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75 years

A History of Innovation: THEN

A History of Innovation: THEN

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The past 75 years were punctuated with leaps forward, each year and decade a stepping stone toward the next innovation to benefit SRT members.
 
Our history as a cooperative officially began September 29, 1951, when Souris River Telephone Mutual Aid Corporation led Articles of Incorporation. The very next year SRT purchased its first phone exchange — the Martin Telephone Company with 82 subscribers. Two short years later SRT secured its first loan and bought four more exchanges, and the momentum rolled on.
 
By the 60s SRT was serving Minot Air Force Base, our largest phone exchange at the time. We also shared the cooperative’s early success with members, sending out their first capital credit checks. It was a decade of smart growth, sound business decisions, innovating services, and delivering critical communications.
 
Soon SRT was innovating beyond telephone. By 1980 the cooperative brought cable television service to the residents of Westhope, while the 90s ushered in Direct Broadcast Satellite TV. SRT continued to roll out the latest and greatest services with Security in 2008 and Dish Network in 2014.
 
In the meantime, the area and people we serve continued to expand. In 1994, SRT acquired Minot Telephone Company, adding roughly 25,000 lines in Minot, Burlington, and Surrey. Ten years later we acquired the cable TV systems in Newburg and Upham, increasing our total communities served to 18. We also welcomed Velva residents in 2007 after purchasing the exchange from North Dakota Telephone Company in Devils Lake.
 
The most transformative innovation so far, fiber optics brought unprecedented opportunity to even the most remote home in north-central North Dakota. In 2006 SRT deployed our first fiber-to the-premise in rural Lansford — a community of roughly 200 people that suddenly had the most powerful internet technology available. Owing to the determination of SRT’s Board of Directors and the ingenuity of our employees, SRT completed our rural fiber build by 2022 and Minot last year.
 
Stay tuned for the next chapter of our story in two weeks.
 

SRT’s First 75 Years: A History of Innovation

SRT’s First 75 Years: A History of Innovation

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SRT started in a place, but it began with people. In 1950, this vast stretch of North Dakota prairie had farms, schools, county seats, but no phones. Concerned citizens decided that the people who live here need phones. Farmers need to call into town; relatives and friends need to call each other. Phones were about safety, so people could help each other; about prosperity, so people could do business and earn a living; and about staying in touch with loved ones. You could say the mission has always been what life is all about: People coming together and forming community.

It was a bold idea and an even bolder action. When these determined people saw a need that lives depend on and then made it happen — that was the beginning of SRT’s History of Innovation. In 1950, the Verendrye Electric Cooperative set out to start a telephone cooperative. In 1951, SRT came to be.

The story of SRT can’t be told without the seventh Cooperative Principle: Concern for Community. Concern for fellow North Dakotans compelled SRT’s founders to deliver the revolutionary service of human voices traveling over wires. It’s a story of persistence among individuals and compassion among neighbors.

When we think of innovation, we often think of inventions that modernize daily life. But the real innovation behind SRT’s history is the North Dakota spirit of its people, then and now.

Stay tuned for the next chapter of our story in two weeks.

FCC Commissioner and Minot Leaders Join SRT for Informational Day on Critical Communications Infrastucture

FCC Commissioner and Minot Leaders Join SRT for Informational Day on Critical Communications Infrastucture

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Minot, N.D. – Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Olivia Trusty and Senior Legal Advisor Marcus Maher visited Minot on August 13 to tour critical communications systems and engage in roundtable discussion with Minot area leaders.

SRT CEO/General Manager Cassidy Hjelmstad, FCC Commissioner Trusty, and FCC Senior Legal Advisor Maher began the day with a tour from officials of the Minot Air Force Base. They followed the MAFB tour with an afternoon at SRT’s facilities, getting a full picture of the broadband provider and the communities it serves.

OSP Engineering Manager Scott Senger kicked off the afternoon program by presenting an introductory overview of SRT, from its establishment 75 years ago to its current impact as North Dakota’s largest telecommunications cooperative. Highlighting the vast rural nature of its service area and advanced technology behind its services, the SRT team illustrated the importance of high-speed internet with real case studies. These stories ranged from remote rural communities using broadband for telehealth and agriculture, to projects based in Minot that advance regional sports, to the intermodal Logistics Park hub driving international commerce.

The presentation underscored SRT’s commitment to deliver high-speed internet to everyone in its service area, regardless of distance, land area, or population. Senger noted that SRT provides the same service to Antler, with a population of 19, that it offers in the city of Minot.

Hjelmstad and Carissa Swenson, Executive Director of the Broadband Association of North America (BAND), described North Dakota’s fiber optic network – a collaboration of DCN owners and BAND members that provides seamless broadband connection across the state and out to the global internet.

When discussion turned to SRT’s designation as a Smart Rural CommunitySM (SRC) provider by NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, Commissioner Trusty noted SRC as a positive initiative that recognizes the work local broadband providers are doing for their communities.

To see the technology behind SRT’s broadband network first-hand, the FCC visitors then explored SRT’s host facility. Jordan Kelly, SRT Network Operations Manager, led an informational tour of the systems that support and deliver broadband throughout SRT’s service area. Commissioner Trusty met employees from operations, engineering, and IT disciplines and had the opportunity to ask questions about SRT’s fiber network.

The day concluded with a roundtable discussion involving area leaders of major service sectors, such as Michael Frye, Chief of Police for the City of Minot; Kevin Harmon, Vice President for Student Affairs and Intercollegiate Athletics at Minot State University; Brekka Kramer, President/CEO of the Minot Area Chamber EDC; and Christopher Van Gels, Vice President, Facilities Management of Trinity Health.

The informational day in Minot demonstrated how telecommunications function across an integrated system that keeps North Dakota moving, productive, and safe. During discussions, Commissioner Trusty indicated a greater appreciation of what SRT is doing and its impact on the state and beyond. She also noted how broadband supports essential, mission-critical services integral to life safety and economic prosperity. For example, North Dakota’s energy and agriculture sectors produce food and fuel that benefit Americans across the country, while the Minot Air Force Base is a key military installation critical to the nation’s deterrence strategy.

“SRT appreciates Commissioner Trusty and Senior Advisor Maher visiting Minot to learn about our telecommunications services and engage in meaningful dialogue with our leadership partners about the vital implications of broadband,” said Hjelmstad. “We were honored to demonstrate how SRT and other telecommunications cooperatives work to bridge the digital divide across North Dakota and advance economic vitality and quality of life indicators, both statewide and nationally.”

Hjelmstad continued, “We hope the day provided a comprehensive look at SRT’s role in delivering telecommunications that national defense, regional healthcare, the City of Minot, and our entire service area rely on. We also hope it illuminated real benefits of Universal Service investment and broadband connectivity – not just for every person across north-central North Dakota as they live their best lives in their own communities, but for the strength of our nation as a whole.”

SRT Communications, headquartered in Minot, North Dakota, is the state’s largest telecommunications cooperative. Established in 1951, SRT employs roughly 160 people and serves more than 26,000 customers across north central North Dakota. SRT earned the distinction as a Certified Gig-Capable Provider in 2017. Services include high-speed fiber internet, phone, and security/surveillance systems for home and business. Learn more at www.srt.com.

SRT 75th Annual Meeting Takes Place Thursday, June 18: A History of Innovation Anniversary Program Planned

SRT 75th Annual Meeting Takes Place Thursday, June 18: A History of Innovation Anniversary Program Planned

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MINOT, N.D. – SRT Communications will hold its annual meeting and director election on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at the North Dakota State Fair Center in Minot.

The meeting will also highlight SRT’s 75th anniversary with exhibits and presentations that celebrate A History of Innovation.

Registration and voting begin at 5:00 p.m. and officially close at 7:00 p.m. A catered dinner will be served 5:00-7:00 p.m. and live entertainment featuring Ted & Kari will begin at 6:00 p.m.

The business meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. and will include a report to the members, financial updates, and election results.

The following candidates are up for election:

  • District 1:   Stanley Vangsness from Berthold/Carpio, Incumbent
  • District 2:   Kristi Miller from Maxbass, Incumbent
  • District 3:   John Marshall from Towner, Incumbent
  • District 4:   Colton Bourquin from Minot; Dr. Jason Bradley from Minot; Deanna Klein from Minot, Incumbent

Election results will also be posted on srt.com/annualmeeting.

Members are encouraged to bring the back page of the newsletter they received in the mail to be entered to win prizes.

SRT Board Approves $750,000 in Additional Capital Credits to Mark 75th anniversary; Total Distribution Exceeds $4 Million

SRT Board Approves $750,000 in Additional Capital Credits to Mark 75th anniversary; Total Distribution Exceeds $4 Million

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Minot, N.D. – The SRT Board of Directors voted to return $4,075,980 to members through the retirement of capital credits, which includes a special approval of $750,000 to honor the cooperative’s 75th anniversary.

“The SRT Board always looks forward to sharing the cooperative’s success and stability with members. This year marks an especially meaningful occasion for showing our appreciation to those who make SRT’s 75-year history possible,” said Stanley Vangsness, SRT Board President.

The cooperative also updated its process for distributing capital credits to increase efficiency. Members receiving $100 or more in capital credits will still receive a check by mail. Members receiving an amount from $5 to less than $100 will now receive a credit applied to their bill. Members receiving less than $5 will receive an allocation statement and the amount will be added to the next year’s account balance.

“Each decision we make is ultimately about creating value for our membership. Streamlining how we deliver capital credits is one way we can do that,” said Cassidy Hjelmstad, SRT CEO and General Manager. “As our 75th anniversary distribution of capital credits demonstrates, SRT enjoys nothing more than delivering value back to our members.”

The retirement includes a combination of the oldest year (2001) and a portion of the current year (2025) allocations. The amount is proportionate to the recipient’s past business with SRT. Credits applied to a member’s bill will appear in May and checks will mail in early June.

Members should inform SRT of changes to their current mailing address to ensure they receive any future capital credit retirements.

For more information on capital credits, visit srt.com/capitalcredits or call 701-858-1200.

SRT Communications, headquartered in Minot, North Dakota, is the state’s largest telecommunications cooperative. Established in 1951, SRT employs roughly 160 people and serves more than 25,000 customers across north central North Dakota. SRT earned the distinction as a Certified Gig-Capable Provider in 2017. Services include high-speed fiber internet, phone, and security/surveillance systems for home and business. Learn more at www.srt.com.