RLND Seminar Four took place in Bowman, ND.  The objectives of the Bowman Seminar are: to understand the value of building coalitions/partnerships, the nuances of community organization, share the understanding of The Tipping Point concepts, discuss scenario planning/planning processes and create a mission for RLND 2007-2009 Class.

Lyn James, Bowman's Mayor, opened our seminar with a welcome.  Lyn gave us insight to the Bowman community and the pride the residents have in their community...which you could see as you drove down the streets of Bowman and saw the support for the Bowman Bulldogs.  The Bowman Girl's Basketball team was playing in a tournament and the town definitely was showing its support.  She also shared with us her background and struggles she has incurred throughout her leadership roles (business owner, city commission, mayor and mother). 

Our primary presenter was David Beurle.  Mr. Beurle created Innovative Leadership Australia with the mission of bring the tools and skills to the people who care the most - the people who choose to make rural towns, centers and regions their homes.

David brought enthusiasm to the critical thinking portion of the Bowman Seminar.  His passion for engaging others to work together actively is hard to miss during his seminars.  Mr. Beurle took our class through various exercises to help us see the big picture of the world.  He gave us insight to the world's (macro) economy and how that affects our smaller/rural communities.  David led us in discussions on how the macro affects North Dakota and its communities as well as how we can collaborate with our communities and the state as a whole to overcome the challenges of change.  We discussed the drivers of change and what was implementing the changes in the world and our communities, how these changes impact our communities and what opportunities it brings.  He tied in Gladwell's The Tipping Point scenarios and what the tipping points were in certain situations.

David led a scenario planning exercise...

Mr. Beurle was very crafty at making us see everything from a different perspective and how we deal with change by having us remove our chairs and use an inflatable fitness ball as our chair for a day.  During this time he went over the characteristics and strategies of a successful community and how our communities rank with each characteristic.  The class then discussed in small groups how we can work on the strengths and weaknesses of our community. 

David's lessons gave us great insight on how to view the whole picture and to be open to other viewpoints.  His exercises will help us work with our community groups and leaders to collaborate and focus on the primary objectives of a goal...a mission.

David's final exercise with our class was to help us collaborate to develop our mission statement.  Throughout this exercise we deliberated for a couple of hours to tweak the statement to satisfy and  "fit" all of our vision.  And the final outcome was: Fueling relationships that elevate North Dakota to unprecedented opportunities in a changing world.

Ms. Ashley Andrews, Bowman County Economic Development Director, took the time to stop in and welcome us to Bowman as well.  She discussed some of her projects and the goals that she had envisioned for Bowman.  Ms. Andrews has only been the Director for a couple of months but definitely shows her pride and excitement for her hometown.

Brent Mrnak was our tour guide for the Mrnak Hereford Ranch Feedlot.    Brent and his sidekick Gus, the boxer, met us at the feedlot on an ATV.  Brent explained to us their operations.  Brent has served Vice President and director of the National Junior Hereford Association for three years.  And, his family is also very active in the local, state and national levels of the cattle industry.  Generation of Mrnaks now reside on the Mrnak Hereford Ranch.  They operate the ranch that  consists of 470 cows and farming practices that include growing wheat, corn, oats, barley and alfalfa hay for the feed.  The feed supply will help them offer back grounding, finishing and even heifer development services to commercial customers. The ranch turns out about 4000 head of cattle per year. 

Dalos Kvanvig was our host at Dakota Prairie Beef feedlot.  This is a commercial feedlot compared to the smaller feedlot of the Mrnak's Ranch.

Dalos took us to the building where their distillers are mixed and incorporated into the feed that is given to the cattle.  There is definitely a science to feeding cattle to prepare them for slaughter.

Senator Bill Bowman was generous to share his time with our group to discuss some of the challenges that Bowman County has faced with the oil activity.  Senator Bowman has been in his position since 1991.  He is the Vice President of Appropriations and sits on the Bowman County Commission as well as other duties.  The Senator has seen how oil has hurt as well as benefited the county.  The main concern in Bowman is conditions of the roads.  Oil trucks have destroyed many roads and the county cannot keep up with the maintenance and the repairs.  There just isn't enough money in the budget to improve all of them.  He explained how the money from the oil industry is distributed throughout the state and that the State is the beneficiary.  His advice for other communities dealing with similar situations was to develop a new infrastructure and a trust fund for the future and for emergencies.  Senator Bowman gave us a great education on the booming oil industry in Southwest North Dakota.   

by Nikki Wolla