Dave Molmen receives Grand Forks-East Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce's Havig Award

Jan. 25—GRAND FORKS — Dave Molmen, credited as the principal person behind the merger that created Altru Health System, was awarded the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce's Henry Havig Award at the organization's annual meeting and banquet Thursday evening at the Alerus Center.

Molmen helped facilitate the merger of United Hospital and the Grand Forks Clinic to create Altru Health System in 1997. He directed hospital operations through the Flood of 1997 and recovery afterward. He also came out of retirement to once again lead Altru as it navigated the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I don't know what to say other than 'thank you,'" Molmen said upon accepting the award. "This is the most important recognition I can think of and I never for a moment imagined this."

Molmen received the award in front of what was called a record crowd at the annual event, which also featured an appearance by Kevin O'Leary, an entrepreneur and star of the television show "Shark Tank."

"I want to say thank you to you, as the chamber, and as a community for your generosity. What a privilege it has been for me to work alongside you for these many years and try to make this a better community," Molmen said. "I've had the opportunity to work with you all these years and each time had the best generosity, multiplied over and over again."

Molmen also co-chaired the team that studied and negotiated the merger of the Grand Forks and East Grand Forks Chambers of Commerce and was chair of the UND School of Medicine and Health Science Advisory Council, where he and UND Medical School Dean Josh Wynne helped secure $220 million in funding from the state for the construction of a new building for the school.

Molmen was presented with the Grand Forks Economic Development Corporation's Klaus Thiessen Impact Award in 2023.

Thursday's keynote speaker was O'Leary, a Canada-born businessman and star on the popular TV show "Shark Tank." Although he was expected to participate in several events Friday in Grand Forks, his appearance at Thursday's banquet was something of a surprise to attendees — despite his name being printed in the event's program as a speaker.

When he took the stage, he was met with enthusiastic applause, which was repeated as he spoke about his disappointment in federal funding for small businesses and what he sees in North Dakota's business climate.

On the former, he noted that in the U.S., some 62% of jobs are created by small businesses — those with between five and 50 employees. Yet he doesn't feel federal aid programs recognize the importance of providing funding — and thus stability and further job creation — for those companies.

"(Small businesses) are the economy. There is no American economy without small business," O'Leary said. "I'm very fortunate to have a huge megaphone, and I'm not scared to tell the truth."

O'Leary also said there's a lot of opportunity in North Dakota and Grand Forks for growth between the rise of remote work and new industries moving to the state.

"Let's start telling the story of North Dakota. It's not just oil and gas. It's way more than that," O'Leary said. "It's biosciences, it's (artificial intelligence), it's drone technology. ... Nobody knows the story. I've been totally committed to pushing yourself because it's the right thing to, so let's go kick some (rear-end)."

The Chamber welcomed its new executive board chair, Tony Hodny from H&S Electrical Service. Hodny takes over for Russel Crary from Crary Real Estate. Hodny said the community has the momentum to continue to succeed.

"As we look ahead to 2024, our theme is 'embrace change, drive momentum and champion growth'," Hodny said. "The chamber and our communities have momentum; we've worked hard to get here and let's continue to focus on future opportunities."

Hodny also said the Chamber is against the elimination of property tax. A campaign to get a constitutional amendment on the November ballot is underway. The provision would stop local governments from taxing properties based on assessed value.

During the meeting, panels on bioscience, facilitated by Altru CEO Todd Forkel, and cyber and artificial intelligence, facilitated by UND President Andy Armacost, were held.

The bioscience panel touted the growth and support given to the biosciences in the state.

"Both our state and city leaders have pivoted to be part of this new and expanding market," said bioscience panelist Richard Glynn, executive director of the Bioscience Association of North Dakota. "North Dakota and Grand Forks are making themselves into thriving hubs for biomedical business supported by an ecosystem of funding opportunities, cutting edge research, and an environment that fosters collaboration and growth."

Joe Vacek, of SafetySpect, used a farming metaphor to say it's important to be good stewards of the rising business climate in the state.

"We have a lot of dirt. It's good dirt. We can grow a lot of things here and that works because of the ingredients in it," he said. "The ingredients that we have for business in our state and city are like that good dirt. We have to make sure, just like farmers are good stewards if they want good crops, to keep your balances right."

The cyber and artificial intelligence panel focused on the future of artificial intelligence in the workplace and the benefits it can bring.

"I think staying educated is the hardest part, because it's all around us," said panelist Josh Riedy, founder and CEO of Thread, a company that digitizes critical infrastructure. "Begin to embrace it at your own pace, and get a feel for what it does but also what it does not do."

Ryan Adams, associate dean for national security, College of Engineering and Mines, UND, said "when we look at AI, we have to look at it in the eye of safety but also fairness and equity. We have to be concerned that AI benefits everyone, equally, and not just a select few."

Wrapping his tenure as 2023 chamber executive board chair, Crary said the state of the Chamber is strong.

"The Chamber is the largest business organization in the region. We have over 1,000 members, and we are very financially healthy," Crary said. "My sincere thanks to each of you for all you do for a strong Chamber and strong community."

The Henry Havig Award has been given since 1977. The all-time winners, and the year for which they were awarded, are: Charles Goodman, 1977; Hugo Magnuson, 1978; Edward Lander, 1979; Thomas Clifford, 1980; Lawrence Bue, 1981; Harry Rice, 1982;

Jean Kiesau,

1983; Clarence Sande, 1984; Edward Christenson, 1985; Don Miller, 1986; Ray Bostrom, 1987;

Richard Fiala,

1988; Richard Wold, 1989; James Dalglish, 1990; Don Lindgren, 1991;

Earl Strinden,

1992; Thomas McElroy Jr., 1993; John Marshall, 1994;

Curt Magnuson,

1995; Patrick Dooley, 1996; James Gjerset, 1997;

Ken Towers,

1998; Don Larsen, 1999;

Walter Swingen,

2000;

Hal Gershman,

2001;

Robert Kerr,

2002;

Marlan Helgeson,

2003;

Bob Peabody,

2004;

Greg Gerloff,

2005;

Randy Newman,

2006;

Dr. Robert Boyd,

2007;

Dave McFarlane,

2008;

Gordon Caldis

and Gerry Joyce, 2009;

Don Fisk,

2010;

Wes Rydell,

2011;

Judi Paukert,

2012;

Henry Tweten,

2013;

Jim Hansen,

2014;

Duane Hafner,

2015;

Marijo Shide,

2016;

Lonnie Laffen,

2017; James R. Bradshaw, 2018; Kristi Magnuson Nelson, 2019; Ray Holmberg, 2020; Greg Opp, 2021; Curt Kreun, 2022.

The Herald's Korrie Wenzel contributed to this report.