2025-07-16T10:36:16-05:00 2024-12-31 450250958 Eide Bailly LLP 4585 Coleman St Ste 200 Bismarck ND 58503 990 2024-01-01 450231058 North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives NORT 7016636501 PO Box 727 Mandan ND 585540727 Josh Kramer Executive VP & Gen Mgr 7016636501 2025-07-15 1 1 Lisa Chaffee CPA P00193453 7012551091 2025-07-15 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z Josh Kramer PO Box 727 Mandan ND 585540727 6312238 0 X www.ndarec.com X 1958 ND Helping member cooperatives enrich the lives of their members and communities. 21 17 25 17 685204 0 3437908 3316737 2156105 2806111 78331 110260 -163974 -136434 5508370 6096674 0 0 0 0 2979104 3594573 0 0 0 2368670 2903948 5347774 6498521 160596 -401847 14878389 14522805 7397068 7450258 7481321 7072547 X Our mission is to provide member cooperatives a complete package of quality services in communications, government relations, education, safety training, professional and economic development. 0 0 Publications and Graphic Arts Services:PUBLICATIONS- Published 12 monthly North Dakota Living magazines, including 1,392 unique local pages for 16 electric cooperatives to communicate with their members. - Welcomed a publications intern, Kennedy DeLap.- Increased 2024 advertising sales revenue over 2023, generating approximately $668,000.- In the most competitive year of the Spotlight on Excellence Awards, which drew more than 800 entries, North Dakota Living took home the top award in two at-large categories, Best News Story and Best Feature Story.- Designed numerous brochures, reports, logos, signs, graphics and other projects for member-cooperatives and statewide service areas.- Provided professional photography services for the magazine, co-op meetings, events and members, including headshots and studio photography.- Procured contracts to sell advertising placements and produce special publications, which reduce the cost of delivering North Dakota Living to electric co-op members. New this year was the Bottineau-Lake Metigoshe Area Guide, plus the NDAREC/BAND Member Directory, N.D. Travel Guide, N.D. Hunting and Fishing Guide, Big Iron Guide and the Bismarck-Mandan Convention and Visitors Bureau Guide.- Provided education and information through print and online media, including the e-magazine and ndliving.com, covering a variety of state, local, national and industry issues, safety and cooperative topics important to membership.- Represented electric co-ops at trade shows.NORTH DAKOTA LIVING STUDY COMMITTEE- Accomplished the top objective under Goal 1 of the NDAREC Board Strategic Plan to convene a task force to evaluate the magazine.- Completed and disseminated final report on the North Dakota Living Study Committee.- Presented recommendations and findings to the NDAREC board of directors and membership at the annual meeting.READERSHIP SURVEY- Conducted a readership survey of North Dakota Living, which revealed about 85% of members read the magazine. Members recall receiving news and information from and about their electric co-op most often through North Dakota Living, and the magazine is their preferred method for co-op communications. Safety Training Services:APPRENTICESHIP- Administered apprenticeship and instructional programs to develop the workforce in the trades of lineworker, meter technician and substation technician.- Received approval from the U.S. Department of Labor to add a substation technician and relay technician apprenticeship program. These programs will support the growth and complexity of maintaining a skilled workforce.- Administered scholarship dollars to eligible apprentices and supported veterans in receiving GI Bill benefits.TRAINING- Provided safety meetings for North Dakota and Montana members at 296 locations, reaching 3,053 employees.- Coordinated the 60th annual Apprenticeship, Training and Safety Conference, which attracted 297 attendees. Awards from six categories were presented to cooperatives and individuals.- Provided specialized training in hotline work, tree trimming and grounding/bonding to 468 participants.- Conducted dielectric truck testing on 150 trucks at 29 locations for members in North Dakota and Montana.- Obtained certification to host digger derrick and crane operator certification at central (Mandan) and western (Williston) locations.- Delivered NDAREC's first underground school.SAFETY/LOSS CONTROL- Monitored restoration efforts of electric cooperatives impacted by North Dakota wildfires and Hurricanes Helene and Milton.- Facilitated a disaster preparedness discussion with cooperative staff in core service areas, including general managers, finance managers, member services representatives and line superintendents.- Influenced a cooperative culture of safety through the Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program (RESAP). All North Dakota distribution cooperatives and Minnkota Power Cooperative participate in the RESAP program.- Conducted RESAP on-site observations for six cooperatives.- Represented North Dakota's electric cooperatives on the Certified Loss Control Professional Commission.- Engaged in the redesign of the leadership commitment portion of RESAP. Several North Dakota cooperatives are represented in the CEO self-reflection and orientation videos. Government Relations & Communication Services:GOVERNMENT RELATIONS- Engaged member-cooperatives, congressional members and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to promote achievable and sensible public policies related to energy, electricity and the environment.- Worked with member-cooperatives to coordinate educational and relationship-building opportunities with local legislators.- Facilitated North Dakota's participation in NRECA's Legislative Conference and the fall fly-in in Washington, D.C.- Represented North Dakota's electric cooperatives on "Keep It Local," a statewide coalition against an initiated ballot measure which sought to abolish property tax in North Dakota.- Coordinated Rural Electric Political Action Committee (REPAC) meetings and provided support to statewide and legislative candidates who support electric cooperative issues.COMMUNICATIONS- Emphasized key themes on social media, including energy efficiency, cooperative philosophy, the electric cooperative network and community building. Key posts included opposition to Measure 4, job openings, employee highlights, events, awards and workforce training programs. Posts also promoted smart thermostats, energy-saving technologies and highlighted Co-op Month in October.- Produced additional communications, including the Cooperative Power pamphlet, the bimonthly Know What's Happening e-newsletter, the NDAREC Annual Review, and a statewide brochure and values statement, initiatives established through the NDAREC board's strategic planning process.- Created videos for rural development, education, safety and government relations.- Developed special school materials, presentations, a rural development brochure, annual meeting materials, educational brochures and materials for the ND REC Benefit Trust.- Sponsored a one-day software training course for co-op communicators focusing on Touchstone Energy Cooperative's SHiNE platform.- Worked with the media to promote issues important to electric cooperatives and their members, appearing in more than 45 news stories and interviews.- Earned a gold Spotlight on Excellence Award in the Best Wild Card category for the Cooperative Center corridor displays, which showcase the rich history of North Dakota's electric cooperatives. 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 38 0 1 25 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 X 21 17 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 X Brenna Ohman 7016676419 PO Box 727 Mandan ND 58554 X Angela Carlson President 3.00 X X 12075 0 0 Randy Simon Vice President 2.00 X X 1050 0 0 Connie Bitz Secretary 2.00 X X 1225 0 0 Maxine Rognlien Treasurer 3.00 X X 1050 0 0 Lynn Jacobson Director 5.00 X 1750 0 0 Deon Vilhauer Director 3.00 X 700 0 0 Tom Seymour Director 2.00 X 700 0 0 Michele Schommer Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Carmen Essig Director 2.50 X 0 0 0 Ken Sanford Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Rod Stockdill Director 2.50 X 0 0 0 Robert Grant Director 1.00 X 2100 0 0 Chad Harrison Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 David Brag Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Lori Kittleson Director 6.00 X 0 0 0 Arnold Kainz Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Troy Presser Director 1.25 X 0 0 0 Jean Brandt Director 1.00 X 700 0 0 Les Windjue Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 David Sigloh Director 4.00 X 0 0 0 Dennis Schmierer Director 3.00 X 0 0 0 Wade Harpestad Director - Alternate (Nov) 1.00 X 0 0 0 Roger Kudrna Director - Alternate (Jul) 0.50 X 0 0 0 David Charles Director - Alternate (Apr) 0.10 X 0 0 0 Kalvin Hoff Director - Alternate (Jul) 0.10 X 0 0 0 Josh Kramer Executive VP & General Mgr 43.00 X 245915 0 67623 Brenna Ohman Finance Director 41.60 X 142109 0 14169 Zac Smith Communic & Gov Rel/General Counsel 42.60 X 177698 0 21338 Christina Roemmich Safety Services Director 40.90 X 123507 0 35286 Pamela Clark-Stein Education & Member Serv Director 43.20 X 110478 0 24082 Cally Peterson Editor 44.90 X 107798 0 42179 Tavi Leier HR Manager/Benefits Coordinator 41.00 X 107916 0 17872 1036771 0 222549 10 0 1 0 Forum Communications 4601 16th Ave N Fargo ND 58107 Magazine printing services 462715 1 3003003 189172 124562 3316737 Magazine Revenue 541800 1644173 958969 685204 Educational & Member Services 611600 360247 360247 Rural Development 611600 320966 320966 Supporting Revenue 561499 299137 299137 Safety Services 541900 181588 181588 2806111 100863 100863 79130 215564 -136434 -136434 -136434 9397 0 9397 9397 9397 6096674 2120907 685204 -26174 542577 2093923 468682 308734 180657 200 22938 265153 132469 97033 280234 155449 150356 251950 372884 25251 Magazine Postage & Prin 747476 Workshops & Related Exp 291368 Dues & Subscriptions 28691 Vehicle Expenses 27870 54626 6498521 1862463 1978341 29975 24959 155315 164983 14291 11231 53470 33381 14373895 2309342 12507893 12064553 4144 3935 227258 229254 23580 12168 14878389 14522805 542264 587459 714384 948967 69201 92206 5752320 5544414 295319 265044 23580 12168 7397068 7450258 X 0 0 0 0 7481321 7072547 7481321 7072547 14878389 14522805 X -401847 709 -7636 X 0 1 X 1 0 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED North Dakota Rural Electric Political Action Committee PO Box 727 Mandan ND 58554 450457989 0 1140 America's Electric Cooperative Political Action Committee PO Box 718778 Philadelphia PA 19171 526147497 0 2420 1 0 0 Part I-A, Line 1: NDAREC operates a state political action committee (REPAC) in compliance with laws of the State of North Dakota, including section 16.1-08.1-03.3 of the North Dakota Century Code. NDAREC provides administrative support for REPAC by soliciting contributions to REPAC, depositing the funds in a separate and segregated account, and appointing a board to allocate the funds to candidates for state and legislative offices, NDAREC also offers its employees the opportunity to use payroll deduction for REPAC contributions. NDAREC employees also have the opportunity to contribute to a federal political action committee, the America's Electric Cooperative PAC (formerly known as the Action Committee for Rural Electrification - ACRE), organized by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), under federal law. NDAREC also offers its employees the opportunity to use payroll deduction for America's Electric Cooperative PAC contributions. 0 1 X 194838 194838 12825748 1429710 11396038 976006 604859 371147 377303 274773 102530 12064553 ROU Lease liability 12168 12168 X 6220945 0 6220945 -124271 -124271 6096674 6629719 214855 214855 6414864 83657 83657 6498521 Part IV, Line 2b: NDAREC holds funds for several organizations. NDAREC receives revenues for the organizations and writes checks when appropriately directed by the organization. A statement of activities and the cash balance is reported to the organizations on a regular basis. Part X, Line 2: The Association has appropriate support for any tax positions taken affecting its annual filing requirements, and as such, does not have any uncertain tax positions that are material to the financial statements. The Association would recognize future accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits and liabilities in income tax expense if such interest and penalties are incurred. Part XI, Line 4b - Other Adjustments: Rental Expeness Included in Expenses for F/S -215,564. Receipts from Funds Held For Others 91,293. Part XII, Line 2d - Other Adjustments: Rental Expenses Included in Revenue on 990 215,564. Unrealized Gain/Loss on Investment in Expenses for F/S -709. Part XII, Line 4b - Other Adjustments: Disbursements from Funds Held for Others 83,657. X X X 0 0 0 Josh Kramer Executive VP & General Mgr 237938 0 0 0 7977 0 35160 0 35678 0 316753 0 0 0 Zac Smith Communic & Gov Rel/General Counsel 163953 0 750 0 12995 0 21338 0 2202 0 201238 0 0 0 Christina Roemmich Safety Services Director 121998 0 750 0 759 0 24365 0 12677 0 160549 0 0 0 Brenna Ohman Finance Director 140939 0 750 0 420 0 14169 0 1839 0 158117 0 0 0 Cally Peterson Editor 106711 0 750 0 337 0 11616 0 32210 0 151624 0 0 0 Form 990, Schedule J: Compensation of officers, directors, key employees, highest compensated employees and independent contractors: included in column "c", deferred compensation is the estimated annual increase in the actuarial value of the defined benefit plan. These amounts are estimates in the increase of the value of the plan and are not current year expenses of the association. The current year expense for this defined benefit plan and the increase in actuarial value for each employee are reported in the Schedule O statement for Form 990, Part VII, Column f. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 1a An Executive Committee comprised of the officers of the Association shall have all of the powers of the Board of Directors when the Board of Directors is not in session, except in respect to powers reserved by the Board of Directors itself or which may not be delegated by law to an Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall be charged with the duty of conducting the business and operations of the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, subject to the review and control of the Board of Directors. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 6 Voting members are member-owned, non-profit cooperatives which are operating in the state of North Dakota whose operations are consistent with the objectives of NDAREC and its voting members. Non-voting members consist of Commercial Affiliate Members and Associate Members. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 7a Each voting member of NDAREC elects a director and an alternate director from its board of directors, who then serves on the board of directors of NDAREC for a term of one year. The alternate director serves in the absence of the director with full power of representation. All directors, as a condition of holding office and serving in that capacity, must remain a director of that member cooperative. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 11b No formal process has been adopted. The Form 990 will be provided to the board of directors prior to filing with explanation of specific parts of the Form. An adequate time period will be allowed for review and questions prior to the Form 990 being filed. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 12c Persons covered by this policy will annually disclose or update to the President of the Board of Directors on a form provided by NDAREC their interests that could reasonably give rise to a conflict of interest, such as a list of family members, substantial business or investment holdings, and other transactions or affiliations with businesses and other organizations or those of family members. 1. Duty to Disclose In connection with any actual or possible conflict of interest, an interested person must disclose the existence of the financial interest and be given the opportunity to disclose all material facts to the directors and members of committees with governing board delegated powers considering the proposed transaction or arrangement. 2. Determining Whether a Conflict of Interest Exists After disclosure of the financial interest and all material facts, and after any discussion with the interested person, he/she shall leave the governing board or committee meeting while the determination of a conflict of interest is discussed and voted upon. The remaining board or committee members shall decide if a conflict of interest exists. 3. Procedures for Addressing the Conflict of Interest a. An interested person may make a presentation at the governing board or committee meeting, but after the presentation, he/she shall leave the meeting during the discussion of, and the vote on, the transaction or arrangement involving the possible conflict of interest. b. The chairperson of the governing board or committee shall, if appropriate, appoint a disinterested person or committee to investigate alternatives to the proposed transaction or arrangement. c. After exercising due diligence, the governing board or committee shall determine whether the Organization can obtain with reasonable efforts a more advantageous transaction or arrangement from a person or entity that would not give rise to a conflict of interest. d. If a more advantageous transaction or arrangement is not reasonably possible under circumstances not producing a conflict of interest, the governing board or committee shall determine by a majority vote of the disinterested directors whether the transaction or arrangement is in the Organization's best interest, for its own benefit, and whether it is fair and reasonable. In conformity with the above determination it shall make its decision as to whether to enter into the transaction or arrangement. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 15 The Executive Committee of the NDAREC Board of Directors meets annually to review the compensation of the Executive Vice President and General Manager. They use historical information provided to them by the Finance Director, as well as information on the current salary increases for NDAREC staff and the current cost of living adjustment. The board uses survey data from the Rural Electric Statewide Managers Association to determine comparability of salary information. The board also has access to salary survey information collected by NDAREC for all the ND electric cooperatives, which includes the salaries for the coops general managers. The Executive Committee recommends the salary to the Board of Directors for their approval. The board action is documented with a "Salary Certificate and is signed by the President and Secretary of the Board of Directors, communicated to the Finance Director for payroll purposes, and filed in the personnel file. NDAREC has a wage and salary plan policy adopted by the Board of Directors. This wage and salary plan ranks (using several criteria) each job position by pay grade and pay range. The pay range consists of an entry level, a market band, and a maximum. Each year the board approves an annual adjustment to the pay ranges based on certain economic factors. The General Manager approves the annual salary for the Finance Director and all other NDAREC employees. In 2023, a compensation study was completed by an independent third party entity for employees to ensure that employee pay is adequate for the market. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, line 19 These documents are not made available to the public. Form 990, Part VII, Column F Included in column "F", estimated amount of other compensation, is the estimated annual increase in the actuarial value of the defined benefit plan. The estimated increase for Josh Kramer is $25,219, for Zac Smith is $14,750, for Christina Roemmich is $19,383, and for Tavi Leier is $12,860. These amounts are estimates in the increase of the value of the plan and are not current year expenses of the Association. The current year expense for this defined benefit plan was $71,576, $46,007, $34,806, and $27,987, respectively. Form 990, Part XI, line 9: Net Changes in Funds Held for Other -7,636. ND Rural Electric Political Action Committee PO Box 727 Mandan ND 585540727 450457989 Political Action Committee ND 527 N/A N/A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0