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Featured Articles
Building Boom: Event center growth continues in region
New arenas opened in Fargo and Rapid City, SD, late last year, a new events center is planned in Aberdeen, SD, a hockey arena is under construction in Crookston, MN, and officials in Sioux Falls and Brookings, SD, are mulling major event center expansion plans.RELATED CONTENT
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New era of events centers |
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Sioux Falls officials ponder new events center |
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Fargo's new Urban Plains Center opens |
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Bemidji Regional Event Center |
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Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena |
New era of arenas
Modern buildings offering the latest in technology have popped up across North Dakota, South Dakota and western Minnesota throughout the last decade, replacing the events centers of previous generations. The remaining older facilities continue to make improvements and find ways to compete with their newer neighbors.RELATED CONTENT
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Building Boom: Event center growth continues in the region |
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Ralph Engelstad Arena (Grand Forks, ND) |
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Ralph Engelstad Arena (Thief River Falls, MN) |
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FARGODOME |
Sioux Falls officials ponder new facility
A task force is considering a number of options to upgrade Sioux Falls' arena and meeting space, including building a large new arena or expanding the existing convention center to keep pace with newer and larger facilities in other cities.
Urban Plains Center opens in Fargo
The $25 million Urban Plains Center opened in October 2008 in Fargo and is the first phase of a planned $44 million tournament facility complex that could eventually include as many as five ice sheets (photo courtesy of Urban Plains Center)
Community profile: Bismarck/Mandan
Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota, is also home to the University of Mary, Bismarck State College, the state penitentiary, two major health care systems, two major utility companies and a number of other large employers. The neighboring community of Mandan is also coming into its own, adding waterfront residential development along the Missouri River where world-class fishing and hunting can be enjoyed a short boat ride away.
Daktronics a major league player in sports arena
Daktronics scoreboards can be found in most major league and major college sports stadiums and arenas across the country. The company is also the world leader in full-color Light Emitting Diode (LED) video and messaging displays.RELATED CONTENT
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Brookings headquarters facility |
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Xcel Energy Center |
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Target Field |
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TCF Bank Stadium |
Economy offers opportunities for businesses
A down economy may be the right time to invest in equipment, infrastructure to prepare for the future.
Murals may put Minnesota community on the map
Wadena, MN, is attempting to become more of a destination for passing motorists and bring more attention to the community by leading an effort to get listed in the Guinness Book of World Records in the process by painting the blank exterior walls of buildings in town into painted puzzle pieces showcasing 1,000 years of Minnesota history and creating the world’s largest picture puzzle.
Q&A with Roger Johnson, president, National Farmers Union
Looking out of his seventh floor window on the bustling Washington, D.C. streets below, former North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson was literally still unpacking when he agreed to meet with Prairie Business for a question-and-answer session about becoming president of the National Farmers Union earlier this year..jpg)
Prairie Pillar: SJE-Rhombus
For the last 21 years SJE-Rhombus, a Detroit Lakes, MN, area manufacturer and distributor of reliable flow switches and control systems for water, wastewater, sump and sewage systems, has been 100 percent employee owned. SJE-Rhombus has recently been named one of the best places to work in the country and has also been listed among the nation’s fastest-growing companies.Economy facing a slow 'bathtub recovery'
It appears our economy is nearing the bottom of the recession, but it is important to realize that reaching the bottom doesn’t mean the recovery is at hand. This is especially true in rural America.
Operation Intern helping North Dakota employers
Operation Intern, a program administered by the workforce development division of the North Dakota Department of Commerce, has made more than 200 employment connections like this since it was launched in March 2008.RELATED CONTENT
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Click here to find out more about the Operation Intern program |
Benchmarking helps businesses measure themselves against competitors
As a business manager, it is important to compare key statistics with industry related enterprises to measure performance. Ratios like gross profit margin, inventory turnover, accounts receivable days outstanding, net profit as a percentage of sales and return on investment are critical.
South Dakota home harnesses solar power
Jim Johnson is using a model home in Worthing, SD, to demonstrate to homeowners and home builders how simple and effective solar energy has become in recent years.RELATED CONTENT
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The history of solar power |
Is your business ready for the recovery?
While most businesses are complaining about the recession, a few are preparing for the recovery. They know a lull in business offers the ideal time to tune up their operation. Don’t waste this opportunity. If you want to be ready for the recovery, now is the time to simplify, streamline and optimize your organization for the future.
Tune in to the Hear It Now radio program at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14. Host Merrill Piepkorn and Prairie Business Editor Ryan Schuster will discuss new and renovated arenas and convention centers in the region with Lance Johnson of the Urban Plains Center, Charlie Jeske of the Bismarck Civic Center and Lonnie Laffen of JLG Architects. Previous monthly radio shows can be heard by streaming audio at the Prairie Public website.
Updated 07/01/2009
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