(light-hearted music) - Hello, and welcome to "Prairie Pulse."

Coming up a little bit later in the show, we'll meet Dilworth, Minnesota indigenous artists, Christy Goulet.

But first, joining me now, our guest is the President of the Board of Directors of the North Dakota League of Cities, Todd Feland.

Todd, thanks for joining us today.

- Well, thanks for having me.

- As we get started, tell the folks a little bit about yourself, maybe your background.

- Sure.

Well, I'm a proud North Dakotan.

I grew up in Mandan, North Dakota, so I am, I'm a (indistinct).

And now I work for the City of Grand Forks, and I've been there for a couple decades now.

I work for the City of Grand Forks currently as a city administrator.

I've been there as a city administrator for 10 plus years, and prior to that I was a Public Works director for 12 years.

And so I've had a long tenure at the City of Grand Forks, sometimes thriving and sometimes surviving, but I've worked a long time in local government, which I have a lot of passion and love for.

And I really started at the City of Grand Forks after the flood.

And that's how I got my start there.

And I've had a really great career, and lots of love for Grand Forks and local government.

- Okay.

Well, today we're here to talk about your job on the North Dakota League of Cities.

So what, tell us a little bit about how being selected as the new, as the president, and how did, how did that come about?

- Sure.

Well, you know, we have a terrific board, and the board is made up of the various regions.

We have six regions throughout the state, from north, to south, the east to west, small cities, larger cities.

And, you know, over the last several years, I've served on the board, and eventually made my way to become the president.

So you gotta get nominated, and then at the annual meeting you get voted in.

And so I did conclude somebody's previous term.

And then in September I got another full one year term.

So, it's a terrific board made up of various cities across the state, and also elected and appointed leaders throughout the state.

- Well, for those watching, listening, what is the North Dakota League of Cities?

- Well, the North Dakota League of Cities really we're intent to, it's a nonprofit representing cities across the state.

You know, we're made up of, I think over 350 cities.

The other thing is that we also have park districts.

So, within city government, we also have park districts.

And really we're in intended to represent cities, park districts, provide educational opportunities, and just provide general representation, research and development for cities across the state of North Dakota.

- Yeah.

So when was it founded?

Sort of, what are the origins origins of it?

- Well, that was a great question.

You know, I had to look up that myself, but, you know, we were founded in 1912, in September of that year.

The first meeting was in Grand Forks that year.

And, you know, it's hard to believe 1912, pre-World War II, and World War I.

And so we've had a long founding of over a hundred years.

And, it's interesting to note, at the first meeting, you know, as I say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Really, the intent of the League of City being formed was to have a unified voice, and also for information sharing, from large cities to smaller cities.

And so, as we look at what we're doing today at the League of Cities, it's almost the same of what we've done, what we said we would do it in 1912.

So I suspect if we're here a hundred years from now, we will probably wanna have a unified voice, and communicate, and share information across the state of North Dakota.

- Well, now, I've been told and understand, implementing a a strategic plan is a big goal for you.

Is, is that correct?

And if so, tell us about it.

- Sure.

Well, you know, we have a new executive director, relatively new, in Matt Gardner, he came from the state chamber.

And so he's really reinvigorated cities across the state and our board.

And so, we really want to further ensure our success.

And we have lots of momentum at the League of Cities.

And so we really want to empower local leadership.

We want to continue to thrive as an organization, and really enhance our educational opportunities, and our advocacy throughout the state of North Dakota on behalf of cities.

So we're really engaged in that.

Some of the specific things we're doing right now, we have elections coming up in June, local elections are held in June, so we're gearing up for that.

Both for appointed and elected officials, as we move forward, and to really try and enhance our educational opportunities.

And then finally, you know, next year will be a legislative session, so we're gonna gear up for some advocacy, and continue to monitor interim committees, and really get engaged with looking forward to that January of '25, and new session, and make sure that we're all engaged with our state elected officials, in what we're doing as city governments.

- Yeah, well, there's always challenges for any organization, but as I think about North Dakota, and of course your bigger cities, smaller cities, let's start with, are the biggest challenges for the bigger cities, the larger populated areas?

- You know, if you look at, you know, a lot of our challenges in North Dakota are similar probably to Anytown USA.

You know, we have challenges with infrastructure, public safety, workforce development.

And anyone, I say workforce development, that includes childcare, and all the things that we're working on, challenges with, you know, mental health, homelessness.

And when you work in city government, you know, you're really closest to the people, you're closest to the issues, and we have to face those, all those particular issues.

And I think if you look at large and small cities, you know, it's probably more of a gradation of what they are.

I think smaller cities have those same issues.

And we're really fortunate as local government that we have such a great partner in the state of North Dakota.

And all those things I just mentioned from infrastructure to public safety, to workforce development, to homelessness, those are all partnered solutions that we're working on with the state of North Dakota, whether that's with the governor's office, or state agencies, or the North Dakota legislature, really are, have a great partnership in trying to find solutions in all those areas.

- Yeah.

Now you may have been talking about all cities there, because smaller cities have some of those same issues I know, but what about the smaller towns?

What are their challenges?

What are they facing?

- As I mentioned, I think they have similar issues to us, but I think they have more specific issues regarding, you know, how do they attract workforce, how do they retain workforce, how can they find childcare, how can they keep economic development going?

And you know, if you look at some of the larger cities whether there's Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot, we certainly have some advantages to the smaller communities because we have more of a wherewithal, we have more resources.

And that's the power of the League of Cities is that we really wanna share and help all cities throughout the state.

But because something will happen at this, at a local government that's smaller, you know, maybe a grocery store is really important, maybe a convenience store is really important to maintain resilience in their community and some enhancements, whereas a larger city, you know, those aren't gonna be top of mind issues.

So we really, as a part of a league, have to understand larger cities, medium cities, and smaller city, and what their needs are, so that we're meeting the needs for all communities throughout the state.

- Yeah.

So what are the, some of the services that you provide to these cities?

- Number one, you know, we wanna advocate on behalf of cities and really let state government and our other stakeholders know what's going on with the various communities.

We wanna, the other large thing is education.

And a lot of our communities really relying upon the league of delivering training, educational assistance.

And then finally, you know, really being a resource a day-to-day resource.

Whether it's policy development, researching various things that are going on, that's really intended on the league.

And I think we have lots of positive, we've received lots of positive reinforcement from communities across the state that we're doing a good job.

But as again, as part of our strategic plan, we wanna make sure we're really enhancing that, because, you know, we have workforce challenges throughout the state of North Dakota, and in our cities.

And really the league needs to be that glue to keep our communities engaged.

And from leadership, enhanced with advocacy, and really educated, and 'cause we want everyone to succeed in North Dakota.

- Is everybody, every city automatically a member?

How did they become a member of the North Dakota League of cities?

- You have to ask to be a member, and you know, there is a fee to be a membership.

We're our membership, largely a membership driven organization, and that's how we pay the bills, and do all the various programming, and advocacy, and research and development.

But you know, we have most of the cities, and North Dakota are involved.

And that's why we have, you know, over 350 cities.

And that means it's just not the Fargos, and Grand Forks, and Minot.

There's lots of smaller cities that really make up the league, and are the strength of the League of Cities of North Dakota.

- Yeah, I understand that you have an upcoming spring workshop.

Can you tell us about that?

- We do, we have a spring workshop, and this year it's gonna be in Minot.

And we're really gonna focus on, I would say really the glue of a lot.

Most cities are the city auditors, so there's gonna be a lot of discussion on city finances and all the things that city auditors do to keep cities moving, from budgeting, to reporting, to running elections, to all the things that they do.

So there's gonna be some intensive workshops on that just to make sure we keep, you know, city halls functioning very well throughout the state.

And then the other part is the elected officials are gonna just do some elected of official training.

And you know, how best you can do to be a really effective elected official.

And so those will be well timed in advance of, of our June elections.

And, so we're trying to do both, you know, the day-to-day operation of our city auditors, and also the elected officials that really provide the policy direction in our communities.

- Yeah.

What about, can you talk about "If Our Mayor" essay contest?

- Yes.

What's that about?

Who are you targeting?

Who are you asking to write these essays?

- Well, it's for third and seventh graders.

We almost get a thousand students that submit essays.

For both third and seventh, I think we had over well over 60 schools that participated.

And really, you know, as part of our educational engagement, we, most kids who grew up to be adults, they're gonna live in cities.

And that's really gonna be their first touch with government.

And we wanna make sure we capture that early.

And part of the essay is, you know, what makes their city great, and if they were mayor, what would they do to enhance and make their cities better?

And so really trying to engage young people, along the way, and get them involved in city government, have them a better, have a better understanding in their communities.

Because like I said, you know, most of these students are gonna grow up and be in involved cities, and they're gonna be most engaged in their communities and trying to make them better, and will have the most touch with city government.

- Okay.

You talked about your full-time job there in Grand Forks, and city government, I guess takes up a lot of your time, but do you have the opportunity to go out and visit with other cities and talk with them, and see what they're all about?

- We do.

You know, number one, we have a diverse board, as I mentioned.

You know, six regions throughout the state, from small cities to larger cities.

So we have a really great board.

The other thing that we do, we mentioned the spring workshop that we're gonna do in Minot.

We have an annual conference every September two.

This year it's going to be in Grand Forks, and the city that I work in.

And, but in June we're gonna be having, you know, six sessions throughout the various regions.

And really engaging the various regions regarding what's going on in their communities, things that we can do to improve the League of Cities, and really also gearing up for the upcoming legislative session.

By June, we'll have had elections.

And so really engaging us moving forward through the balance of the year.

And so it'll be great to get out, to see the various regions and communities.

And they'll be hosted in, you know, regional communities in these six areas.

But obviously we will get cities throughout the various regions, and hopefully get a really great snapshot of what's going on throughout the state of North Dakota.

- You mentioned the executive director, I believe, Matt Gardner.

How many staff do you have with the League of Cities?

- We have four staff members.

So we have a small but mighty and terrific staff.

You know, Matt is our relatively new executive director, came from the state chamber, and has really moved us forward, been a great partner with other stakeholder groups, and really has, really moved the organization, continued forward, so that's been great.

We have, we have a Deputy Director, in Stephanie Dassinger Engebretson, and she's also our staff attorney.

So we're really fortunate not only to have a deputy director, but she's our staff attorney.

And when you view work with various cities, you know, a lot of cities don't have city attorneys.

And so she's really relied upon to provide assistance and guidance throughout the state of North Dakota.

She's been really great.

We have a lady named Carissa Richter, who's our membership manager, and really is the go-to person to get things done in the organization, and has been there for some time and is terrific.

And then we have Jennifer Makelkey, who's our communications and educational manager.

So those are the four folks that get a lot of things done.

We do have an engaged board, and so we, I would say we have more of a working board too, and that's important, especially when you have four staff.

The office is located in Bismarck, is where the league's office is, and is really a great center point, and with a great staff.

And we do a lot of things with four members, so we're really fortunate to have the people we do.

- Mm-hmm.

So, you know, what about North Dakota's economic climate, you know, what's it like in your opinion, I guess?

I'll- - I think really, we're on a time high.

And if you look back to the pandemic and all the doubt that we had in our country and our state, and you know, to be frank, in our world, and you know, north Dakota's performed very well through the pandemic, and I think that helped us get out the pandemic.

And if you look at where we're at economically, you know, gaining in population, I think we have a new record of population, and most of that population is in cities, which really is the economic driver of the state of North Dakota.

Most of the people in North Dakota live in cities.

And then the other thing is, you know, one of the indicators of economic health is our sales taxes is growing, growing in, throughout the state of North Dakota, growing in our cities.

And it shows that we really are thriving now coming out of this pandemic, and all the investments that we made in cities, and partnering with the state really has paid off, is 'cause we've really created a lot of momentum in our state.

We've diversified our economy, and I dare say that really the strength of the state of North Dakota is cities, and because that's where a lot of the act economic activity is taking place in North Dakota, and we're really proud to represent cities.

- What kind of city awards are given out each year?

I understand you do some of that.

- We do, yep.

We recognize both appointed and elected officials.

So, you know, appointed official would be, a lot of times, you know, a local city auditor who's been there for some time and done great work.

They get recognized.

Elected officials that have served, and given so much of their time and energy, and talent, get recognized at our annual conference.

And then also cities, we do have a City of the Year Award.

And at the, at the last conference this past September in Bismarck, the city of Gilby was recognized.

And so that's a small community north, and a little bit east of Grand Forks, but they were recognized by all the main street things that they have done.

And obviously Governor Bergham was, has been a big proponent of the Main Street Initiative.

And they really highlighted some of the great things that they're doing from, you know, some of the infrastructure development, their main street small businesses they were developing.

And bringing back young families to live in Gilby, and so they were recognized.

it was a real proud moment for the small city of Gilby, and all that they're doing.

And really revitalizing community, bringing young folks in.

And who would've ever thought, you know, a lot of times if you were, I grew up in the 80's in North Dakota.

And people were fleeing North Dakota, and, to be here in the 2020's.

And people are moving back to small communities and revitalizing.

Gilby really represented that as a great story.

- Oh, good.

What is the leadership exchange program?

- Well, you know what we try to do, you know, a lot of times you wanna mentor, you know, or at least you know, new people become appointed officials, you know, like a city auditor, or you becoming an elected official, whether you're with a city council, commissioner or mayor.

And really that program is to align people if they would like, with experienced folks that can provide them some guidance and some thoughts, so that they can be as successful as possible.

You know, really going back to 1912, of really the goal was to have a unified voice, but that secondary issue was, let's share information throughout the state.

So that if somebody knows something, let's share that information so that we don't all have to reinvent the wheel.

We'd all all have to have painful experiences.

Maybe there's a few experiences we can, painful experiences we can avoid because others have gone before us.

And so we're still doing that in 2024 now, what we were, you know, espoused to do in 1912.

So really that's intended to get people moving forward, and put them at ease that they're gonna be successful, and provide some guidance along the way.

- You mentioned advocacy two or three times during this.

How does the league lobby and interact with the state legislature?

- Yeah, well we're, you know, we're really the voice of city government, and we're fortunate to have really strong relationships with the governor's office, state agencies and the, and the North Dakota legislature.

And so, we're called upon to testify, whether it's Matt Gardner as our executive director, or even board members, or cities across the state, about how certain policies, procedures, funding formulas will impact cities, and provide that trusted word.

And we really are proud, that we are the trusted organization to speak on behalf of cities.

We're really humbled and honored that our state government respects us, what we're doing in city government, really appreciates what we're doing, and wants to really know, or values our opinion, whether it's testifying at interim committees, or during the legislative session, or you know, just getting phone calls of how various things that they're thinking about, and how that would impact cities.

And we've made a lot of strides working, over the last several years, working the state with various funding programs, whether that's transportation funding, water funding, other infrastructure funding.

We've done a lot of partnerships with the state of North Dakota, and it's really one of the advantages that we have in North Dakota that we can work with our state government.

We have great partnerships with the cities and states, and you know, we're a large enough state to get things done, but we're small enough to really engage and get things done.

So it's really a strategic advantage we have in North Dakota.

- Todd, we are out of time, so if people want more information, where can they go?

- Please go to the website.

North Dakota League of Cities or ndlc.org, and you'll find all the information, and you can always simply call us.

The number's on the website.

And somebody will answer the call, and get you the answers that you need.

And we think a lot of city government, and that's our home.

- Well Todd, we thank you for joining us today.

- Thank you for having me.

- Stay tuned for more.

(light-hearted music) Christy Goulet is an incredible indigenous artist who lives in Dilworth, Minnesota.

Self-taught, her designs include jewelry, moccasins, jingle dresses, and more.

Christy's commitment to her tribal people and her spiritual journey impacts everything she does.

(tribal chanting) - I'm a spirit on a human journey.

I'm not a human on a spiritual journey.

(tribal chanting) The art that I create is for therapy and healing.

It's for mental health.

It's to slow us down.

(speaking a foreign language) means "to be sweet like the water woman."

My English name is Christy Goulet, enrolled member of Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.

I am an indigenous artist.

The art that I love to create, I like to use raw materials, which is wigwas, birch bark, pipestone.

We make Waze.

If you take sandpaper and rub it on the pipestone, it makes a red powder.

And if you mix bear grease with that, it makes red paint.

And so I love using indigenous raw materials in my artwork.

(tribal chanting) I keep a notebook on my headboard, and sometimes I'm given a very profound dream.

And in my dream, are specific designs, or symbols on colors.

Other times I'm given dreams of what family members would look like in items.

And if they are given an indigenous name, the symbolism that is shown in the dream, you can wear that as a representation of who you are as an indigenous person.

Growing up in this community, growing up in a very dysfunctional family, my mom died when I was 10, and I had five brothers and a dad.

My dad was full-blown alcoholic.

I started drinking at the age of like 10.

By the time I was 13, I actually became pregnant with my first child.

I sobered up when I was 25.

I was on the verge of a mental health breakdown, and I was scared that I wasn't sure if I could come back from it, and what would my future look like?

And I said, if I'm gonna help my life become better, I need to get sober, and I need to acquire skills.

And that's how my first outfit came together, was a fancy shell outfit, and it was traditional Ojibwe floral design with pastel colors.

And so that's where my very first outfit started.

From there, you have to really kind of learn to be self-taught as well, because you have to be able to get up and acquire those skills.

And practice makes perfect.

One young lady who came to one of my ceremonies, who is from the black battle of Ojibwe.

After the ceremony, she had a dream that night, and she saw herself in a dress.

That specific dress, just because she was still in high school, took us a couple of months, because I have to teach them how to actually sew.

How do you thread a needle?

Can you measure, you know, learning math equations?

You know, it's very extensive for the geometry, and the things that you need to understand when you're creating the dress.

If you put too many cones on it, it's actually too heavy.

I have wigwas earrings that I'm gonna be working on, those are gonna be gifts.

The people that I respected that I would give them to, they would be happier with that, than something cookie cutter made, because they know that you would take the time, and you put love into the item that you're making.

If an indigenous teacher teaches you, like I do the Red Willow, the (indistinct) Dream catchers, I've had people take my workshops and say, "Is this appropriation?"

If I as an indigenous teacher offer that to you, it's called appreciation.

It's not appropriation.

Because I'm gifting you that teaching technique, and I'm gifting you the teachings that go with making that specific item.

I know that indigenous fashion and art, has exploded this year.

So many good things are coming out of it, and seeing some of the younger people appreciate that, but economically, I have bills to meet and and pay too.

There's controversy right now in the powwow circuit, because there are a lot of indigenous people buying Chinese products and selling it.

Be aware and get to know the individuals that you're supporting, that are selling art and making art, so that you know that it's authentic.

Read labels.

Some things like dream catcher kits that are sold in stores locally, those come from China.

They're not indigenous to Turtle Island, which is North America.

So, I'm always amazed at how the spirits do things, and that's why I love going to ceremony or getting ready for a ceremony, or just living my everyday life, because spirit reality is pretty amazing.

(tribal chanting) - Well, that's all we have on "Prairie Pulse" for this week.

And as always, thanks for watching.

(light-hearted music) - [Announcer] Funded by, the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4th, 2008.

And by the members of "Prairie Public."