROGRESS: Economic Development
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Saturday, April 18, 2020
Saturday, April 18, 2020
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Minot Daily News • PROGRESS: Economic Development
Forging ahead By L. JOHN MACMARTIN
MADC undergoes changes, hits benchmarks, looks ahead
Interim President/CEO Minot Area Development Corporation
“At a turn of a decade, it is quite something to think about how much our community and organization have changed over 10 years. Change is the word I would apply to the past decade – and 2019 in particular,” explained the Minot Area Development Corporation (MADC) Past Chair Brekka Kramer. 2019 was a pivotal year for MADC with numerous internal changes, success of the Business Expansion & Retention (BEAR) Program, securement of a federal grant, and the achievement of hitting all economic development benchmarks for 2019 (pertaining to the agreement with City of Minot). MADC completed various milestones in 2019, leaving the organization excited for what’s in store for 2020. MADC’s continued dedication to the development of the Industrial Park of Minot fostered new opportunities in 2019, such as being awarded the CRISI (Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements) Grant. MADC also became part of the North Dakota Intermodal Initiative (NDII), an effort formed in 2019 to develop an intermodal port, which includes members from the North Dakota Department of Commerce, North Dakota Trade Office, and shippers throughout the state. This initiative is critical to address the increased demand for containerized Ag product transportation, aiding North Dakota’s leading industry. With infrastructure being at the forefront of economic development, MADC will use the CRISI Grant to further the infrastructure at the Industrial Park of Minot. Between the CRISI Grant and the strategic efforts of NDII, MADC hopes to bring the intermodal port to reality in 2020. AGT Foods, a global leader in the agriculture industry and MADC’s anchor tenant at the Industrial Park of Minot, hit innovative milestones in 2019. Since the opening of the Minot plant in 2013, AGT continues to expand and develop the Minot facility, filling a special niche in the pulse and
food ingredient market. One of AGT’s recent innovations has been the development of a gluten-free pea pasta that hit the market in 2019. The pea pasta is named “Veggi Pasta.” It’s manufactured right here in Minot and is a perfect alternative for Durum Pasta. For many years AGT has produced pasta, but this new pulse pasta is one of a kind. AGT’s special milling technologies has helped AGT earn its status as a global leader, allowing AGT to ship around 130,000 tons of pulsebased ingredients across the world from the Minot plant alone. MADC underwent several internal changes in 2019: a reduction of board members (in half), a change in leadership with MADC’s former President/CEO Stephanie Hoffart stepping down, and L. John MacMartin stepping in as Interim President/CEO. A shift of leadership has led MADC to explore merger
Photo by Jill Schramm/MDN
MAIN: AGT Foods, MADC’s anchor tenant in the Industrial Park, continues to expand and develop the Minot facility. Submitted Photo
From the left, John MacMartin, interim president/CEO; Brekka Kramer, 2019 chair; and Randy Hauck, 2020 chair of the Minot Area Development Corp., are shown in this photo.
opportunities with the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce in 2020. Despite these changes, MADC still managed to hit all its economic development benchmarks in 2019 for new business attraction and business retention. Some of these accomplishments include
engaging with 52% of Minot’s existing primary sector businesses and saving local businesses over $70,000 through the New Jobs Credit Program. 2019 was a year of progress with long-term visions coming to fruition through opportunities for infrastructure ad-
vancements (CRISI Grant & NDII), innovative developments (AGT Foods), and business retention success (BEAR & New Jobs Training Program). 2019 was also a year of organizational changes, leaving MADC excited for what 2020 holds.
RCJDA strives to see local businesses succeed, prosper and thrive By KRISTY TITUS
Community Development Coordinator Renville County Job Development Authority The Renville County Job Authority Development (RCJDA) was created to address the critical issues of economic development and diversification within Renville County. The primary purpose of the RCJDA is to create new jobs, save existing jobs, expand the local tax base, increase capital investment, and expand the primary sector and financial base of the area. They provide financial incentives, through interestfree loans and grants, to businesses that desire to begin, expand, or locate to Renville County. The RCJDA has assisted with many business startups and expansions through the years. The county has generated growth from the participation and dedication of local residents who choose to reinvest and volunteer their skills and talents. By encouraging a business-supporting environment, this in turn not only strengthens the entire community, but the entire county. The RCJDA realizes that community development is not just growth, and that our current small businesses are the heart of a healthy town. The RJCDA will strive to continue to see local businesses succeed, prosper, and thrive. This past year, the RCJDA provided interestfree loans and grants to many local businesses, throughout the entire county. One of those businesses is located in Sherwood. The Rivers Edge Cafe is owned and operated by Lynette Morris. Lynette has put a lot of time and effort into the remodel of both the inside and outside of the building since she opened this past year. Both the inside and outside of the
LEFT: Beauty Bar owner Riley Guenthner is shown at her grand opening with Mohall Chamber members. RIGHT: Rivers Edge Cafe in Sherwood has new outdoor roofing and siding, and new handicapped accessibility. building has gotten a new facelift. Having a smalltown cafe has been a great asset for the community! The RCJDA also assisted
with both a loan and grant for The Beauty Bar by Riley, owned and operated by Riley Guenthner. She offers her customers high quality
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beauty services through her full-service salon. The RCJDA supported Riley in pursuing her dreams of becoming a small business
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owner. Since the year 2000, the RCJDA has provided $346,101.15 in interest-free loans to businesses within
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Renville County. $156,245.40 has also been awarded in grants to various businesses and projects within the county.
g ay Register for youth activities now at Minotparks.com
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Minot Daily News • PROGRESS: Economic Development
Garrison community
Saturday, April 18, 2020
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TOP LEFT: Garrison Area Resource Center (GARC) and Food Pantry TOP RIGHT: Cubby Hole BELOW: Fish Cleaning Station
Working diligently to provide enhanced quality of life By McKAILA BEHLES
Director, Garrison Convention & Visitors’ Bureau Garrison Area Improvement Association Whether you’re returning to Garrison for a summer visit, considering a chance to come fish or hunt, or thinking about finding a new home, this is a community that comes together to meet your expectations. Our retail, service, and professional businesses offer personal care by experienced and friendly personnel. Garrison schools, churches, and organizations remain strong threads in the basic of community life. Year-round recreation opportunities keep area sportsmen enjoying the current season and looking forward to the next. Special events reward enthusiasts with great memories and growing friendships. Garrison, a community of 1,500 located on the north side of beautiful Lake Sakakawea, continues to work diligently in providing enhanced quality of life for our current residents and tourism opportunities for guests to enjoy. The Garrison Area Improvement Association (GAIA) is fervently passionate about the city of Garrison and its residents. We realize that small business is the
heart of a healthy small town and wish to see our residents succeed in their local business ventures as it only strengthens the community. As our mission states: “The mission of GAIA is to create an environment that will aid the retention and expansion of existing businesses within the community and encourage the development and success of all area business. GAIA is a non-profit economic development corporation dedicated to the progressive growth of Garrison and the surrounding area while maintaining an excellent quality of life.” In summary, one of our
primary functions is to provide business assistance to startups, expansions, and relocations to the Garrison Area. They continue to maintain a business revolving loan fund along with the Flex PACE loan program and 10 grant programs designed for business improvements, employee recruitment/ retention, events, and local community projects. The Cubby Hole, a project led by GAIA, has created an additional venue for midsized gatherings on our main street providing an attached outdoor space as well as a basic approved commercial kitchen. The commercial
kitchen will be a huge asset to our local caters and homebased businesses in which are approved under the local cottage food law. This would open up great opportunity for many of those businesses to use as an incubator to see if they would be successful in expanding into a full commercial business before making a huge investment. It would also be a benefit to our local non-profits who may be needing a kitchen for an upcoming fundraiser (including being a Street Food Vendor during the Dickens Village Festival). This project is currently in the works, thanks to a financial support match
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from the Main Street Expansion Grant. The tourism industry is extremely important to the economy of our community and visitors who engage in fishing & hunting comprise a significant portion of the tourism activity. We are excited for Better Living for Garrison (BLFG) to take on the project of adding an Indoor Fish Cleaning Station. The station will be easily accessible, located on the west side of town on Highway 37, and be open year-round. The project goal is to break ground this spring as soon as the ground thaws. The Garrison CVB in cooperative effort
with GAIA also continues working diligently on attracting more guides to the Garrison Area with an incentive program available. The Garrison Area Resource Center (GARC) and Food Pantry was established in January with a goal to alleviate hunger in the area by soliciting, collecting, and distributing food to our target population. They are an approved partner agency of the Great Plains Food Bank and currently have food distribution days on the 4th Thursday of each month. The board’s goal is to eventually expand their services by adding a thrift store and expanding their hours of distribution. The Center & Food Pantry are located at 71 South Main Street with alley access. Along with these great additions to the community, the Garrison Area has also seen economic growth through the addition of new businesses as well as expanded services from current businesses. Additional new businesses including: Dianna Bertrand Photography, Coffee & Company, HA Thompson & Sons, Dollar General, and a new church – Evangel. Expanded services currently being added to existing businesses including: beer & wine option with your meal at the Four Seasons Restaurant, Krause’s Market Liquor Store, Cenex Touchless Car Wash, and a current remodel of the Cenex C-Store and Bait & Tackle Shop. Additional recreational opportunities were added at Fort Stevenson State Park with the rental option of kicksleds. The Garrison Area Improvement Association is proud to continue seeing positive economic growth to the Garrison Community – healthy local business equates to a healthy community. We continue to encourage a progressive business supporting environment in which benefits our community as a whole. The future is looking bright for the Garrison community and we encourage you to check out our business district on your next visit to Garrison or by visiting www.garrisonnd.com.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Bottineau area By WHITNEY GONITZKE
Laboring our community efforts
Executive Director Bottineau EDC
Keeping our workforce thriving, and our community competitive is important as it is difficult, and Bottineau County is taking a proactive step to solve this issue through a scholarship program. The county and City of Bottineau, like many small communities, struggles at times to keep workforce options popular, use competitive community offers to entice millennials to work, stay and play in our county. Our reality is that technical and trade positions are dwindling. Agriculture has suffered through some pretty tough years. We have seen some positions move on as baby boomers retire or take job offers elsewhere. Our economy is changing, and we are working to build a future workforce through a scholarship program. Bottineau Economic Development Corporation and Dakota College at Bottineau Foundation along with Challenge Grant Funds have teamed up to offer the Hometown Career Scholarship. This $2,500 scholarship is available to students working toward finishing DCB’s career and technical education programs. Our aim with the scholarship is to provide a collegiate education to local students, and after graduation, encourage them to stay and work in our com-
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Minot Daily News • PROGRESS: Economic Development
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munity. Newly admitted students who have lived here for two years are encouraged to apply. This includes students living in Bottineau, Renville, McHenry, Pierce and Rolette counties. They must also be full time in a career and technical education program at DCB. This includes programs like agriculture, business, horticulture, natural re-
sources and computer technology. All funds and fees for school are covered with successful completion of a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester. Scholarship recipients must have a fall term GPA of 2.0 or higher to be eligible to receive the award in the spring. The total award for this scholarship offer is $2,500 with an equal split between fall and spring semester.
This program has many benefits to the region, including helping the college and students focus on career and technical education programs that will ultimately build our region’s front-line workforce. The scholarship also encourages local students to pursue their secondary education here. Offering incentives for local students to stay in the community after high school
City of Harvey By PAUL GUNDERSON
graduation has multiple benefits. This increases the probability they will become a part of our local workforce after school, but also as part-time workers while in school. This also means they are here to shop locally, buy gas locally and participate in local events. Having these students involved in our community activities helps present Bottineau County and the Region as a fun and engaging place to find a job and live after graduation. Finally, one of the most obvious benefits of the program is the fact that students who participate will be graduating with technical skills that are essential for our future workforce. The emphasis this program places on pulling students into DCB’s career and technical education programs will have longterm impacts on workforce skills and availability. As of March 2020, we have had 25 students who have received the Hometown Career Scholarship. We hope to see that number continue to grow, and in turn, continue to grow our workforce and prosperity in the region. Do you know a future graduate that might be interested in staying close to home, getting an education and working nearby? Please tell them about this opportunity and we hope to see many future Bottineau County residents receive this award, pursue their dreams and keep all of us moving forward into the future.
Rebuilding internal entrepreneurial capability
Interim Economic Development Director City of Harvey
The city of Harvey entered 2019 after having experienced significant growth in its entrepreneurial community across 2018, when nine new businesses opened their doors. This development reflected the primary economic development approach adopted by Harvey…rebuild its internal entrepreneurial capability. Included were professional, personal, and computer services, and construction and fabrication activity. The city’s clinical community also launched new outpatient capacity, access to dental care, and preventative health care. Included was the initiation of a multi-year expansion of St. Aloisius Medical Center as additional physicians and other clinical staff were recruited, dental capability was maintained, and Wells County Public Health’s District Health Unit, St. Aloisius Medical Center, and Harvey’s K-12 educational system added significant disease prevention and health promotion programming. And, Harvey’s veterinarian capability was augmented as Sheridan Animal Hospital added two new veterinarians and a new animal boarding capacity. These entrepreneurial surges were maintained in 2019 as seven new businesses located within the Harvey area. Included was a major precision agriculture entity – INTELLIFARMS, a new dental office, Rancho Grande II, a
Mexican-themed restaurant, a reflexologist and Reiki Master who co-located within Dakota Plains Chiropractic, Healthy Hatter, a massage therapist, Healing Wave, a Reiki Practitioner, and Hippocampus Holdings, LLC, a real estate development company that purchased the Harvey Power House with plans for repurposing the facility into a new behavioral health clinical entity. These developments resulted in creation of 13 new staff positions. And, expansion of other Harvey-based businesses also occurred. Patzer Truck Repair underwent a huge building expansion as it increased its staff by four additional technicians, Sheridan Animal Hospital relocated to spacious new clinical headquarters adjacent to its new animal boarding facility, and St. Aloisius Medical Center opened expanded primary clinical and therapy space to house approximately 40 new staff additions. In sum, the city of Harvey experienced another banner business expansion year.
Mike’s
TOP: Patzer Truck Repair, Inc. Building expansion. CENTER: New Sheridan Animal Hospital clinical facility RIGHT: INTELLIFARMS Submitted Photos
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Minot Daily News • PROGRESS: Economic Development
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Saturday, April 18, 2020