PBJuly 2013

July 2013

www.prairiebizmag.com

Evolving for the Next Era Noridian changes name, launches massive hiring

plan to meet growing health care services demandpg. 22

ALSOTech Boosters

Investors, state offer support for emerging technology sector

pg. 20

How High for How Long?Soaring cropland prices

continue to impact regionpg. 26

110 n. broadway • downtown fargo701.365.0900

1803 s. washington • grand forks701.757.2444

www.scandesignnd.comLocally Owned & Operated

scandesign

North Dakota. Doing Business Better. Aldevron is one of many biotech companies taking root in North Dakota thanksto the state’s world-class academic resources and favorable economic climate.Learn how the North Dakota Department of Commerce and companies in thestate are doing business better at www.NDBusiness.com

Photo courtesy of Aldevron

4 Prairie Business Magazine July 2013

|INSIDE|July 2013 VOL 14 ISSUE 7

FEATURES DEPARTMENTS6 Editor’s Note

BY KRIS BEVILL

A day in the life

8 Business Advice BY MATTHEW D. MOHR

Reinvest to build

10 FinanceBY RICK CLAYBURGH

New law impacts flood insurance policies

12 Research & Technology BY PHILIP BOUDJOUK

Bridging the other ‘valley of death’ —from lab to market

14 Economic Development BY DEAN REESE

Development Fund a valuable tool for ND businesses

16 Prairie News

20 Prairie People

22 Business DevelopmentND investors foster growing tech sector

30 South DakotaNo-pedal bike company hits its stride

32 Western North DakotaExperiencing the Bakken

34 Red River ValleyNonprofit sets example for effective, multi-source funding

35 Business to Business

36 Energy

40 By the Numbers

Next MonthThe August issue of Prairie Businessmagazine will highlight business-higher education partnerships and ask if the private investments are worthwhile. Other articles will include an update on the state of manufacturing in the region, South Dakota's efforts to make the most of North Dakota's oil boom, and a teacher internship program designed to provide hands-on experience in various industries.

Tom McGraw, president and CEO, Noridian Healthcare Solutions PHOTO: JOHN BROSE

24 Health CareBuilding on a History of ExpertiseNoridian changes name, launches massive hiring plan to meet growing health care services demand

Land ValuesHow High Will They Go?Strong commodity prices and low interest ratescontinue to impact region’s land prices

28

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|EDITOR’S NOTE|

A day in the life

So there I was, riding in a van southbound on Highway 85 through the heart of North

Dakota’s oil country, having a discussion with a news crew from France about whether

traffic in Paris is worse than traffic in western North Dakota.

No, this is not a joke. It was an actual conversation I had with two other attendees of a recent

Bakken Field Tour, hosted by Williston, N.D.-based Dawa Solutions Group. (The French crew said

Paris traffic is much scarier, although they forgot to consider that the city’s population outnumbers

the entire state of North Dakota by more than 2 million.) For a few hundred dollars, the tour offers

anyone with an interest in the Bakken region the chance to learn about oil’s history in the area, the

current technology-based play and the economic development associated with it, as well as an after-

noon driving tour of the impacted area. The wealth of comprehensive information delivered

throughout the day is helpful, but the observations made on the driving tour can be downright fas-

cinating. For more on the tour, read “Experiencing the Bakken," on page 30.

This issue also looks into the high prices being paid for cropland throughout our region.

Contributing writer Kylie Blanchard talked to several economists to learn more about where the

highest-priced land is located, why it’s commanding such a high price and how long those prices

are expected to remain. See “How High Will They Go?” on page 26 to read what she found out.

We also offer a profile of Noridian Healthcare Solutions, formerly Noridian Administrative

Services. The company is in the midst of a major hiring spree as it prepares to carry out a massive

five-year Medicare contract and will add nearly 400 new jobs in North Dakota by September. The

company is also on the forefront of creating healthcare exchanges, which will be used to implement

the Affordable Care Act. Tom McGraw, who joined the company in October as the second CEO and

president in Noridian’s history, shares his take on hiring in a state with historically low unemploy-

ment, and how his company is evolving to address complex changes in the health care industry in

“Building on a History of Expertise," on page 22.

Finally, I want to bring to your attention that we are now accepting nominations for this

year’s 40 under 40 list. Many of you have emailed or called me throughout the year to request sub-

mission details so I know that this year’s pool of candidates is going to be stronger than ever. We

are excited to receive your nominations and look forward to sharing the results in our December

issue. Visit our website – www.prairiebizmag.com – to submit your nominations.

KRIS [email protected]

7www.prairiebizmag.com

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800-323-7583 www.dacotahpaper.com

PrairiePrairie

northern plains business resource

BusinessMIKE JACOBS, PublisherRONA JOHNSON, Executive EditorKRIS BEVILL, EditorBETH BOHLMAN, Circulation ManagerKRIS WOLFF, Layout Design, Ad Design

Sales Director:JOHN FETSCH701.212.1026 [email protected]

Sales:BRAD BOYD - western ND/western SD800.641.0683 [email protected]

SHELLY LARSON - eastern ND/western MN701.866.3628 [email protected]

Editor:KRIS BEVILL701.306.8561 [email protected]

Editorial Advisors:Dwaine Chapel, Executive Director, ResearchPark at South Dakota State University; BruceGjovig, Director, Center for Innovation; LisaGulland-Nelson, Vice President, Marketing andP.R., Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC; Tonya Joe(T.J.) Hansen, Assistant Professor of Economics,Minnesota State University Moorhead; DustyJohnson, Chief of Staff for South Dakota Gov.Dennis Daugaard’s office; Brekka Kramer,General Manager of Odney; Matthew Mohr,President/CEO, Dacotah Paper Company; NancyStraw, President, West Central Initiative

Prairie Business magazine is published monthlyby the Grand Forks Herald and ForumCommunications Company with offices at 3752nd Avenue North, Grand Forks, ND 58203.Qualifying subscriptions are available free ofcharge. Back issue quantities are limited andsubject to availability ($2/copy prepaid). Theopinions of writers featured in Prairie Business aretheir own. Unsolicited manuscripts, photo-graphs, artwork are encouraged but will not bereturned without a self-addressed, stampedenvelope.

Subscriptions Free subscriptions are availableonline to qualified requestors at www.prairiebizmag.com

Address corrections Prairie BusinessmagazinePO Box 6008Grand Forks, ND 58206-6008Beth Bohlman: [email protected]

Online www.prairiebizmag.com


|BUSINESS ADVICE|

Reinvest to buildBY MATTHEW D. MOHR

Few businesses can continually grow and prosper

without the reinvestment of profits or acquiring

new capital. Reinvesting in a business is like com-

pounding interest. As you earn income, your reinvest-

ment of this income gives you a larger base to grow from.

When considering the successful entrepreneurs

throughout our region, most of them kept the bulk, if not

all, of their wealth tied up in one main enterprise. Some

ventured into other businesses, and some extended their

wealth through investing in stocks, bonds and real estate.

Most took the profits earned and put them back to work

inside their primary business.

Great farmers learned the rule of reinvestment

decades ago, and as a result many have created enormous

wealth over generations. A superior crop year gave cash

for more land and upgraded equipment. As reinvest-

ments of farm profits continue, large super-profitable

enterprises are the result. But agribusiness owners are

not the only ones who have experienced success through

capital reinvestment.

Bell State Bank is a fine example of an enterprise

which has grown continually through dedicated reinvest-

ment of profits. Bell State is now one of the region’s pre-

mier banking institutions. Not long ago it was a smaller

depositor focused bank, but with each successive year the

ownership added new locations and bought similar area

banks.

By reinvesting profits and adding new capital through

the bank stockholder-owners when it could, Bell State has

become a premier banking institution of great size.

Through this constant and relentless pursuit of banking

excellence Bell State has grown to be a regional power and

a leader in our region’s banking community. PB

Matthew D. MohrCEO, Dacotah Paper Co.

[email protected]


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|FINANCE|

New law impacts flood insurance policies BY RICK CLAYBURGH

With the record spring rainfall here in the

Dakotas, it is important to be aware of

recently passed federal legislation that is

expected to have a big impact on flood insurance. The

Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 was

signed into law July 6, 2012. In addition to reauthoriz-

ing the National Flood Insurance Program through

Sept. 30, 2017, the bill brings several substantive changes

to the program, including several that alter the way pre-

mium rates are calculated.

The law requires that increased flood insurance pre-

miums be phased in and existing premium subsidies be

phased out. As a result, property owners in “Special Flood

Hazard Areas” may see more expensive insurance rates —

in some cases significantly more — than what they are

currently paying. The new premiums will reflect the true

flood risk of homes and businesses. Premiums have the

potential to increase by as much as 25 percent per year for

the next four years until full-risk rates are reached.

It is important that property owners repairing and

rebuilding structures after storms understand these

changes so they can make sound and informed decisions

about whether they want to place additional resources in

an impacted area, and so they can understand the finan-

cial implications of doing so. These include not only ques-

tions of rebuilding destroyed homes but repairing them,

too. For example, should I replace a damaged water-heater

in my basement or should I consider moving it upstairs?

Flood insurance premiums are calculated based on

Federal Emergency Management Agency maps and the

minimum building requirements for that region. An

owner whose home or business is built in compliance with

those minimum building requirements, or exceeds those

standards, will be at an advantage. Their premiums may

still go up but will be lower than those for homes that do

not meet the minimum requirements. If you’re rebuilding

after a flood, it is important to consult FEMA maps prior

to construction. Building in compliance with base flood

elevation standards could protect your financial future.

Here are four things to expect from the Biggert-

Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act:

1) Automatic increases: Policy rates for primary

residences are automatically subject to increases if there

has been change in ownership, a lapse in coverage, a

change in flood risk according to new FEMA flood maps,

or substantial damage or improvement to a building.

2) Diminishing discounts: Existing subsidies for

second homes, rental homes, businesses or repetitive loss

properties are eliminated. “Grandfather” clauses will also

be eliminated, meaning all rates will be based on the build-

ing’s compliance with current flood zone recommenda-

tions, not the standards when the building was first built.

3) Updated flood zone maps: FEMA is redrawing

flood zone maps across the country. That means buildings

that weren’t in a flood zone before might be in one now,

or in a higher-risk zone. These zones determine minimum

building requirements and whether you meet these mini-

mums determines what your insurance will cost.

4) Higher annual increases: In the past, annual

premium increases were limited to 10 percent; that limit is

now 20 percent.

FEMA offers three programs to reduce your risk

and help you save money on flood insurance. To see

if you qualify, visit www.fema.gov. For more details

on the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act,

visit www.nhma.info/nhma-biggert-article/ or call

the National Flood Insurance Program Help Center

at 1-800-427-4661.

You can also visit the following FEMA websites for

more information:

www.ready.gov/floods;

www.fema.gov/region-vi/national-flood-insurance-

program-reform-frequently-asked-questions; or

www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/pdfs/fema_flood_

brochure.pdf. PBRick Clayburgh

President and CEONorth Dakota Bankers Association

[email protected]



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|RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY|

Bridging the other ‘valley of death’— from lab to marketBY PHILIP BOUDJOUK

For companies and researchers, bringing a

technology to market can be a daunting chal-

lenge. The first “valley of death” in business

often refers to capital that entrepreneurs need for

startups. An equally important “valley of death” cen-

ters on taking technology from the lab into mar-

ketable product blockbusters.

For companies with lean research budgets, uni-

versities continue to play a vital role in R&D world-

wide. Whether licensing a North Dakota State

University-developed technology to bring to the

marketplace, or assisting companies in solving chal-

lenges to bring their own products to customers,

NDSU has a strong track record for transferring tech-

nology from the university lab to the marketplace.

From FY 2007 to FY 2011, NDSU generated 256

invention disclosures, filed 142 new U.S. patent appli-

cations and produced 486 licenses. By FY 2012, NDSU

licensing revenues topped $2 million, growing more

than 77 percent since FY 2006.

On average, NDSU processes one federal grant

award daily and a research contract with the private

sector every week. Cumulatively, NDSU has executed

nearly 300 private sector research contracts over the

past five years.

NDSU-developed technologies that are moving

toward the marketplace include an anti-corrosion

primer for aircraft which was licensed to the world’s

largest coatings company, miniaturized ground sen-

sors developed for the military and deployed on three

continents to protect military assets, biodefensive coat-

ings in development with a North Dakota company,

and RFID (radio-frequency identification) tagging

systems for military equipment. Other NDSU-devel-

oped technology has been licensed to startup compa-

nies, including removable coatings for bronze sculp-

tures and architectural components, biocomposites

from renewable crop materials and a vertical data min-

ing algorithm and software.

The North Dakota Economic Development

Centers of Excellence program provides a mechanism

to promote technology-based economic development.

Public/private R&D partnerships at NDSU include

technologies such as anti-fouling coatings for ships,

biomedical devices such as hearing aids, microelec-

tronics for unmanned aerial systems, mobile phone

technologies, new optical materials, and anti-icing and

anti-soiling coatings for composite materials and wind

turbine blades.

Developing new technologies and helping com-

panies solve technology challenges forges partner-

ships that lead to technology-led economic develop-

ment. NDSU students are also provided unique

opportunities to work alongside NDSU researchers,

established global companies and startups to develop

new technologies and products for real-world appli-

cations. Students are frequently co-inventors on

patent applications.

By fall 2013, NDSU’s efforts to transfer technol-

ogy from lab bench to market will get a boost from a

35,000-square-foot addition of scientific lab space to

an existing building in the NDSU Research and

Technology Park. Research objectives include R&D

and commercialization of top NDSU-developed

technologies via private sector partnerships.

The $9 million addition was funded the by U.S.

Department of Commerce/National Institute of

Standards and Technology and a North Dakota

Centers of Excellence Enhancement Program grant

approved in 2009.

The R&D partnership between NDSU and

companies enhances business success and econom-

ic development. It also means research opportuni-

ties for students, leading to a highly skilled work-

force for the region. The results are compelling. The

opportunities are wide open. All of these compo-

nents represent a bright economic future. PB

Philip BoudjoukVice president for research, creative

activities and technology transferNorth Dakota State University

[email protected]: @NDSU


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|ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT|

Development Fund a valuable tool for ND businessesBY DEAN REESE

The North Dakota Development Fund is a

valuable financing tool for North Dakota

businesses, providing a strong return on

investment for taxpayers and contributing signifi-

cantly to job creation. As we continue to grow our

economy in the state and create economic opportuni-

ties for our citizens, it is important that financing

support is available for startup or expansion projects

in North Dakota.

The North Dakota Development Fund was creat-

ed through legislation in 1991 as an economic develop-

ment tool. It provides flexible gap financing through

debt and equity investments for new or expanding

North Dakota primary sector businesses.

The Development Fund makes investments of up

to $300,000 in primary sector businesses. The North

Dakota Development Fund Board may adjust the limit

when deemed appropriate.

In general, the following criteria apply to

Development Fund investments:

• The entrepreneur must have a realistic financial

commitment at stake. Usually principals are required to

have a minimum of 15 percent equity in the project.

• Refinancing of debt is not eligible.

• Principal shareholders with 20 percent or greater

ownership are generally required to guarantee the debt.

Other shareholders may also be required to guarantee.

• The Development Fund will not participate in

more than 50 percent of a project’s capitalization needs.

• Financing is available to any primary sector

business project with the exception of production

agriculture.

• Primary sector includes individuals and busi-

nesses which, through the employment of knowledge

or labor, add value to a product, process or service

which results in the creation of new wealth. Primary

sector includes tourism and specific types of investor-

owned agriculture, and is typically businesses such as

manufacturers, food processors or export service com-

panies. Investor-owned agriculture includes livestock

feeding or milking operations, or other value-added

agriculture located apart from an individual farm oper-

ation that is professionally managed and has employees.

Since the launch of the Development Fund, it has

invested $97 million in 519 companies with over $30.8

million invested in rural communities. The investments

made by the Development Fund have contributed to

the projected creation of 10,389 primary sector jobs.

Economic activity continues to be strong in North

Dakota. In providing flexible financing, the

Development Fund will continue to assist primary sec-

tor businesses start-up or expand, which will help to

create additional jobs and new revenues for the state of

North Dakota.

Loan and equity programs managed by the North

Dakota Development Fund include:

• North Dakota Development Fund

• Regional Rural Revolving Loan Fund

• Rural Incentive Growth Loan Program

• Small Business Technology Program

• Child Care Loan Program

• New Venture Capital Program

• Entrepreneur Loan Program

• Entrepreneurial Center Loan Program

For some additional information visit:

www.NDDevelopmentFund.com. PB

Dean ReeseDirector, North Dakota Development Fund

[email protected]


Prairie News Industry News & Trends

Cooperstown manufacturer receives SBA award

Posi Lock Puller Inc., a manufacturer of gear and

bearing pullers based in Cooperstown, N.D., recently

received the 2013 North Dakota Small Business Exporter

of the Year award from the U.S. Small Business

Administration. The company was selected following a

statewide competition and received the award in honor of

its successful export program. Posi Lock’s pullers are

shipped to every country in the world, according to the

SBA, but all of its products are made in the U.S., with most

of the outsourcing needs handled within a 200-mile

radius of Cooperstown.

The family-run company was founded 35 years ago

with the introduction of a patented gear and bearing

puller invented by Dean Somerville for use in industrial,

agriculture and automotive markets.From left: Cris Somerville; Peggy Somerville; Stacy Somerville; Dean Somerville; Tamara Somerville; Alan Haut, SBA lender relations specialist; Carlos Sosa, SBA Office of International Trade regional managerPHOTO: U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Silicon Plains acquiresAcoustic Visions Multimedia

Silicon Plains LLC, a Bismarck, N.D.-based

business computer support services firm, has

agreed to acquire Acoustic Visions Multimedia, a

web hosting and business computer support com-

pany based in Mandan, N.D.

AVM customers will be transitioned to Silicon

Plains over the next several months. “Moving this

large of a customer base over to our company is a

process we take very seriously,” Dan Polk, Silicon

Plains president, said in a news release. “Our goal is

to ensure no service interruptions occur.”

Steve Barreth, owner of AVM, will remain as a

consultant for Silicon Plains for an extended period

of time and will continue providing service to for-

mer AVM customers, according to the company.

Wells Fargo to relocateDickinson branch

Wells Fargo has announced plans to move its

Dickinson, N.D., banking store from the Prairie

Hills Mall to the West Ridge Center development

sometime this fall. Dickinson-based Tooz

Construction Inc. will build the new store, which

will offer safe deposit boxes and a multi-lane

drive-up with two car-accessible ATMs. While the

new location will open this fall, Wells Fargo also

plans to maintain its existing drive-up and ATM at

the Prairie Hills Mall through fall 2014.

“We’re excited to have the opportunity to

move into a brand new store in an up-and-com-

ing development,” says Travis Hande, market pres-

ident and ag industry specialist for Wells Fargo in

Dickinson. “The new location will be more invit-

ing to customers and will better fit our needs.”

Metro Plains acquires SD company

Metro Plains Management recently acquired

South Dakota-based PRO/Rental Management,

the company announced this week. PRO/Rental

Management has 45 apartment communities with

850 units and 40 employees.

The deal increases MetroPlains’ holdings to

160 apartment communities with 5,000 units and

230 employees, according to the company.

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in

Devils Lake, N.D., Metro Plains Management has

rental properties and commercial space in North

Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Kansas and

Oklahoma.

CoBank commits $250K to NDSU

CoBank, a cooperative bank serving agribusi-

ness, rural infrastructure and Farm Credit System

associations throughout the U.S., will contribute

$250,000 to North Dakota State University in Fargo

over the next five years. Half of the funds will be

used to support the Quentin Burdick Center for

Cooperatives. The remaining funds will support the

NDSU Department of Agribusiness and Applied

Economics commodity trading room laboratory.

Aberdeen retail study examinesconsumers, opportunities

A coalition of Aberdeen, S.D., groups recent-

ly teamed up to back a study conducted by the

Buxton Co. to identify the city’s core consumers

and better understand its retail sector in terms of

areas of surplus and under-served markets. The

city will use the research to assist local businesses

in making strategic merchandising and location

decisions.

“The information from this study will offer

new data on our customers, such as where they

shop and what they buy,” says Gail Ochs, president

of the Aberdeen Area Chamber of Commerce. “It

also indicates where there are unmet needs for

products and services, which is an opportunity to

capture dollars currently leaving our community.”

Walmart to hire 300 for Mandan store

Walmart recently announced plans to hire

approximately 300 people to work at the

Walmart Supercenter scheduled to open in

Mandan, N.D., this fall. In June, the retail giant

said it expected most of the new hires to begin

work that month in order to help prepare the

store for its grand opening.


Kraus-Anderson to manage $12 million BSU project

Kraus-Anderson Construction Co. has been selected as con-

struction manager at risk for a $12 million addition and renovation

project at Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minn. Construction is

scheduled to start in July 2014 and will include the renovation of

Memorial and Decker Halls, including an addition which will accom-

modate the relocation of the College of Business from Decker Hall to

Memorial Hall.

Grand Forks site selected for $1.5 billion fertilizer project

Northern Plains Nitrogen has announced plans to build and

operate a $1.5 billion nitrogen fertilizer plant facility near Grand

Forks, N.D. The group’s plans call for a 2,200 ton-per-day ammonia

plant plus urea and urea-ammonium-nitrate (UAN) production

facilities to be located on land adjacent to the Grand Forks waste-

water treatment plant. The company plans to use natural gas piped

from the Bakken region of western North Dakota as a feedstock and

could also use wastewater effluent from the water treatment plant as

its water supply.

The plant is expected to be complete and ready to provide fer-

tilizer to area farmers for the 2017 growing season. Approximately

2,000 workers will be employed during the peak construction period

of the project. Upon completion, the facility is expected to provide

135 full-time jobs.

|PRAIRIE NEWS|

18 Prairie Business Magazine February 2012

|PRAIRIE NEWS|

Community foundationslaunch joint effort to promote philanthropy

North Dakota’s five community foundations

have launched a cooperative effort known as

NDGives to promote philanthropy in the state.

Participants include the Fargo Moorhead Area

Foundation, Minot Area Community

Foundation, North Dakota Community

Foundation, Community Foundation of Grand

Forks East Grand Forks and Region and Devils

Lake Area Foundation.

Made possible by a $100,000 grant from the

Bush Foundation, the goal of the campaign is to

increase residents’ understanding of endowment

funds and to raise awareness of the North Dakota

Charitable Income Tax Credit.

According to the foundations, North Dakota

currently ranks 17th in the country for average

adjusted gross income per tax return, but is 48th

in the nation for average charitable contribution

per return.

Walmart to hire 300 forMandan, ND, store

Walmart recently announced plans to

hire approximately 300 people to work at the

Walmart Supercenter scheduled to open in

Mandan, N.D., this fall. In a news release issued in

early June, the retail giant said it expected most of

the new hires to begin work that month in order

to help prepare the store for its grand opening.

Medical providers implementhealth IT at rapid pace

The U.S. Department of Health & Human

Services announced in May it has already exceed-

ed its goal for 50 percent of doctor offices and 80

percent of eligible hospitals to implement elec-

tronic health records (EHRs) by the end of the

year. According to the agency, use of EHRs by doc-

tors has increased more 30 percent since 2008

while the use of EHRs in hospitals has skyrocket-

ed from just 9 percent in 2008 to more than 80

percent currently.

The Obama administration has encouraged

the use of EHRs in order to improve the efficiency

and quality of health care. Doctors, hospitals and

other providers that demonstrate meaningful use

of EHRs receive federal incentives.

Bobcat breaks ground on $20 million Bismarck facilityBobcat Company has begun work on a $20 million renovation and expansion project to create the Acceleration Center in

Bismarck, N.D. The project includes the expansion of an existing building as well as the development of a new test track and

indoor testing facility at the Northern Plains Commerce Centre. Construction is expected to be complete in 2014. Wahpeton,

N.D.-based Comstock Construction Inc. is serving as the contractor for the project.

The Acceleration Center will initially house 135 employees, focusing on innovating and advancing designs, testing, proto-

type engineering and the computer simulation of ideas and concepts. The center will also serve as an educational facility and will

be used to provide training and hands-on experience for Bobcat dealers and customers.

Bobcat Company’s Acceleration Center in Bismarck, N.D., is expected to be complete in 2014. IMAGE: BOBCAT COMPANY


|PRAIRIE NEWS|

RealTruck.com recognized forrecord-breaking sales

Truck accessory e-commerce site

RealTruck.com recently received the Growing

Jamestown (N.D.) award from the

Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. in

recognition of the company’s strong sales growth

in 2012 and positive influence on the local econo-

my. RealTruck.com finished 2012 with a record-

breaking $17.5 million in sales and has continued

upward trajectory in 2013.

The company was founded in Spokane,

Wash., in 1998 and relocated to Jamestown in

2000. Other than utilizing JSDC’s New Jobs

Training Fund to grow its staff after initially open-

ing the Jamestown location, RealTruck.com has

financed its growth exclusively with its own prof-

its. The company currently employs more than 40

people at its offices in Jamestown and Fargo.

Summit Midstream starts upBakken oil, water gatheringsystem

Summit Midstream Partners LLC,

announced in May that it has commenced opera-

tions of the Polar Crude Oil and Water Gathering

System in Williams County, North Dakota. The

system is designed to gather 50,000 barrels of

Bakken crude per day and 25,000 barrels of water

per day from the Bakken and Three Forks forma-

tions. The system is comprised of approximately

50 miles of crude oil gathering pipeline and 35

miles of water gathering pipeline. Oil will be deliv-

ered to the COLT Hub Terminal in Epping under

long-term, fee-based gathering agreements.

Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. is the anchor customer on

the system.

West Fargo manufacturer winsexport award

Roll-a-Ramp, a West Fargo-based manufac-

turer of portable aluminum wheelchair ramps,

recently received the “E” award for exports from

the U.S. Acting Secretary of Commerce during a

ceremony in Washington, D.C. The award is the

highest recognition given to U.S. exporters by the

commerce department. Honorees must be nomi-

nated through the commerce department’s

Grand Forks plans drone business park

Officials from Grand Forks, N.D., state

leaders and representatives of the unmanned

aircraft systems (UAS) industry came

together during the 2013 UAS Action

Summit in Grand Forks on May 30

to unveil plans to establish a

UAS-specific business and

technology park near

Grand Forks. The park, dubbed

Grand Sky, will be located west of Grand

Forks on the Air Force base. The project is a

collaborative effort among the state, the

county, the city, the Grand Forks Base

Realignment Committee, the

Grand Forks Region

Economic Development

Corp., the University of

North Dakota and

Northland Community

and Technical College.

Construction is expected to

begin in 2014, with space becoming

available for tenants in early 2015.

Northrop Grumman, maker of the Global

Hawk drone, has announced its intent to

become an anchor tenant of the park.

The Grand Sky announcement correlates with the state and

city’s desire to be selected by the Federal Aviation Administration

as one of six UAS test sites. At least 50 applicants are vying to

become one of the half-dozen sites. The FAA is expected to

choose site locations by the end of this year.

If built as proposed, the Grand Sky unmanned air-craft systems business park in Grand Forks, N.D., willencompass 1.2 million square feet of space at theGrand Forks Air Base.


|PRAIRIE PEOPLE|

Kvalheim named BSE northwestregion utility sales manager

Brad Kvalheim has been named northwest

region utility sales manager for Border States Electric.

Kvalheim joined BSE in 1989 as an electron-

ic service technician in the company’s Fargo

location. In 1992, he became utility customer

service representative for the upper Midwest

including Minnesota, North Dakota and South

Dakota. In 1995, Kvalheim moved to Sioux Falls,

S.D., and became an account manager. In this

role he was integral in coordinating five utility

alliance agreements with multi-year commit-

ments. Most recently he was the branch manager

in Sioux Falls. In his new position, Kvalheim will

be located in the company’s Bismarck, N.D.,

location and cover Montana, North Dakota,

South Dakota and Wyoming.

Eide Bailly announces management change

David Stende, who has served as chief oper-

ating officer for Fargo, N.D.-based accounting

firm Eide Bailly for the past seven years, has

assumed the role of managing partner/CEO of the

firm. He is taking the place of Jerry Topp, who

served in that role for the past decade and plans to

continue working for the next few years, focusing

his efforts on growing Practicewise, an association

of noncompeting CPA firms, and on ensuring a

smooth transition for the firm.

Mike Astrup, partner-in-charge of the Fargo

office, is the firm’s new chief administrative offi-

cer and will be responsible for the internal func-

tions of the firm, including human resources,

training, finance, communications and informa-

tion technology.

James Lyons, partner-in-charge of the firm’s

Colorado offices, has been named strategic growth

officer and will be responsible for the firm’s special-

ty services.

Barb Aasen, partner-in-charge of the

Bismarck and Williston, N.D., offices, and Andrew

Spillum, partner-in-charge of the Phoenix, Ariz.,

office, have been named chief practice officers.

They will be responsible for overseeing the growth

and profitability of the firm’s 21 operating offices in

addition to leading their respective offices.

The change in management structure is part

of the firm’s overall goal to continue an aggressive

growth pattern over the next five years.

Lignite Energy Council chooses new CEO

Jason Bohrer, a Congressional chief of staff,

has been named president and CEO of the Lignite

Energy Council. He succeeds John Dwyer, who

announced his retirement after serving as the

group’s CEO for 32 years.

Bohrer has 15 years of experience in public

policy and stakeholder relations, serving most

recently as chief of staff to Rep. Raul Labrador, R-

Idaho, and as a legislative counsel to Sen. James

Risch, R-Idaho, on energy policy, transmission,

cyber security and regulated utilities.

Bohrer is a graduate of North Dakota State

University in Fargo and George Mason University

School of Law in northern Virginia. Bohrer will

begin serving as CEO of the council in mid-July

and will be based in Bismarck, N.D.

Ackerman-Estvold hires seniorwater resources engineer

Minot, N.D.-based Ackerman-Estvold

Engineering and Management Consulting Inc.

has hired Thomas Johnson as a senior water

resources engineer.

Johnson previously worked for URS Corp. in

New Mexico as a senior engineer specializing in

water resources. He holds a bachelor’s degree in

civil engineering from North Dakota State

University in Fargo and a master’s degree in civil

engineering from the University of Minnesota. He

is also classified as a certified floodplain manager

and is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental

Design accredited professional (LEED AP).

Basin Electric names new VP of human resources

Ellen Holt recently joined Basin Electric

Power Cooperative as vice president of human

resources. In this role, Holt will provide strategic

leadership and oversee the tactical implementation

of cooperative-wide employee-focused programs

and policies.

Holt served most recently as manager of

human resources at Logistics Health

Incorporated/United Health Group in La Crosse,

Wis., where she led the implementation and devel-

opment of the human resources function in areas

including recruitment, employee relations, and

training and development. Prior to that, she served

as the human resources director for Gunderson

Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse.

Brad Kvalheim

Tom Johnson

Jason Bohrer

Ellen Holt

David Stende


|PRAIRIE PEOPLE|

Westra namedCOO at HeggCompanies

Steven Westra has

been named chief operat-

ing officer of Hegg

Companies Inc., a Sioux

Falls, S.D.-based real estate

investment and develop-

ment company. Westra has served as CEO of Esprit

Memory Care LLC, a business affiliated with Hegg

Companies, since 2010 and will continue in that

role while taking on additional leadership respon-

sibilities to help manage HCI’s multi-faceted

growth. As COO, he will be active in the daily man-

agement of HCI’s development management and

commercial real estate ventures, which will allow

Paul Hegg, president and CEO of HCI, to focus on

investor relations.

In a statement, Hegg said he expects the

company to experience rapid growth over the

next two to three years. The company is develop-

ing apartments, offices and other businesses in the

Bakken region of North Dakota and is developing

a series of Esprit Memory Care centers. It also

operates three hotels in Sioux Falls and is develop-

ing a fourth — a Hilton Garden Inn that is cur-

rently under construction.

Schlittenhardelected toHIBCC board

DuWayne (Dewey)

Schlittenhard, vice presi-

dent of heart/vascular

and professional services

at St. Alexius Medical

Center in Bismarck, N.D.,

was recently elected chair

of the board of directors

of the Health Industry Business Communications

Council. HIBCC is an industry-sponsored, non-

profit standards development organization that

maintains labeling standards for hospital and

their suppliers.

Prior to his role at St. Alexius, Schlittenhard

was the chief operating officer at PRACS Institute

Ltd. in Fargo, as well as director of pharmacy at

MeritCare Health System in Fargo. He graduated

with a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State

University in Fargo and earned his master's degree

from Chadwick University in Birmingham, Ala.

Steven Westra

DuWayneSchlittenhard


North Dakota may be best known for its agri-

culture and energy sectors, but there is a grow-

ing movement to establish technology as the

third leg of the state’s powerhouse economy, particular-

ly in the Red River Valley region. The number of tech-

nology-driven companies choosing to locate in the area

continues to grow, due in no small part to the state’s

business-friendly atmosphere and investors who are

willing to foster the industry.

One of the most recent examples is Fixes 4 Kids Inc.,

a Utah-based company with Silicon Valley roots that has

devised innovative products to address pediatric orthope-

dic fractures. The company recently relocated its manu-

facturing operations to Wahpeton, N.D., where it is work-

ing with ComDel Innovations to produce its first prod-

ucts, designed to treat broken elbows in children.

Kurt Vedder, company founder and CEO, says he

had not considered moving the company to North

Dakota until he was introduced to Dan Hodgson,

founder of the Southern Valley Angel Fund, in 2011.

But after making that connection, which led to a meet-

ing with ComDel’s team and him learning about the

state’s business climate, he happily made the move. “We

continue to dig our roots into North Dakota and I

couldn’t be more pleased,” he says. “It’s a fabulous place

to do business. I think North Dakota is leading the

country in terms of a strategy to retain and build busi-

ness. The tax credits the state offers investors is a huge

benefit for building businesses and to investments in

general. Utah is way behind that and California … [is]

the opposite extreme.”

Hodgson, who also serves on the board of directors

for Fixes 4 Kids, says he was attracted to the company due

to its philosophy that innovative products can be manu-

factured and brought to the market in a more cash-effi-

cient fashion than is typically seen in large West Coast

venture fund models. The Southern Valley Angel Fund,

along with angel funds in Fargo-Moorhead and Fosston,

Minn., individual investors and the North

Dakota Development Fund, invested in Fixes

for Kids during its first round of fundraising.

Linn Grove Angel Fund, which was co-founded

by Hodgson, is an investor in the Series B.

North Dakota’s willingness to invest in technology in

particular has been helped greatly in recent years by the

state’s decision to provide a 45 percent tax credit for equi-

ty investments in early-stage, high-risk companies,

Hodgson says. “We have more companies and investors

here that are learning that this can be done here rather

than sending our money to the Coasts and letting them

do it,” he says.

The tax credit North Dakota offers for those types of

investments is one of the highest in the country. Kansas

ND investors fostergrowing tech sectorTax credits, pro-business climate continue to attract new firms, investmentsBY KRIS BEVILL

Utah-based Fixes 4 Kids Inc. recently relocated its manufacturing segment toWahpeton, N.D., to produce the EFix, a system designed to treat broken elbows inchildren. PHOTO: FIXES 4 KIDS INC.

|BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT|


offers a 50 percent tax credit, capped at $50,000 per investment per

company each year. Minnesota had a 25 percent tax credit pro-

gram in place, and it was quite popular with the investment com-

munity, but the state legislature opted not to allocate funding for

the program this year, leaving it unfunded as of May. Business

investments in Minnesota will be hurt as a result, Hodgson says.

Fixes 4 Kids products have just recently been introduced to

the market, but the company’s goal is to generate $2 million in rev-

enue this year. By early June, it had already exceeded $800,000,

according to Vedder. The company currently employs a staff of

three in North Dakota, but plans to add personnel accordingly as

the business grows. Despite the well-reported workforce shortages

throughout the region, neither Vedder nor Hodgson believe

recruitment will be a hurdle for Fixes 4 Kids, or for other technol-

ogy companies in the area. “When it comes to building innovation

companies, North Dakota has been shipping its talent out of the

state for years, and we can attract them back when we have the

kinds of opportunities that they left to seek elsewhere,” Hodgson

says. “Any time, any day.” PB

Kris Bevill

Editor, Prairie Business

701-306-8561, [email protected]

Do you know a young professional who deserves recognition?The 40 under 40 issue of Prairie Business magazine actively supports and celebratesyoung professionals. The award honors individuals who strive toward the highest levelsof personal and professional accomplishments, who excel in their chosen field, devotetime and energy to their community in a meaningful way, and forge paths of leadership.

Nominate Today!

l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l

Nominate Today!

To nominate someone visit prairiebizmag.com and click onthe 40 Under 40 tab at the top of the page. The deadline forsubmissions is Oct. 1.

Professional Excellence: Demonstrate excellence, creativity and initiative in their business or profession.

Community Service: Local, state, national or international participation. Charitable services, political pursuits, religious groups, chambers, merchant’s associations, etc.

Personal Leadership: Helping themselves and others reach their full leadership potential. Prairie Business magazine’s 40 under 40 listing is slated to run in the December 2013 issue. We are seeking nominations for candidates from North Dakota, South Dakota and western Minnesota for this year’s 40 under 40. In order tobe considered, candidates must be 39 years old or younger(and can’t turn 40 until January 2014 or later).

To Nominate:

Criteria:

To Advertise: Shelly LarsonRegional [email protected]

Brad BoydRegional [email protected]


Business prairiebizmag.com

Dan Hodgson

|BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT|


|HEALTH CARE|

Building on aHistory of ExpertiseNoridian changes name, launches massive hiring plan to meet growing health care services demandBY KRIS BEVILL

Is it possible for an existing company to fill nearly 400

open positions for high-demand jobs in a state where

the monthly unemployment rate hovers around 3 per-

cent and employers advertise thousands of job openings on

a daily basis? Fargo-based Noridian Healthcare Solutions

LLC (formerly Noridian Administrative Services) is about

to find out. The health care administrative services firm,

which already employs about 1,000 people throughout sev-

eral locations in North Dakota and around the country, was

recently awarded a five-year Medicare claims processing

contract earlier that will more than double its volume of

federal business. The contract, which was awarded through

a competitive process, makes it necessary for the company

to add about 500 employees in a variety of positions, includ-

ing customer service representatives, nurses, accountants

and information technology professionals, most of whom

will be hired to fill new roles at North Dakota locations.

President and CEO Tom McGraw, who himself just

joined the company last fall, says that despite hearing reports

detailing North Dakota’s shortage of workers and recruitment

challenges, he doesn’t think Noridian will struggle to find the

qualified workers it needs. “You would think I would be [con-

cerned], but Noridian is considered a very good company to

work for so I think we’ve been getting excellent candidates,” he

says. “Everybody has told us we are getting a stronger pool of

applicants than one might have anticipated.”

By early June, Noridian had already hosted several job

fairs in Fargo, including one in late March specifically for

employees that had been displaced after PRACS Institute’s

unexpected closure. In June, the company attracted 500

potential applicants to a job fair in Fargo. By September,

McGraw says Noridian expects to have 375 new employees in

North Dakota — 300 in Fargo, 50 in Jamestown, 15 in Leeds

and 10 in Grand Forks. Other staff will be added at the com-

pany’s facilities in Bloomington, Minn., and in California.

Noridian will take over the Medicare contract in two phases,

Part A in August and Part B in September, so the company will

stagger its hirings accordingly, with the first wave of new

employees expected to be in place late this month.

According to McGraw, potential new hires represent a

mix of local residents and interested parties willing to relocate

from elsewhere in the country, although he says most of the

applicants at its June job fair were locals. Until hiring is com-

plete, it’s difficult to estimate how many of Noridian’s new

employees will represent new residents, and therefore new

members of the state’s workforce, but local health care

providers will most certainly be keeping a watchful eye on

Noridian’s hiring process and the impact it has on their staff

numbers. The last time Noridian expanded its workforce, at

least one Fargo hospital lost a significant number of nurses to

the company and had to spend the next year aggressively

replenishing with new hires. McGraw says he sympathizes and

hopes that doesn’t happen this time around, but adds that the

nurses Noridian hires are generally looking for a way to get out

of the clinical setting anyway. “Our nurses are primarily doing

medical review-type work, so a lot of times they can do it from

home,” he says. “It’s very steady work, but maybe not as high

stress [as clinical or hospital settings].” Currently, 10 percent of

Noridian’s workforce is nurses.

It's possible for Noridian to utilize remote workers for

several types of positions within the company, but McGraw

says Noridian is among those companies that have moved


|HEALTH CARE|

Tom McGraw joined Noridian Administrative Services last October as the second president and CEO in the company’s history. Since that time, thecompany has been awarded a massive federal Medicare claims processing contract, which requires hiring an additional 500 people, and changed itsname to reflect an expanded services focus. PHOTO: JOHN BROSE


|HEALTH CARE|

away from the belief that telecommuters can be based anywhere

and now prefer to hire workers who are located near a company

office. “I think companies believe that even with telecommuters

you’re far better off hiring in your local area so that they can come

in for group trainings and things along those lines,” he says.

Medicare and MoreNoridian currently processes more than 102 million medical

claims annually for more than 290,000 health care providers locat-

ed in all 50 states. Three-quarters of the company’s business volume

comes from federal contracts; Medicare contracts now account for

15 percent of the company’s total business.

Noridian’s roots in Medicare contracting stretch back four

decades to the program’s very beginning. When Medicare was

launched in 1966, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota provid-

ed administrative services for the program. In 1998, BCBS of ND

became Noridian Mutual Insurance Co. and in 2002 Noridian

Administrative Services was spun-off as a separate entity to carry

out Medicare contract work. Noridian is now one of only 10 gov-

ernment Medicare and Medicaid claims contractors in the country

and has extensive experience in the administrative services process,

but the company is able to provide a list of other health care-relat-

ed services as well and has recently begun an effort to promote its

broader capabilities. The company changed its name in May, from

Noridian Administrative Services to Noridian Healthcare

Solutions, in order to emphasize this expanded focus, which

includes care and delivery management solutions to improve care

while decreasing its cost, medical review services to reduce fraud

and abuse, data analysis and the development, support and admin-

istration of health insurance marketplaces. “We’re more than a

claims administrator, and ready to help states, federal government

and business meet the new challenges they face in health care infor-

mation, systems and support,” McGraw says.

The utilization and analysis of data is an area of growing

importance for health care providers. In the past, claims data was

the only source of data analyzed for health care purposes, accord-

ing to McGraw. But that is changing. In the future, data including

electronic health records, family histories, genomics, and even

types of purchases and places of residence will be analyzed and

used by providers, including Medicare and Medicaid programs, to

help determine criteria for care. Noridian wants to expand its role

in compiling and making sense of all that data. “We see a role for

us there, primarily bringing our expertise in Medicare and clinical

expertise,” McGraw says. “For a company that is doing the kind of

Medicare administrative work that we’re doing, we have an unusu-

ally large number of statisticians, including Ph.D and master’s level

statisticians. We think we can help bring a lot of that expertise to

the field.”

The Affordable Care Act has proven to be a boost for

Noridian’s business already and the company plans to continue

growing that aspect of its services. The company is serving as the

contractor for the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange and has

spent the past year building the system for the state-based health

insurance exchange, which is scheduled to open for enrollment on

Oct. 1. Building that type of system is an extremely complex task

because the exchange must not only display different insurance

options and be able to enroll individuals, it must also have the abil-

ity to obtain information to determine an individual’s eligibility for

Noridian Healthcare Solutions is headquartered in Fargo, but employs personnel at facilitiesthroughout North Dakota as well as in Minnesota and California. PHOTO: JOHN BROSE


|HEALTH CARE|

federal health care subsidies, according to

McGraw. “We have to get the information and

validate it against a bunch of different sources

and determine if that individual is qualified for

a subsidy and, if they are, how much of a sub-

sidy,” he says. “So an individual can choose

between different health plans, but we have to

tell the help line how much is coming from

insurance and how much is coming from the

federal government.”

Maryland is one of only a few states,

including Minnesota, which has opted to create

its own health care exchange in advance of the

Affordable Care Act’s Jan. 1 start date. The

majority of the states will at least begin comply-

ing with the law by using a federal exchange

system. McGraw anticipates that will change in

the future, however, and Noridian is position-

ing itself to be a provider of exchange systems

and related services for states as needed. “We

expect that a number of states that are using the

federal exchange initially will want to build

their own exchange,” he says. “The other thing

we want to be doing with states is providing

other services [such as call centers and commu-

nications with payers]. We would love to be

doing those types of services for them.”

Services related to the Affordable Care Act

clearly represent an area of growth for Noridian’s

state-based business. On the federal side,

McGraw expects Medicare and Medicaid pro-

grams to focus on providing more cost-effective

care and he believes Noridian can impact that

goal through its care and delivery management

and program integrity services. Long-term, he

anticipates the company will continue to grow,

although he says it is currently difficult to specu-

late at what rate and in what specific areas. “In

health care, it’s so dramatically changing that it

would be hard to do that, but we have grown

substantially in the last couple of years and we

anticipate continuing of that growth.” PB

Kris Bevill




How High Will They Go?Strong commodity prices and low interest rates continue to impact region’s land pricesBY KYLIE BLANCHARD

|LAND VALUES|

Land prices are at historic highs across the region, driven by

strong commodities, high crop yields and historically low

interest rates. But how long this upward trend will continue

and its full impact has yet to be determined.

“We’ve had a perfect storm of factors driving land values,” says

Andrew Swenson, extension farm management specialist at North

Dakota State University in Fargo. “These include several years of strong

crop production, increases in the farmers’ ability to pay for land, low

interest rates, positive outlooks and a favorable tax climate.”

This is reflected in similar land price trends across North Dakota,

South Dakota and Minnesota, he notes. The previous peak in land

prices in North Dakota was in 1981 and prices then dropped 40 percent

over the mid- to late-1980s, finally bottoming out in 1987-1988.

“There was then a gradual rise from 1988 to 2003 and then prices

picked up,” Swenson says. “Since that time, the rise has been fairly rapid

in North Dakota and across the region.”

During 2012, land prices in North Dakota rose over 40 percent

and in 2011 and 2010, prices rose nearly 20 percent each year. “We’ve

had strong profits in crop agriculture since 2007,” Swenson says, noting

this is the result of historically high crop prices mixed with strong yields.

“This has increased both the profitability of producers and their ability

to purchase land.”

The most expensive land in North Dakota is found in the Red

River Valley, where rich soils produce bountiful crops. “Part of this

equation is the price of land is being driven by the earnings of the land,”

says Alan Butts, realtor with Pifers Auction and Realty. “The highest

prices we are seeing are in Walsh County, where sugar beet and potatoes

are grown, but we are seeing strong values all over the state in all class-

es of land.”


|LAND VALUES|

Rising Land Values in SD and Minn.“We’ve seen a 25-year increase in land values statewide,” says

Larry Janssen, professor of agricultural economics at South Dakota

State University in Brookings. “Some years have been modest

increases, but in the last few years it has accelerated into overdrive.”

Janssen says the state experienced a 33 percent increase in land

prices in 2012 and a 26 percent increase in 2011. “The early 1970s

was the last time we saw back-to-back years with price increases over

20 percent,” he says.

The most expensive land in South Dakota is located in the east-

ern portion of the state, south of Brookings and along the Interstate

29 corridor. “We are seeing in some counties in this region an aver-

age cropland price of $8,300 per acre,” Janssen says. “Five years ago,

this same land was less than $3,800 per acre.”

Minnesota is also experiencing an upward trend in prices for its

fertile farmland. “The Morris area has the highest priced land sales

overall in our primary trade area,” says Ken Knudsen, senior vice

president and chief credit officer at AgCountry Farm Credit Services,

which provides credit and financial services to farmers and ranchers

in eastern North Dakota and northwest and west central Minnesota.

“Land outside of the Red River Valley has gone up more than land

values in the valley, but all areas have seen significant increases and

strong demand.”

Managing Risk Knudsen says rising land prices in the region have created pri-

marily positive impacts. “Often high land prices are talked about as

if it is a bad thing, but most people hope what they buy goes up in

value,” he says. “It may be a fear that we will see a return of what hap-

pened in the 1980s when land values fell 50 to 70 percent in our area.

However, there are many different protections in place today to make

those events unlikely. The sound crop insurance programs of today

are probably the most important risk mitigators we have.”

The many ways risk is reduced has contributed to strong land

prices in the region, according to Knudsen. “Borrowers have locked

in good interest rates for longer terms, up to 25 years; loans are more

collateralized; there is room in cash rents and some crop inputs to

help reduce operating costs; farmers have built up and maintained

better working capital positions and overall financial strength; and

lenders have maintained good credit disciplines and avoided excess

leverage,” he says.

“Ultimately, though, it is still old-fashioned supply and demand

that determines land values. Lenders and borrowers just have to be

smart to position themselves so they can be in a good position to

handle whatever comes,” he says.

Reaching the Land Price PinnacleNorth Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring says

the price of both land and commodities in the region is reaching an

apex. “We are starting to see a trend downward nationwide and we

will begin to see this in North Dakota,” he says. “Commodity prices

are leveling off and land prices will follow the same trend.”

He says the current land prices have also been driven by farm-

ers’ ability to purchase land. “The average farmer in North Dakota is

between 57 and 58 years old, and has been in the business a long

time. They have fixed assets and have paid off their debt with secure

capital, and then they have purchased land close to them.”

The decreased risk associated with land purchases has also

encouraged the next generation of family farmers to get involved

with land purchases. “Agriculture has become more appealing and

has become more stable,” Goehring says. “Farmers have the ability to

help the next generation transition into the operation.”

He notes the sustainability of current land prices is going to be

dependent on the continued ability of landowners to balance the

ratio of the land’s market value to production value after purchasing

land at current prices. “When you get a loan or buy land, the land has

to produce to pay for itself,” he says. “Right now the market value

may be, for example, $1,000 per acre, but the productivity value may

only be several hundred dollars per acre.”

Goehring says those most impacted by the high land prices are

young and beginning farmers who have established their operations

in the last 10 years. “It is pretty volatile for them. These producers are

establishing debt in good times and that is tricky.”

“Most of the people buying land are adding to an existing land

base,” adds Butts. “Prices now make it hard for someone to break into

land purchasing.”

The Future of Land PricesSwenson says land prices in North Dakota are not expected to

drop in 2013. “This is a historic time and how long this can contin-

ue is questionable,” he says. “The main drivers have been high crop

prices and low interest rates.”

The outlook for 2014 is uncertain, but Swenson says his best

guess is crop prices will be lower and interest rates will be higher by

late 2014 or 2015. As a result, land price levels will flatten out and

possibly begin a decline.

“Are people paying more than what is economically sustainable

at this time?” asks Butts in regards to what the future holds for land

prices. “We’ll have to see how things play out in the next few years.”

How long the high land prices will continue is “the big

unknown,” Janssen adds. He believes prices in South Dakota will

continue to rise for another year, but could begin to change in the

next two years.

Knudsen says landowners’ profits are going to play a key role in

the future of land prices. “Profit margins determine the prices. As

long as there are profits and the belief that profits will continue, land

prices get bid up to those levels. Once the profit margins are low or

negative, land values fall to match up with the margins.”

But Janssen says the land prices are a reflection of the positive

economy of the region.

“The impacts of land prices are not immediate, but over time,

the land prices speak about the wealth of the region.” PB

Kylie BlanchardContributing writer



|SOUTH DAKOTA|

The Black Hills, home to the Sturgis

Motorcycle Rally and miles of scenic

bicycle trails, is a great place for anything

on two wheels. But it wasn’t location that

prompted Ryan McFarland to launch Rapid

City, S.D.-based balance bike company Strider

Sports International Inc. six years ago. Instead,

he has his son to thank for the inspiration.

“I had a two-year-old and was an over-eager

dad who wanted to share my passion for riding

with him,” McFarland says. An avid motorcycle

racer and bike rider, McFarland says he filled his

garage and house with every type of child’s riding

toy available, but soon realized that every ride-on

toy on the market was simply too heavy, too big

and too complex for the toddler set. Being an

entrepreneur and inventor (he holds several U.S.

patents), McFarland’s tendency to tinker kicked in

and led him to create the perfect bike for tykes —

a no-pedal bike that was light-weight enough for

his toddler to handle and low enough to the

ground for his little legs to move it. He had no

intention of getting into the bike business, but

steady inquiries from would-be customers who

saw his son’s bike soon changed his mind. “We

realized that there was too much interest not to do

something with it,” he says.

McFarland launched Strider in 2007 and

spent most of the year working nights and week-

ends to develop the prototypes and acquire

financing while still working full-time at the

mortgage company he owned. He received the

first shipment of bikes from a manufacturer in

China that November and sold a modest 6,000

bikes in 2008. Sales started taking off in 2009 as

word spread about the product and the business

grew at such a rate that McFarland sold his mort-

gage company in order to focus entirely on

Strider. By 2010, the company had grown to

include five employees and moved its operations

Strider Sports International Inc. founderand CEO Ryan McFarland credits theInternet, social media and an aggressivemarketing campaign for his company’srecent growth. PHOTO: STRIDER SPORTSINTERNATIONAL INC.

No-pedal bike company hits its strideSales climb at Strider SportsInternational as kids, parents seebenefits of balance bikesBY KRIS BEVILL


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|SOUTH DAKOTA|

into a large warehouse space in Rapid City to house its

inventory. This year, the company expects to sell more than

300,000 bikes worldwide, amounting to $13 million in sales.

Strider currently employs 30 people and will expand to an

even larger facility this fall to accommodate the company’s

continuous growth.

McFarland credits the Internet, an aggressive market-

ing campaign and parents, who serve as Strider’s “army of

unpaid salesmen,” for the company’s growth.

“I would never even have started the company from

Rapid City if the Internet didn’t exist,” he says, adding that

exports account for about half of the company’s sales. Social

media has also played a prominent role in Strider’s growth.

The company sets up riding areas at events large and small

around the world, including parades, home shows, the Indy

500 and Sturgis, attracting toddlers and skeptical parents

who can’t help but take photos of their children and share

them via social media after seeing their tiny tots ride a bike.

The viral marketing campaign extends to neighborhoods as

well. “Every time a bike goes out into a neighborhood, it

helps sell more bikes,” he says.

No-pedal bikes are not a new invention, but parents

who likely have envisioned a bike with training wheels as

their child’s first bicycle typically need a little convincing to

give it a try, McFarland says. For this reason, it’s often other

parents who serve as Strider’s most effective sales people.

And Strider’s bikes differ from competitor’s products in that

they are designed specifically for very small children, ages 18

months and up, offering kids the chance to begin riding as

soon as they are able to walk, which parents often have dif-

ficulty believing until they see it, he says.

Strider plans to continue marketing its product around

the world, including on its home turf. The company is plan-

ning to display its products at three locations during the

Sturgis bike rally this year, setting up booths at the Buffalo

Chip campground, the motorcycle museum on Main Street

in Sturgis and at Black Hills Harley Davidson in Rapid City.

By October, McFarland hopes to be settled into the

company’s new building, giving everyone time to gear up for

the end-of-the-year rush. “Christmas season is out of con-

trol here,” he says. “That’s our No. 1 season.” PB

Kris Bevill




|WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA|

Experiencing the BakkenTour provides extensive, first-hand look at Williston Basin boomBY KRIS BEVILL

The local philosophy in the Bakken is that if

you want to do business there, you need to be

there. There’s an obvious reason for this:

Locals are so busy they can’t keep up with phone

messages and random requests for information. But

there’s another reason, too: Unless you’re there, you

can’t truly comprehend the enormity of what is hap-

pening. The Bakken boom deserves to be seen with

your own eyes, and if you can find a local to show

you around, that’s even better.

Jeff Zarling, founder and president of Williston-

based web development, communications and mar-

keting firm Dawa Solutions Group, launched the

Bakken Field Tour last year to offer a first-hand look

to anyone wanting to better understand the Williston

Basin. He says he got the idea for the tour after nation-

al media attention in late 2011 led to a sudden influx

of inquiries from people all over the world, all want-

ing to know more about the boom but having no real

knowledge about the area in general. The tours have

drawn a global audience of investors, developers and

media, but local residents and business people also

regularly attend the tours, proving that it’s difficult for

everyone to keep up with the rate of changes taking

place in the region.

This year, Dawa Solutions is hosting tours from

Williston and Dickinson. One of the first events of the

season, held in May in Williston, attracted a small but

diverse group, including representatives from a local

trucking company, leaders of a major shipping supplies

company and a television news crew from France.

Attendees were there to consider investment possibili-

ties, catch up on the latest developments and educate

themselves on the boom and its impacts.

Each tour begins with a 3-hour workshop, deliv-

ered by Zarling, which covers the history of Bakken oil

drilling, technological developments that made the

current boom possible, economic activity, risk factors

and current development needs. His goal is to provide

attendees with enough information to enable them to

conclude independently long the boom will last, which

he says is always the No. 1 question.

The Williston Bakken Field Tourincludes a drive along Highway85, notoriously known as thedeadliest highway in NorthDakota, where attendees see forthemselves the constant flow oftruck traffic between Willistonand Watford City. PHOTO: KRIS BEVILL, PRAIRIEBUSINESS MAGAZINE


|WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA|

There is so much ground to cover during the

workshop and driving tour, literally and figuratively,

that the day stretches easily to eight hours. The

Williston-based tour includes a stop at a Target

Logistics crew camp on the eastern edge of town, where

visitors are given a tour of the facility and treated to a

surprisingly high-quality lunch at the camp’s cafeteria.

From there, the day includes a pass through Watford

City, Alexander, New Town, Tioga, Stanley, Ray and

Epping.

There are few stops on the road — if you exit the

highway, the wait to merge back onto the highway amid

endless truck traffic can throw the whole day’s schedule

off track. But Zarling keeps attendees engaged while on

the road and does his best to put the boom’s impact on

the region into perspective for all tour attendees. He gets

admittedly excited when talking about the development

opportunities in the region, but he’s also honest about

the difficulties that come with it and provides the per-

spective of a resident and business person when dis-

cussing issues such as housing, traffic congestion and

quality of life changes, like hunting grounds that have

been lost to oil development. When attendees get a whiff

of awful-smelling hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as the tour

van drives downwind from a well, Zarling explains what

it is (a heavy gas associated with natural gas production)

and the hazards it presents to workers. He acknowledges

the rampant flaring of natural gas at many of the wells

throughout the area, but is quick to point out the differ-

ence when the tour enters the “older” part of the

Bakken. There, trucks and flares are fewer because the

infrastructure to capture and transport natural gas has

caught up to drilling. It’s a hopeful indicator of what the

future may hold for the rest of the region.

Tour organizers promise an experience that

allows attendees to “see and feel the sheer volume and

velocity of activity” in the region, and that promise is

surpassed. Attendees, see, hear, smell, taste and feel

the impacts of the boom, although what they choose

to do with the information is as varied as their places

of origin. PB

Kris Bevill



Jeff Zarling, founder and president of Williston-based Dawa Solutions Group, hosts theBakken Field Tour. PHOTO: KRIS BEVILL, PRAIRIE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Overflowing parking lots, seemingly sprouting up in the middle of nowhere, oil rigs andunit trains hauling Bakken crude are common sights when touring the Williston Basin. PHOTO: KRIS BEVILL, PRAIRIE BUSINESS

Attendees see, hear, feel, taste and smell the impacts ofthe boom, although what they choose to do with theinformation is as varied as their places of origin.


|RED RIVER VALLEY|

Nonprofit sets example for effective, multi-source fundingTax credits, grants, donations fuel $15 million Family HealthCare projectBY KRIS BEVILL

When Fargo’s Family HealthCare began

planning a project in 2008 to move the

center into a larger space that would

accommodate the growing need for its services, CEO

Patricia Patrón knew she would have to find an

innovative way to pull together the $15 million

needed for the project. The nonprofit health care

organization worked hard to run a sustainable

operation, but as with most nonprofits, money was

tight and it would be impossible for FHC to fund a

major project on its own.

Fortunately, the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act of 2009 included a rare opportunity

for Federally Qualified Health Centers like FHC to apply

for grant money to support those kinds of projects, and

in December 2009, FHC was awarded a $6.6 million

grant. That support, combined with local contributions

and smaller grants, only provided a little more than half

of the money needed to carry out the project, however,

so Patron decided to explore other mechanisms that

hadn’t been commonly used in North Dakota to supply

additional funding. Tax credit programs offered an

opportunity, but the process was quite complex and she

realized FHC needed guidance to maneuver through the

various hurdles involved in funding a project by using a

combination of tax credits and grants.

After consulting with the U.S. health and human

services department for help, she was connected with

another nonprofit, Central City Concern in Portland,

Ore., which had recently become the first organization

in the nation to use a combination of stimulus grant

money, multiple federal tax credits and other financing

to fund clinic expansions.

“We’d had a lot of prior mixed-used financing

experience both in the housing and on the medical side,

so we were quickly able to do that,” says Sean Hubert,

senior director of housing at Central City Concern.

“FHC was trying to do the same thing, but was hitting

some roadblocks and having some difficulties.”

With Central City Concern as consultants, FHC

was able to piece together a similar funding package.

Federal and state historic tax credit programs were uti-

lized to provide $1.5 million in funding. The federal

New Market Tax Credit program, which encourages

investment in low-income areas, was tapped for an

additional $4.1 million. As a result, FHC was able to

begin construction of the project in 2011 with 90 per-

cent of the project’s cost in hand.

Funding models like those used by FHC and

Central City Concern become very complex because

each tax credit bears varying legal structures and com-

mercial debt must be provided by a lender willing to be

Fargo’s Family HealthCare, anonprofit medical and dentalclinic, utilized an innovativefunding strategy to raise mostof the $15 million needed torelocate to a larger facility.PHOTO: JOHN BORGE


a second-tier addition in the capital stack, according to Hubert. Patron

says she hopes other nonprofits can learn from FHC’s experience and

use it as an example for their own projects. “Sometimes you just need

to think outside the box and learn about these things that are happen-

ing outside of our communities,” she says. “We were the first program

in North Dakota to use three different federal funds to complete a mas-

sive capital project. These things are out there and we just need to be

attentive and keep our heads looking outside the community to see

how we can bring wealth into the community.”

The federal grant used by FHC is no longer available, but tax

credit programs continue to present the opportunity for creative fund-

ing packages, according to Hubert. “Depending on the project, if you

can twine historic and new market tax credits into a deal, and you’ve

got a good team and good investors, sometimes you can get 40 percent

or so of a project cost covered between those two tax credits,” Hubert

says. “Then all of a sudden your project cost is 60 percent and that’s

much easier.”

FHC opened the doors to its new facility late last year, but contin-

ues to seek funding for the remaining $1 million of the project cost and

has until November to meet that goal. Patrón is optimistic the organi-

zation will meet its goal, although she admits that nonprofits have

found it difficult to fundraise in the post-economic downturn, even in

wealthy states like North Dakota. “I think we’re all becoming more

sophisticated at fundraising, which is good, but I wouldn’t say it’s eas-

ier, even in a state which has a surplus,” she says. PB

Kris Bevill



|BUSINESS TO BUSINESS|PRAIRIE BUSINESS

National perspective.Regional expertise.Trusted advisor.

kljeng.com

To Advertise:John Fetsch701.238.9574 • [email protected]

Brad Boyd1.800.641.0683 • [email protected]

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Congress’ approval of a one-year

extension to the 2.2 cent per kilowatt

hour wind energy production tax

credit (PTC) earlier this year provided some

relief to the industry and has spurred

renewed interest in manufacturing and pro-

duction projects, but the long-term fate of

the industry remains unclear.

In late May, Quebec-based Marmen Inc.

celebrated the opening of its first U.S. plant, a

wind tower fabrication plant in Brandon, S.D.

The facility was originally built in 2010 by

another company which planned to manufac-

ture wind towers, but the project stalled when

the company, Tower Tech Systems, failed to

secure enough contracts for towers, says Nick

Fosheim, executive director of the Lincoln &

Minnehaha County Economic Development

Associations. Construction of the building had

been completed and some equipment was

installed, but the company never hired any of

the proposed 150 employees. Marmen plans to

Patrick Pellerin, president of MarmenInc., announces the company’s plans toopen Marmen Energy during a pressconference held May 28 in Brandon, S.D. PHOTO: CATHERINE THURMAN

Wind forecast: Outlook hesitantly optimistic Regional developments suggest tempered growth in wind energy industryBY KRIS BEVILL


kljeng.com

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add 50,000 square feet to the 150,000-square-

foot space and has already begun recruiting

employees, according to the company. It expects

to begin operating at the end of this year and

will employ up to 250 people when the facility is

fully operational next year.

Fosheim says Marmen’s plant opening will

have a significant economic impact on Brandon

and the surrounding area. “Certainly, we’ll see

an increase in the local employment opportuni-

ties, but we’ll also see increased residential

growth and increases in sales tax revenue,” he

says. “It will challenge us to grow our training

programs to meet the continued demand by

local employers. All of this will impact the entire

region, not just Brandon. When you consider

Marmen’s international reputation, this really

puts us on the map in terms of recruiting new

business to the area.”

Brandon, located just a few miles east of

Sioux Falls, S.D., has a population of about

9,000. At 250 employees, Marmen would be

Brandon’s largest employer, according to

Fosheim. Marmen has launched a vast recruit-

ment campaign to locate staff and Fosheim says

local and state agencies will assist. “It’s our job in

economic development to connect businesses

with the right partners so they can be successful

here,” he says. “We have an opportunity to prove

that even though unemployment is low, oppor-

tunity is high and our region is growing.

Marmen has said it is hiring primarily character,

not skills, because they are willing to train. That

approach may prove beneficial as they ramp up

to full production.”

Ron Rebenitsch, executive director of the

South Dakota Wind Energy Association, says

Marmen’s expansion to South Dakota demon-

strates positive movement in the industry, but

the ongoing national recovery from the reces-

sion and low natural gas prices continue to

impact the industry’s overall growth. “On the

positive side, projects that have been on hold are

coming back, not so much in the Dakotas but in

other parts of the country,” he says, adding that

locating production facilities in the northern

Plains, like Marmen has done, makes strategic

sense. “It’s a solid business decision to place a

factory in the middle of the industry,” he says.

“By building towers in this region, you can elim-

inate some of the cost of transport.”

Fargo-based Wanzek Construction, a

MasTec company, has installed more than 5,000

megawatts of wind generation capacity across the

U.S. and is currently actively working on the pre-

liminary stages of a number of projects, but it’s

too early to say whether those projects will come

to fruition, says Rob Lee, director of operations for

Wanzek’s wind energy group. “It seems as though

the appetite from utilities is not where it needs to

be to build a bunch of projects at the moment,” he

says. “The PTC has helped the renewable industry

considerably but a one-year extension is tough

because it creates a roller coaster of projects, where

every other year we are busy.”

Wanzek constructed wind projects in sev-

eral states and in Puerto Rico last year, but none

in the Dakotas or Minnesota. So far this year, the

company is bidding on projects throughout the

U.S., with a concentration in Iowa, North

Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas, according to Lee.

Minnesota Power, a division of ALLETE,

recently celebrated the completion of the final

phase of it its $500 million, 101-tower Bison

Wind Energy Center near New Salem, N.D., and

could announce more wind energy investments

in North Dakota this year, pending permitting

approvals and other considerations. Todd

Simmons, Minnesota Power’s general manager

of wind operations, says he believes there is

room for wind energy to grow in North Dakota,

particularly for companies like Minnesota

Power, which must comply with Minnesota’s

requirement that utilities obtain 25 percent of

their power from renewable sources by 2025.

Renewables currently account for between 15

and 18 percent of Minnesota Power's supply,

but its long-term goal is to generate power from

an equal mix of renewable, natural gas and coal-

based sources.

Minnesota Power holds wind options on

approximately 120,000 acres of land adjacent to

the Bison Wind Energy Center, which will

remain in place for nearly 50 years. The utility

currently provides service to about 143,000 cus-

tomers across 26,000 square miles in northeast-

ern Minnesota. PB

Kris Bevill



|ENERGY|


|ENERGY|

The U.S. Geological Survey’s recently updated assessment of oil

and gas reserves believed to be contained in the Williston Basin

predicts that the region contains twice as much oil and three

times as much natural gas as was estimated in 2008. It now believes

there are approximately 7.4 billion barrels of technically recoverable

oil and 6.7 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas in the basin.

The significant increase in estimated recoverables is due to the inclu-

sion of the Three Forks Formation in addition to the Bakken Formation,

according to the USGS. When the 2008 survey was conducted, little data

existed on the Three Forks Formation and it was believed to be unproduc-

tive, the agency stated. However, new drilling delivered a new perspective

on the formation’s potential, thus leading to the updated estimate.

The updated government assessment likely came as no surprise to

the oil and gas industry, which has been building out its infrastructure for

a long-term play for several years already, but it could provide much-

needed reassurance for investors and developers who may be skittish

about participating in an oil boom area.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said he asked the Interior Secretary to

conduct a new survey more than two years ago, with the goal of stimu-

lating more private investment activity in the region to support its grow-

ing needs. He expressed satisfaction with the survey results and suggest-

ed that if the industry is right, even the high end of the USGS assessment

— 11.4 billion barrels of oil — could prove to be low. “This is clearly great

news for North Dakota and great news for the nation, and we believe it

is a conservative estimate, based on industry assessments,” he said in a

statement. “This new USGS study further confirms and reinforces the

fact that the Williston Basin is a sustainable, long-term play warranting

strong private-sector investment for decades into the future.”

Dean Bangsund, a research scientist at North Dakota State

University in Fargo who has conducted a significant amount of research

on the Williston Basin, agrees that the updated USGS assessment is not

news for the industry, but provides investors and developers with clari-

fication on the longevity of the activity. “I think that is absolutely criti-

cal for the proper flow of investment dollars,” he says. “They need to

understand the duration and magnitude of the development and they

need to be able to understand what the uncertainty and risk is. I think

having the USGS come out and publicly state what they think the num-

bers are, even if the industry already knew it, it’s important for them to

get that information.”

Bangsund says the updated assessment also highlights the tremen-

dous economic opportunity facing North Dakota and should be

addressed appropriately. “The economic output from the Williston Basin

is likely to continue, which means we’re going to continue to have strong

employment in the state, strong business activity, opportunities for new

businesses,” he says, adding that it also indicates a long-term, sustainable

source of state revenues generated from oil and gas output. But the most

significant takeaway for the state, he says, should be the realization that it

needs to collectively address the infrastructure needs in western North

Dakota in order for the region to handle its bigger economy. “It isn’t just

a function of putting homes in; we also have to put in parks, golf cours-

es,” he says. “We have to make sure that the support services that go with

that workforce are there. All of that has to be built up to handle a much

larger economy in the western part of the state. At the same time, the state

can’t ignore that we’re growing elsewhere as well. We have those develop-

ment concerns that we need to address long term in the state.” PB

Kris Bevill



Updated estimates on the anticipated sizeand duration of western North Dakota's oilplay is expected to ease investor concerns,spurring more housing and infrastructuredevelopments. PHOTO: KRIS BEVILL,PRAIRIE BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Increased oil estimate couldboost investor confidenceUpdated USGS survey predicts twice the oil previously thought held in Williston Basin BY KRIS BEVILL

R001910013


|BY THE NUMBERS|Employment UNEMPLOYMENT RATE EMPLOYMENT

Mar-13 Mar-12 Mar-13 Mar-12North Dakota 3.20% 3.00% 385,147 378,428Bismarck MSA 3.5 3.6 58,054 58,538Fargo MSA 4.2 4.2 114,703 113,629Grand Forks MSA 4.7 5.1 51,166 51,815Dickinson MiSA 1.8 1.8 20,968 19,379Jamestown MiSA 4.5 4.1 9,826 10,404Minot MiSA 3.9 3.4 34,758 33,859Wahpeton MiSA 4.8 5 10,987 11,371Williston MiSA 1 0.9 41,171 31,758South Dakota 4.30% 4.40% 428,290 426,599Rapid City MSA 4.6 4.9 63,095 63,039Sioux Falls MSA 4 4.7 128,483 124,765Aberdeen MiSA 3.7 4.1 22,323 22,361Brookings MiSA 3.5 3.9 18,548 18,534Huron MiSA 4.2 3.8 9,546 9,466Mitchell MiSA 4 4 12,792 12,703Pierre MiSA 3.4 3.7 11,608 11,585Spearfish MiSA 4.6 5 12,145 12,158Vermillion MiSA 3.8 3.5 7,524 7,548Watertown MiSA 4.5 4.8 18,193 18,225Yankton MiSA 4.2 4.3 11,383 11,205Minnesota 5.40% 5.70% 2,821,531 2,802,850Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA 5.4 6 1,767,024 1,735,317Alexandria MiSA 5.6 6 19,488 19,546Bemidji MiSA 8 8.3 20,041 20,326Brainerd MiSA 9.4 9.9 40,295 40,757Fairmont MiSA 5.9 5.8 10,135 11,041Fergus Falls MiSA 7.2 7.2 27,746 28,718Hutchinson MiSA 7.7 8.2 17,508 18,221Marshall MiSA 5.3 5.3 13,968 14,211Red Wing MiSA 5.9 6.4 24,143 24,059Willmar MiSA 6.2 6.1 22,346 23,642Winona MiSA 4.7 5.4 27,839 27,754Worthington MiSA 4.4 4.5 10,813 11,235

Data provided by David Flynn, chair of the University of North Dakota Department of Economics. Reach him at [email protected].

Mar-13Mar-11

186205

87.2576.29

AverageRig Count Price

Mar-13Mar-12

8,6346,932

782,812577,478

218181

ProducingWells

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Permits

Oil Production

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Interest Rates

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Charge-o� rate, single family homeCharge-o� rate, business loan


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235

230

225

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215

210

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Finance, Insurance, Real Estate Employment in the Tri-State Area

Thou

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s

FIRE Employment

National Average Rate on Business Loans

Charge-off Rate for Business Loans and Mortgages

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PBJuly 2013

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