Minnkota Messenger
If you build it, they will stay
With some help from Minnkota Power Cooperative, Grafton, North Dakota, has broken ground on a critical new housing complex.
Minnkota selected to continue forward in New ERA program
Minnkota is now one of 16 cooperatives with access to $7.3 billion in federal funding for carbon-reduction projects.
Incredibly plugged in
A Red Lake Electric Cooperative member is collecting the latest in battery-powered garage tech, including a Tesla Cybertruck.
The right way to do rights of way
Minnkota is enhancing its power line corridors with vegetation management and conservation programs.
Reclaiming the land
BNI Coal’s land reclamation processes continue to evolve with the changing needs of local farmers and landowners.
Eat, drink and be married at Copper Ridge
One of Red Lake Electric Cooperative’s newest business members is offering rural elegance for life’s big events.
A leap of freedom
This June, Minnkota’s Terry Peoples marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day with a ceremonial paratroop jump into Normandy.
The healing lift of water
Minnkota’s Nelson Lake recently hosted the annual Escape to the Lake event, an opportunity for those with health challenges to try water skiing.
NRECA honors Minnkota for communications projects
Minnkota's communications team has earned two Spotlight on Excellence Awards for 2023 projects.
Capturing magic in coal country
Glen Ullin’s Abrasives Inc. harnesses the benefits of Minnkota bottom ash in its signature blasting material.
Scaling up service
In the past year, Minnkota Power Cooperative acquired Great Plains Tower Services in an effort to keep its climbing technicians local.
‘It was not her time to go’
Minnkota's Troy Karlberg recently performed life-saving CPR on a woman at her granddaughter's wedding reception.
Down to the wire
The grid reliability alarms are ringing. How is Minnkota Power Cooperative preparing?
Supply chain reaction
Minnkota's Procurement team is finding creative solutions for post-pandemic prices and lead times.
Willow’s cup runneth over
A Wild Rice Electric Cooperative member-family is helping their teen’s mug business reach the boiling point.
Powerful voices unite
Minnkota recognized the impact of its members, employees and partners during its 84th annual meeting on April 12.
McLennan wins charity dance competition
Minnkota CEO Mac McLennan won the Dancing for Special Stars Grand Forks competition, raising nearly $40,000 for the Special Olympics.
Dahl named 'Woman to Know' in ND business
Minnkota Vice President of External Affairs has been named one of 15 Women You Should Know by the North Dakota Chamber.
‘Carrying my tools’
New Cass County Electric Cooperative leader Paul Matthys reflects on his journey from tradesman to CEO.
Grid regulators issue warnings about power reliability
The regional grid is facing a high to extreme risk of reliability issues in the next five years, due to fewer resources with reliability attributes.
Minnkota, employees give big on Giving Hearts Day
Giving Hearts Day is an annual 24-hour giving event that supports charities in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota.
Safety from the land of the ice and snow
A rare peek into Bosch’s Baudette, Minn., proving grounds – a North Star Electric Cooperative business member – reveals a mission of winter driving innovation.
A man for the membership
Cass County Electric Cooperative CEO Marshal Albright will retire in April after 37 years of service.
The puck stops here – in Hockeytown USA®
NorthStream Fiber and Minnkota Power Cooperative joined the community of Warroad in preparations for Hockey Day Minnesota 2024.
No time to freeze
Minnkota Power Cooperative and Cass County Electric Cooperative recently battled the effects of a rare Christmas ice storm.
The best stress test
Minnkota and its members had an opportunity to prepare for the worst during the national GridEx event.
Welcoming Walle
Minnkota’s new transmission substation will both fortify power reliability and support regional load growth.
‘Critical’ opportunity for North Dakota
Minnkota Power Cooperative is joining industry research partners in capitalizing on rare earth elements.
Leader of the cooperative family
North Star Electric Cooperative has named co-op veteran Kevin Holen as its new general manager.
Two million reasons to celebrate
Minnkota’s Safety manager attributes a milestone of 2 million hours with no lost-time injuries to a culture of openness.
Matriarch of the herd
Beltrami Electric Cooperative member Rachel Gray and her family have received regional honors for agricultural leadership in Minnesota.
'The math does not add up' on EPA carbon proposal
A new EPA power plant proposal could put grid reliability at risk.
Stronger together
Minnkota Power Cooperative and its member-owners have extended their wholesale power contracts.
Minnkota Cares raises $3,947 for local causes
The Minnkota employee giving fund filled up with donations as donors filled up with ice cream.
The lineworkers of the lake
The many challenges of Roseau Electric Cooperative's waterlocked Northwest Angle territory are overcome with grit – and a lot of gratitude.
The quest for continuous improvement
Minnkota hosted its first industry peer review in June, welcoming energy experts from across North America.
Energy for every season
Minnkota and its energy marketing team are prepared for the regional energy market’s new four-season approach to resource planning.
Rising to the occasion
Minnkota’s Emergency Rescue Team recently used its unique rope training to safely lower an injured contractor from a 40-foot scaffold.
Highway 75 hero
This winter, a Red River Valley Co-op Power lineworker showed courage and calm while assisting an expectant mother following rollover crash.
Andrew Freeman Competition team takes the cake
Minnkota Power Cooperative has recognized the UND engineering students behind the “Batter Shaker” as its annual innovation contest winners.
Minnkota receives communications honors from NRECA
Minnkota's Communications department has been recognized for its 2022 work in video marketing, animation and photography.
Teamwork at its height
Photos from a recent sky-high transmission project illustrate the challenges overcome by Minnkota’s dedicated line crews.
Hairnets and helping hands
Minnkota hosts third Feed My Starving Children event at its Grand Forks headquarters.
A cut above the rest
The new Bemidji Steel Company facility has helped to put a laser focus on the benefits of doing business in Beltrami Electric Cooperative territory.
Powering the journey ahead
Minnkota held its 83rd annual meeting on March 31, on the cusp of incredible industry transformation.
From 10-gallon hats to 10,000 lakes
Texas native Mike Wade is bringing his vast industry experience to Wild Rice Electric Cooperative as their new CEO.
Putting the power in powersports
Arctic Cat is strengthening its legacy in Thief River Falls with diverse employee opportunities and continual product innovation.
The full picture of reliability
Infrared camera technology serves an important role in Minnkota’s multipronged preventative maintenance plan.
Nation’s electric grid could face winter challenges
A recent NERC assessment says risks grow with the retirement of coal and nuclear generation.
Major outage insight
Minnkota’s Young Station team has successfully navigated another lengthy maintenance outage with planning and teamwork.
Locally grown leadership
As PKM Electric Cooperative CEO Mike Schmidt retires, protégé Jeff Rustad will become the co-op's new leader in 2023.
2023 rates projected to be stable for sixth straight year
Minnkota Power Cooperative will keep its wholesale electricity rates flat amid national and global economic instability.
Family, farming, and feeding carb cravings
Three Farm Daughters has created a pasta empire within Nodak Electric Cooperative’s rural footprint.
Pecking disorder
A transmission line rebuilt by Minnkota Power Cooperative will be protected from woodpecker-caused challenges.
A circle of benefits from Minnesota milk
State-of-the-art Waukon Dairy is producing gallons of opportunity in Wild Rice Electric Cooperative territory.
Living great in the 218
Greater Bemidji’s relocation program is attracting telecommuters to Beltrami Electric Cooperative’s service area.
Food for the community, food for the soul
The Rural Access Distribution (RAD) Cooperative is combatting North Dakota grocery store closures with some small-town collaboration.
Harnessing the grit of the grass
A Red River Valley Co-op Power business member is using native landscaping to improve the ecology of the prairie.
Minnkota, NRECA CEOs publish op-ed on reliability
Minnkota CEO Mac McLennan and NRECA CEO Jim Matheson published a joint opinion column focused on projected grid challenges and what can be done to maintain electric reliability.
Sounding the alarm on grid reliability
National grid operators and regulators are warning that North Dakota and Minnesota may be at risk of power outages this summer.
‘A culture of compliance’
Minnkota has logged another successful NERC audit thanks to the cooperative's strong leadership and proactive planning.
Community and cooperative connector
Marty Tetrault has taken another step into service as Cavalier Rural Electric’s newest general manager.
Bringing the heat in the glass industry
Fargo’s Cardinal IG glass plant has found growing power in its partnership with Cass County Electric Cooperative.
Minnkota Communications team collects national awards
Minnkota was recently honored with two NRECA Spotlight on Excellence awards for its digital and written communication efforts in 2021.
Resilient By Design
On April 1, Minnkota held its first in-person annual meeting in nearly three years. The meeting’s theme, Resilient By Design, recognized how Minnkota persevered through the pandemic, volatile energy market conditions and rapid industry change.
A bear of a line project
Minnkota’s Power Delivery crews need to overcome many challenges to complete work on a unique northern Minnesota landscape.
The wrath of the Red
Twenty-five years after the historic 1997 ice storm and flood, current Minnkota employees reflected on the natural disasters that tested the resilience of the cooperative.
A place for volts and vitamins
Minnkota joins community partners to host Grand Forks Feed My Starving Children MobilePack event for a second year.
Ahead of the herd
IDEA Competition winner MUSKOX has taken snow blower innovation by the horns in northwest Minnesota.
Grid operators, regulators forecast reliability risks
The evolving energy transition represents challenges and opportunities for Minnkota and the industry as a whole.
The ice (and nice) is stronger here
Brutal winter conditions won’t keep the community of Warroad, Minn., from a second year of Riverbend Skate Path fame.
The Digi-Key difference
A major facility expansion will allow an electronics distribution company to thrive within its rural Minnesota community.
Minnkota shows grit and growth during GridEx
A nationwide exercise has become one of the best ways for employees to prepare for the worst.
‘Keep calm and outage on’
Milton R. Young Station employees have once again used a major planned outage to keep Unit 1 strong and reliable.
The lineworker treatment
Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative recently created a dream experience for a young power enthusiast diagnosed with leukemia.
Reliable power for reliable packages
The FAR1 Amazon Fulfillment Center has become the latest Cass County Electric Cooperative member in a growing Fargo community.
Fresh power in the old power plant
A new Grand Forks research facility is unearthing an energy future in Minnkota’s energy past.
Hard hats and fire helmets
Red Lake Electric Cooperative boasts six employees on the local volunteer fire department.
Minnkota celebrates Drive Electric Week with co-op partners
Two EV ride-and-drive events drew crowds to electric cooperatives in Bemidji and Roseau, Minn., during National Drive Electric Week.
Collaborate, innovate, cultivate, repeat
The Fargo-based Grand Farm initiative is leveraging local and global partners to electrify the future of agriculture.
Minnkota and CoBank team up to “Share Success”
Minnkota Power Cooperative and Square Butte Electric Cooperative donated $20,000 to local programs as a part of CoBank's matched giving program.
Successful sessions
Minnkota and its cooperative members are celebrating major energy legislation recently passed in North Dakota and Minnesota.
Substation communication revolution
Minnkota's system-wide deployment of distribution automation technology is rapidly enhancing response and reliability.
Compton ready to answer the call
North Star Electric Cooperative’s new general manager is committed to transparency and accessibility.
From zero to EV
Auto dealers and co-ops are merging new models, more chargers and incentives to accelerate electric vehicle growth in the north.
Student engineers recognized in annual Freeman Competition
Minnkota continued its support of up-and-coming innovators with the 2021 Andrew Freeman Design Innovation Competition.
Built for service
Roseau Electric Cooperative is expanding its fiber-to-the-home network to more rural members and the City of Roseau.
Recipe for success
Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative’s Deanna Lefebvre has been chosen to lead as the next general manager.
Clear leadership
Bruce Bjerke has retired after 15 years as Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative’s general manager.
We power on
Minnkota Power Cooperative and Square Butte Electric Cooperative annual meetings reflect on a 2020 navigated with resiliency.
Power over the market
Minnkota's energy marketers combined the cooperative's reliable resources and demand response program to avoid a cold-weather crisis.
Popping into business
A North Dakota farm family has built a packaging company to support the local economy, give back to the community and create a generational legacy.
Minnkota Jeans Day Fund gives big on Giving Hearts Day
Minnkota's Grand Forks employees used an annual February giving event to make their donations dollars go further.
Finding injection perfection
The latest Project Tundra simulations show promising properties for CO2 injection and storage near Minnkota's Milton R. Young Station.
North Star's guiding light
After a 43-year cooperative career, North Star Electric’s Ann Ellis is setting a new course – retirement.
Buyer beware
Minnkota has strengthened its supply chain to navigate COVID-19 and new cybersecurity standards.
Advocacy from afar
Virtual meetings have kept Minnkota engaged with lawmakers in advance of important legislative sessions.
Syncing the sound
From innovative engineering to flawless work in the field, Minnkota is working to enhance and improve its demand response system.
Dolan to lead Wild Rice Electric
Wild Rice Electric Cooperative’s new CEO brings more than two decades of co-op experience.
A legacy of loyalty
Wild Rice Electric Cooperative CEO Steve Haaven has retired after 47 years of service to members.