Tag Archives: downtown

The Beefsteak Club

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Jesse Trelstad, Photojournalism - Documentary Journalism

Please click on the photo to continue onto the slideshow

The Beefsteak Club is downtown’s newest destination for a fantastic piece of beef. The Beefsteak Club is at 612 First Ave. N. It opened slightly more than three months ago and offers pleasant ambiance for large group or a quiet place for a night out for two.

“Even though our steaks are our ‘flagship’ we have chicken, lamb and pork chops all the time,” said Jared Winmill, sous chef at The Beefsteak Club. Steaks range from $17 to $81.

The Beefsteak Club has an “industry night” each Sunday. Anyone involved in the food industry – servers, bartenders, cooks – can enjoy a night at The Beefsteak Club with 50 percent off their steak and 50 percent off drinks.

This slideshow offers a look into the rhythm of the restaurant, and also a glimpse into a place most don’t have a chance to see — the kitchen.

The Journey to Artekta

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By: Brittany Thompson, Print Journalism

FARGO, N.D.—From a young age Daryl Bachmeier envisioned becoming an architect. After receiving his bachelors in architecture, and working at a series of architecture jobs his dream has come true—he is the proud owner of Artekta.

Road to becoming an architect

Bachmeier was born and raised in Devils Lake, N.D. After he graduated from high school he left for Fargo to attend North Dakota State University (NDSU). Once he received his degree in architecture he was offered a job at Dumont and Associates back

Bachmeier prepares to red-line drafts in his office at Artekta.

home in Devils Lake. Unfortunately, there was not enough work for him to do; so he began his next venture and left for Macon, Ga., to work at Henry A Corsini Architects.

“A few older NDSU alumni lived down there,” Bachmeier said. “They were looking for someone from the Midwest because they were struggling finding people with good work ethic down there.”

Bachmeier and his wife, Chris, lived in Georgia for seven years, before they made their decision—they decided to move back to the Midwest. While living in Minnesota he held an array of architecture jobs, until he moved to Fargo to work with a local firm, Lightowler Johnson Associates (LJA). Bachmeier worked at LJA for four years, gaining additional experience and meeting his future business partner, Jeffery Morrau.

The reuniting of two old colleagues sparks the idea of Artekta

Bachmeier and Morrau met while working at Lightowler Johnson Associates. After working at the company for several years they both left and went their separate ways—Bachmeier to start his own firm, Bachmeier Architecture, while Morrau went to a different firm. A few years after they left the company Morrau called Bachmeier seeking advice:

The exterior of Atekta.

“Jeff called me one day looking for advice as to how he should start his own business,” Bachmeier said. “We thought ‘Well, rather than starting two separate, competing firms, why not just join forces and work together.’”

“Two heads are better than one,” said Jeffery Morrau, co-owner of Atekta.

That phone called inspired the idea of Artekta.

Looking deeper into Artekta

Artekta is an architectural firm verified by the Veterans Administration, and was established in 2006 by Morrau and Bachmeier. Morrau served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy for 14 years, granting them the privilege to apply for Veterans Administration certification. Having the certification permits a company, such as Artekta, to work on certain projects only given to VA-certified firms.

“We are the only VA-certified architecture firm in North Dakota,” said Morrau.

Together they have combined experience of more than 40 years in the architectural

Interior of Artekta.

profession and a number of years of construction experience, as well.

Artekta has locations at 406 N. Broadway in Fargo and 717 Second Ave. E. in Williston, N.D. The firm employs nine people.

” About seven of us work full time,” said Bachmeier. “Then we have two part-time interns that are actually students at NDSU.”

In Fargo, Artekta has frequently worked with the owner of Buffalo Wild Wings.

“Most recently we have built Buffalo Wild Wings in Brookings and Watertown (South Dakota),” said Bachmeier. “We are in the early stage of planning a third Buffalo Wild Wings in Sioux Falls.”

First Community Credit Union in Wahpeton—Bachmeier’s favorite project.

Artekta is working on a large addition for First Assembly of God Church in Fargo.

Projects in progress at Artekta

  • Williams County Courthouse apartments in Williston: Due to an increase in population brought on by western North Dakota’s oil boom, Williston has more people than places to live. The overpopulated city needs to hire more policemen, firemen and other public servants but there is no available housing for them. To resolve the housing shortage problem new apartments are being built for employees associated with the Williams County Courthouse to live in.
  • Office buildings in Park Rapids, Minn.
  • The HighPointe Office building in Fargo, adjacent to I-94

Bachmeier’s career in architecture is just beginning

Bachmeier’s determination to become an architect has taken him far in his career, but this is only the beginning. Thus far he has built a successful architecture firm and established a following with flourishing businesses in the Midwest.

“He has got a great eye for design,” said Morrau.

Bachmeier has achieved more than he could have imagined throughout his career. He hopes to be remembered as a good husband and father, and an accomplished businessman and architect.

 

Maintaining Downtown: it takes a lot of work to look this good

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Even the iconic Fargo Theater sign on Broadway needs maintenance and restoration.

Samantha Rachuy, MSUM Mass Communications

FARGO, N.D. — Visitors to downtown Fargo will tell you: The downtown area is beautiful, from the sidewalks to the storefronts. These visitors, whether visiting just once or visiting daily, don’t often consider the amount of work required to maintain the beautiful downtown area.
However,  Fargo city staff are all too familiar with the workload required to beautify the once-grungy downtown area.

Community development department commits to a clean Fargo
Keeping an entire city beautiful is not the task of one person; therefore, the city of Fargo has an entire team, the Planning and Development Department, devoted to keeping the city looking great. The department focuses on the problems and solutions citywide with housing, neighborhoods, homelessness, land use, parking and downtown Fargo.

“My position with the city of Fargo is a senior planner of downtown/parking,” said Robert Stein. “ I am directly responsible for managing the maintenance of 11 parking facilities and any type of repairs within those lots.”

While Stein spends a majority of his time managing parking facilities, he also works hand -in -hand with the Fargo Community Development Team and the Downtown Community Partnership.

“I work with all Fargo neighborhoods, specifically on neighborhood improvement issues,” said Nate Bailly, community development planner. “We have utilized federal resources to help make building facade improvements in downtown.”

Even though the city of Fargo has dedicated departments, the effort to preserve the appearance of downtown extends outside city staff.

Business and property owners join the effort

While the city of Fargo is committed to maintaining downtown, business and property owners are making efforts as well. The combined public-private effort is known as the Business Improvement District.

“The Business Improvement District, BID, formed when business and property owners banded together and asked the city to access them,” Stein said.

The Business Improvement District can be specifically targeted to improve the following maintenance projects:

  • Recycling programs;
  • Litter removal;
  • Sidewalk and driveway cleanup;
  • Landscaping and
  • Creation of maintenance crews and clean teams

“The BID will allow us to improve downtown better than we ever have before,” said Stein.

With multiple projects happening simultaneously, expenses accumulate rapidly; therefore, the city must have federal grants in place before efforts begin.

Grant provides funds for downtown maintenance

The Fargo Planning and Development Department has had funds available for business and property owners who wish to improve their establishments since 2000. According to the city of Fargo website, the Storefront/Downtown Rehab Grant program developed from “allocated Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.”

“The central goal of the program is to improve blighted areas of the downtown area through the restoration of building facades,” said Bailly.

The program has potential funds available to building and property owners for

  • Renovations to buildings other than facade work;
  • Demolition of buildings;
  • Parking improvements;
  • Landscape work and
  • Design projects.

Program qualifications, according to the city of Fargo website, state that applicants are eligible “for a 50 percent matching grant, up to $15,000 (depending on available program funding).”

To ensure that the Storefront/Downtown Rehab Grant funding is distributed strictly towards downtown improvements, the eligible property must be located within designated areas of downtown Fargo. The following map provides detail about locations that lie within are within funding eligible areas.

The above map provides interested applicants a detailed description about which locations are eligible for the Storefront/Downtown Rehab Grant.

Building and property owners who are interested in applying for the Storefront/Downtown Rehab Grant must complete an application available on the city of Fargo website (top link on the right-aligned tabs) and return it to the Fargo Planning and Development Department.

12 Broadway before rehabilitation began. Photo provided by the city of Fargo.

12 Broadway after rehabilitation began. Photo provided by the city of Fargo.

14 Roberts Street before rehabilitation began. Photo by the city of Fargo.

14 Roberts Street after rehabilitation began. Photo by the city of Fargo.

Department provides restoration while maintaining historic preservation
The Fargo Planning and Development department spends a great deal of  time restoring downtown Fargo to look fresh and new; however, historic preservation must be taken into consideration before any changes are made.

“Historic preservation is a central driver to updating downtown,” said Bailly. “All downtown/storefront projects must be in compliance with the (U.S.) Secretary of the Interior’s standards for the historic properties.”

The Fargo Historic Preservation Commission must approve each project before any work begins. According to the city of Fargo website, the historic preservation commission is responsible for

  •  “Identifying, evaluating and designating properties’ significance in the history, architecture, engineering and culture of the community, state and nation.”
  •  “Retaining and enhancing historic properties while allowing their adaptation for current use by assuring that alterations are compatible with their historic character.”
  •  “Assuring that new construction and subdivision of lots in designated historic districts complies with the standards of the Land Development Code.

Historic preservation and modern renovations provide downtown Fargo character.

Enjoy the following sequence of photos that  show the unique character and beauty of downtown Fargo.

 

Rock shop welcomes, serves variety of customer needs

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Charly Haley, MSUM Multimedia Journalism

Rock spheres for sale at Fargo Rocks!

FARGO, N.D. – Tracy Kouba describes her downtown store as “Fargo’s best kept secret.”

Kouba and her husband Don own Fargo Rocks! at 1014 4th Ave. N.

It’s a rock shop that caters to a wide array of customers, from geologists and “rockhounds” to new agers who see stones as a source of healing.

Fargo Rocks! co-owner Tracy Kouba with a crystal that she says contains good energies.

“We kind of have a mixture of both,” said Kouba, 50. “It’s a mixture of a lot of different things. Anything you want to have with a rock.”

Collectors shop at Fargo Rocks!

Many Fargo Rocks! customers are local collectors, also known as “rockhounds.”

“There are lots of people that collect different minerals and stones and lake agates,” Kouba said.

Much of the rock shop’s inventory came with the store, which Kouba and her husband bought a little more than a year ago.

Along with selling different stones for collectors, they sell tools for polishing and working with stones.

“Geology students come and get their tools from us,” Kouba said.

Rock jewelry on display.

New ownership brings new age

Fargo Rocks! has been here for 23 years, but before Kouba and her husband bought the shop it was only for collectors and geologists.

“It wasn’t like this at all,” Kouba said.

The Koubas added the new age element.

“It’s just fun things that people can come and try, and it opens your mind,” Kouba said.

The store offers Reiki healing, which is meant to help people reconnect with positive energies and their inner self. There are also guided meditation classes, classes on feeling the energy of stones, psychic readings and tarot card readings.

They also sell all-stone power jewelry that is meant to help with different qualities like memory or concentration, Kouba said. Her husband also does some silversmithing for the jewelry.

Fargo Rocks! welcomed by Fargo community

Various geodes for sale.

Kouba said that although the new age side of things seems a bit unusual, the rock shop hasn’t faced any negative reactions.

“It’s been really nice,” she said. “It’s a cool community here, and it’s a place where people can meet like-minded people. We do a lot of stuff so that people can come and network with each other and meet other people that are open-minded. Some people are scared that the new age stuff is against religion or that it’s against things like that but it’s not. It has nothing to do with religion, it’s just another way to be spiritual and open your mind to different things.”

Laura Egland, a psychic who has done readings at Fargo Rocks!, said the store is unlike anywhere else in Fargo.

Rock sculptures by Fargo Rocks! co-owner Don Kouba.

“This has been a gift to our community,” Egland said. “It’s a safe place for those who are just curious about the new age lifestyle, the new age beliefs, to come and spread their own wings and to get to know where their comfort zones are and maybe stretch those a little bit. We didn’t have that before that I know of. To have that gathering space where you instantly feel welcomed and you instantly feel loved, that’s obviously a good thing for any community.”

For more information on Fargo Rocks!, find it on Facebook or visit www.fargorocksllc.com.

A message of inspiration among the rocks.

Bad Weather Burlesque excites Fargo-Moorhead

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Brittni Larson, MSUM Photojournalism

In the land of Minnesota nice, things that are sexually provocative are not always broadly accepted, but Bad Weather Burlesque is pushing those boundaries and exposing the Fargo-Moorhead community to the exciting world of burlesque.

For those of you out there who aren’t sure what burlesque is, it’s a humorous and provocative stage show featuring slapstick humor, comic skits, risqué songs, striptease acts, and a scantily clad female chorus.

What? Scantily clad provocative stage shows in Fargo-Moorhead? Is our quiet, mild mannered community ready for something like this? They sure are, Bad Weather Burlesque is gaining a fairly big following around the area.

This group of performers pushes the boundaries of what is socially acceptable for the area and loves showing off their talented group. Skits can range from a lady belting out a ballad to a guy dressed up as a unicorn and stripping down to his skivvies.

Bad Weather Burlesque doesn’t discriminate on gender; men and women are both welcome to perform. This helps them add variety to their shows and keeps the audience interested.

Bad Weather performs at multiple venues including private shows, events at the Plains Art Museum and now they perform weekly for ladies night at the Hub Entertainment Destination. They even performed at Grindfest, held at the Fargo Theatre. This year at Grindfest they played movie clips and trailers from the 40′s and 50′s that they lay new voices over the real ones. Usually the new voices make fun of the social norms back then, which is why Bad Weather Burlesque fits right it.

Randal Black was announcing Grindfest this year and was very excited to have Bad Weather performing this year.

“We are so lucky to have this group here performing tonight.” Said Black. “Bad Weather Burlesque is a unique group that is providing a very different form of entertainment for our area. You can’t even find this type of performance in the [Twin] Cities so we are grateful to have them in Fargo.”

Mixing burlesque and the grindhouse movies is something that is not normally done together but Black and the audience agreed that these two art forms fit together very well.

Bad Weather Burlesque is making a scene in Fargo Moorhead, and maybe expanding our social norms is exactly what the F-M area is looking for. Look’s like Bad Weather won’t be frowned upon this winter.

 

Storytelling gains a new platform: Q&A with founder of ‘The Tell’

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Charly Haley, MSUM Multimedia Journalism

Laura Egland, founder of ‘The Tell,’ speaks at the first event, ‘Fear.’

FARGO, N.D. – While a project out of New York City may have sparked Laura Egland’s recent creative venture, stories and people from Fargo-Moorhead are what cultivated her inspiration.

The 39-year-old Fargo resident knows that people have stories to tell. She also knows that others will listen. A few months ago, Egland came up with a way to bring those people together and give them an outlet.

She started “The Tell,” a monthly story slam in October at Studio 222 at 222 Broadway in downtown Fargo.

The day after the November event, Egland told the story of “The Tell” to “Doing it Downtown.”

DoingitDT: Tell me about ‘The Tell,’ and how you came up with the idea.

Jacinta Thieschafer won the first ‘Tell’ with her story ‘Slice on slice.’

Egland: All right, well, do you want the long story or the short story?

Whatever you feel like.

Well, I’m feeling pretty wordy. So, about four or five years ago I got my first iPod Touch, and with that came with what I felt was a responsibility to start downloading podcasts even though I had no idea what a podcast was or what was good or even what was popular. So I cruised through the iTunes store and I found a logo that I liked and it was for “The Moth.” So I started downloading those and within, I would say, about two sessions of them I was hooked. “The Moth” is a story slam out of New York City and the sole inspiration for “The Tell.”

So, you could call it a rip-off if you want, that’s fine, but that’s exactly what I did. And I liken it to as a human being, you know, what a baby looks like, you know how to make one, just about anybody can get one by one means or another, but we all want our own, and that’s exactly how this happened. I saw “The Moth” as their baby, and I wanted to create my own. So I very purposely went about not learning anything about story slams because I wanted it to be very organic and I wanted it to come from a place of true learning, which to me involves mistakes.

Mark Anderson tells ‘Fear of public speaking.’

So the only background that I have in story slams or story competitions is listening to “The Moth.” That’s it. And I found myself so very inspired, and feeling so connected to people who, based on their names and knowing what part of the country they’re from and what sort of occupations they hold, thinking that I would have nothing in common with them to feeling this unbelievable connectivity with someone whose face I couldn’t even see. It was profound for me. So I wanted to bring that to Fargo.

We have such a great music scene. We have a great theater scene; we have a great bar scene. We have all kinds of great scenes, but we didn’t have a story scene that I knew about or that appealed to me. There are some really fantastic poetry groups in town, but that doesn’t appeal to me. Not everything is for everybody, like not everybody likes rap music, it’s that kind of idea. So to bring another way for us to connect as a community is really my sole purpose for bringing “The Tell” to Fargo.

There have been two events so far, right?

Maria Bosak tells her story, ‘Sixteen.’

There are six events in the season. The season runs from October to April, and this is the first season. We’re skipping December, and a finalist is chosen by a panel of judges from each event and all five finalists will go on to the Tell-Off in April.

How has it been going so far?

The first one was great. The second one was fan-f—ing-tastic. It was really great. For the first one, I would say 80 percent of people were my friends and people that I know on Facebook, and from last night, we did the math, and I knew 25 percent of the audience. And that’s what we want, right? I love it when my friends come to my stuff, love it. But I wanted to reach people that I otherwise would have really no knowledge of their existence. So we had a great gamut of ages; we had a great gamut of socio-economical happenings and it made me happy, happy, happy. And everybody had a good time. It was perfect.

So, the first one was ‘Fear,’ and the second one was about accidents?

Lawrence Vanderbush tells ‘Don’t believe them.’

It was “Whoops” and yes. In January it will be “First Time for Everything.” So how the night goes is, doors open at 6:30; you come in; you pay your five bucks, and there’s a cash bar for those of legal ages for wine and beer. And you stake out your seat, and if you want a chance to tell you fill out a media release, and you put it in the hat, and we pull 10 names out of the hat, one at a time, throughout the evening. And those people will get up and tell.

They have a five-minute time limit with a 60-second grace period, and as long as it fits within the theme and it’s an original story – it needs to be a first-hand, true experience – then you’re well within the rules. The panel of judges is comprised of three people, and they grade based on whether or not it’s really a story, like does it follow the arch, does it have a beginning, a middle and an end? Is it compelling? Does it engage the audience? And how was the connection? Was the connection there?

Who are the judges?

It varies. I have different ones every time. Usually my friends or just people that I know.

So I pretty much understand what ‘The Tell’ is all about, but what do you do, outside of ‘The Tell?’

Hannah Andring tells ‘Gym class.’

By day I’m an office manager for a janitorial company, and then I have my own company on the side – I do work as a psychic. The psychic medium, specifically, and I have a company called Vision Architect, where I work with companies and couples and small businesses to get their vision out on paper so that they actually have a list of their values. It’s very value-based.

Do you have anything else you’d like to add about ‘The Tell?’

BIll Lucas tells his story for ‘Fear.’

The thing about “The Tell,” and about storytelling in particular, is that people don’t want to speak in public. I hear that over and over again, ‘I’d never get up, I’d never get up.’ But so far both of our winners for each event have came in thinking they weren’t going to tell, and then halfway through were inspired to get up and tell a story that they had not prepared, and yet they won. So “The Tell” and storytelling are about inspiration. It’s about showing your own vulnerability, combined with your own greatness, and giving somebody else permission to do the same. That’s what we do.

To listen to audio from October’s Tell, “Fear,” click here.

Schedule for the rest of ‘The Tell’ season:

Jan. 9: “First Time for Everything”

Feb. 6: “Love”

March 7: “Ingenuity”

April 4: Winners compete in “The Tell-Off”

All events: 7 p.m., Studio 222 in downtown Fargo, $5

For more information: thetellfargo.blogspot.com and Facebook.com/TheTellFargo

Photos by Frozen Music Studios Photography, courtesy of Laura Egland