By CHRISTOPHER BJORKE

The grandparents of today’s North Dakotans knew how to harness wind to power water pumps.
The picturesque windmills that were fixtures on prairie farms are a far cry from the industrial wind turbines that have sprung up across the plains. Modern turbines dwarf their quaint forbearers and are larger and more powerful than the first generation of utility scale units build for large-scale power generation.
“They’re over 125 feet long and they weigh tons,” said Jay Haley, an engineer and partner with EAPC, an architectural and energy consulting company in North Dakota.
The wind-energy industry is a new one in North Dakota and still a relative newcomer to the country’s mix of energy resources, but in a short time the sight of blades spinning on top of high towers has become familiar across the state — but also one that has also received criticism from those who are skeptical of its cost and benefits.
Large-scale use of wind as a utility began in the early 1980s and was centered on the West Coast, according to Haley.

“Back in that day, (turbines) were 100 kilowatts in size and they were predominantly in California,” he said.
Today, the biggest turbines are rated from 1.5 megawatts (1,500 kilowatts) to 2.3 megawatts, and have spread to the blustery prairies of the plains and Midwest. Texas has the highest wind-energy production, while North Dakota ranks 10th at 1,200 installed megawatts at the end of 2009, according to the American Wind Energy Association. The state, though, is third in the proportion of its total electricity generation and has turned wind-generated power into an export to neighboring states.
The state’s first project went up around the towns of Edgeley and Kulm starting in 2003. Since then, developments have sprung up around North Dakota.
“I did over 200 landowner demonstrations,” said Haley, whose firm consults for energy companies, working with landowners and using wind and topographic data to site developments.
“We use area maps, topographic maps, aerial photos,” he said. “That’s how we make our living here at EAPC.”
Haley described the mechanics of the turbines and rotors as something similar to the reverse of how an airplane is able to fly using energy to turn its propeller to generate lift under the wings to bring it aloft.
“Those blades are somewhat like an airplane wing,” Haley said. “When in operation, those blades spin in the range of 15 to 20 rotations per minute.”
With a turbine, wind turns the blades and sets the rotor assembly into motion. That connects to a generator, making it spin at 1,800 rpm. The electricity that generates is carried by a large cable down the tower into a transformer. From there, the electricity travels by underground cables to a collector substation and then onto the main grid that wires the homes, businesses and offices of the end consumers.
Because the wind does not blow all the time, it is an intermittent energy source. A turbine with a “nameplate” capacity of 1.5 megawatts would generate that much electricity if it were turning for an hour.
“Statistically speaking, those towers will be generating power 80 percent of the time,” Haley said. “The typical capacity factor in North Dakota is around 40 percent.”
Even though the blades are spinning most of the time, usually they are generating below their full capacity. The capacity factor is the actual amount of energy generated over a year as a percentage of what it would produce if it were running at full capacity all the time.
According to the Wind Energy Association’s website, typical capacity factors for turbines are between 25 and 40 percent, while the capacity of a conventional power plant is usually between 40 and 80 percent.
While conventional power plants can adjust generation to meet changes in demand, wind generates power depending on the weather. For the electrical grid to accept wind-generated power it must balance wind-generated power with other power sources.
Haley said that it is misconception that every megawatt of new generation from wind that is placed in the electrical grid must be matched by the same amount of new generation from conventional energy source.
“It’s definitely over-simplistic and very misleading,” he said.
In reality, the grid has a 20 percent saturation level, meaning that as long as intermittent energy sources such as wind make up less than 20 percent of total generation, it has the ability to adjust to fluctuations, as it does already for coal-fired plants and other energy sources.
“We view it as a supplement,” he said. “It’s not intended to be a baseload.”
Critics of wind power also cite concerns about noise generated by the humming blades or the “shadow flicker” caused when the sun sinks behind a tower. Haley said that developers are mindful of such concerns during the siting process and work to minimize environmental effects.
Another concern is the amount of government subsidies that support wind development, which detractors say are not justified by wind’s contribution to the energy mix. Supporters argue that there is no part of the energy industry that does not receive subsidies in some form. While wind receives more tax money per unit of energy, coal receives more public money overall.
Despite some skepticism, renewable energy enjoys public support.
Basin Electric Power Cooperative uses more than 450 megawatts of wind generation. Spokesman Daryl Hill said that the cooperative’s members voted in 2005 to set a goal to get 10 percent of its electricity from wind.
“Our members are our owners,” Hill said. “When your owners speak, you listen.”
Today, wind accounts for 11 percent to 12 percent of Basin’s electrical generation, according to Hill.
“Wind is extremely popular with the general public,” Haley said. “It takes some political will to say that least cost (energy) is not necessarily the best choice.”

(Christopher Bjorke is the business reporter for The Bismarck Tribune. He can be reached at 250-8261 or chris.bjorke@bismarcktribune.com.)

(With Election Day rapidly approaching, it will again be time for the electorate to head to the polls and place their votes for the candidates they feel will best represent the interests of our state and local communities. With a national economy still struggling, it is especially important who we elect to lead us out of this current recession and return our sagging industries back to prominence.

As a preview of this historic vote, Business Watch wanted to raise the questions that all our local businesspeople have on their minds. Reporter Maxine Herr went directly to the source, polling local businesspeople across Bismarck and Mandan, and asked them what questions they would ask our candidates for national and state office. Prominent among these concerns were those involving health-care reform, how to escape the recession and the future solvency of Social Security.

These questions were delivered directly to the candidates for U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and for North Dakota’s tax commissioner, agriculture commissioner and secretary of state. In the interest of better informing our readers on where these candidates stand on the issue, we present their responses to your questions and concerns.)

U.S. SENATE

From business investments to health care coverage, each candidate for the U.S. Senate is adamant about bringing simplicity to Washington.

“Right now, what we have is a federal government creating too much bureaucracy, confusion, regulation and increasing taxation, which makes it harder to do business, not easier,” said Gov. John Hoeven, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Hoeven’s opponents are tired of inefficient regulation, too. “I’m an advocate for less regulation and meaningless paperwork that bureaucrats often produce,” said Democratic candidate, state Sen. Tracy Potter. Libertarian Keith Hanson says there are far too many rules and regulations that hamper small business.

National Economy

Though North Dakota can tout a flourishing economy, most of the nation has been swallowed up in financial woes. Potter believes the answer is clean energy, and the United States needs to lead the world in its production. He says in the 1990s we were able to balance the budget because of the technology boom. “I think the next one that can help us get ahead, opposed to just managing the decline of our nation, is energy. And we have such abundant resources,” Potter said.

Hoeven says job creation is number one, and that jobs come by creating a climate that encourages business investment and certainty. He cites our state’s comprehensive energy policy, EmPower ND, which he says created tax incentives, clear regulation and a straight-forward approach to energy development. “We’re creating an environment where companies are now investing in this state and hiring people, creating more energy with better environmental stewardship,” Hoeven said.

Health Care

With a new health care reform bill spanning over 2,000 pages, businesses are concerned about their rights and responsibilities. Hanson favors a repeal of the bill. “It doesn’t do much to control what is causing costs to go up. It’s just fixing the symptoms,” Hanson said.

Potter admits some things need tweaking, but in general he believes the bill will increase American business competitiveness. “I think the payroll tax, the way they’ve established this, it has the potential to make it fairer across the board for American business — that every business will see their responsibility and be funding it,” he said. But Potter also agrees medical costs need to be addressed, and if large annual increases continue, then the bill hasn’t accomplished much.

Hoeven wants it simplified. “Everybody wants health care reform, but we need to find a way to do it that reduces costs and empowers people to make their own decisions about healthcare,” Hoeven said. He sees the new bill as creating costs and complexity for small business, and believes tort reform, reducing fraud, and reimbursing Medicare with outcome-based fees, rather than service-based, will help.

Social Security

Regarding Social Security, the candidates offer a variety of solutions. Hoeven comes back to job creation. “If we get people back to work and a lot more people are working, that will generate a lot more revenue that will help Social Security,” he said.

Potter’s plan is to collect the same rate of tax from everyone, regardless of wage. “This would be a tax cut for 94 percent of wage earners, because they earn less than $106,000, and by collecting the same rate they pay from people earning more than that amount, we could fix Social Security and probably lower payroll taxes for the 94 percent by 20 percent,” he said.
Hoeven says Potter’s plan is simply raising the income tax. “If you take the cap off without reducing the rate or paying additional benefits, at most you increase solvency of the program by eight years. Clearly, if you reduce the rate, you make it even less solvent, not more.  So, under Potter’s approach, he either raises taxes on wage earners and small business or he is making the Social Security fund less solvent,” Hoeven said.

Hanson also believes any sort of taxes on the wealthy isn’t going to help business people create more jobs. “I would favor allowing people to get out of the system, to opt out of Social Security and be on their own if they want,” Hanson said.

HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES

The Congressional race puts Republican candidate Rick Berg against incumbent Rep. Earl Pomeroy. Berg is not happy with much of the policy coming out of Washington, D.C., and is eager for a chance to change it. Meanwhile, Pomeroy says he’ll continue to fight for North Dakota, and he isn’t afraid to break from his party on issues to do so.

National Economy

Berg believes Washington, D.C. should take its cues from North Dakota. “In 2002, we came from the same place our country is in – maybe not quite as deep – but we did it pretty simply by controlling spending and encouraging job growth,” Berg said. “When people are making more money, more revenue comes to the state, not because taxes have gone up but because people are making more money. That’s what needs to happen nationally.”

Berg says the financial reform that recently passed has some good components to it, but still creates too much uncertainty for banks that are the main supporter of small business. A businessman himself since 1981, Berg wants to bring a business mind to Washington D.C. “If you’ve spent your whole career in government, you think the solutions are in government. If you’ve spent your career in the private sector, you understand the solutions are through the private sector,” Berg said.

Pomeroy has spent a long time in government, but he still expects Congress to act like every American family does when making its spending decisions. “It is common sense that if you spend an extra dollar in one place, you need to spend a dollar less elsewhere,” he said. “If you remodel the kitchen, you have got to cut back on the vacation.” Pomeroy notes that he was a strong supporter of restoring Pay-As-You-Go rules into law, which tell the federal government that if it wants to put more funding into one area of the budget, it must reduce the amount spent elsewhere.  Pomeroy also believes the work of a bipartisan deficit reduction commission formed in February will provide a path forward to putting the nation’s budget back on track.

Health Care

Pomeroy says he worked hard to make the health insurance reform bill good for North Dakota, and he believes the consumer protection and tax credits it offers makes it good for business. The bill provides an immediate 35 percent tax credit to small businesses who offer health coverage to employees.

Pomeroy’s office also notes that according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the final health reform package will reduce the deficit by $143 billion in the first 10 years after it is enacted, and about $1.2 trillion in the second 10 years.

However, Berg calls the new bill a job killer. “It has tremendous regulatory burdens,” Berg said. “I believe that it should be repealed, with the understanding that there are portions, like the Frontier Amendment, which are good for North Dakota and should be funded.” The Frontier Amendment would boost Medicare reimbursement rates to our state’s eight largest hospitals.

Social Security:

Berg says the government needs to honor its promise to ensure people receive Social Security benefits. His idea to guarantee its solvency is to develop oil and minerals on federal land, and fund Social Security with those earnings. “Forty-three cents of every dollar that Congress spends is borrowed. That upside-down budgeting puts our whole country at risk. It ought to make people very concerned about things they’re expecting like Social Security,” Berg said.

Though Pomeroy believes policy options need to be discussed to address the modest shortfall presently projected in essential benefits, he says the long-term outlook for Social Security is very stable relative to the gross domestic product.

TAX COMMISSIONER

Property taxes have become the hot button of this year’s tax commissioner race. Incumbent Cory Fong (R) believes one of the reasons our state has been able to withstand the recession is because of our strong revenue system that doesn’t prey upon the business community. “We have the proverbial three-legged stool: income, sales and property taxes,” Fong said, “Although many have complained the property tax leg of the stool has been getting out of balance, we’re focused on it.”

His main challenger, Cynthia Kaldor (D), feels most people deem property taxes as unfair, and plans to hold information gathering meetings across the state to get input from the people about their ideas on a solution. “There needs to be a more open invitation for people to come to the tax commissioner’s office and share ideas,” Kaldor said.

Both candidates believe an abolishment of property tax would be too risky, because money to pay for local services would simply shift to another tax. Some groups want to tap into oil and gas taxes to cover that necessary funding, but Fong is apprehensive. Since the price and production of oil is subject to decisions around the globe, he says there is very little control. “While it’s been good for us and we can take advantage in some way, we need to be cautious of making it a major revenue source that we rely on,” Fong said.

Kaldor can’t entirely agree with those who simply want to rid government of wasteful spending to solve the problem, either. “If you’re trying to get rid of $80 million, you have to be very careful. It’s not going to be from what everyone deems as government waste,” she said

Other options to cutting property tax include caps on spending, the tax itself, or even valuations. Neither candidate is in favor of them, but Fong says he’d consider caps on spending. Kaldor feels arbitrary caps on property taxes is contrary to local control. “Caps are symptomatic of a lack of trust in the system.  That’s why it’s so important to come forth with a well thought out plan to address these inequities and rebuild an assessment system that is as fair as it can be and enjoys the trust of the governed,” Kaldor said.

SECRETARY OF STATE

With business booming in North Dakota, the efficiency and structure of the secretary of state’s office becomes more important than ever. Republican incumbent, Al Jaeger, says the amount of business registrations coming into his office has increased in some instances by more than 200 filings per month than a year ago. “We have very hardworking and dedicated state employees who feel the pressure of needing to get this work done, and we’re doing everything we can to help our customers and help productivity,” Jaeger said.

Corey Mock, Democratic candidate for secretary of state, has been critical of Jaeger’s efficiency, citing paperwork that was misplaced resulting in a candidate being left off the June primary ballot. “When a candidate turns in his paperwork April 9 and it’s not discovered until May 24 – that’s six weeks of untouched paperwork,” Mock said. “My approach is that we run a fair and efficient, well-operated government agency that’s working best for the people of North Dakota. This is an agency that deals with businesses, and it’s time we start running it like a business.”

Jaeger admits the file was overlooked because it was inadvertently attached to another piece of mail, but says when the paperwork was discovered; he immediately sought advice from the attorney general’s office since ballots were already printed. “We had a resolution to the situation right away. Once I knew we had it resolved, what I didn’t do was call the candidate, and that’s what I should have done,” Jaeger said. The resolution was a letter from the attorney general’s office advising the secretary of state to allow the candidate to appear on the November ballot. “His office reviewed the situation, referred to a Supreme Court decision, and I will follow his opinion,” Jaeger said.

The office has hired a firm to design an online filing system to make it easier for businesses to register or renew, but the company creating the software has faced delays of its own. Jaeger says he can’t speculate to when it will be finished, but says the system is already well underway to respond to the needs of customers. A similar project was originally authorized in 2007, but soon into the process, Jaeger realized the software would not work for North Dakota’s needs. Mock feels the setback is frustrating for businesses. “In 2008 it was abandoned, and it cost taxpayers $770,000 to find out it wouldn’t work. Four years to make a business-friendly working agency has been without success,” Mock said.

But Jaeger says when he realized the new system wasn’t going to work, he immediately let the legislative committee know. “I was commended for halting the project,” Jaeger said. “We made decisions based on what we knew. We didn’t go into this blindly; we used government agencies to do due diligence as part of our normal process.” Mock says these mistakes within the secretary of state’s office come at the expense of someone else. “Whether it’s the taxpayers, voters, candidates, businesses, they’re all suffering because of these errors, and that’s what really makes us frustrated,” he said.

Jaeger was also accused of outsourcing the printing of election ballots by signing a contract that gave price incentives for counties to do business with a bankrupt, out-of-state company called Synergy Graphics. In actuality, the contract is with Elections Systems and Software, Inc. (ES&S), and they in turn subcontracted with a company called Synergy Graphics. “Synergy Graphics went into bankruptcy to save a Wisconsin company and reorganize it. The part of Synergy Graphics that does the ballots under contract with ES&S did their job well,” Jaeger notes. He adds that each county, not the secretary of state, is responsible for deciding whom to contract with to print ballots. In North Dakota, only three counties hired a company other than ES&S.

Jaeger prefers to let numbers do the talking in his campaign. “I’m not in this office to boast myself; I’m here to do the job,” Jaeger said. He’s been in the job since 1992, and says many of the businesses in North Dakota exist today because of the legislation that was initiated by his office over the past 18 years. As of the end of June, nearly 15,000 companies currently do business in North Dakota as limited liability companies, partnerships and limited partnerships, something that didn’t exist before Jaeger took office. “The fact that 15,000 companies today can take advantage of laws in terms of legislation initiated by this office says we do see the need out there, and we do know how to provide services,” Jaeger said.

AG COMMISSIONER

Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner, Merle Boucher, says he wants to bring creativity to the office. “We need to see what can be done to adjust to the changing conditions of this environment and the industry, and not just go with the flow and regulate everything,” he said. He would like to see more value-added agriculture, and reverse the tide of hardworking farmers being put out of business by the large, industrialized operations. “I don’t know that I agree with all aspects of modernization. It has really stressed the agriculture community in many ways,” Boucher said. Current Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring (R) says value-added agriculture only exists if the markets are available, and there are very few success rates.

Instead, Goehring feels we need to look to research and technology. “Research programs are valuable,” he said. “Not only to address the production side of it, but address the utilization on the back side, in commercial and industrial uses.” He says the corn and soybean industries have shown success in that area, and it needs to expand to our state’s other resources.

Both candidates feel if North Dakota wants to continue to be a trusted leader in safe and quality products, then producers need to be able to transport them. “If we’re going to facilitate the production of energy, oil and coal, and food crops, good infrastructure is vital. And if we’re going to have people live there, then it is really vital,” Boucher said. Goehring said he will also support legislation that provides infrastructure improvements. “I’m currently working on things with BNSF and the commission that deals with rail issues, and we will continue those discussions,” he said.

It’s a marketing challenge unique to the 21st century: With the electronic saturation of American culture, brick-and-mortar businesses have found themselves competing for the attention of their targeted consumers — often facing off with a steady, unrelenting stream of information, images, sounds and interactive applications. It’s stiff competition, and the playing field seems to change daily.

But with that marketing challenge come opportunities; today’s local business owner need not sit in the corner, an economic wallflower. There are ways to join the fray, and the number of tools available to the average small-business owner is ever-growing. From social networking to targeted high-tech applications, the brick-and-mortar business is no longer tied to its storefront. A captive audience is tuning in — one Internet browser, one netbook, one smartphone at a time.

Today’s Marketing

KK Bold Conference Room

LaRoy Kingsley has seen rapid changes in the ways businesses market themselves. As president of KK Bold, he understands today’s marketing opportunities for the local business owner. In fact, his advertising agency is affected in many of the same ways its clients are affected. If the name KK Bold doesn’t ring a bell, maybe its predecessors will; KK Bold is the recently rebranded company that brings together the advertising agency formerly known as Kranzler Kingsley with its digital division, K2 Interactive.

Kingsley says KK Bold’s rebranding was precipitated in part by changes in the marketing world. The days of an advertising agency and its digital production company being different divisions are gone; the distinctions have vanished. “The name change was about having our company clearly positioned for the future,” he said. “Our industry has evolved significantly over the past 20 years, and our agency has had tremendous growth. Our rebranding was to make sure our name and position are reflective of where we are today and where we’re going tomorrow.”

Mirroring the changes in the way KK Bold brands itself, Kingsley said the company’s clients are also making fundamental changes to the way they present themselves in the marketplace. “When you talk about marketing today, you have to accept that the lines between traditional and new media are very blurred, and at some point they will — and should — come together and work together,” he said. “The term to describe this in our industry is integration. It is very rare in this day and age that we develop a media program for a client that doesn’t include both traditional and new media.”

Although the lines are blurring, there are still distinctions. “The biggest difference between the two, besides the obvious, is accountability and the ability to more thoroughly track results with online campaigns,” Kingsley said. “We can track our online campaigns in real time to the person, and we can make adjustments on the fly. Traditional media is much more cumbersome in that manner.”

Publisher Brian Kroshus of The Bismarck Tribune said the newspaper launched its new website in the fall of 2009 to augment the delivery of its news content and cater to consumers who are searching out more and varied ways to get information. The changes were “focused on improving site navigation and subsequently enhancing the user’s experience,” he said. “Overall, the Internet is something we embrace and are excited about here at the Tribune. It’s yet another vehicle in which we can distribute the good, quality editorial that we produce.”

The New Media

The hyperlinked icons are omnipresent, instantly recognizable and something of a revolution in the way people communicate on a daily basis. “Find us on Facebook,” the link says. “Share on Twitter.” In a way, the new world of social interaction on the Internet is one part organic word-of-mouth information and one part stealthy marketing. A business with a presence on Facebook or Twitter is entering the realm of the very consumers it seeks to reach. Facebook and Twitter are social networking sites, designed to help people get back in touch with friends from the past and stay in contact with a variety of friends, relatives, acquaintances and business contacts. They also allow businesses to maintain a site to pass along information to subscribers, who often pass that information along to their friends and family with the simple click of a hyperlink.

“The value in social marketing for a business is really right there in the name: social,” Kingsley said. “The reason why people flock to sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace is because they offer people a way to directly interact with the people they know on a daily basis. For anyone running a business, if you had a platform that allows you to not only deliver your message directly to the client, but also have them respond to it immediately, why would any business not want to do that?”

And local businesses have taken note.

Bob’s Photo in Bismarck has been on Facebook for about a year. The impetus for joining the social networking site came from others who were already there. “We were first made aware by photo industry peers that this was the best way to stay connected for the lowest cost,” said Jessie Dolajak, who administers the store’s Facebook interface. “Advertising is costly, and you’re never sure just who you are reaching.”

With Facebook, businesses know who they’re reaching: customers who have taken the step to sign up and follow the business. “We find it is a great, informal way to stay in touch with and on our customers’ minds,” Dolajak said.

With an attentive audience, marketing opportunities abound. “We like to share the new, exciting things Bob’s Photo is doing with digital imaging,” Dolajak said. “In the future, it would be great to do some Facebook exclusive deals; however, we have not tried any to date.”

Dolajak said she aims to update Bob’s Photo’s Facebook site at least three times per week, using the interface to promote new products and services, and to link to helpful photo tips. She said the company has also run a photo contest with the help of Facebook that has been a success.

Not far away in Bismarck, the Walrus restaurant is also embracing social networking sites in order to stay in touch with its customers. Owner Jill R. Sanford said the restaurant’s Facebook site has been a valuable resource that is proving to be an agile asset in its marketing portfolio.

“We do different things with it — we introduce (chef Kristin Sande’s) new menu items with it, and we put our Tapper Tuesday information there,” Sanford said.

The extra work in maintaining the restaurant’s social networking site is small compared to its benefits, Sanford said, and the feedback she gets from the site’s users is useful and nearly instantaneous.

The Walrus is also using Facebook to launch its newly created Golden Tusk Club. But Facebook is only one of the tools Sanford is using to grow the club.

Future Plans

Although social networking sites have represented a significant change in the way businesses communicate with their customers, there are a multitude of technologies currently available or in the works that will go a step beyond Facebook.

“It was natural,” Sanford said of the marketing strategy for the Golden Tusk Club. In addition to utilizing Facebook to interact, she’s going a step further. Instead of confining communications to the Internet, she’s taking the message straight to the customer — no matter if the customer is near a computer. Members of the new club can sign up for exclusive text message deals. “It only makes sense,” Sanford said. “People are so driven by their computers and their phones.”

So, at random times, Sanford will send out a message offering a deal to club members. All a member must do is come in and ask for it.

And it’s working.

“The response to the Golden Tusk Club is huge,” Sanford said. “It’s straight-up technology, and the technology is instant.”

What the Walrus is doing with the Golden Tusk Club is sometimes referred to as SMS — short message service. It’s an idea that’s been around for a while, and there are early adopters like the Walrus already running with it. But with the proliferation of the mobile phone, it’s a concept that is set to explode.

“When it comes to SMS, we are providing this for some clients,” said Kingsley of KK Bold. “One example would be Prairie Knights Casino and Resort. They have a good-sized SMS list that they use to provide information about upcoming concerts, promotions and giveaways. The market in this region is traditionally fairly slow to adopt new tech, but that said, the interest level in what Prairie Knights Casino has to offer has been quite high.”

Kingsley notes that success in SMS is dependent on demographics and the content a business has to offer. “We see it being used to great effect in the entertainment and tourism industry, especially in largely populated areas,” he said.

Another concern is that businesses send the messages somewhat infrequently, so as not to become a nuisance.

As it was launching its new website, the Tribune also was taking advantage of the new opportunities presented by technology. “Both social networking sites and SMS have and will continue to play an important role in the promotion of our site,” Kroshus said. “To a large extent, they provide a means to drive traffic to our website through news briefs. In the end, they can assist in supporting our core product, but certainly not replace it. The foundation and strength of any media site lies in the depth of unique, localized news they’re able to provide.”

Kroshus said even as the Tribune embraces the Internet in its publication process, his staff is looking beyond the computer. “Mobile applications, iPads and other devices certainly provide additional channels in which we can distribute our offerings, something we will certainly utilize in the future.”

No matter the technology a business uses to connect, however, one thing is certain. Today’s consumer is tuned in technologically, and willing and able to check out what a business has to offer through a number of sources. While there are many strategies a business might employ to capture the consumer’s attention, one empirical truth has emerged in the 21st century: Writing off technology as a fad, a nuisance or an insignificant marketing tool is the quickest possible way to lose customers to someone who is willing to embrace the opportunities.

By TINA DING

As North Dakotans, we know the foundations we put down today will lay the groundwork for future generations to build on. And Carrington townsfolk know their welcoming community offers a clean, safe and attractive environment for the young generation to call home.

When the VanBedaf family came to America from the Netherlands, they sought wide-open spaces filled with rich farmland for dairy cattle. “We simply fell in love with the town of Carrington,” Conny VanBedaf said. “This community felt like home right away.”

Conny and Corne VanBedaf started construction of the VanBedaf Dairy in 2008 and began milking in 2009. Today, employing eight staff, they milk 900 of their 1,000 cows before transporting a full semi-truck to Cass Clay in Fargo.

Similarly, Susan Stoddard settled in Carrington after moving to North Dakota from Kansas. She worked at the VFW as she catered events on the side. Gradually growing her business, she positioned herself to open a bakery with a small grant and low-interest loan through the Job Development Authority and Carrington Development Corp. “With the help of the city, we now have a larger kitchen facility and are able to offer seating and fresh baked goods, breakfasts and lunches,” A Catered Event & Bakery owner Susan Stoddard said. “Our catering side does it all, from graduations to weddings and retirements, holiday cooking and more. We also provide wedding rentals and décor.”

“At Carrington, we have a strong sense of community spirit,” Carrington Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Laurie Dietz said. “The town simply gets behind nonprofit groups and has helped make successes of openings on Main Street.”

Recent accomplishments include a new ambulance, a new city library and an 18-hole golf course, which spawned housing in the area. “Fundraising for the ambulance was well-received,” Dietz said, “and the Carrington City Library was made possible through an Otto Bremmer grant, along with community funds.”

Headquarters for Dakota Growers Pasta

Another rich example of folks working together is Dakota Growers Pasta Company. Built by durum growers as a value-added cooperative in 1993, the company is now the third-largest pasta manufacturer in North America. “Carrington is where the company is headquartered, with two manufacturing sites at both Carrington and New Hope, Minn., which employ approximately 430 employees between the two,” Dietz said. “Dakota Growers produces over 100 shapes of pasta for supermarket chains nationally.”

Further, Dietz said the company transitioned to a C-corporation in 2002 and was recently purchased by Viterra in 2010. A revolutionary new product for the company is the Dreamfields pasta – a diabetes-friendly pasta for healthy carb living.

Gently rolling plains surrounding Carrington grow ample fields of wheat, soybean and durum. The Carrington Research  Extension Center helps to both provide educational programs and conduct research in agriculture. From crops to livestock, NDSU research contributes to successful agriculture in North Dakota and continuously runs trials and experiments in Carrington’s backyard.

East of town, plunked between area crops, Dakota Sun Gardens provides a splash of color. Conversion of their farmstead to a massive garden by adding perennial beds, grasses, trees and shrubs sparked their enthusiasm to add a winery. In the works, the winery will utilize fruits grown and harvested on site – from blueberries and chokecherries to rhubarb, plums and more.

Wine connoisseurs may also participate in an Annual Wine Taste at the Putnam House. This American Foursquare home was built in 1907. Now owned by the Foster County Historical Society, the home offers visual and performing arts classes, exhibits, events and rentals. Book clubs meet regularly and musicians perform at the Putnam House.

“Our community spirit is strong, and we see a lot of overall support for area projects and growth,” Carrington Economic Development Director Lucinda Grandalen said. “Not only did we achieve a new library and assist with area businesses, but a new water plant is in the works.” Grandalen said this project became a reality with grant monies and a loan through USDA.

Consistent with other small North Dakota towns, Carrington faces a shortage of housing from time to time. However, their infrastructure remains constant with regular upgrades, fundraising and a focused attention to the future – a future for generations to come, from the youth to the elderly.

Golden Acres Manor not only provides 1oo local jobs, but offers a long-term skilled facility, comprised of 60 beds, offering physical and occupational therapies, speech and group activities, including: bingo, meals, trips to the casino and the local theater.

“Carrington, North Dakota. It’s not too small. It’s not too big,” Conny VanBedaf said. “It’s a place to call home.”

That could be problematic because the genetically modified crop can’t be killed with the popular herbicide Roundup. But National Public Radio reports that few scientists believe that the canola plants pose an environmental risk.

Northern Canola Growers Association Director Barry Coleman says perennial weeds such as leafy spurge are a much bigger worry. Ron Beneda, agriculture extension agent in Cavalier County, says the biotech wild canola can be dealt with through tillage and mowing.

Canola is used for cooking oil, animal feed and biodiesel. The wild biotech canola was found during a summer study conducted by the University of Arkansas.

Farmers’ defense for ‘super weed’ losing potency

SPRINGFIELD, Minn. (AP) — On the Dennis Potter farm in southwest Minnesota, long rows of soybeans stretch to the horizon. Between most rows is bare dirt. But in one patch near the farm’s driveway, Potter points to weeds covering the ground between the soybean rows.

“This is water hemp that’s kind of mutant because it was damaged by the Roundup,” says Potter. “It’s still alive, it’ll still grow seed for next year and we have to try to hit it with Roundup again and kill it.”

Some call the common farm weeds a super weed. That’s because they’re resistant to weed-killing herbicides, such as Monsanto’s bio-engineered RoundUp Ready herbicides. The spotlight has recently been on the company, which admits resistance is a growing problem, though one Monsanto official said it can be controlled.

The weed has a thick root and one slender sprout that seems too small for its big underground structure. That illustrates the herbicide resistance problem. The Roundup herbicide, known as glyphosate, killed the above ground part of the plant but the root lived on. Later, it sent up a new shoot.

“It’s part of what happens frequently now,” Potter said. “We’re developing, I think, plants that can tolerate Roundup to a certain degree.”

The super weeds are a concern because if farmers can’t control them it could reduce crop yield. If yields suffer, farmers could lose money. If the weed problem becomes severe enough, it could even affect the nation’s crop production.

On Aug. 12, the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce celebrated the successes of local businesses with a luncheon. Many businesses were recognized, and six awards were given out to those proven to be dynamic forces within the community.

Winner of the 2010 Granite Award was Northern Improvement Co. A family-owned and operated construction company for four generations, Northern Improvement Co. was first incorporated in 1935 as a successor to McCormick Dray Line, McCormick Transfer and McCormick Construction Co. This is the company’s 75^th anniversary.

Known not only for its skilled work and dedicated staff, Northern Improvement Co. has proven itself to be a sustainable and solvent business with a strong commitment to the community as a whole.

Tricia Arenz of Once Upon A Child won the New Entrepeneur of the Year award. Selling new and used clothing, toys and accessories for kids of all ages, she is an innovator whose entrepreneurial spirit and “green” business currently has over 1,600 customers in their database.

Shannon Gangl of the Seven Seas Hotel & Waterpark won the 2010 Small Business Person of the Year award. Having worked his way up from dishwasher to owner of the hotel, his ability to adapt to new challenges, reinvent the existing and find the value in getting his hands dirty (or clean) has driven Gangl to a new level of entrepreneurship.

The Mike Fink Award for Steady Growth and Profitability was presented to Derwin Mann of Mann Signs, Todd and Candace Muggerud from KAT Communications and Tricia Arenz of Once Upon A Child.

Outstanding Teachers of the Year were Vicki Pomonis from Roosevelt Elementary School in the elementary division, Jo Ann Miller from Bismarck High School in the secondary division, and Sr. Kathleen Angel from University of Mary for the post-secondary division.

As we move closer to November, the stakes have never been higher as voters go to the polling booths to cast ballots. With 37 Senate, 435 House and 37 governor seats up for grabs, this year’s midterm election is as significant as it has ever been.

Consumer confidence over the direction Washington is taking continues to weaken and erode. Equally troubling is that related public concern appears to be falling on deaf ears and a “Washington knows best” mentality has prevailed.

If Massachusetts was a precursor to what we can expect in November, candidates for each available seat will be intensely scrutinized by voters. After votes are tallied this fall, many incumbents will not be invited back by their constituents, and rightfully so.

Sweeping change appears inevitable in our nation’s capital as representatives from both sides of the aisle come under intense fire. The Democratic majority in both chambers of Congress are in question, and Republicans anticipate regaining control of one or possibly both, and at the very least cutting into margins that the Left currently enjoys.

The catalyst behind this likely change is a deeply concerned, and in many cases, angry public and business community. Individual investors have watched their nest eggs shrink, unemployment rates remain persistently high, and businesses owners and operators alike are both worried and uncertain of what the future may bring.

At a time when businesses need some type of reassurance that better days lie ahead they’re instead pressured by a burgeoning government. New financial regulation, health care reform, the potential effects of cap and trade and EPA oversight of carbon emissions are certainly cause for concern in energy-exporting states like ours.

Now simply isn’t the time to cast a shadow of doubt toward the business community when the current backdrop is a fragile at best economic recovery. While the country appears to be stabilizing, there simply isn’t enough compelling evidence for businesses to rebuild their workforces just yet. Persistently high unemployment rates are a testament to that.

America has both the opportunity and obligation to send a clear message to those in power that their purpose in Washington is to serve the people, the same ones who placed them in office to begin with. Simply put, the constituents that they ultimately report to every day and taxpayers who sign their paychecks.

Our delegation must take note of the current movement and respond accordingly or face being ousted from office as well. Two key North Dakota seats are up for grabs this year, and regardless of who serves, they must listen to and represent the best interests of our citizens accordingly. It’s the pledge and commitment they make to voters when deciding to run.

The last several years have tested the patience and resiliency of our nation. There will certainly be consequences in the years ahead for the mountain of debt that has been created. And it’s likely that repayment of the mounting deficit will fall on the backs of American workers for generations to come.

Change in life, good or bad, is inevitable. That unfortunately is the only real certainty these days. The real question for voters in several short months is just how much they want on Nov. 2 and in the end, to what extent Washington itself is reformed for the good of the country.

Brian Kroshus,

Publisher

For the last nine years, the division had been moving forward with the use of Rehabilitation Consulting & Services as its operating name. However, the hiring of a new North Dakota director and the success of a national VR-business partnership initiative have led to a change in direction.

“The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation brand more accurately represents our dual-client approach to service delivery,” explains Russ Cusack, the division’s new director.

Under a dual-client approach, DVR assists individuals with disabilities to improve their employment opportunities and assists businesses in solving their disability-related issues.

“While the Rehabilitation Consulting & Services name was widely accepted by the state’s business community, it did cause confusion with the individual consumer who has been and will remain the primary target of our program. This move should eliminate that confusion and, at the same time, strengthen our position with the state’s business owners and employers,” said Cusack.

DVR’s Business Relations/Marketing Director, Harley Engelman, agrees. “The Vocational Rehabilitation brand is gaining wide-spread acceptance with many of the country’s most recognizable companies and governmental programs because of The National Employment Team (The NET), the national VR-business initiative. The return to the (DVR) name puts us in a better position to effectively interact with that initiative.”

“As a result of The NET, more multi-state companies and federal programs are reaching across state lines for VR assistance with their employee recruitment and retention efforts,” adds Engelman.

Tulsa-based Oneok Partners LP said the pipeline would run through eastern Montana to its Overland Pass Pipeline, which stretches 760 miles from southern Wyoming to Conway, Kan.

Brad Borror, a company spokesman, said that the proposed project would cost between $450 million and $550 million. He said the exact location of its starting point hadn’t been determined, but that it would be in the area of the rich Bakken shale and Three Forks-Sanish oil reservoirs in the western part of the state.

“The terminating point is set in Cheyenne but the originating point in western North Dakota is still up in the air at this point,” Borror said.

The 12-inch diameter pipeline would be more than 525 miles long and transport up to 60,000 barrels a day of natural-gas liquids such as methane, propane, butane, ethane and natural gasoline, Borror said.

Construction is slated to begin in 2012 and to be completed in 2013, Borror said.

Justin Kringstad, director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, said presently, all liquids produced from raw natural gas in North Dakota’s oil patch are shipped to out-of-state markets by truck or rail.

Oneok announced in April that it will build a plant near Watford City in western North Dakota by the end of next year that will process about 100 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, doubling the company’s capacity.

The company also plans about $200 million in new well connections, expansions and upgrades to its existing natural gas gathering system in North Dakota’s oil patch, he said.

The leases in question comprise only a tiny fraction of the more than 70,000 square miles of public land across the country now under lease for oil and gas development.

But they gained added significance in March, when the government agreed to re-examine its leasing program in the three states in response to a lawsuit from environmentalists.

At issue are greenhouse gases emitted by oil company trucks and drilling rigs and industry practices such as flaring gas, which sends methane directly into the atmosphere.

In a series of new studies, the Bureau of Land Management said emissions from anticipated drilling on the leases would be negligible compared with other sources.

“We can’t show a direct tie between these emissions and climate change, so we can’t attach (restrictions on development) to leases,” BLM spokeswoman Mary Apple said.

The agency recommended that drilling be allowed to proceed on 36,000 acres of leases that were sold in 2008 but later suspended. Also, lease sales would proceed on 130,000 acres that were delayed while the new studies were conducted, BLM spokesman Greg Albright said.

About two dozen leases would remain deferred – because of potential impacts on sage grouse, not greenhouse gas concerns. The size of those leases could not be immediately determined.

The BLM proposal also outlined steps companies can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Yet they are not required to do so.