The North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives presented six awards during its annual meeting Feb. 11, recognizing individuals for their generous contributions to the state’s electric cooperatives and communities they serve. Honorees included:
• Bob Grant – Cooperative Leadership, Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative
• Lauren Klewin – Cooperative Leadership, Slope Electric Cooperative
• Erin Oban – Helping Hand, former USDA Rural Development state director and state senator
North Dakota Living
Goldenwest Electric Cooperative member Syndi Musland Miske loves horses (read more here), especially when she’s riding in the Badlands with family. What makes it even better? When her mom, Darlene Musland, is cooking for a camp full of hungry horse riders!
Darlene, a retired schoolteacher who serves on Dakota Valley Electric Cooperative’s Operation Round Up board of directors, is known for her cooking. She’s taught folks the art of Dutch oven cooking and cooking over fire – with a side of history, of course.
Head Cook Barbie Martin’s scratch-made recipes aren’t the only “favorites” in the Anamoose-Drake Elementary School lunchroom. The cafeteria staff is, too. Martin’s presence and the culture she has set up in the lunchroom is important for the entire school, says Superintendent Steve Heim. Read more here.
For over a century, Minot State University (MSU) has empowered students with the confidence and skills to lead fulfilling lives in their communities. By providing over $4 million in scholarships and aid annually, nearly half of MSU students graduate debt-free.
Over the years, Jason Bentz (read about him here), co-general manager of the Innovative Energy Alliance Cooperative (IEA), and his family have caught a lot of walleye – and found creative ways to keep it exciting. These walleye recipes come from Bentz’s family, particularly his sister, and will have you reaching in your freezer for walleye again and again.
North Dakota Living was wowed by the amount and quality of the photo entries submitted in our first ever photo contest! We received almost 300 submissions depicting the life, love and land of the great state of North Dakota.
We had a heck of a time choosing the winners.
Thanks to everyone who particpated and congratulations to the winners of the 2025 North Dakota Living Photo Contest!
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Watch for information on the 2026 contest later this year.
A North Dakota woman is being inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame.
On Dec. 6, 2024, the Cooperative Development Foundation announced Lori Capouch as a 2025 inductee. The Cooperative Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed on individuals who have made outstanding contributions to cooperatives. She is the first woman from North Dakota to receive the prestigious honor.
While regulatory and industry initiatives have improved winter readiness, many regions of the country are once again at elevated risk of electricity supply shortfalls in the event of extreme weather, the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) states in its 2024-25 Winter Reliability Assessment released Nov. 14.
Thousands of acres and North Dakota producers have been affected by October’s wildfires.
“It’s hard to imagine what producers are going through right now,” says N.D. Stockmen’s Association (NDSA) President Randy Schmitt, a cow-calf producer from Rugby.
And in the absence of substantial moisture, many fear the threat of additional fires, he says.
As first responders across the state stand ready to respond to wildfire emergencies, others are sharing resources and offering aid.
