TheTheThe - Operation Round Up changes lives - January-February 2021 - Nodak Electric Cooperative
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The
January-February 2021
Official Publication of Nodak Electric Cooperative
www.nodakelectric.com
Operation
Round Up
changes lives
page 5
The Three director positions open
Nominating committee
Official Publication of the
Nodak Electric Cooperative, Inc. members appointed
746-4461 or 800-732-4373 The board of directors has appointed the
www.nodakelectric.com committee on nominations. At its meeting
scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb.
The Nodak Neighbor (USPS 391-200) is pub-
lished six times a year, February, April, June, 16, 2021, at the Nodak headquarters
August, October and December for $1.00 per building, 4000 32nd Ave. S., Grand
year by the Nodak Electric Cooperative, Inc., Forks, the committee shall prepare
4000 32nd Ave. S., Grand Forks, N.D. 58201-
5944. Periodicals postage paid at Grand Forks, and post a list of nominations for the
N.D., and additional mailing offices. POST- director positions slated for election.
MASTER: Send address changes to NODAK
ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC., P.O. Box
Committee members are: Doug Mohr,
13000, Grand Forks, N.D. 58208-3000. Devils Lake, 701-662-5339; Daniel Flanagan,
Volume 71, No. 1
Edinburg, 701-993-8544; Richard Hanson,
January-February 2021 Grand Forks, 701-739-0950; Shannon Johnson,
Officers and Directors Park River, 701-331-2933; Neal Klamm, Thompson,
Chairman of the Board. . . . . . Steve Smaaladen 218-779-7378; Jared Peterka, Forest River, 701-520-2937; Glenn Rethemeier,
Vice Chairman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Kent
Larimore, 218-779-3222; Paul Retzlaff, Aneta, 701-270-0181; and Linda
Stromstad, Hatton, 701-335-3034.
Secretary/Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Brag
Directors . . . . . . . David Hagert, Luther Meberg, Three director positions open
Pete Naastad, Cheryl Osowski,
Paul Sigurdson and Les Windjue Three director positions will be open at the annual meeting on April 6,
President & CEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mylo Einarson
2021. The directors whose terms expire in 2021 are:
Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blaine Rekken District 1 – Open
*Due to Bylaw restriction, members residing in Walsh County
may not be nominated for this election.
District 2 – David Hagert (incumbent seeking reelection)
District 3 – David Brag (incumbent seeking reelection)
Table of contents
Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3
Nomination by committee
If you are interested in being nominated or would like to nominate an
Syncing the signals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4 individual, you may contact a committee on nominations member.
Operation Round Up . . . . . . . . . . . page 5
Nomination by petition
Great rebates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6 Nominations may also be made by petition signed by at least 15
Generator safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7 cooperative members. The signed petition must be received at Nodak’s
Heating assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . page 8 headquarters by Saturday, Feb. 20, to verify nominee qualifications and allow
suff icient time for voting by mail.
On the cover: Due to her
Kacie Tretter joins Nodak Electric
compromised immune The cooperative recently welcomed Kacie Tretter
system, Clara Beaton has been as the new receptionist. She will be greeting members,
answering phones and assisting with billing questions.
homeschooling during the
Kacie is excited about her role at the cooperative and is
pandemic. With the help of looking forward to working with and getting to know the
Operation Round Up, Clara now members.
enjoys seeing her friends and family An East Grand Forks, Minn., native, Kacie and her
and participating in classroom husband, Troy, are busy with their two young boys, Hayes Kacie Tretter
Receptionist
activities on her interactive and Wesley. In her free time, she enjoys biking with her
whiteboard. Story page 5. family on the Greenway bike path and spending time at the
lake.
2 The Nodak Neighbor • January-February 2021
Perspective
Open director position in District 1 Mylo Einarson
President & CEO
E
very co-op, whether it’s position. A director’s decisions More than 100 years ago, President
Nodak Electric Cooperative, will impact issues such as service, Theodore Roosevelt recognized this
your credit union or farm rates, work plans and bylaws. These value when he said, “The cooperative
cooperative, follows the basic positions hold great responsibility is the best plan of organization.
principle of democratic member and require men and women who Under this plan, every business is
control. Cooperatives are democratic understand our communities’ needs governed by a board, every person
organizations controlled by their and serve the cooperative members’ has one vote and only one vote.
members who actively participate in best interests. Everyone gets profits based on their
setting policy and making decisions. If you or someone you know use of the cooperative. It develops
All these cooperatives work on the are interested in hearing more individual responsibility and has a
same system of one member, one about how to run for a seat on your moral, as well as financial value.”
vote. Most often, you are asked cooperative’s board of directors, Those words are more true today
to vote and elect individuals who contact us at the headquarters in than ever. Let your voice be heard
will represent you on the board Grand Forks and we will help you and take the time to participate in
of directors. These folks are your through the process. Even if you your cooperative’s election and your
friends, neighbors and may even be choose not to have that level of cooperative’s board of directors.
you! participation, you should all feel In closing, I would like to thank
Any member in good standing empowered to reach out to current Paul Sigurdson for his 30 years of
of the co-op can run for the board. board members and candidates dedicated service to our cooperative.
Of our nine board members, three or encourage your friends and Over his tenure on our board, Paul
are elected each year at our annual neighbors to participate. When our has helped shepherd the merger with
meeting, which means with – only members are actively involved with Sheyenne Valley Electric Cooperative,
a few exceptions – all members the cooperative, we are all better off. represented us on Square Butte’s
have the opportunity to run for As a cooperative, we invite our board of directors, served in various
the board each year. This year, we members to take an active role. In leadership roles on our board and
again have three director positions fact, it is critically important to the shaped policy that has helped Nodak
up for election; however, one of our survival of the cooperative business continue to grow. Paul’s contributions
incumbent directors has chosen model that we use our voices to be will have lasting effects on Nodak in
not to seek reelection. That means heard on the issues that matter to us. the years to come. We wish him luck
we certainly will have at least one The cooperative business model in his next adventure and extend our
new board member when the is a great one – it fosters engagement heartfelt thank you for his years of
81
election is finished. One of those and creates strong communities. service on our board.
st
few exceptions is that our bylaws
restrict board positions in each
district to no more than two from
any county. Since we already have
two board members in District 1
from Walsh County, members from
ANNUAL MEETING
Walsh County are not eligible to run
for election in District 1 this time
around. However, all other members
in good standing are eligible to run
for the board this year. Will it be
you? Watch for more info in the next issue
Being a member of the co-op’s of The Nodak Neighbor!
board is an incredibly important
January-February 2021 • The Nodak Neighbor 3
Surrounded by the northern
Minnesota woods, Jason Bjerke,
Minnkota senior technical
maintenance technician, adjusts
ripple injection equipment at
the Wilton substation.
Syncing
the signals
Minnkota, your cooperative’s wholesale power supplier,
works to enhance demand response system
T
here was a lot of buzz in 2020 around combination of art and science.
Minnkota Power Cooperative’s ripple “Tuning an injector is like tightening
injection system – the set of equipment the strings of a musical instrument to make
that drives the demand response/off-peak sure it vibrates at a certain frequency,” said
program that Nodak Electric is a part of. Nick Gellerman, Minnkota’s lead engineer
Two ripple injectors were replaced on the project. “Syncing all the injectors
with new equipment, custom together is like coordinating an orchestra.”
communication technologies were Since Minnkota’s ripple injection
deployed and a full 17-injector- system was built in the 1970s, the program
system sync was performed for the has become one of the most successful
first time. in the country with more than 55,000
Ripple injectors send tens of consumers participating, including 5,568
thousands of electronic signals Nodak member accounts. By reducing the
throughout the entire transmission demand for electricity during peak usage
system and into the distribution times, Minnkota and Nodak are able to
system. Receivers in homes and avoid purchasing costly excess power from
businesses can read the signals, and the wholesale market, saving money for the
when the appropriate message is sent, membership.
the receivers interrupt the power Minnkota has installed two-way ripple
flowing to an electric heating system, monitoring devices at 50 substation sites
water heater or other controllable and, over the next few years, plans to have
load. When control is no longer the devices at nearly all 255 substations.
needed, a signal is sent to turn the Having this consistent data from the field
electric system back on. will help ensure the system is performing
All injectors need to work reliably. Over the last five years, Minnkota
together and fire at the same time to has replaced 10 of the 17 injectors with new
A crane helps position the ripple ensure the signal reaches across the entire equipment. Plans are to have all injectors
injection equipment in place
during construction of the new 35,000-square-mile system. The process replaced by the end of 2024.
system at the Wilton substation. of tuning and syncing the injectors is a
4 The Nodak Neighbor • January-February 2021
Operation Round Up
changes lives
Operation Round Up® is a program that rounds up members’ monthly
electric bills to the next whole dollar amount. The resulting funds are put
Alzeimer ’s
into a special account to assist others in need. The funds collected through Association
Operation Round Up are used for a variety of projects, programs and items
throughout the Nodak service area. The Round Up board meets quarterly
and considers each application that has been received since the previous
meeting. It awards funds to the applicants based on how well the application
fits the original funding guidelines: 1) Individuals or families in crisis; 2)
Services – ambulance and fire; 3) Community youth needs with emphasis
on permanent benefit; 4) Scholarships with emphasis on reeducation of
displaced agricultural people; 5) Senior needs with emphasis on permanent
benefit; and 6) No requests for funding of utility and space heating energy
will be accepted. Farm Rescue
Operation Round Up is a voluntary program with roughly 60% of the
14,961 members participating. Since the program started, a total of $985,446 Kennedy
Thorsgard
has been distributed to individuals and organizations throughout the Nodak – therapy
Electric service area. services
2020 Recipient Summary of Operation Round Up
• Briton Coppdege – funds will assist with the purchase of medical equipment.
• Michael Dorsher – funds will assist with the purchase of a hospital-type bed.
• Fayme Stringer Henry – funds will help create a community garden and
orchard space where people can come together from all walks of life to Pembina
County
socialize, garden and learn self-sufficiency skills. backpack
program
• Alverna LaPorte – funds will help offset the cost of handicap renovations to
her home.
• Pembina County Backpack program – funds will help supply hungry youths
with easy-to-prepare meals and snacks for the weekend. The program is
solely funded on monetary donations.
• Alzheimer’s Association Minnesota-North Dakota – funds will help the program
offer information/resources and gain community engagement and insight
to address the needs of local community members who have Alzheimer’s
or dementia.
• Collin LaVallie – funds will assist with the cost of a handicap lift for his family Collin LaVa
llie –handi
cap lif t
vehicle.
• Clara Beaton – funds will assist with the cost of an interactive whiteboard to
help Clara interact virtually and participate in classroom group activities.
• Farm Rescue – funds will support the Farm Rescue mission of helping family
farms and ranches continue to operate after experiencing major injury,
illness or natural disaster.
• Kennedy Thorsgard – funds will assist with the cost of physical therapy
sessions.
• Valley Senior Living Foundation – funds will help purchase an Eversound
group listening system. Clara Beaton – interactive whiteboard
For a full summary of 2020 Operation Round Up recipients, please contact us.
January-February 2021 • The Nodak Neighbor 5
GREAT
REBATES
Add comfort and energy efficiency
to your home with help from
Are you wasting Nodak Electric Cooperative!
your money on Rebates are available to help you upgrade your heating and cooling system,
Dirt?
water heater and chargers for electric vehicles. Nodak Electric offers these
rebates to encourage load development, load retention and wise use of energy.
Electric heating
Heating Systems Rebate
Plenum heaters, baseboard, electric
$25/kW
furnace and hanging unit heater
Cable floor heat, electric boiler and
Dirty air filters cause a $45/kW
brick storage unit
heating and cooling system to
Mini-split or air-source heat pump $150/ton
work harder and break down
faster. Ground-source heat pump $250/ton
That’s because unfiltered
dust and grime works into Water heaters
parts, creating friction that
Electric Water Heaters Rebate
causes unnecessary wear and
eventually failure. 55 gallon or less $125
56-99 gallon $200
100 gallon or greater $300
How much does a dirty Additional rebate for new building
air filter cost you? construction
$100
• Reduced air flow in the home, Additional rebate for conversion
leading to up to 15% higher from existing natural gas or propane $250
operating costs to an electric water heater
• Leads to costly duct cleaning
or replacement
• Lowers system efficiency
Electric vehicle chargers
Electric Vehicle Chargers Rebate
To avoid these expenses, Electric vehicle (EV) $50/kW
change filters monthly when Commercial – forklifts,
your heating and cooling $50/kW
Zambonis, etc. Residential Commercial
system’s in regular use. Charger Charger
Discuss cleaning the unit
and ductwork with your heating All systems must be new equipment and controlled on Nodak’s off-peak program.
and cooling service professional.
A check will be issued to participating members after a visit from a Nodak technician.
Source: High Performance HVAC,
U.S. Department of Energy Please call our Energy Services team at 701-746-4461 or 800-732-4373
if you have any questions about off-peak or the rebate program.
6 The Nodak Neighbor • January-February 2021
Moving out? Moving in?
Check out our new online application at https://www.nodakelectric.com/start-move-or-stop-service/
January-February 2021 • The Nodak Neighbor 7
Program offers
heating
assistance
The Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
helps eligible low-income families
with home heating costs.
What the program covers Who qualifies
The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Eligibility is based on a household’s income
(LIHEAP) has been established to help qualifying to ensure help goes to those most in need. Both
low-income homeowners and renters pay for a homeowner and renter households are eligible for
portion of their primary heating costs for the winter the program. Individual tribal LIHEAP programs serve
heating season Oct. 1, 2020, through May 31, 2021. tribal members living on reservations in the state.
The assistance is based on household income, How to apply
household size, type of housing and type of fuel: Contact your local human service zone office
natural gas, electricity, propane, fuel oil, coal, wood (formerly called county social services). Go to http://
or other fuel sources. www.nd.gov/dhs/locations/countysocialserv/
The program also covers: index.html.
• Weatherization services (insulation, To find more information on LIHEAP or to request
weatherstripping around doors and windows, etc.) an application, go to http://www.nd.gov/dhs/
• Furnace cleaning, repair and replacement services/financialhelp/energyassist.html.
• Chimney cleaning and inspection Ask your county worker about other financial
• Emergency assistance opportunities.
Applications will be accepted until May 31, 2021.
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