The Good Life Magazine – January-February 2021

The Flow of the River WRITTEN BY: JEFFREY MILLER

During the winter season of snow and ice, it's easy to forget about rivers. In the Red River Valley, rivers are often only thought of in the context of spring flooding. That's unfortunate because the rivers around us are amazing natural resources!

ThE RIVERS AROUND US ARE AMAZING NATURAL RESOURCES! The area's largest river, the Red River, is unique in the fact that it flows north to its terminus. Formed 2 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com

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PHOTO BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA

after the giant glacial Lake Agassiz drained 9,500 years ago, the Red River watershed is over 40,000 square miles in size. Many small rivers, such as the Sheyenne, the Maple and the Wild Rice on the North Dakota side, and the Buffalo and Red Lake River on the Minnesota side, empty into the Red. Unfortunately, many people think our prairie rivers are dirty and polluted. While it is true that they aren't crystal clear, the opaqueness comes from suspended silt in the water. As the Red flows through the bottom of Glacial Lake Agassiz, the soil is clay, consisting of very fine

particles. In moving water, these particles stay suspended, coloring the water brown.

Beyond getting our drinking water from the Red River, it also provides a fantastic habitat for a wide variety of wild critters. The forest growing near the river is known as a riparian forest. Prior to settlement, the only trees growing in the prairie were along the rivers and streams.

While small, these forests have a staggering amount of biodiversity.

While it's easy to see deer and bald eagles, all kinds of animals make their home in the riparian forests.

There are even some modern-day

wildlife success stories playing out near the river.

Fisher and river otter, animals that haven't been seen in many years, now have breeding populations.

Nature is resilient, filling all available ecological niches.

Unfortunately, our rivers face obstacles. Run-off, both from urban areas and rural areas, dump fertilizers and other contaminants in the water. In the past, it has been easy to point fingers at who is causing the most issues with runoff. We've come to realize that all runoff contributes to nutrient overload.

There are many ways we can protect our waters from runoff. Reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides can help with point-source runoff. Before applying fertilizer to your lawn or garden, read the instructions on the bag. It's easy to think that more fertilizer means better plants, that is not the case.

What isn't used by the soil and plants will wash off, increasing the nutrient load of the waterways as well as wasting your money.

Planting perennial grasses and trees also helps stem runoff. Exposed soil or short grass near waterways allowing both nutrient and soil to wash into the water. By leaving a buffer of tall grass or trees and shrubs along the bank that runoff is captured. The vegetation also helps in stabilizing the bank. Excessive erosion can endanger roads, properties and homes. The roots of perennial vegetation, especially native grasses, flowers and trees, hold the soil in place.

I'm always amazed at the flow of traffic east into Minnesota Lakes country each weekend in the summer. While that area is beautiful and full of recreational opportunities, the Red River also offers nearly untapped resources. Kayaking, canoeing and hiking can all be enjoyed around the metro area. In addition, the Red River offers fishing opportunities for world-class channel cat.

Reeling in a twenty-pound catfish is not for the faint of heart!

As a community, we need to work hard to protect our river resources. The Cass County Soil Conservation District can help with a variety of measures to protect the river. We offer cost-share for a variety of management practices as well as technical assistance. There is even a watershed project area, funded through the EPA 319 program, for the Maple River Watershed. Contact us today to find out how we can help! •

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JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021

VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 4

THE FLOW OF THE RIVER A PROFESSION OF PURPOSE Fargo's New Police Chief Ready to Make a Difference FATHERS - DAD LIFE Working and Teaching from Home: A Timeline GOOSE PRAIRIE FORGE Home to Passion and Precision MEN'S HEALTH 2021 Goal: Focus on the Journey ON THE COVER Making the Good Greater Steve Hallstrom’s Journey from the Farm to The Flag PEOPLE'S HOME EQUITY Local Lender's Mission to Serve HAVING A BEER WITH Having a Beer (Water) with Mike Morken

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LOCAL HERO Tony Hamilton - Emergency Room Physician

PUBLISHED BY Urban Toad Media LLP www.urbantoadmedia.com OWNER / GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dawn Siewert dawn@urbantoadmedia.com OWNER / PHOTOGRAPHER Darren Losee darren@urbantoadmedia.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Meghan Feir Paul Hankel Ben Hanson Jeffrey Miller Krissy Ness Emma Vatnsdal ADVERTISING INQUIRIES Darren Losee darren@urbantoadmedia.com

READ A PAST ISSUE yumpu.com/user/thegoodlife FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK facebook.com/urbantoadmedia FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @urbantoadmedia FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @urbantoadmedia

The Good Life Men’s Magazine is distributed six times a year

by Urban Toad Media LLP. Material may not be reproduced without permission. The Good Life Men’s Magazine accepts no liability for reader dissatisfaction arising from content in this publication. The opinions expressed, or advice given, are the views of individual writers or advertisers and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of The Good Life Men’s Magazine.

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Before his first day began at the Fargo Police Department on Oct. 5, 2020, Chief David Zibolski had served the state of Wisconsin for 36 years, promoting positive change in communities across the state. Immediately prior to his role in Fargo, he served as chief of police for the Beloit Police Department in Beloit, Wisc.

No stranger to high-tension situations, Zibolski started his role at the Beloit Police Department in 2015 in a rushed fashion after the city’s previous chief and deputy chief were walked out abruptly and later resigned after an internal investigation.

“I kind of came into that position in the midst of a crisis,” Zibolski said. “They were looking for someone to come into a leadership position and essentially take over and turn the department in a better direction with very little notice, so that was a pretty big challenge.”

Over the course of his five years in Beloit, a lot was accomplished.

Policies were set in place to protect both officers and community members, violent crimes were reduced, and the department greatly improved their training programs.

“It is very different than when I took over, and it’s not just my efforts. It’s the efforts of the personnel working there,” Zibolski said. “Most of the people in law

“I think my experience in Milwaukee really gave me a lot of background and experience.

It was a very busy department and a very diverse city, and going to the Department of Justice provided some of that statewide and legislative perspective.” – Chief Zibolski

WRITTEN BY: MEGHAN FEIR

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PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA

enforcement are there because of their passion to serve and their understanding of the importance of the role in society. It’s getting the right people in place, giving them guidance and leadership and then letting them go out and do what they need to do.”

Even before Beloit, Zibolski had always served in Wisconsin. A born-and-raised Wisconsinite, he started his career in Milwaukee. For 27 years, he was a part of their police department where he worked his way up through the ranks in various divisions and bureaus.

In 2011, he retired as a captain and took up a position with the Wisconsin Department of Justice as a deputy administrator for the Division of Law Enforcement Services, a statewide agency that oversees law enforcement training and standards for the entire state.

That’s not a small undertaking. In Wisconsin alone, there are 16,000 cops and around 600 agencies.

Zibolski also oversaw Wisconsin’s Crime Laboratory Bureau, Crime Information Bureau and the Bureau of Justice Information and Analysis.

“It was a statewide law enforcement position, along with a lot of legislative efforts. We were able to successfully pass some bills that enhanced law enforcement training,” Zibolski said. “I think my experience in Milwaukee really gave me a lot of background and experience. It was a very busy department and a very diverse city, and going to the Department of Justice provided some of that statewide and legislative perspective.”

A new state of being When the five years came to an end at Beloit, Zibolski wanted to continue expanding his career opportunities and began looking for a larger organization. With family in Montana, he wanted to stay in the Midwest. That’s when Fargo popped up on the radar.

“I didn’t really know much about Fargo. My wife and I did a little research and came to check it out. We really were impressed with the city,” Zibolski said. “There’s so much here and so much to do. The growth, the way in which it’s managed and the people here were all very impressive, so we went through the process and it fortunately was successful.”

While his first few months have been extremely busy meeting personnel and learning about Fargo’s operations, he’s also starting to plan for the department’s future as he contemplates enhancements and evaluates the whole organization’s procedures, policies and responsibilities.

“It’s been a pretty busy first few months, but it’s going very well. The job is challenging, but it’s rewarding and I’m enjoying that.”

Overcoming the challenges With the current climate of discontent in the nation, this is one of the strangest and most difficult times to be a part of a police department, but people like Chief Zibolski are always up for the challenge. He believes those who really want to be community servants will continue to become officers.

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“It is an interesting period and rather difficult from a community relations perspective. Along with COVID, the culmination of those two things has made a difficult job twice as difficult and challenging as it was before for both being a chief and a police officer,” Zibolski said. “I think the success of law enforcement in general, especially the success of folks here in Fargo, is a tribute to their resiliency. Even though they have to do things differently and we have to take precautions we wouldn’t normally have to take, they’re still out there every day doing their job. That’s what’s important. Certainly the community expects that, even when things are difficult.”

According to one survey by the Police Executive Research Forum taken in 2020, of the agencies that participated in the survey, there was a 63 percent decrease in applications to become police officers, along with early exits and retirement rates growing higher across the country. There are, of course, differences among each city and department, but nationally, the trend is quite clear.

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“It’s much more difficult now, but we’ve been pretty successful,” Zibolski said, “Last year, our staff put together the first academy ever. It was very successful.

We have a group of individuals who are interested in joining the department and they’ve already been through the initial training. From that perspective, I think we really have both feet in front of the game, and I think that’s good for us and our community.”

Promoting the good life In order to create better lives for officers and members of the community, Chief Zibolski is hoping to create a more efficient staffing schedule that will also create a healthier work-life balance for the officers in Fargo. He says this will not only make more sense in balancing busier with slower times, but also in creating more opportunities for positive community engagement for all the officers.

“There are a lot of great, committed officers here. We have a community engagement team that’s engaging our

community on a regular basis, but most people also want to know their beat officers and they want to have those positive interactions with the other officers who work here. The current schedule doesn’t necessarily allow them to do that because they’re busy going from call to call,” Zibolski said. "When you’re dealing with mostly negative types of things, it’s nice to have that positive interaction. Obviously COVID has affected events and engagement, but I think we’re doing our best to work around that and create some different engagement opportunities.”

As far as how Zibolski views how to live the good life himself, finding fulfillment in every area of life tops the list.

“I think you have to be happy on a personal level. You want to have a career that’s fulfilling, rewarding and has purpose, and you also want to have a personal life that has those same things,” Zibolski said. “When I stop enjoying doing what I’m doing, I’ll know it’s probably time for me to retire and find something else. You can’t come to a job like this and not be committed, passionate and positive about it. I think that’s very important for mental health, longevity and living the good life.” •

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FATHERS | DAD LIFE

Working and Teaching from Home: A Timeline WRITTEN BY: PAUL HANKEL

9:00 am - Online Learning Time

Tell your child that you don’t care that the video game he’s playing is live and that he supposedly can’t quit in the middle of a match. It's time to LEARN. Tell your child that we don’t call people names in this family.

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PHOTO BY: SOLEN FEYISSA

Begrudgingly reset your password, using a combination of at least ten characters, two capital letters, two Egyptian hieroglyphic symbols, and one drop of blood from a freshly sacrificed lamb.

Glance over your child’s lesson plan.

Boot up the laptop and attempt to sign in to your child’s distance learning portal.

Regret sleeping through most of your high school and college classes.

Swear, because you forgot your login and password.

11:30am - Lunchtime

Remind your child that we don’t swear in this household.

Contact your child’s school to retrieve your login credentials, only to find out that the school technology officer only works Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 am 9 am, due to COVID. What?

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Offer your child a well-rounded meal, featuring a protein, complex carbohydrate, and vegetable.

Explain to your child that this isn’t a three-star Michelin restaurant or a hipster bistro and that you’re not taking menu requests.

Remind your child that we don’t call names in this house.

Console your child.

Try to sneak into your office for a quick work call while your child is begrudgingly eating their, “super gross,” lunch.

Be interrupted on said work call because, “the peas touched the fish sticks,” and now your child can’t eat them.

Remind your child that this isn’t a hotel and that he’s fully capable of bringing his dishes to the sink.

12:00pm - Naptime

Verbally and physically wrestle with your child, while explaining the importance of naptime.

After 15 minutes of arguing, settle on an “openeyed rest,” in lieu of an actual nap.

1:30pm - Recess

No, playing Madden 20 does not count as physical activity, even though it’s a sport.

Partake in a myriad of backyard physical activities until back sweat becomes an issue and you almost tear a rotator cuff trying to relive your high school glory days on the gridiron.

2:15pm - Creative / Art Time

Instantly regret agreeing to any glitter - or sand related artwork projects.

Settle for a Youtube fingerpainting tutorial.

Sneak in a quick conference call, only to be interrupted again because your child ran out of blue paint.

3:00 pm - Music Time

Silently curse your child’s aunt for giving him a recorder for Christmas.

Consider having music time outside going forward.

Remember that you live in North Dakota and it’s January.

3:30pm - End of Day

Relent and let your child have tablet time.

Make a mental note to post to social media about the fact that teachers are MASSIVELY underpaid.

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WRITTEN BY: KRISSY NESS PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA

Goose Prairie Forge home to passion and precision

You may or may not be surprised to find that just north of Hawley, Minnesota tucked away on a farm, you will find master blacksmith, Douglas Swenson.

Swenson has had a passion for blacksmithing since he was a small child.

"My dad had taken a piece of equipment to be repaired by a blacksmith and he had taken me with that day. I just remember going into the shop seeing all of the activity that was going on at that point.

There was a fire going in the forge and the blacksmith was pulling some piece of hot iron out of the fire that 12 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com

"i remember the bright color of the fire and the sound of the hammer on the anvil; that was just very impressive to me." – Douglas swenson

he was working on, hammering it on the anvil. I remember the bright color of the fire and the sound of the hammer on the anvil; that was just very impressive to me," remarked Swenson.

Throughout the years, he has progressed in the art of blacksmithing not only by practicing but also by taking the time to get to know former blacksmiths from years past.

"I did have the opportunity, many years ago, to visit some of the smaller community shops here in the area when they existed," mentioned Swenson. "I was also able to interview some of the existing blacksmiths that

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were just finishing their careers in those shops. I was very fortunate that I took the time back then to find these people and visit with them; it gave me a good feeling of what shops were like, what equipment they used, how they worked, and the type of work they did."

that was a time of very rapid growth and expansion."

He has a shop on his farm that recreates the 1895-1910 era of blacksmithing.

"It has always had kind of a special feeling to me, that period of time," noted Swenson.

"It is geared towards what you would have seen in most of the small rural community blacksmith shops around the turn of the century," stated Swenson. "I chose that period because here, in the Red River Valley,

Fortunately, Swenson's passion has provided for him and his family financially as well.

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His shop is set up so all of the tools and equipment are from that period that he has collected and he tries to use the same type of work methods that they would have 100 years ago.

"The majority of my time in the past two years, as far as the shop is

concerned, has been spent teaching classes," stated Swenson. "I teach classes out of my shop directly; currently I have 8 individuals who come out for private instructions."

Setting up an appointment for private classes is very simple; you can contact Swenson through his Facebook page, Goose Prairie Forge.

He is very flexible when it comes to scheduling time to visit his shop; whether it is during the week or on the weekend he can find a time that works best for your schedule.

Don't think that this is all that Swenson does when it comes to blacksmithing. Currently, he is

on staff at North House Folk School in Grand Marais, Minnesota, the Vesterheim in Decorah, Iowa, and Aspire Artisan Studio and Folk School in Waconia, Minnesota.

But, wait, there is more! In addition to his shop and staffed positions, Swenson has studied under some of the most impressive blacksmiths around. He has studied in California, England, and Sweden.

"I have learned a tremendous amount from those people which has been very helpful," said Swenson.

More recently he has been awarded a grant from the American Scandinavian Foundation to return to Sweden and study further later in 2021. He is the real deal when it comes to being a master blacksmith in the United States.

Because kids are not in school right now due to quarantine, younger individuals, junior high to high school students, have set up times to come to visit Swenson's shop as a part of their homeschooling curriculum. This is such a clever way to get in a little extra history, creativity, and manual activity forging and creating.

"I have a large shop and it has good ventilation. Usually, we have individuals, or a couple, or a family group, so we don't mix a lot of the public in the shop at this point," mentioned Swenson.

It has to be so rewarding to come with a design in mind and execute it with a professional. I spoke with Swenson about setting up some time in the future to visit his shop and make something; a fire poker or dinner bell perhaps, or maybe both!

"I think it is satisfying for people to be able to do that, to make a finished product," said Swenson.

If you are curious to see what Swenson's work is all about, head over to his Facebook page at Goose Prairie Forge, and browse around for a while. You, too, will be captivated by the sights and sounds of his shop. •

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MEN'S HEALTH

WRITTEN BY: BEN HANSON

The Importance of Finding Pleasure in New Habits Let's all join together, take a collective sigh of relief, and celebrate making it through 2020.

It was not an easy year. In fact, for many of us, it was the most challenging year yet. But with the flip of the calendar, we are all given the chance at a restart — whatever your particular new start might look like.

For the purposes of this column, however, we're going to assume many of you have a health and fitness-related goal. Whether it's weight loss, shaving some inches off your waistline, or finally diving into that Whole 30 cookbook you got as a not-so-subtle gift from your mother-in-law, New Year's fitness goals are as common as a Red River Flood. Though, we seem to battle floodwaters much more effectively than we battle the bulge.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic still raging, there really is no better time than now to give your body and your brain the stress relief they so desperately need.

COVID makes the logistics a bit tougher, but exercising during times of high stress is a proven method 16 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com

for boosting your overall mental well-being. You're going to have to plan. You're going to have to make room in your calendar and make it a priority. And to help maximize your initial excitement, it's good to understand why you may have failed in the past… and the super simple secret is to long-term success.

Wrong Failure

Goals

Lead

to

Speaking with Dr. Forrest Sauer, Founder of Twin Oaks Health in Fargo, the reason why so many of us end up failing to reach our New Year's resolution goals isn't so much that we lack commitment or ability, but we always tend to focus our energies and optimism on the wrong thing.

"Oftentimes people will only find pleasure in the end result… hitting the number on the scale or getting the six-pack or whatever it is," Dr. Sauer explained. "All of your emotion and mindset is on that goal, but that is such a fleeting and very shallow approach to getting in shape, because once you've achieved it you're done. You hit that peak rush… but then what?

Inevitably, after that huge high you suffer a very quick emotional

drop with nothing left to keep you motivated."

Train Your Brain to Love the Work When it comes to long term weight loss or fitness success, maintenance is the name of the game… and it's a long game. Your goal may be to lose 20 pounds, but that's just one goal on the long road to lifetime healthy weight maintenance. In order to achieve that, you've got to find a way to fall in love with the work that's required. That work needs to become a habit.

"The trick is to find pleasure in the act of getting there," Dr. Sauer said bluntly. "You gotta force yourself to enjoy exercising — it's a mental discipline at the end of the day, and you can train your brain at this just as you train the rest of your physical body.

The reward is that wonderful dopamine rush that comes with physical exertion, Dr. Sauer explained. He says you can train your brain to like exercise — and learn to love it — by connecting those feelings of pleasure with the action itself vs. the result in the mirror or on the scale.

"The more you love the lifting, the running or healthy dietary choices, the more likely you are to maintain those actions," he said. "It's pretty neat, because really what you're doing at a scientific level is changing the chemistry in your brain to keep you motivated. Clients that suffer from mood disorders like depression can do the same thing."

At Twin Oaks, Dr. Sauer and his team focus on these highlevel changes to help their clients achieve lasting success.

Their goal is to hold people accountable by showing them exactly what they need to do given their specific goals and specific body types. It's not all calorie counting and reps on the weight bench. "For example," Dr. Sauer said, "if you want to lose 50 pounds, but we uncover you suffer from a hormonal imbalance, we have to do certain things first to address that before we can focus on a weight loss program that is going to last." • Special thanks to Dr. Forrest Sauer at Twin Oaks Health Solutions, medical consultant for our Men's Health section. urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 17

ON THE COVER | STEVE HALLSTROM

MAKING THE GooD

GREATER

Steve Hallstrom’s Journey from the Farm to The Flag

WRITTEN BY: MEGHAN FEIR PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA

Throughout his career, Steve Hallstrom, the managing partner, radio host and president at Flag Family Media, has played many parts. Over the past 30 years, he’s worked on a farm, managed a grain elevator, sold Billy Graham videos to churches, worked as a mortgage lender and been a sports broadcaster on TV, along with other roles that only add to the diversity of dexterities displayed on his resume.

Whatever new responsibility he takes on, one thing remains constant: the lessons instilled in him as a boy.

Diligence, determination and discipline On a farm 60 miles north of Minneapolis, Hallstrom grew up helping his family raise cattle, hogs and a few thousand acres of crops. When he wasn’t doing chores, his younger brother and he could often be found playing one-on-one baseball, basketball and football together in their front yard.

Although he enjoyed spending time with his family in the country, Hallstrom knew he wanted to leave the farm life after graduating. He thought he might become a banker, a businessman or something in the sports world. He’d always had an itch for public relations. But no matter how far he traveled from the farm, he carried the same diligence, determination and discipline with him, habits he learned from his father.

“My dad wasn’t a man of many words, but I saw him work all the time. He was always teaching us lessons about responsibility and hard work and that you get out of it what you put into it,” Hallstrom said. “While I don’t remember 18 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com

thinking at the time, ‘Gosh, my dad works hard and that’s why he’s had a good run at life,’ it’s obviously where I got that work ethic from. I’ve tried to take it with me the best I can.”

Taking it with him Throughout his years studying at Bethel University in the Twin Cities and the years that followed in his careers, Hallstrom harnessed his work ethic and strong faith in God to navigate the right path.

Following his college graduation, Hallstrom was eventually employed at Prudential Home Mortgage Company after spending a few years working as a grain elevator manager for his father’s farm and as a marketer for the Billy Graham Association. People started telling him he had a voice for broadcasting.

The suggestion intrigued him, and he went back to school, enrolling in night classes at Brown Institute, a tech school in Minneapolis. He went on to work for news companies in St. Cloud, Minn., and Minot, N.D., before moving to WDAY in Fargo. Over the course of 12 years, Hallstrom became a daily guest in the homes of thousands of Fargo-Moorhead residents as he reported the latest news in sports.

After a long stint at the broadcasting network, the recognizable sports reporter felt a nudge to move on. For five years he managed the Northeast Region of National Sales at Discovery Benefits, earning several awards for sales excellence.

“

WDAY has always been synonymous with news…

It’s just taking the good things and making them better.”

– Steve Hallstrom

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ON THE COVER | STEVE HALLSTROM

“I’m really lucky because I have a great partner in Scott who has done so many of these things at other places.”

– Steve Hallstrom

Whether ordained or by chance, all of his varied career experiences, interests and skills were woven together to make Hallstrom thrive in his current roles as a manager, broadcaster, accountant, strategic thinker, salesman and leader for his team and others’. While all of his past positions were good jobs, his current station at Flag Family Media is even better as it utilizes all of his learned proficiencies and passions.

“I get to do all those things — sales, broadcast, public relations and accounting,” Hallstrom said. “But I think 20 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com

what I enjoy the most is building the organization and figuring out the vision for where we want to go.”

Visualizing the future For almost 6 years, Hallstrom has been a prominent part of Flag Family Media. Two years ago, he and his Flag Family Media partner, Scott Hennen, started Fieldstone Group, a full service creative and strategic consulting business that helps executives establish strategies and ideas for their businesses.

After successfully managing two companies together, Hallstrom and Hennen are taking on another exciting challenge with their team: the acquisition of WDAY radio (News-Talk 970 AM and 93.1 FM) and creating a vision for its future. The partnership agreement went into effect Nov. 9, 2020. According to the agreement, Flag Family Media will fully operate the stations and exercise a buy option.

“I’m really lucky because I have a great partner in Scott who has done so many of these things at other places,” Hallstrom said. “I think, I dream, I pray for wisdom on how to do all of this, and I talk to Scott and know he’s doing the same. The two of us really make a lot of the decisions together.”

As the friends envision their strategy with the acquisition, Hallstrom likes to do what he calls reverse engineering — visualizing and working backwards from the point of success.

“What does it look like if WDAY and WZFG are just running at 100 percent efficiency, really vibrant, bold and energetic? What does that look like and how do we get there? Who do we hire first? Who are the partners in the community that can help us get there? Those are the things that really drive me, and it’s the most fun part of my job.”

Although this partnership will create some changes for WDAY radio, the network will still carry out their 98-year reputation of being a reliable and timely source of news and information.

“What they have at WDAY as far as who they are isn’t going to change.

WDAY has always been synonymous with news,” Hallstrom said. “In the radio world and our part of the world that means weather as well, but it also means ag. When something happens with trade policy that affects corn and soy farmers or sugar beet growers, that’s news too.

We want to do all that, but we think there’s a lot of untapped potential with WDAY radio right now that we can grow into something that I think we’re all going to be really proud of and excited about. It’s just taking the good things and making them better.”

“I think what I enjoy the most is building the organization and figuring out the vision for where we want to go.”

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ON THE COVER | STEVE HALLSTROM

Making radio better Since every form of media is continually changing at a rapid pace, it’s easy to make assumptions about radio’s signal fading out of relevance. But that clearly isn’t the case.

The Radio Advertising Bureau reported that 80 percent of Americans are still tuning into the radio at some point every week. Another survey taken by Nielsen last spring found 83 percent of consumers were listening to as much or more radio before COVID-19 hit the United States.

“Radio is the original social media. It’s a way for you to instantly get what you’re looking for. On your social media apps, you can get a piece and a voice, but you tend to get the same kind of stuff. In radio, if something’s happening we can open up the phone lines. People weigh in and learn from each other and make sense of the world as they process together. There’s always going to be a desire for that, no matter where you are.”

“We don’t think radio is going away, but you’re going 22 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com

to have to be really good at doing it,” Hallstrom said. “As long as we continue to be relevant with the content, compelling to listen to with great local hosts and accurate, meaningful information, we’re going to have a product of content that will always be valuable, although what that looks like and how we distribute it may change over time.”

Living the good life If you were to ask Hallstrom’s team what some of his favorite motivational, life quotes are, they could probably recite a long list. Many of his favorites are Bible verses, although he’s quick to admit he’s not some spiritually perfect person who has it all together.

One of his favorites is Proverbs 3:5-6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path.

“That part that says, ‘And lean not on your understanding…’ There were so many times where I thought I knew it all and had the answers. It turns out

I didn’t. I’ve become very aware of how bad my decisions can really be sometimes.”

Another verse he stands by is Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

“I feel like this whole road I’m on was orchestrated millions of years ago, and I’m kind of just following it. There’s a lot of peace in that, and it really gives me a lot of comfort knowing that if I’m asking God to direct my path and chart my steps for me, then I know for a fact that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be,” Hallstrom said. “It’s easy to feel like the measure of me is how much money our company produces, how big our building is or how many people work here, but it’s not. To me it’s always going to come back to who I am in Christ.

When this life is done… the only thing I hope someone says about me is that I was a guy who loved people.

I’m honestly embarrassed for the many times in my life when I haven’t been that way nearly enough and it’s been more about the career and the success. I have a long way to go, no doubt about that.”

Living “the good life” to Hallstrom entails a lot more than material gain, temporary satisfaction or worldly success. He says it’s simply “appreciating what you have.”

“I think I’m living the good life,” Hallstrom said. “I feel like I’m one of the most blessed people who has ever walked the earth, and as long as I feel that way, I won’t take much for granted.” •

“

“When this life is done… the only thing I hope someone says about me is that I was a guy who loved people.”

– Steve Hallstrom urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 23

Local Lender’s Mission to Serve

People’s Home Equity Branch Manager Leans on Navy Background to Drive “Homes for Heroes” Program WRITTEN BY: BEN HANSON PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA

For new enlistees in the Armed Forces, the first stop is boot camp.

Already a demanding few weeks of physical exertion and skills training meant to sharpen one's instincts and resourcefulness, boot camp in June in hot and muggy Orlando, Fla. makes the challenge all the more difficult. At the age of 18, that's where Shane Tiabiatowski got his first taste of active duty service in the United States Navy, beginning a five-year engagement that would develop his leadership skills and fortify his love of country and service.

After graduating from basic training in August, young Tibiatowski jumped back in his car to head home. But just two weeks later, he was back

24 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com

in the car on the way to Naval Base San Diego, the principal homeport of the Pacific Fleet, where he would be stationed from 1990-1994.

From his base in San Diego, Tibiatowski served as a damage control man and in the security forces aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Chandler. His ship was a Kidd class destroyer designed primarily to provide air defense, and his crew often found themselves charged with intercepting illegal drug traffickers out at sea. But during the Middle East conflicts of the early '90s, he also served tours in both Desert Storm and Desert Shield."

"My ship had 356 crew aboard,"

Tibiatowski explained, "and we did what was called plane guarding for the aircraft carrier group. We were the lead force out front. I spent a lot of time out at sea, and I enjoyed every bit of it. But like anything you do, my love of service and the military really blossomed after I got out."

It's that love of country, that sense of duty and desire to give back that drove Tibiatowski to his current mission in life. It may seem like a far cry from active duty, but he has found a way to connect his time in the service to the service he now provides to his clients at Peoples Home Equity Mortgage.

Local Leaders, Local Lenders Though he no longer wears a

uniform to work, Shane Tibiatowski continues to lead his life based on a code of honor and ethics that drives him to find creative ways to honor those who have answered the call to serve. As Branch Manager of Peoples Home Equity Mortgage Lending, he's committed to providing the same level of service to homebuyers in the FM area that he learned during his time on Active Duty.

"Every branch manager can run their branch the way they see fit," Tibiatowski explained. "I run my business — alongside my wife, Heather — the way I do because I want to provide personal service to our clients and give them that feeling of complete confidence that they are being taken care of throughout the life of their mortgage. We don't have call centers. We don't sell your mortgage to a big bank and walk away. We are your mortgage team through it all, answering calls all the way up to 10:00 p.m. at night if need be."

"Homes for Heroes" With his military service never far from his mind, Shane Tibiatowski has partnered up with an organization called "Homes for Heroes," a program that helps local military veterans, police, first responders, teachers and other "heroes" get the most affordable home mortgage option.

"The Homes for Heroes program started about twelve years ago, but not every lender can be a part of it," Tibiatowski said. "As a lender, we have to find creative ways to give back, and the best way we've found to show our gratitude to our local heroes is by offering a $1,000 discount (at least) on each loan we write for our vets, police officers, firefighters, etc. These people deserve more than just the thank-

yous and accolades, so when they're buying a home or refinancing we want to say it a little louder by giving them a bigger discount."

Peoples Home Equity also serves the entire community, and offers the same low rate to all customers regardless of their background.

While big banks and other lenders rack up various fees, Tibiatowski and his team charge the same low rate — just $1,295 — with no hidden or extra costs.

"It's important to us to see people happy and successful, get the best interest rates and lowest fees," Tibiatowski said proudly. "It's not always an easy process, but we think we make it pretty darn simple and stress-free. We want the best possible outcome for our clients." •

"It's important to us to see people happy and successful, get the best interest rates and lowest fees." – Shane Tibiatowski

According to Tibiatowski, it's a great time to be a home buyer. Whether you're a first-time buyer taking advantage of low down-payment mortgage options or a move-up buyer looking for more space and that home office we all need right now, rates continue to hover near all-time lows.

"It's an amazing time to be a buyer," he said enthusiastically.

"Even if you're just thinking about refinancing your current home, rates are so low you'll be able to get a lower monthly payment or even take years off your mortgage. We'd be happy to sit down and go through all of your options and see what might be the right fit and save you the most money."

Contact Shane Tibiatowksi at Peoples Home Equity by calling 701-390-1674 or emailing stibiatowski@peopleshomeequity.com. urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 25

HAVING A BEER WITH | MIKE MORKEN

HAVING A BEER (WATER) WITH

MIKE MORKEN

WRITTEN BY: MEGHAN FEIR PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA

For 42 years, Mike Morken has been working in the world of broadcast television, but his love for the profession actually began as a kid.

Originally from Rolla, N.D., Morken lived only a few moose tracks away from the Canadian border, where he only had access to four TV stations.

While watching sports, he’d turn down the volume and talk into a pen to provide commentary.

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When high school was in the rearview mirror, Morken attended Minot State University to study broadcasting and drove his 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 from Rolla to Minot and back. As a college student, he started working as a studio camera operator at KXMC-TV and worked his way up to news director and anchor (using real mics this time).

After 10 years at KXMC, Morken and

his family moved to Fargo in 1989 to work for KXJB, which later joined forces with KVLY, and 32 years later, he’s still keeping his job fresh.

On an abnormally mild day in December, Morken and I paid Brewhalla a visit and chatted about aliens, audacious gym rats and more.

Read on to learn some lesser-known facts about the well-seasoned news anchor.

urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 27

HAVING A BEER WITH | MIKE MORKEN

Good Life: What do you think about aliens? Do you think they exist?

Mike Morken: There has to be something out there. I don’t know if they’ve visited New Mexico or anything, but I’ve watched “Star Trek.” I know there are beings out there.

GL: What’s your favorite animal noise?

MM: My favorite animal noise is the sound of a pug barking. My daughter has a pug named Sammy and she’s the cutest dog. Sammy has been the family dog for the longest time. Our daughter lives in Madison, so as much as we like to see her, we like to 28 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com

see Sammy.

GL: What keeps your job fresh?

MM: Every day and every newscast have new hills to climb. There are times when you have a challenge or two, and if things go wrong, you don’t have time to complain or be mad. You just get ready for the next newscast.

GL: How is your success rate for keeping New Year’s resolutions?

MM: It’s about a three-month timeframe. I can remember being at a gym and a lady came up to me and said, “Oh, you’re one of those people that probably had a New Year’s resolution. Yeah, you’re the kind

that’ll be gone by March or April.”

And she was right.

GL: The audacity. I can’t imagine having the gall to say that to someone.

MM: I remember trying to talk to my mom after she made a comment I didn’t think was quite right. I said, “Mom, you can’t paint everybody with a broad brush,” and my mom said, “That’s the only brush I have.” Okay, Mom.

GL: How do you feel about green olives?

MM: Oh, I like ‘em — with pimentos!

GL: Out of all the news stories you’ve covered, what’s been your favorite?

MM: In 1991 a group of North Dakota National Guard soldiers were called to go over to Saudi Arabia in preparation for Operation Desert Storm. They went over not knowing what was going to be asked of them, other than to provide purified water for troops.

They didn’t know how long they’d be there. They didn’t know what they were getting into. It was just a call to arms. From the time we arrived until the time we had to leave, we only had a 76-hour window to be there, but we visited all four units and videotaped each and every one of the soldiers, so they could say “Happy Holidays” or whatever they wanted to say to their families. Then we brought back all the holiday greetings and went to church basements and town halls to air those for the soldiers’ families. It was so magnificent to bridge concerned families and soldiers halfway around the world. We had little kids coming up saying, “That’s my daddy!” Then we also videotaped greetings of the families and sent them back to the soldiers. I’ve had wonderful opportunities, whether it’s flying with the Blue Angels or interviewing politicians and entertainers, but bridging a long distance for families was the coolest.

GL: What does living “the good life” mean to you?

MM: It’s the opportunity to be able to earn a living, to pay your bills and to be able to have choices on what you’d like to do when you’re not working. It’s opportunities to laugh with family members, to be around moments that can turn into memories forever with the people you care about, both family and friends, and to have good health. •

urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 29

LOCAL HERO | TONY HAMILTON

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IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY...

Local emergency room physician’s unconventional path to medicine and how work-life balance checks the boxes for “a good life”

WRITTEN BY: EMMA VATNSDAL PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA

It's the question that everyone inevitably answers growing up — with an answer that changes more times than anyone can even remember — before it finally becomes a reality: what will you be when you grow up?

It wasn't until his fourth year of undergrad, while averaging 40-60 hours per week at two jobs and carrying a full, 17-credit class-load, that Hamilton realized he wasn't as passionate about law as he'd originally thought.

For emergency room physician Tony Hamilton, the road to medicine started out a little differently than one might think.

"It's like, 'Oh my gosh, now what am I gonna do?'" he said.

"I thought I was going to be a lawyer," Hamilton said, as he was preparing for another overnight shift in the Emergency department of Essentia Health in Fargo.

While Tony was trying to figure out his own career path, he continued to work and build a life — eventually marrying his wife, buying a house and starting a family.

And that was over three decades ago.

However, sometimes it takes a little nudge from the fates to get people to move on the right path. Hamilton's nudge came in the form of family.

"I started off at the University of Illinois with a double major in English and Psychology. There was a lawyer there that said 'You know, this is a good way to do this, that's going to set you apart when you apply for law school and that's going to give you a base for speaking well and writing well, and knowing the psychology of the people that come to you.' And, in a way, that's a good base for anything, for medicine as well."

"My younger brother went into the Air Force and wound up going into medicine," Hamilton said. "He was in medical school that first year and he said 'You should think about doing medicine. There are things you enjoy, and you just keep goofing off here and not really getting anywhere and you're just taking classes and adding more to your resume without really doing anything with it, so you should think about medical school.'" urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 31

LOCAL HERO | TONY HAMILTON

The push was all he needed to steer him down his new path.

Hamilton eventually found his way to medical school at the University of Oklahoma, followed by a residency in the emergency department at the Oklahoma State University Medical Center in Tulsa, Okla., then called the Tulsa Regional Medical Center In 2005, he and his family moved back to his wife's hometown of Fargo, where he began his career with Innovis Health, which eventually became what is now known as Essentia Health.

Nowadays, one can find Hamilton still at home in the emergency department at Essentia Health in Fargo.

Work hard...

For many jobs, there really isn't such a thing as a "typical day."

This especially rings true for jobs like Hamilton's, in Essentia Health's emergency medicine department.

In fact, the only "typical" part about the job is the shifts they keep — straight 12 hour shifts, flip-flopped around during the week.

The other parts? Now that's a different story.

"In the emergency department, we're kind of a central hub for this area," said Hamilton. "Everything from just this side of St. Cloud, all the way out

to Jamestown, North to just this side of Altru‌ We actually go out to the North Dakota-Montana border, as far as what gets sent to us frequently — they have small hospitals and don't have a lot of specialty resources."

Especially now, in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, physicians like Hamilton are seeing patients from as far out as Iowa and Wisconsin.

"We have to be able to take care of new things that may be beyond the level of what can be provided in an outlying area," he said. "We've got to be able to do that here."

Critical strokes, heart attacks, traumas and more — no matter what the call, surgeons and physicians have to be ready at a moment's notice to stabilize, treat and turn out patients as soon as possible. That rings true now, more than ever, as pressure to keep stable patients out of the hospital, and to move patients through the emergency department more quickly, rises and becomes more important with each passing day; both for keeping beds open for patients in critical condition, as well as for limiting exposure from COVID-positive patients to patients who have not been exposed.

Even before the pandemic, there was very little that Hamilton hadn't seen or experienced.

"One of the things I have to say about the residency at Tulsa Regional, it was an aggressive residency," he said. "Very aggressive. So I knew what I was getting into when I got into this, so nothing really surprises me anymore.

But it's kind of one of those things where, in emergency medicine, you're going to see those crazy things at some point."

Especially on the mental health side of things, Hamilton says that's one of the things he's seen increase specifically, since the onset of COVID. "I think that one of the things that we're seeing with the pandemic is the mental health thing has kind of gone off the rails," he said. "Prairie St. John's does an excellent job of helping us out. I've never worked in a place where we had such access to psychiatric services. I think people are tired of being holed up," he said. "I think it puts a strain on a lot of folks and all those things that kind of sit under the surface are getting expressed more now."

Play hard.

While his work in the emergency department takes up urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 33

LOCAL HERO | TONY HAMILTON

nearly 170 hours of his month, once he is clocked out of his shift, he leaves his scrubs at the door.

"I'm not an ER physician outside of work," Hamilton said.

"It's what I do for work, but it's not my life. So when I come home, it's about spending time with my family, doing things, hobbies — just working on doing things around the house with my wife and kids."

"I like doing it. It's a challenging job.

Mentally, you have to know something about everything." – Tony Hamilton Hamilton and his wife, Dorene, have been married for just shy of 30 years and have raised three children together, Hannah, Daniel and Abby.

"It's kind of been a deficit when my two older kids moved last summer to Oklahoma," he said. "But along with that, you know, my wife and I spend more time doing things together. But once the scrubs come off? I'm just Tony."

Stress is real.

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Working in the emergency department at a Referral Center hospital during a global pandemic isn't a walk in the park, though. And, regardless of whether you're a newcomer or have several decades of experience under your white coat, like Hamilton, it's still very possible for physicians to burn out if they're not careful.

Fortunately for Hamilton, he's developed self-care practices that work well to keep his mind right and his body in topperforming condition.

"I'm very good at compartmentalizing," he said. "When I walk out the door, I get in my vehicle and it's gone. I got to maintain a schedule, I know I've got to get a certain amount of sleep, I've got to exercise before I go to work — and I can tell when I'm not doing that if I go a few days without following that routine. I'm burning down and my fatigue levels go up."

Hamilton says it's all about finding that sweet spot between home life and work life so that your overall life can remain fulfilled.

Future plans?

While he isn't planning on retirement any time soon, the 51-year-old has found his forever home in emergency medicine.

"I like doing it," Hamilton said. "It's a challenging job. Mentally, you have to know something about everything.

Your brain has to be moving fast, because if you wait 10 minutes on something, it's crashing or you've lost your golden period or you've screwed up. So, as long as I'm mentally or physically able to do it, that's what I plan to do."

Eventually, Hamilton says he will have to cut down on hours a bit, but he says when the time comes where he's unable to work in the ER‌ "I plan to completely jump out of it," he said. "I don't see myself doing a different type of medicine."

Retirement will be spent traveling with his wife and kids, doing hobbies and whatever else comes his way.

A perfect way to live, what Hamilton truly believes to be The Good Life.

"When I got into residency," he said.

"One of the people that interviewed me for that spot said, 'Okay, so we see a lot of people burn out, and they do this residency, and you see people that wind up realizing they made a mistake. This is challenging for your family — they don't see you for long periods of time, you show up after working nights, and you're just kind of this person that drifts to the house, and what happens if you find that happens for you?'

"And my comment was, 'Look, I had a good career before this, I was able to feed myself and my family before, if I find that it's tearing my family apart.

I'm not going to be doing emergency medicine, I'm going to do something else. Even if I have to go back to what I did before.'

"And the interviewer, who was on a panel asking questions said, 'That's the best answer I've heard all day.'

So for me, The Good Life means being able to have a fulfilling career, but more importantly to be able to have a fulfilling home life with my family. • urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 35