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Business briefs

UCB joins American Bancor

DeWayne Streyle, chairman and CEO of United Community Bank of North Dakota, announced that he signed an agreement that will make United Community Bank a part of American Bancor Ltd., which is a multi-bank holding company headquartered in Dickinson. American Bancor Ltd. offers a full line of financial services through its American Bank Center, American Insurance Center, American Trust Center, and North Country Bank subsidiaries.

Randy Conway, senior vice president of United Community Bank, will assume the responsibility of president & CEO of United Community Bank upon completion of the transaction and the retirement of DeWayne Streyle. DeWayne Streyle, Keith Streyle and Terry Zeltinger will continue to hold an ownership interest in American Bancor Ltd. DeWayne Streyle commented, “The bank will remain community focused and the quality of service our customers have come to expect will not change.” Streyle added that “the agreement will allow United Community Bank to expand its products and services, and draw on the support and resources of American Bancor Ltd. and its subsidiaries.”

United Community Bank of North Dakota was founded in Leeds in 1912. It expanded to Drake and Burlington in 1994, and Minot in 1996. American Bancor Ltd., like United Community Bank, has over 100 years of experience serving customers in North Dakota. The combined company will have approximately $1.6 billion in assets and will have 22 locations in 16 communities in North Dakota and eastern Montana.

David Ehlis, president & CEO of American Bancor stated, “the addition of United Community Bank will be a tremendous asset to American Bancor.” Ehlis went on to say, “we have been extremely impressed by the talent of the United Community Bank staff and the outstanding service that they provide to their customers. The Streyle family leaves a proud legacy of commitment to their customers, employees and communities. We look forward to carrying forth this legacy.”

The American Bancor Ltd. family of companies offers banking, trust, insurance or investment services in Bismarck, Mandan, Dickinson, Minot, Stanley, New England, Killdeer, Watford City, Stanley, Underwood, McClusky, Devils Lake, and Cando, North Dakota as well as Glendive, Mont.

The agreement is subject to regulatory approval and the transaction is expected to be completed this spring.

Basin Electric receives honor

Basin Electric Power Cooperative was honored for its support of employee wellbeing by being named a Go! Healthy worksite by the Go! Bismarck-Mandan Healthy Community Coalition.

In an effort to improve employee health and morale, Basin Electric provides employees benefits such as onsite gyms at the cooperative’s Headquarters in Bismarck, and several other facilities, boot camp classes at Headquarters, a BE Well Committee and BE Well internal blog.

“Basin Electric is pleased to be named as a Go! Healthy worksite by the Go! Bismarck-Mandan Healthy Community Coalition. Employee health and wellness has a strong tradition here at our cooperative and we are paving the way for additional initiatives in the future,” said Ellen Holt, Basin Electric vice president of human resources.

Basin Electric recently launched a program where employees can purchase a Fitbit device at a reasonable price to help them track and trend their physical activity, calorie intake and sleep habits. The Fitbits will be used to introduce wellness activities and challenges cooperative-wide.

“As of Feb. 10, more than 750 employees are participating in the Fitbit program,” Holt said. “This demonstrates the commitment our employees have for maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle.”

Business briefs

MADC annual meeting set for Wednesday

The Minot Area Development Corporation’s annual meeting takes place next Wednesday at the Grand Hotel from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This annual event captures the highlights of 2014 and will feature guest speaker, Brad Shamla, Vice President of U.S. Operations for Enbridge.

R.S.V.P. at 852-1075 or jhauge@minotusa.com.

Bertsch chairs national convention

Donovan Bertsch, president of Theel Inc., a Chevrolet and Buick dealership in Bottineau, recently served as chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association’s Convention and Expo Committee.

“I was very honored to be asked to chair the committee,” said Bertsch, who began serving on NADA’s board of directors in 2008. “It was an interesting and an eye opening process that included planning over a two-year period. There are so many moving parts to get the convention up and running and put on a quality show.”

Considered the “Automotive Industry Event of the Year,” the 2015 NADA Convention and Expo, which was held in San Francisco from January 22-25, included 26 dealer-manufacturer franchise meetings and 11 American Truck Dealer make meetings; 66 educational workshops offered over four days attended by 17, 204 participants; a sold out Expo with 570 companies exhibiting in 650,000 gross square feet; and numerous networking events.

The keynote speakers included former Florida Governor Jeb Bush; 2014 NADA Chairman Forrest McConnell; Jay Leno; 2015 NADA Chairman Bill Fox; ATD Chairman Eric Jorgensen; and inspirational speaker Beck Weathers.

Local firm scores four Bronze Tellys

Four Bronze Telly Awards have been conferred on North Dakota ad agency Results Unlimited for outstanding creative work in the visual arts. The firm was recognized for their efforts on both local and regional television commercials across the Midwest as well as for a Native American educational video series.

The Telly is one of the most sought-after awards by industry leaders, from large international firms to local production companies and ad agencies. “As creative professionals, we are thrilled to have our work recognized by such a prestigious international awards program,” declared Creative Director Polly Flinders. “We are also incredibly fortunate to work with clients who trust us to deliver their creative messaging in a visually engaging way.”

Telly recognition was awarded in the following categories:

Commercial: Local TV & Cable – Entertainment: 4 Bears “Players Club”

Commercial: Regional TV – Retail Store: Runnings “Image 2014”

Commercial: Local TV & Cable – Restaurant: Shotgun Sally’s “Image 2014”

Non-Broadcast: Health and Wellness – White Earth Nation “Brother Eagle, Ninth Grade”

Launched in 1999, Results Unlimited is a full service advertising-marketing agency with sales offices and production facilities in Minot and Fargo, as well as a bureau located in Mankato, Minn.

State ranks first again in job creation

BISMARCK – For the sixth consecutive year, the Gallup Job Creation Index has ranked North Dakota the nation’s best state for creating jobs.

“North Dakota maintained its pre-eminent position in Gallup’s annual ranking of state job markets in 2014, with North Dakota residents providing a strongly upbeat report on hiring conditions where they work the most positive of any state,” the 2014 Gallup Job Creation Index states.

Following North Dakota, Texas ranked second, Nebraska third and Wisconsin fourth in Gallup’s annual job creation index.

“The fact that North Dakota leads the nation in job growth year after year is a testament to the hardworking people and the innovative businesses all across our state,” Gov. Jack Dalrymple said. “We have worked hard to develop an environment that supports job growth in North Dakota and we will continue to do our part to further diversify our strong economy which is producing a growing number of career and business opportunities.”

Gallup’s Job Creation Index is derived from full- and part-time workers’ reports of whether their employer is hiring and expanding the size of its workforce, not making changes, or reducing its workforce. The index is based on telephone interviews conducted Jan. 2-Dec. 30, 2014, with a random sample of 201,254 employed adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The full report is available at www.gallup.com.

North Dakota continues to have the nation’s lowest unemployment rate at 2.8 percent. In January 2015, the state recorded having about 19,700 open and available jobs about 17 percent more job openings than the state recorded in January 2014, North Dakota Job Service reports.

Business briefs

PrairieWinds celebrates five years of safety

PrairieWinds wind project, operated by Basin Electric subsidiary PrairieWinds ND 1 Inc., recently celebrated five years of operation without an employee injury.

The 115.5-megawatt wind project is located south of Minot.

“Five years with no injuries is huge,” said Kevin Tschosik, Basin Electric manager of distributed generation. “You need the proper tools, safety procedures and consistency on a daily basis to have this sort of record. We provide safety training in many areas for the employees to help them work safely.”

Basin Electric embraces a culture of safety for its employees, Tschosik said, and building trust and accountability is key when those employees take part in regular training. At PrairieWinds, that means embracing the buddy system when climbing and working with wind towers.

“We train people to either rescue themselves or their buddy in case of an incident,” he said. “When you’re working 260 feet in the air, we train employees to minimize risks.”

Tschosik and his employees celebrated the accomplishment with a luncheon Jan. 30 at the wind project site.

Business briefs

Results Unlimited has hired Ariel Rawlings, Jennifer Korgel and Dawn Kocina as account managers in the Minot office.

Rawlings came to Minot when her husband began coaching football at Minot State University. She was formerly a junior marketing assistant at Texas A&M University-Commerce and has a bachelor of fine arts-photography degree from Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Upon finishing college, Korgel started her career in graphic design and moved into marketing, design and sales roles. She has worked for several years in business-to-business and customer direct marketing for manufacturers, and most recently worked in sales. A Minot native, Korgel returned to Minot a few years ago to be closer to her family.

Kocina is originally from the Twin Cities and is completing her bachelor of arts in business from Concordia University-St. Paul and plans to graduate this spring.

Todd Telin has been promoted to KMOT-TV sales and station manager. He has been with KMOT-TV for 16 years as a senior account executive. He is a graduate of Northern State University with a bachelor’s degree in management and a second major in marketing. Telin will be in charge of leading all departments at KMOT-TV and is manager of the KMOT Ag Expo.

Business briefs

Westwood opens Dickinson office

Westwood Professional Services Inc. has opened a new office in Dickinson. Keith Maxwell leads Westwood’s North Dakota operations and is excited to be more centrally located to his clients and projects. The firm has served the Dickinson areas from its Minot location for several years.

Maxwell said, “This additional location will enable us to better serve commercial, residential, wind, power delivery, and oil and gas clients with more easily accessible site design and development solutions.”

Westwood provides surveying, engineering, environmental and planning solutions throughout North Dakota from its existing office in Minot and its new Dickinson office located at 766 Elks Drive, Suite E.

NDGT’s Watford office moves

The North Dakota Guaranty & Title Co. office in Watford City has moved to expanded space in downtown.

“Our new office is in an attractive, new building in an excellent location,” said Nick Hacker, president of NDGT. “Moving gave us the opportunity to increase our space and add staff to provide even better customer service.”

The new office is located at 340 North Main St., Suite C. and is one of nine company offices in North Dakota. The company also does business in Sidney, Mont.

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