Standing outside city offices in Skien, left to right, are (front) Emerson Eads, Skien Mayor Hedda Foss Five, Minot Mayor Tom Ross, Amy Hass, Alexis Meyer, (middle) Abby Eads, Brekka Kramer, Jessica Ackerman, (back) Steven Shirley, Ole-Geir Hoppestad of the Skien Kommune City Council, former Skien Kommune city manager Rolf Haugen, Geir Harald Vale of Skien Kommune Municipal Urban Development Operations and Culture and Trond Ballestad, who is Skien Kommune deputy mayor.

An innovative waste-handling facility, a new concept in nursing home care and a proposal for a special library provided insights for an eight-member delegation that traveled from Minot to Norway in May.

Representatives from the City of Minot, Minot Area Chamber EDC, Norsk Hostfest and Minot State University traveled to Minot’s Sister City, Skien, finishing the three-day tour on Norway’s Syttende Mai, or Constitution Day, on May 17.

Brekka Kramer, president/CEO for Minot Area Chamber EDC, said the goal was not only to support cultural connections with Norway but to find areas where connections can be made in economic development and business.

Since returning, MACEDC has followed up with the state Department of Commerce and Shawn Kessel, who has assumed global engagement duties for the department. Kramer said the state hopes to bring together N.D. communities that have relationships through trade, investment or culture within foreign countries to share experiences and business practices.

“Global relations are huge, especially now that we are operating the logistics park,” Kramer said.

Minot Mayor Tom Ross cited similarities he found between Skien and Minot.

“Their focus is on their downtown. Their focus is on the center of their community and developing that and getting more people to spend more time downtown,” he said. “They’re building a state-of-the-art nursing home within blocks of the city center.”

The nursing home that is nearing completion includes concert and performance space and a community park.

“Their focus has been on bringing back the businesses into the heart and core of the community,” Kramer said. “What they are working on really reminded me a lot of the governor’s Main Street Initiative.”

The visit also included a tour of the large recycling operation headquartered in Skien, a city similar in size to Minot. Nearly all waste is recycled after being sorted by robots. Last year the operation made about a 20% profit, Ross noted.

“Even something as simple as organic waste, they process that into the fuel that they use for their city vehicles. After they are done with the byproduct there, they sell the farmers fertilizer,” he said.

Ross said he would like to continue to tap into Skien’s recycling expertise as Minot launches its curbside recycling in July.

The Minot delegation also learned about plans for a library to be built in honor of Henrik Ibsen, considered to be the most influential playwright after Shakespeare. Born in Skien in 1828, he died in May 1906. Skien aims to open the library in celebration of the 200th anniversary of his birth, in 2028.

The trip included visits to the museum in Morgedal, which features exhibits in tribute to Minot, and South-Eastern University in Bo.

“Over the years, we have had students from MSU travel to Skien to both experience the Norwegian culture first-hand and study at the University of South-Eastern Norway,” according to a statement from Steve Shirley, Minot State University president. “It was a pleasure touring USN and learning more about their campus and potential new opportunities for further cooperation. The entire delegation who hosted us during our time in Skien and the surrounding region were incredibly hospitable; we are grateful for their partnership, and it is clear there are many possibilities for future collaborations with our sister-city friends.”

In addition to Shirley, Ross and Kramer, others making the trip were Emerson Eads, who is director of choral activities at MSU, and his wife, Abby, and Norsk Hostfest representatives Jessica Ackerman, board president; Alexis Meyer, executive director; and EPIC CEO Amy Hass.

The City of Minot funded Ross’s trip. Norsk Hostfest funded the trip for its participants, and MACEDC used its privately raised funds to support Kramer’s trip and Shirley’s flight cost. Emerson and Abby Eads joined the tour as part of a separate, personal visit to Norway. Some costs associated with the Minot delegation’s time in Norway were sponsored by their Norwegian hosts.

Kramer said Skien leaders have a great respect for the Sister City relationship, which is one of more than a dozen similar relationships that city holds within various countries.

“One of the biggest takeaways for me is that we really have an opportunity to grow this and expand it. I would love to see us host some kind of business-to-business piece while they are here,” Kramer said.

A Skien delegation is expected to visit Minot this fall. Skien and Minot renewed their Sister City agreement, first established in 1981, last September during a visit from Skien representatives.