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BAND: Caring for Communities Across North Dakota

Oct 17 2019

BAND: Caring for Communities Across North Dakota

When Victoria Clair moved from Las Vegas to Williston, North Dakota in 2015, she was drawn to the easy-going pace of small-town life. Unhurried by the hustle and bustle of a big city, residents could take time to unwind, connect with the natural world around them, and form relationships with their neighbors.

“We fell in love with the people here,” Victoria said. “They’re good, they’re kind, they’re involved, and it’s not such a rush.”

But while Victoria enjoys the slow pace of her new small-town life, she needs the resources that her small business runs on to move quickly. As manager of Destiny Med Spa in Williston, Victoria relies on broadband offered by her local provider and BAND member, Nemont Telephone Cooperative, to communicate with patients and connect them with industry-leading health and wellness solutions.

“Because it’s high-speed, it gives us efficiency,” Victoria said. “We’ve experienced living in a rural area previously, and the internet there was unreliable because the infrastructure was old. And so we feel very blessed here because the infrastructure is new and up to date.”

Jerry Tilley, Chief Operations Officer of Nemont, recognizes that dependable, efficient internet is no longer a luxury, but a necessity—one that is not limited to major cities. For many years, as internet access expanded and improved in cities across the country, rural communities like Williston continued to be overlooked by internet service providers. That is where the member organizations that make up the Broadband Association of North Dakota (BAND) stepped in.

“We serve, in many cases, areas that no one else really is interested in serving,” Jerry said. “We’re the ones that care about our friends and neighbors and communities.”

Caring for your neighbor is just what North Dakotans do, and it is what sets BAND and our members apart from other providers. With 18 member companies delivering world-class telecommunication services across the state, BAND’s members ensure that their customers are able to communicate with and provide for their communities, regardless of population numbers or proximity to larger cities.

“The members of BAND have taken it very seriously to deploy fiber optic facilities throughout the state,” said Keith Larson, Chief Executive Officer of Dakota Central. “Thanks to the collective efforts of the BAND members, we’ve been able to be one of the most connected states in the U.S.”

Check out our “Care Everywhere” video above to see the impact that BAND member companies are having on communities across North Dakota!

Every day, the quality broadband provided by BAND and our member companies is used to improve the lives of North Dakota residents. “Care Everywhere” highlights just a handful of the ways that our customers are utilizing broadband to care for their communities.

The North Dakota E-Care School Health Program, a collaborative effort between Mid Dakota Education Cooperative and the North Dakota Department of Health, utilizes high-speed internet provided by BAND member SRT Communications to help students at rural schools access the healthcare they need. The program connects students with registered nurses via video call, while medical attachments called peripherals allow them to conduct exams and give recommendations about whether the student should stay in school, go home, or see a doctor for further testing.

According to Liz Tofteland, program manager for ND E-Care, something as basic as dependable broadband can mean fewer hospital visits and greater overall quality of life for students at rural and under-served schools.

That knowledge brings the entire community peace of mind.

“We wouldn’t have this opportunity for our rural schools to have actual RNs available to them throughout the day without our internet service,” she said. “To know that those kids are going to be safe gives us so much more comfort.”

While broadband access is making groundbreaking new programs like ND E-Care possible, it is also improving the services of long-standing North Dakota institutions. Kris Nitschke is the therapy operations manager at the Jamestown campus of the Anne Carlsen Center, a non-profit that has been working to make the world a more inclusive place by providing education and support for individuals with developmental disabilities for more than 75 years.

High-speed internet access provided by BAND member Dakota Central Telecommunications Cooperative allows Kris and her colleagues to deliver more services to more individuals. Kris has seen first-hand that impact that this has on the Center’s residents.

“I am here because of the individuals we serve. They are amazing, amazing people and they teach me more every day,” she said. “Broadband can support them so they don’t lose the services. When you see them reach a goal more quickly it makes it all better and it makes for a joyous situation. You just get happy when they are happy.”

Committed to Care—Everywhere

Customers like Kris, Liz, and Victoria go to work every day because they care about the people they serve. It is not about money, or praise, but about making a difference in the lives of North Dakotans.

It is the same reason BAND members are devoted to delivering quality broadband to every corner of the state.

“Our heart is in the right place. I know there are folks who look at us as just another company trying to make a buck, but that’s not true,” Jerry Tilley said. “We do need to make money to stay in business, everyone does, but we are absolutely committed to doing the best we can and providing the best services for those that we serve.”

As BAND, we promise to continue delivering high-speed, reliable broadband across North Dakota so that our customers continue to focus on what matters: caring for their communities.

To learn more about BAND and your local broadband provider, visit www.broadbandnd.com.

A Single Community with One Long Main Street

Sep 11 2019

A Single Community with One Long Main Street

How BAND members, EduTech, and local schools work together to prepare North Dakota students for the future

In a middle school classroom in rural North Dakota, students crowd around a video camera and wave excitedly. Waving back at them from the projector screen at the front of the room is another class of students, in another middle school. The two classrooms are all but mirror images of one another: similar laminate desks, similar pre-teen chatter, similar brightly colored posters on the walls.

The difference? One classroom is in Mexico.

Virtual “pen-pal” relationships like this one are being formed in schools across North Dakota. Partner classrooms are often located in states and countries where North Dakota sends natural gas, coal, soybeans, and other exports. By communicating with their “pen-pals” through video chat, vlogs, podcasts, and other digital formats, students not only learn about the economy in North Dakota but the economies it impacts around the world.

Learning opportunities like these would have been unimaginable two decades ago when Kirsten Baesler served as a Technology Integration Specialist at Bismarck Public Schools. At the time, educators struggled to communicate via dial-up internet with schools across town, let alone across the globe.

“There were technology deserts that existed building to building, district to district,” Kirsten said.

These “technology deserts” are areas that are not connected to the Internet or, as a result, the rest of the world. Not too long ago, North Dakota had some of the largest technology deserts in the country—hundred-mile stretches of state unable to enjoy the benefits of modern technology because of their rural location.

Today, Kirsten Baesler is in her second term as the State Superintendent of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. She oversees the 78 school districts that are operating in 470-plus buildings across the state of North Dakota and supports the nearly 120,000 students they serve.

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She recognizes that virtual “pen-pal” partnerships, as well as countless other educational opportunities, would not be possible for students—especially in rural areas—without the high-quality, dependable broadband provided by the 18 member organizations that make up the Broadband Association of North Dakota (BAND).

“When we had the opportunity to scale out our broadband connectivity to all of our schools, it removed the technology deserts in our state, and it opened up the opportunity of equity for our schools,” she said. “Without that connectivity to our rural school districts, we would continue to have the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ as far as classroom technology.”

Creating equal access to technology in all North Dakota schools has been a collaborative effort; widespread broadband access would be of no benefit to North Dakota schools if the schools did not know how to best use it to serve students. Where BAND has laid the foundation, EduTech has provided the tools and materials needed to build a state-wide, one-of-a-kind classroom technology system in North Dakota.

EduTech is a state agency under the supervision of the North Dakota Information Technology department that provides technological support and instruction to all K-12 schools in North Dakota. This is unlike many other states’ structures, in which districts provide IT service internally.

Resources offered by EduTech include day-to-day support for PowerSchool, the software utilized by schools to manage instruction, grading, attendance, and finances; cybersecurity support and training for teachers, school leaders, and students; and professional development to inform educators on how to use data to better inform their instruction.

While serving as State Superintendent for the past six years, Kirsten has seen how other states are navigating technology in education—and gained a new appreciation for EduTech along the way.

“I have seen first-hand how fortunate we are to have the vibrant, robust program of EduTech providing these services to all of our school districts in the state,” she said.
“What they have done, especially in a rural state like North Dakota, is help teachers leverage the tool of technology and meet students where they are at in their learning journey.”

And virtual “pen-pal” assignments are just one way that North Dakota schools are leveraging technology to support their curriculum. Teachers rely on high-speed broadband connections to deliver adaptive assessments on laptops and tablets. They not only allow, but encourage students to use the Internet to seek out additional information on their lessons.

All, Kirsten says, in the hope of preparing students for their future in an increasingly connected world.

“Without broadband, our students wouldn’t be allowed to be as curious as they need to be in order to be a 21st-century learner,” she said. “We are going far beyond just measuring test scores in reading, math, and science. We’re looking for students that are super engaged, that are not only turning their homework in on time, but are actually looking for more information about that subject area. They are watching videos on YouTube to support their curiosity about a science project or an economics lesson.”

To Kirsten, the collaborative efforts of BAND, EduTech, and local schools to provide the highest quality of education for students—no matter how rural—reflects what North Dakota is all about.

“When I think about North Dakota, I think about one community with a really long main street,” she said. “It is all one community working together to make sure that our students have what they need to prepare them for their future.”

BAND Featured Story – Breaking Barriers

Aug 28 2019

BAND Featured Story – Breaking Barriers

Work Smarter & Harder: DRN + Dakota Precision Fabricating Spotlight

Innovation is happening in rural communities across North Dakota. Some view Silicon Valley or Detroit as epicenters of technological and automotive engineering. Industries at one time separate from one another, but now colliding in new ways. That same innovation between tech and steel is happening right here in our rural communities.

Hilary and Shannon Mehrer run and operate Dakota Precision Fabricating, a metal fabrications manufacturer that provides services across the country, including the production of flood wall and structural metal materials, to those like NASA, BOEING, and the World Trade Center.

Although they operate on a national scale, the Mehrers chose to grow their business from the small town of Forman, North Dakota.

“When we moved here, our boys were three and one,” says Hilary Mehrer. “We wanted a small school and we wanted them surrounded by family. That’s what brought us here.”

Having both grown up in small towns themselves, the Mehrers knew they wanted their kids to have a similar upbringing to their own. They grew up in a small, rural town where the school was a short walk away and the edge of town not that much farther. They knew when the evening whistle blew it was time to come home. Now, their kids run home upon hearing that same familiar call.

Hilary also knew she wanted to continue growing her family business to a national scale. At first, the two goals — raising a family in rural North Dakota and growing a nationally competitive business — seemed to pose a challenge. Thankfully, by working with their local broadband provider, Dickey Rural Networks (DRN), they’ve been able to raise their kids in a rural town while operating a business at a national scale.

Dickey Rural Networks (DRN) is a broadband provider in Ellendale, North Dakota, and amember organization of the Broadband Association of North Dakota (BAND They provide broadband services to those in rural towns on the southeastern side of the state, like Forman, Kulm, and Litchville.

“The resources that DRN provides helps support family, friends, neighbors, and small business by connecting them to the rest of the world,” says Kent Schimke, General Manager of DRN.

By working with DRN, the Mehrers have been able to access all the resources they need. By utilizing server management, security, voicemail, and other services offered by DRN, Dakota Precision Fabricating has been able to operate more efficiently, enabling them to better compete in a national market. Today, they regularly work with customers across the country; in fact, their latest project is a flood wall with LaGuardia airport in New York.

“Everything is streamlined,” says Shannon Mehrer. “We needed more services and Dickey Rural was there. They answered our questions and gave us their advice.”

For DRN, seeing customers and communities use their services and succeed in their business brings meaning to the work they do.

“It can be hard work to live in a rural community,” says Kent. “Family, friends, neighbors, and businesses support each other to be stronger. That’s what rural communities do.”

For a the Mehrer family and their business, working with a broadband provider that is local and understands their customers is what makes their small town community feel like home.it when other businesses understand their customers and support their communities.

“They’ve seen my face. I’ve seen theirs,” says Shannon. “We know each other. There’s a difference.”

To learn more about BAND and your local broadband provider visit https://www.broadbandnd.com/

BAND Featured Story – Dairy Innovation

Aug 05 2019

BAND Featured Story – Dairy Innovation

BAND equips Northern Lights Dairy for next-generation farming

Anytime you unwrap a stick of Land O’Lakes butter, you’re likely looking at a product made with Northern Lights Dairy milk. Northern Lights Dairy is a Grade-A dairy farm facility located just south of Mandan, owned and operated by the Holle family. Andrew Holle is a 4th generation dairy producer, and he lives there with his wife, Jennifer, their four kids, and over 725 milk cows.

Today, Northern Lights is a recognizable name and has found success selling milk to Land O’Lakes in Bismarck for many years. They’ve established themselves as innovators in the industry, utilizing the latest precision ag technology to optimize their operations.

However, when Andrew and Jennifer first bought the farm 16 years ago, that kind of future was nearly impossible to imagine.

“It was just a shell of a dairy farm at the time,” Jennifer said. “Just the roof and the parlor. There was no infrastructure.

At the time, the newlyweds had just graduated from college with degrees in Animal Science and knew they wanted to expand Andrew’s multi-generational dairy farm. When they heard of a foreclosed dairy farm not far from the family dairy in New Salem, they took a tour. Though it didn’t offer much, the 36-stall rotary parlor caught their eye. Besides, both of them had a passion for Precision Ag and AgTech. This was a chance to build a new, innovative facility from the ground up.

It’s a commitment they implement to this day, Jennifer says.

“Our motto is to work smarter, not harder,” Jennifer said. “We’re constantly upgrading and implementing new technology. We always ask ourselves, ‘What can we use to make the cows more comfortable? How can we help our farm? How can we make it more successful?’”

As the family began to grow their farm, an important need quickly emerged: a way to monitor the various aspects of their business. It was increasingly difficult to accurately monitor the cows, employees, and various stations — all crucial for running a smooth operation.

Their solution: a security camera system.

“A camera system provides security for employees, helps with quality control, and gives you flexibility with time management,” Andrew explained. “In our industry there’s a lot of manual labor required. Being able to remotely monitor allows us to be more flexible and feel comfortable leaving the farm.”

Their first attempt was a do-it-yourself system. They had high hopes that this would enable them to keep a close eye on their operation. However, they were soon fighting an uphill battle; poor quality cameras, metal buildings causing problems, and poor internet connection made the system more hassle than help.

They soon realized they’d invested a lot of time and money into a system that wasn’t working as they’d hoped. As their operation continued to grow, they needed help, and fast.

They found their answer with their local BAND member organization, WRT. They heard about the security camera systems that WRT offers and decided to give it a shot.

“We knew we were getting a quality system,” Andrew Holle said. “And there’s the added benefit of having someone there in person to install it, make sure it’s working right, and come back if needed.”

The results were instantaneous — literally. While WRT team members were installing the cameras, the Holles noticed a cow had tipped over in one of the pens. Curious how this happened, they were able to rewind the DVR recording and see that another cow had hit the other and knocked it down.

With over 725 cows, a method of surveillance is vital to the animals’ success. Monitoring each cow’s health and milk production are all part of maintaining a healthy herd. Thanks to WRT’s broadband services, they are able to use RFID tags as “Fitbits” for their cows; tracking their temperature, heart rate, eating, and sleeping habits, all to ensure they are in good health.

“Ever since WRT put in fiber, we’ve had no problems. Our activity collars are able to send data at a high speed, and we’re able to track each cow individually. It’s the best way to provide personalized care for each cow,” Jennifer said.

A quality surveillance system also helps them monitor the most crucial moment for a cow: when they’re born. As Calving Manager, Jennifer oversees an average of 3-4 births a day — and sometimes up to 15. The health of the calf at birth determines their health throughout their lifespan, she explained, and it’s a role she takes very seriously.

“We care about our animals,” she said. “This is what we do day in and day out because we love it. We don’t look at our cows as money-makers. They’re an extension of our family.”

Of course, although they love their work, running a dairy farm at this scale can be exhausting. In the early years, without a way to monitor the farm, the family was unable to travel far from home. With the security cameras in place, the Holles are now able to ensure their bovine family is well cared for, even from abroad. Now, they’re able to check in on their cows from anywhere; trade shows, visiting family, even during a well-earned family vacation to Cancun.

“I got up in the morning and checked on all the baby calves through my phone. Andrew could go into the milking system and see what our milk production was like that day, and check on the sick cows,” Jennifer said. “All while sitting on the beach with a drink in our hand.”

tilizing WRT’s technology is part of the Holles greater vision to create a successful and innovative dairy farm; one that puts animal care at the center and creates a safe environment for animals and employees alike.

“We rely very heavily on WRT and broadband. It really is priceless how much time we save by utilizing the security system,” Jennifer said. “If we didn’t have that kind of technology, we couldn’t be a successful farm.”

With how much technology has transformed the ag industry in the past decade, the Holles can only imagine what it will look like for the next generation. Already, their four kids — now 5th generation farmers — are learning a new, innovative way of farming. And while Jennifer never puts any pressure on any of them to one day take over their farm, she sees a particular affinity for the work in her 9-year-old son, Devon.

“He is his father’s shadow,” she said with a laugh. “He’s got the pens in his pocket, wears the same boots, and drives the payloader and the Bobcat.”

This is what Andrew and Jennifer love most — a business and lifestyle that allows them to grow, learn, and be together as a family while doing work that they love. They both know that no matter how technology continues to change the industry, the heart of why they do what they do remains the same.

“We do what we do because we love it. Come rain, snow, sunshine,” Jennifer said. “It’s hard to describe, because it’s so much a part of who you are. It’s not a job. It’s a livelihood.”

Learn more about BAND and how you can connect with your local BAND organization, at broadbandnd.com.

Retirements Spring 2019

Jul 31 2019

Retirements Spring 2019

Robyn Wenzel

Robyn will have been with SRT for exactly 38 years on her retirement day, which began on June 1, 1981 and ends June 1, 2019. She started in residential customer service with NSP Telephone/Electric Company. NSP was sold to Minot Telephone, then to SRT Communications and she continued her career in the Business Customer Service department.

Robyn’s plans for retirement are moving to the Black Hills area with her husband, Kevin, and traveling throughout the United States.

Ken Smith

Ken will have been with SRT for 12 years by the time he retires on June 1, 2019. His career was spent as a Communications System Technician, servicing our business customers’ phone systems, internet and more.

After retirement, Ken plans to relocate from Minot to sunny Lake Havasu, Arizona. He also looks forward to being able to spend more time traveling.

Mollie Jorgensen

Over the course of Mollie’s 25 years at SRT, she has held positions in our Satellite TV, Customer Service, Network Operations Center, Service Center, and most recently in our Network Provisioning Department. She has loved to see how technology has advanced over time, especially in her current position.

Following her retirement, she will be spending her summers at Mouse River Park, near the North Dakota/Canadian border, and her winters in The Villages, Florida.

Blog

How BAND members, EduTech, and local schools work together to prepare North Dakota students for the future

Work Smarter & Harder: DRN + Dakota Precision Fabricating Spotlight

BAND equips Northern Lights Dairy for next-generation farming

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