The Wahpeton Community Development Corporation (CDC) held its annual Meeting on Monday, March 11, at City Brew Hall in downtown Wahpeton. The event featured many speakers, headlined by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.
The governor credited North Dakota’s ability to work together and not “talk about each other,” but rather “get things done.”
“The best in America is right here,” Burgum said. “Everybody is working together for this community.”
A quick look around the room saw Senator Larry Luick and Representative Alisa Mitskog, North Dakota State College of Science President Dr. Rod Flanagan, and countless business leaders from the private and public sector in the southern valley in attendance.
“We’ve got a lot of good things going on in North Dakota,” Burgum said. “In 2005, we were the only state that was smaller in population than we were in 1980. Forty nine states grew and one shrank … but here we are, we’re experiencing record growth.”
Burgum lauded the state for being a consistent top-three finisher among happiest states and best places to work. North Dakota also leads the entire nation in terms of broadband access, Burgum said.
From police efforts to keep Wahpeton safe, to state-of-the-art education at NDSCS, Burgum praised the direction Wahpeton is headed. Speaking in the nostalgic upper level of City Brew Hall, Burgum described Wahpeton as an attractive location for a growing workforce.
“I turned around, and there was an electrical box painted with art work. People see that when they’re deciding on a place to live — the small things. A building like this, people see that.”
Richland-Wilkin County Joint Powers Authority (JPA) Chairman Nathan Berseth discussed growth in housing. In 2018, the CDC purchased 130 acres of land for future development. That development is here, Berseth said, in addition to purchases of more land on the horizon.
“To date, 55 homes have been built, are under construction or being built in both counties,” Berseth said. “We’re excited to announce the purchase of 130 additional acres on Thursday.”
Carter Hansen of ComDel Innovation spoke about the company’s major business dealings in multiple industries, making a big economic impact in Wahpeton.
“We do work for 5 of the top 10 largest medical companies in the world,” Hansen said. “All of those dollars are flowing into (Wahpeton) from other places.”
ComDel once had 60 employees. The Wahpeton manufacturer has over 300 today. Hansen credited the company’s ability to keep operating during the COVID-19 pandemic as a key to its success and sustainability.
“The approach that governor Burgum took on keeping the businesses open was key for us,” Hansen said.
Hansen also highlighted the addition of Ukrainian immigrants into the ComDel workforce.
“Jim Albrecht (ComDel) was at the forefront of linking up with a program which brought Ukranian immigrants to the United States,” Hansen said. “Today, we have 36 of those workers in town, 27 working for ComDel, nine children in the school system — and 50 pending invitations we’re waiting to receive approval on.”
Hansen said the growth of available housing in Wahpeton is a major benefit to this program.
“Affordable housing is a big deal. It will continue to be in order to get people here and to keep people here,” Hansen said. “To keep our company going and our workforce strong, we need to keep who we’ve got — which includes the immigrants we’ve brought over — helping them stay longer if they want to, and continuing to bring in more people from the region.”
Jason Strobbe, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Vaderstad, which is erecting its North American Headquarters west of Wahpeton, moved to Wahpeton from Canada and is working on immigrating into the U.S. legally.
“We’re very proud to be a part of the Wahpeton community,” Strobbe said. “In terms of agriculture, North Dakota is a very centralized, great place to do business.”
Strobbe said that while it was clear Wil-Rich, which was purchased by Vaderstad, has long held a presence in the community, the company had changed hands many times and lacked investments in technology and other areas. He vowed to grow roots with Vaderstad in Wahpeton, improving working conditions and investing in the community.
“We wanna be here a long time, we’re not going anywhere,” Strobbe said. “We look to invest in our dealers, customers and our people.”
Wahpeton Community Development Corporation mission statement: “Provide strategic leadership in community economic development policies, programs, and projects within the City of Wahpeton and greater Wahpeton area.”