Minnkota Messenger
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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.
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NRECA honors Minnkota for communications projects
Minnkota's communications team has earned two Spotlight on Excellence Awards for 2023 projects.
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Capturing magic in coal country
Glen Ullin’s Abrasives Inc. harnesses the benefits of Minnkota bottom ash in its signature blasting material.
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Scaling up service
In the past year, Minnkota Power Cooperative acquired Great Plains Tower Services in an effort to keep its climbing technicians local.
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‘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.
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Down to the wire
The grid reliability alarms are ringing. How is Minnkota Power Cooperative preparing?
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Supply chain reaction
Minnkota's Procurement team is finding creative solutions for post-pandemic prices and lead times.
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Willow’s cup runneth over
A Wild Rice Electric Cooperative member-family is helping their teen’s mug business reach the boiling point.
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Powerful voices unite
Minnkota recognized the impact of its members, employees and partners during its 84th annual meeting on April 12.
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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.
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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.
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‘Carrying my tools’
New Cass County Electric Cooperative leader Paul Matthys reflects on his journey from tradesman to CEO.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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A man for the membership
Cass County Electric Cooperative CEO Marshal Albright will retire in April after 37 years of service.
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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.
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No time to freeze
Minnkota Power Cooperative and Cass County Electric Cooperative recently battled the effects of a rare Christmas ice storm.
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The best stress test
Minnkota and its members had an opportunity to prepare for the worst during the national GridEx event.
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Welcoming Walle
Minnkota’s new transmission substation will both fortify power reliability and support regional load growth.
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‘Critical’ opportunity for North Dakota
Minnkota Power Cooperative is joining industry research partners in capitalizing on rare earth elements.
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Leader of the cooperative family
North Star Electric Cooperative has named co-op veteran Kevin Holen as its new general manager.
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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.
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Matriarch of the herd
Beltrami Electric Cooperative member Rachel Gray and her family have received regional honors for agricultural leadership in Minnesota.
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'The math does not add up' on EPA carbon proposal
A new EPA power plant proposal could put grid reliability at risk.
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Stronger together
Minnkota Power Cooperative and its member-owners have extended their wholesale power contracts.
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Minnkota Cares raises $3,947 for local causes
The Minnkota employee giving fund filled up with donations as donors filled up with ice cream.
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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.
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The quest for continuous improvement
Minnkota hosted its first industry peer review in June, welcoming energy experts from across North America.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Minnkota receives communications honors from NRECA
Minnkota's Communications department has been recognized for its 2022 work in video marketing, animation and photography.
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Teamwork at its height
Photos from a recent sky-high transmission project illustrate the challenges overcome by Minnkota’s dedicated line crews.
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Hairnets and helping hands
Minnkota hosts third Feed My Starving Children event at its Grand Forks headquarters.
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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.
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Powering the journey ahead
Minnkota held its 83rd annual meeting on March 31, on the cusp of incredible industry transformation.
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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.
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Putting the power in powersports
Arctic Cat is strengthening its legacy in Thief River Falls with diverse employee opportunities and continual product innovation.
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The full picture of reliability
Infrared camera technology serves an important role in Minnkota’s multipronged preventative maintenance plan.
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Nation’s electric grid could face winter challenges
A recent NERC assessment says risks grow with the retirement of coal and nuclear generation.
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Major outage insight
Minnkota’s Young Station team has successfully navigated another lengthy maintenance outage with planning and teamwork.
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Locally grown leadership
As PKM Electric Cooperative CEO Mike Schmidt retires, protégé Jeff Rustad will become the co-op's new leader in 2023.
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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.
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Family, farming, and feeding carb cravings
Three Farm Daughters has created a pasta empire within Nodak Electric Cooperative’s rural footprint.
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Pecking disorder
A transmission line rebuilt by Minnkota Power Cooperative will be protected from woodpecker-caused challenges.
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A circle of benefits from Minnesota milk
State-of-the-art Waukon Dairy is producing gallons of opportunity in Wild Rice Electric Cooperative territory.
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Living great in the 218
Greater Bemidji’s relocation program is attracting telecommuters to Beltrami Electric Cooperative’s service area.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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‘A culture of compliance’
Minnkota has logged another successful NERC audit thanks to the cooperative's strong leadership and proactive planning.
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Community and cooperative connector
Marty Tetrault has taken another step into service as Cavalier Rural Electric’s newest general manager.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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A place for volts and vitamins
Minnkota joins community partners to host Grand Forks Feed My Starving Children MobilePack event for a second year.
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Ahead of the herd
IDEA Competition winner MUSKOX has taken snow blower innovation by the horns in northwest Minnesota.
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Grid operators, regulators forecast reliability risks
The evolving energy transition represents challenges and opportunities for Minnkota and the industry as a whole.
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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.
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The Digi-Key difference
A major facility expansion will allow an electronics distribution company to thrive within its rural Minnesota community.
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Minnkota shows grit and growth during GridEx
A nationwide exercise has become one of the best ways for employees to prepare for the worst.
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‘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.
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The lineworker treatment
Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative recently created a dream experience for a young power enthusiast diagnosed with leukemia.
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Reliable power for reliable packages
The FAR1 Amazon Fulfillment Center has become the latest Cass County Electric Cooperative member in a growing Fargo community.
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Fresh power in the old power plant
A new Grand Forks research facility is unearthing an energy future in Minnkota’s energy past.
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Hard hats and fire helmets
Red Lake Electric Cooperative boasts six employees on the local volunteer fire department.
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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.
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Collaborate, innovate, cultivate, repeat
The Fargo-based Grand Farm initiative is leveraging local and global partners to electrify the future of agriculture.
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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.
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Successful sessions
Minnkota and its cooperative members are celebrating major energy legislation recently passed in North Dakota and Minnesota.
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Substation communication revolution
Minnkota's system-wide deployment of distribution automation technology is rapidly enhancing response and reliability.
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Compton ready to answer the call
North Star Electric Cooperative’s new general manager is committed to transparency and accessibility.
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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.
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Student engineers recognized in annual Freeman Competition
Minnkota continued its support of up-and-coming innovators with the 2021 Andrew Freeman Design Innovation Competition.
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Built for service
Roseau Electric Cooperative is expanding its fiber-to-the-home network to more rural members and the City of Roseau.
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Recipe for success
Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative’s Deanna Lefebvre has been chosen to lead as the next general manager.
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Clear leadership
Bruce Bjerke has retired after 15 years as Clearwater-Polk Electric Cooperative’s general manager.
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We power on
Minnkota Power Cooperative and Square Butte Electric Cooperative annual meetings reflect on a 2020 navigated with resiliency.
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Power over the market
Minnkota's energy marketers combined the cooperative's reliable resources and demand response program to avoid a cold-weather crisis.
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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.
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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.
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Finding injection perfection
The latest Project Tundra simulations show promising properties for CO2 injection and storage near Minnkota's Milton R. Young Station.
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North Star's guiding light
After a 43-year cooperative career, North Star Electric’s Ann Ellis is setting a new course – retirement.
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Buyer beware
Minnkota has strengthened its supply chain to navigate COVID-19 and new cybersecurity standards.
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Advocacy from afar
Virtual meetings have kept Minnkota engaged with lawmakers in advance of important legislative sessions.
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Syncing the sound
From innovative engineering to flawless work in the field, Minnkota is working to enhance and improve its demand response system.
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Dolan to lead Wild Rice Electric
Wild Rice Electric Cooperative’s new CEO brings more than two decades of co-op experience.
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A legacy of loyalty
Wild Rice Electric Cooperative CEO Steve Haaven has retired after 47 years of service to members.
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Minnkota board approves 2021 budget
Average wholesale rates are projected to remain stable as Minnkota’s rate structure change is implemented.
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For the heat of the hunt
This October, a national cocker spaniel competition found a host home on the shore of Minnkota’s Nelson Lake.
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A positive charge
Minnkota’s chief money maven Karen Thingelstad is preparing for retirement after an impressive 27-year cooperative career.
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Cooperation for travel electrification
Minnkota’s member cooperatives are building out a network of electric vehicle fast chargers to help connect the service area.
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Electric bus makes the grade
West Fargo Public Schools has experienced transportation savings and benefits after a year with an electric addition to the fleet.
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Powered-up park patrol
Fargo Parks and Fargo Police are enjoying the benefits of an electric patrol motorcycle, supported in part by Cass County Electric Cooperative.
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The precipice of power potential
North Dakota’s Capitol Hill cohort communicated proud support of Project Tundra during a recent tour at Minnkota's Milton R. Young Station.