Communities Receive Grant to Develop Leadership

Three communities in North Dakota will develop and implement leadership development programs with help from the St. Paul-based Northwest Area Foundation.

The North Dakota State University Extension Service will receive $330,000 from the Foundation to help Ashley, N.D., Ellendale, N.D., and Eureka, S.D. develop programs in their communities. Grafton, N.D., also is involved in the project along with Bagley, Minn., and Red Lake Falls, Minn. Those communities will be served by the University of Minnesota Extension Service.

The program that NDSU will use was developed by a team of leadership professionals and the Pew Foundation. Grant funds will cover expenses for child care, transportation and educational leadership resources as well as some salary for the coordinator and the local leader.

The towns are among 15 small, rural communities that will pilot a new leadership development program designed to help reverse economic and population declines, according to Jean Burkhardt, head of the Northwest Area Foundation’s Horizons leadership development program. The communities are located in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Oregon.

The communities and the organizations that will help them develop and implement the programs will receive $1.7 million. The pilot phase of the program is scheduled to last for 18 months. During the next two years, the Northwest Area Foundation plans to expand the program to 40 communities with a total investment of more than $4 million.

"Studies show that small communities, even if they are distant from larger population centers, can thrive if they have a strong leadership system," explains Northwest Area Foundation President Karl Stauber. "Our aim is to help rural communities strengthen their systems in order to reduce poverty for the long term."

"This partnership with the foundation strengthens our ability to work with local communities to build leadership capacity," says Karen Zotz, assistant director of the NDSU Extension Service. She noted that local communities were instrumental in developing the proposal and offering suggestions for program delivery. Local advisory groups will direct the work.

Gene Elhard, NDSU Extension Service agent in Dickey County will lead the project in Ashley, Ellendale and Eureka. He will draw on expertise from the communities and from the NDSU and South Dakota State University extension services. Lynette Flage, a communications specialist in Pembina County will coordinate the NDSU Extension Service’s participation in the project.

"Just in going through the application process we’ve seen leadership growth in our communities and we are very pleased to continue in the program," Elhard says.

"This area of the state faces an aging population and the out-migration of its young people," Zotz notes. "By building the leadership capacity of individuals within those communities, we can strengthen the community ownership which will draw young people back. Building leadership capacity will also provide opportunities for mentoring and coaching young people as they develop into the next generation of leaders."

The Northwest Area Foundation helps communities reduce poverty in its eight-state region: Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. These states were served by the Great Northern Railway, founded by James J. Hill. In 1934, Hill’s son, Louis W. Hill established the foundation. The Foundation has approximately $367.67 million in assets.

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Sources: Karen Zotz, (701) 231-9688, hdfndir@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Gene Elhard, (701) 349-3249, eelhard@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

Community Contacts

Becky J Meidinger
Ashley, ND
(701) 288-3275 ext 21
becky@techlink-nd.com

Wanda Jundt
Eureka, SD
(605) 284-2130
ecdc@valleytel.net

Monica Peldo
Ellendale, ND
(701) 349-3450
peldo@drtel.net

Bagley – Grafton – Red Lake Falls

Ann Beck
Bagley, MN
(218) 694-3232
a_beck@yahoo.com

Brian Lunski
Grafton, ND
(701) 352-1561
blunski@graftongov.com

Allen Ducharme
Red Lake Falls, MN
(218) 253-2684
ducharme@gvtel.com