Tag: Business

‘REAL’ CHRISTMAS: Tradition, ‘the smell’ keep holiday shoppers coming back for live trees

John Kempenich and his daughter, Lexi, of Dickinson, check to see if the Christmas tree they picked out at the Dickinson State University Rodeo Club’s sale on Wednesday evening at the DSU Ag Building is the one they want.

For John Kempenich, it’s about tradition, family and, of course, the smell.

Kempenich spent several minutes Wednesday night at the Dickinson State University Agriculture Building carefully examining the fir trees lining the walls until he found one that caught his eye.

He fluffed the tree and inspected it some more. After seeking the advice of his daughters, who each performed the same meticulous study of the tree, the decision was made. The Kempenich family had found their Christmas tree.

They have been coming to DSU to pick out a Christmas tree sold as a fundraiser by the university’s rodeo club since before their 18-year-old daughter Lexi was born.

“It’s just one of them things that you like — that smell and the familiness of coming together and picking out a tree for the year,” Kempenich said as the smile on his face grew.
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Just another Black Friday: Stores take ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach anticipating deal hunters

Rachelle Bliss, left, helps customer Janel Ladbury of Dickinson on Friday afternoon at Ace Hardware at the T-Rex Plaza.

Stores take ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach anticipating deal hunters

Customers flooded Dickinson stores Thursday night and throughout the day Friday, hunting for deals and officially kicking off the holiday shopping season. Yet, store managers in a city known for having employee shortcomings said they were able to keep pace well, despite hectic instances. “This is our all-hands-on-deck thing,” Herbergers store manager Sarah Molnar said. “This is our year right here. So basically, we’re all here.”

Herbergers was the first retail store other than Walmart to open on Thanksgiving Day, starting its deals at 6 p.m. It stayed open through the night and, by 3 p.m. Friday, still had customers waiting in long lines at service counters waiting to pay for the deals they’d discovered.

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Sears’ new manager gears up for holidays: Ownership, location change hasn’t slowed appliance dealer

Sears Manager Kyle Gengler, left, and his sister-in-law and employee Tanya Jo Keck discuss appliances with a customer at Sears in Dickinson on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Gengler took over management of Sears, which is owned by his stepfather. On the cover, Gengler stands in front of the Sears sign on the T-Rex Plaza off Third Avenue West. The store relocated after spending several years in a stand-alone store west of the Prairie Hills Mall.

Kyle Gengler knows he is starting his job at a busy time.

Not only is the Dickinson retail business booming, the holidays just happen to be right around the corner.

Last Tuesday morning, shortly after opening at 9 a.m., customers and looky loos started trickling in to the new Sears location in the T-Rex Plaza. Some shopped for tools — the people who knew exactly what they needed — while others browsed appliances and sale items.

“I’m already sitting here and gearing up for next week,” Gengler said as he sat behind the store’s computer, taking a break in between customer questions and shoring up his delivery driver’s morning itinerary.

Gengler is the new manager of Sears, which relocated to the T-Rex Plaza earlier this fall. The store is now owned by Gengler’s stepfather, Dale Keck.
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JLG Architects sets up shop in downtown Dickinson

JLG Architects branch manager Rob Remark works Oct. 31 at his makeshift desk in his temporary offi ce in the first floor of the historic Elks Building in downtown Dickinson. The space is still under construction and Remark is the firm’s lone Dickinson employee, at least for the moment.

Rob Remark is a lonely soul. At least for the time being.

“We’re moving,” he said as he smiled and sat down in his barren, temporary office on the first floor of the historic Elks Building in downtown Dickinson.

For now, Remark’s desk is a folding table, and his conference table is the kind you play cards at. He doesn’t have anything on the walls. In the area that will become his office, there are two large, antiquated restroom urinals — among other junk — in the process of being removed from the building.

None of that has stopped Remark — the manager and, for now, the lone employee of JLG Architects’ newest branch — and his firm from making inroads in his new community.

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At 125, state remembers where it has been, wonders where its going

At 125, state remembers where it has been, wonders where its going

Growing up, my favorite class was always history. If there was one class that I actually paid attention in, it was Mike Schatz’s history and government classes at New England High School. (Except for that one time when I dozed off during a movie day. But, c’mon, who didn’t do that in history class at least once?)

As eighth-graders, Schatz taught one semester of North Dakota history and government. It was longer than the required minimum set by the state, but he was the type of teacher who felt that North Dakota kids should take time to learn more about their state rather than something that happened 1,000 years ago in a European country that no longer exists.

That class still resonates with me today. Ask my California-born and Montana-raised wife what I’m most proud of and she’ll say, “Being a North Dakotan.”

Today, North Dakota celebrates its 125th birthday as a state. It’s a time to look back at where we’ve been and where we’re going.

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