The food scene in the Fargo-Moorhead area remained red hot in the first half of 2023. It's a lot of news to have our plates, but we can always find room for one more bite.

Host Thomas Evanella and reporter Helmut Schmidt tuck in their bibs and dig into the last busy few months in restaurant openings, closings and other changes on this episode of the Business Beat podcast.

Big things are happening in small towns across our region, flying in the face of expectations that rural communities have nothing to offer in a modern economy.

Reporter Tammy Swift has been documenting these success stories through her recent reporting. In this episode, she joins host Thomas Evanella to discuss how Halstad, Minn., population 579, is transforming its now-defunct high school into a multi-use facility with spaces for business and housing.

National Small Business week is taking place this week, having started on Sunday, April 30 and concluding on Saturday, May 6.

To recognize the impact small businesses have on the Fargo-Moorhead area, we invited Del Carver, co-chair of Prairie and Lakes SCORE onto to InForum Business Beat Podcast. SCORE is an organization of volunteer mentors that help entrepreneurs and small business owners by offering advice and ideas.

Carver is familiar with the challenges that small businesses face, but during his time with SCORE, he’s also had an up-close-and-personal look at many small business success stories. Included on that list are Uncle Charlie’s Gourmet Snacks and Vanna Adventure Vans, two businesses Forum readers are familiar with.

Hear from Carver as he explains what small businesses bring to the table in our cities and what consumers should know about the life of a small business owner.

 

In this episode, we round out our series of interviews with area real estate professionals for their take on recent news that home sales fell in Fargo-Moorhead. We talk to West Fargo City Assessor Nick Lee for insight into how shifts in the housing market play into how the city operates.

With recent news that home sales fell year-over-year in Fargo-Moorhead by 20%, we've asked several real estate professionals in the area to help us put that number into perspective. In this episode we talk to David Reid, president of the Home Builders Association of Fargo-Moorhead, to tell us what he's seeing from the vantage point of new home builders.

Recent data from the Fargo-Moorhead Area Association of Realtors shows that metro home sales fell roughly 20% this year compared to last year. The numbers were a bit of a surprise to Amber Carlton, president of the group. She joins host Thomas Evanella to help put that figure into context..

Even before its opening on March 17, Brewhalla was an eagerly anticipated Fargo attraction, and excitement hasn't abated much since its heavy doors swung open.

The 100,000 square-foot facility hosts a variety of dining and retail options, event space and a soon-to-be-open hotel, and it all adjoins the existing Drekker Brewing facility to create, as the Brewhalla folks call it, a "good times factory."

Drekker Brewing President Mark Bjornstad took us on a tour of Brewhalla and sat down for an in-depth interview, talking about their passion-driven approach to the Brewhalla project and their desire to make Fargo the coolest, weirdest place to be.

 

The man known as “Mr. Wonderful” said that North Dakota is a standout destination for investors. Meanwhile, he said he “would never headquarter a business” in Minnesota and that Moorhead “looks like Cuba.”

Real-world trials consistently arrive at the same conclusion: shorter work weeks are good for employees and employers. Does that mean it would work for every sector or every type of job?

Host Thomas Evanella talks with Krista Lynn Minnotte, a sociology professor at the University of North Dakota, about the latest research on four-day weeks, which are receiving a phenomenal amount of media attention.

Farming is often seen as a local, rural endeavor, the domain of our small towns and the vast stretches of land in between, but that can't be further from the truth. Ag is a global business that faces global issues like war in Ukraine, supply chain interruptions and the volatility of international markets.

How do producers across our region remain competitive in the face of it all? Reporter Thomas Evanella talks with Randy Martinson, founder of Martinson Ag Risk Management, about the headwinds our producers face and the advantages that our region gives them.