The InForum Business Beat Podcast

In this week's business news rundown, host Thomas Evanella toasts Willow Larson, whose success in small-town themed mugs has gotten her big-time attention. We also learn about another beloved F-M restaurant changing hands, a first look inside downtown's new Blarney Stone and an outlook on gas prices for 2023. 00:44 A Minnesota teen's mug-design business catches on 01:43 The Shack changes hands 02:...

Fargo-Moorhead appears to be poised for another year of growth, with new real estate developments, restaurants and retail popping up all over the map. Host and business reporter Thomas Evanella is joined by Forum digital producer Kris Kerzman for a rundown of the most highly anticipated projects to come in the new year. Visit InForum to read Thomas's article about new developments in 2023: https:/...

In this week's Business Beat rundown, we hear about new locations for a pair of Moorhead establishments and new owners of the beloved Duane's House of Pizza. Plus, reporter Tammy Swift wrote about a local artist who's giving new home purchases a creative touch. Stories in this episode can be found on inforum.com: 00:42 New UPS Store: https://www.inforum.com/business/moorheads-new-ups-store-is-read...

Fargo, Grand Forks and Bismarck rank in the top five lowest unemployment for metro areas across the country, a pair of businesses that closed this year are now up for sale, and a beloved business owner died just a day after closing his doors. Host Thomas Evanella breaks down these business headlines from the last week, and more, in the final Business Beat of 2022.

A Wells Fargo branch and a soul food restaurant say their doors will close, while new offerings are in store for West Acres and Drekker. Host Thomas Evanella breaks down the week's biggest business headlines.

Between high selling prices, interest rate hikes and a tight market, prospective home buyers in our area might be thinking twice about buying a home. But it's still possible with a bit of patience, says Park Company realtor Kari Myhre. She sat down with host Thomas Evanella to give a lay of our home-buying landscape. For further information on how to best navigate our local economy, see this recen...

Join host Thomas Evanella for a rundown of our top business stories from the past week: Havoc House now open in downtown Fargo Altony's in Moorhead under new ownership Proposed $30M South University development draws pushback  Holland's relocates to former Taco Shop location Marge's Diner opens downtown for lunch crowd

Tonya Olson, the owner of Moorhead's Beauty Marks Boudoir Photography, sees boudoir photography as an expression of personal empowerment — a way in which people from all experiences, genders, sizes and stages of life celebrate their bodies and express their stories.  Reporter Tammy Swift recently reported on Olson's popular photography business and shares her insights about the story with host Tho...

With the passage of a half-cent city sales tax in the last election, Moorhead residents put a stamp of approval on a new library and community center on the site where the Moorhead Center Mall now sits. The building will be part of an ambitious redevelopment of the area that is still taking shape. The development means that businesses currently occupying the Moorhead Center Mall face an uncertain...

The North Dakota coal industry might seem like an improbable partner for the industry that makes materials for batteries for the rapidly growing electric vehicle market. But that odd-couple marriage of a legacy fossil fuels industry and the emerging sector of low carbon-emission electric vehicles helps explain why Talon Metals chose a site in Mercer County in North Dakota Coal Country for a proces...

Only after her mom encouraged her to do so, Emily Bloom of Fargo posted a video of the 'cat condo' she built inside an old TV set on TikTok. She woke up the next morning to find her whimsical work had racked up 37,000 views -- and that was just the beginning. Reporter Tammy Swift joins host Thomas Evanella to tell the story.

Among all the witches cackling, zombies groaning and banshees shrieking, you can hear the sound of cash registers ringing this Halloween season. One survey says, on average, each American consumer will spend more than $100 on Halloween. Host Thomas Evanella sat down with reporter Helmut Schmidt, who recently went around to visit a few homeowners in the area that are definitely bringing up that ave...

This week, we're debuting a slightly different format for the InForum Business Beat Podcast. Listen in as host Thomas Evanella dives deep with Applied Blockchain EVP of Hosting and Public Affairs Nick Phillips on the company's push into North Dakota. Why? How? What's next? You'll get answers to those questions and more.

A lot has changed, both seen and unseen, during the first year of operation at Fargo's Amazon Fulfillment Center. Company managers detailed the changes, from the obvious to the subtle, during a tour of the facility Tuesday morning, Oct. 4. Host and reporter Thomas Evanella learned a lot about the one-year-old facility, including why they have a lot of faux olive trees and not so many packages dest...

It's been a topsy-turvy time for restaurants over the past couple of years, but as some have continued to close due to the pandemic, work-related issues and supply chain problems, others are planning to open up. InForum Business Reporter Helmut Schmidt joins host Thomas Evanella for a look at what locals can expect. 

Applied Blockchain broke ground on a nearly $100 million, 180 megawatt high-performance computing center Thursday, Sept. 8 in Ellendale, North Dakota. The groundbreaking in Ellendale closely follows the opening of a similar facility in Jamestown, which went online earlier in 2022. What brought the Texas company to North Dakota, and how do locals feel about this new facility? Host Thomas Evanella b...

John D. Peterson and his business partner, Art Weidner, own Mainline Hops Farm located near Sabin, Minn., and have supplied hops to a handful of small breweries in the region, including Junkyard Brewing and Revelation Ale Works.  Peterson joins host Thomas Evanella to discuss the business of growing hops, the peaceful joy of operating a hobby farm, and his desire to see a beer made entirely from i...

A new small business is offering a slice of the West Coast in downtown Fargo. Ninja Skate and Versatile Outlets opened at 413 Broadway on Monday, Aug. 22. Shop owner Angie Granheim, who grew up as a teenager in Fargo before spending a decade in Los Angeles, said her goal was to bring a piece of California culture back to the Midwest. Reporter and host Thomas Evanella talks about the new shop and h...

Across the country, housing market conditions are "unlike anything the industry has ever seen." In Fargo-Moorhead and the surrounding area, construction costs more than doubled from 2020 to 2021. Buyers are undeterred. The story behind how the local housing market is plowing ahead despite national challenges.

Nationwide, entrepreneurship is on the rise. Since the start of the pandemic, millions of Americans have left their corporate jobs in favor of something more flexible and something that fuels their passions. Women are at the center of that surge, and Fergus Falls — a community of around 13,000 people just a 45-minute drive from Fargo-Moorhead — exemplifies the trend. Forum Communications Chief Con...

Many families struggle with watching a parent or grandparent lose their ability to drive safely. When should they decide to take the keys? Reporter Tammy Swift talks with host Thomas Evanella about a recent story profiling Joy Tandberg of Dak-Minn Driving and Home Evaluations, LLC. Tandberg works with people whose driving has been affected by factors like age, injury or progressive disease and hel...

We've all heard the horror stories about flights delayed for days and consumer money lost as airlines scramble to regain their footing following the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic. It might make you a little shy to pull the trigger on your next big vacation. But it's not all bad, says Kyle Potter, executive editor for The Thrifty Traveler, and there are plenty of steps you can take to make su...

We've seen hemp used in a variety of products like lotions and foodstuffs, but a Fargo company is promoting something different: hemp as a construction material. The company, Grass Roots Development, recently built two tiny houses to help demonstrate and study the benefits of "hempcrete," a product made by mixing hemp fibers with lime and water. Hempcrete is about the consistency of chicken salad...

Bee Fresh Bin Sanitation officially kicked off on May 31, the last day of school. Since then, the fluorescent yellow-and-black trailer can be spotted buzzing around the metro area to rinse, power-wash, disinfect and deodorize garbage receptacles around the F-M area. Keith Urlacher of Bee Fresh joins host Thomas Evanella to talk about the dirty business of bin cleaning.

Dot Henke was a small town woman living in Velva, North Dakota. A farm girl from the start, Henke knew some things about hard work. Find out how this notoriously low-key, media-shy, down-to-earth Midwestern woman turned her pretzel recipe into a mind-blowing business deal that ended in a $1.2 billion sale.