JAMESTOWN — State and local officials went on a tour of three businesses in Jamestown on Friday, Dec. 13, that highlighted recipients of the Automate ND Grant Program.

The tour included stops at Champ Industries USA Inc., Agri-Cover Inc. and Midmach.

Champ Industries received a $240,500 grant for an automated tool-loading brake press.

“This program helped a lot,” said Kyle Johnson, plant manager at Champ Industries. “Automation is definitely something that we were going towards, and this allowed us to take the first step much sooner than we anticipated.”

Agri-Cover received a nearly $283,000 grant for robot arms and autonomous carts. Midmach received $500,000 for three robotic welding cells.

The North Dakota Development Fund received $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding for a grant program during the 2023 legislative session. The program was developed in response to the workforce shortage in North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Department of Commerce’s website.

The one-time program made grants of up to $500,000 available to primary-sector certified businesses in North Dakota. The grants could not be more than 50% of the machinery, equipment or software being purchased.

“We’ve had legislators reach out to us with interest in advancing and sponsoring a bill to run it into the future and create something or at least do another one-time funding,” said David Lehman, advanced manufacturing business development manager for the state Commerce Department.

The Automate ND Grant Program had 42 applicants with $13 million in requests in a three-month application window from 21 communities, said Shayden Akason, deputy director of economic development and finance with the state Commerce Department. He said 18 applicants were funded from 13 communities.

“It just showed the type of demand and interest that companies have in automation to help their workforce challenges,” he said. “ … The quality of those applications, we probably would have funded another dozen of them. That’s how good they were and that’s how competitive the process was.”

The state needs about 30,000 to 40,000 people to fill its workforce gap, Lehman said. He said the manufacturing sector has around 26,000 to 29,000 employees in the state.

“If you took every graduating high school student and every graduating college student, we still wouldn’t fill our workforce gap in North Dakota,” he said.

Lehman said there are three ways for the state to dig itself out of the workforce issue — improving processes, focusing on Visa workers and legal immigration to increase workforce and automation.

“If you can’t, if you can’t improve your processes, you can’t get enough people, then you have to automate it,” he said.

Lehman said automation can be difficult in the short term because the state doesn’t have a strong infrastructure for it and the upfront costs are more expensive.

“But in the long term, so North Dakota, who has consistently been in the top three lowest unemployment states since the Bakken hit, has the opportunity,” he said. “So it’s painful now, but as we automate, it should make us more productive and better.”

Akason said workforce is the No. 1 challenge to expansion and economic development in North Dakota. He said the one-time Automate ND Grant Program was created to help alleviate the workforce shortage and keep manufacturers competitive so they can maintain or expand their market share.

Masaki Ova joined The Jamestown Sun in August 2021 as a reporter. He grew up on a farm near Pingree, N.D. He majored in communications at the University of Jamestown, N.D.

HANKINSON, N.D. — Investigators are working to determine the cause of a fire at St. Philip’s Catholic Church in Hankinson, which broke out late Wednesday afternoon, Dec .16.

Fire crews from multiple agencies responded to the 114-year-old church at about 4:30 p.m. Smoke could be seen billowing from the bell tower as firefighters worked for over two and a half hours to contain the fire.

Hankinson Fire Chief Josh Lenzen said the call came in after someone noticed smoke coming from the building.

“I believe it was reported as someone driving by, seeing smoke coming from the vents in the attic area,” Lenzen said.

The church, which is undergoing a $2 million renovation, suffered smoke and structural damage. The fire appeared to originate in the attic near a stained-glass window, according to Lenzen. Crews used a ladder truck from the Wahpeton Fire Department to access the church’s roof.

“The attic area had vents that were not close-able, and some of the access areas to the top of the attic area, it’s a very steep roof, high roof, and only one access point to get into it,” Lenzen said.

Firefighters faced windy conditions, but Lenzen said wind did not play a significant role in battling the blaze.

The fire comes as the church community prepares for Christmas services. Lenzen noted that while plans are still uncertain, the congregation will have options for worship.

Crews from Hankinson, Lidgerwood, Fairmount, and Wahpeton assisted in extinguishing the fire. The North Dakota Fire Marshal’s Office is leading the investigation. More details are expected to be released Thursday, Dec. 17.

No injuries were reported.

The church was originally built in 1908, with construction finished in 1910.

Hankinson is about 64 miles south of Fargo.

Isak Dinesen joined WDAY-TV as a reporter in September 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist at WAOW-TV in Wausau, Wisconsin for three years. He graduated from NDSU in 2020, majoring in Journalism and minoring in Sports Communication at MSUM.

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong signaled a possible shakeup at the Department of Health and Human Services after his first Cabinet meeting Monday.

Armstrong appointed Dirk Wilke as interim director of the department last Wednesday and has yet to name a new state health officer. In November, Health and Human Services Commissioner Wayne Salter and State Health Officer Dr. Nizar Wehbi indicated they would not be continuing in their roles after Gov. Doug Burgum left office. 

Armstrong appoints interim Health and Human Services director

Armstrong said the state health officer role could change.

“I have some ideas on restructuring that,” said Armstrong, who took office Sunday. “When we combined Health and Human Services, we really kind of created a position that, I think, we have an opportunity to do some unique things with that.”

He said he wants to work with the Legislature to look at Health and Human Services in a post-pandemic world.

“I think there’s some opportunities that may need some legislative fixes, so I need to build some consensus on what we have for ideas for that first,” he said.

Armstrong said he plans to name a permanent director after a robust recruitment and selection process.

He also said he plans to meet with legislators in coming weeks to discuss the more than 50 property tax measures that are expected to be introduced during the legislative session. He said he wants to make sure they can get as many lawmakers as they can on the “same page” during the early weeks of the session.

“It’s a priority for the citizens of North Dakota,” Armstrong said. “It’s a priority for the administration and it will probably be the biggest change from Gov. Burgum’s budget.”

Armstrong said he wasn’t opposed to the Legislature consolidating dozens of bills surrounding property tax reform into one or two larger bills aimed at tackling the issue.

“What we can’t have is paralysis by analysis,” he said. “Eventually we’ll have to get on the same page … it needs to be the most significant relief and reform we can deliver that’s durable.”

His definition of durable, Armstrong said, means the reforms must still work even if the prices of oil and agricultural commodities drop.

He said his budget will be available on Jan. 13 and submitted to the legislative appropriations committees two days later. Armstrong will address a joint session of the Legislature on Jan. 7.

He said Lt. Gov. Michelle Strinden will be a main point of contact on K-12 education and school choice. He added he plans to sit down with Strinden to go over possible additional responsibilities in coming weeks, which could include chairing the State Investment Board.

“Michelle is going to be a huge part of this entire administration, but a lot of it is going to depend on where she feels her time is best spent,” he said.

When asked if free school lunches could become a reality for North Dakota students this year, Armstrong said he wants to tackle the property tax reforms first so he knows what that overall cost is before addressing anything else.

Members of Armstrong’s Cabinet are:

• Joe Morrissette, director of the Office of Management and Budget
• Chris Schilken, commissioner of the Department of Commerce
• Corey Mock, chief information officer of North Dakota Information Technology
• Brig. Gen. Mitchell Johnson, adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard
• Col. Daniel Haugen, superintendent of the North Dakota Highway Patrol
• Ron Henke, director of the Department of Transportation
• Pat Bertagnolli, executive director at Job Service North Dakota
• Dave Glatt, director of the Department of Environmental Quality
• Art Thompson, director of Workforce Safety & Insurance
• Colby Braun, director of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
• Jeb Williams, director of the Game and Fish Department
• Cody Schulz, director of the Parks and Recreation Department
• Lise Kruse, commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions
• Brad Hawk, executive director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission
• Andrea Travnicek, director of the Department of Water Resources
• Tim Karsky, commissioner of the Securities Department
• Dirk Wilke, interim commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services
• Reice Haase, interim commissioner of the Department of Labor and Human Rights