Odyssey staff moves

Libby Bakken joined Odyssey Research as vice president of business development. In this position, Bakken is responsible for procuring new clinical research studies and determining feasibility throughout the company network. Her 17 years in the pharmaceutical industry include training in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis pain and asthma.

Nichole Kapp was named staff accountant at Odyssey Research. She brings more than five years of accounting and financial experience. Kapp is a graduate of the University of Mary with a bachelor's of science degree in accounting and business administration. Her primary responsibilities are accounts receivable procedures. She is married to Casey Kapp and they have two sons.

Amanda Erickson joined Odyssey Research as an accounting assistant. She has more than eight years of healthcare experience. Erickson is a graduate of the North Dakota State School of Science, Wahpeton, with an associate's degree in office administration. She is married to Jason Erickson; they have a son and live in Bismarck.

Liudahls attend

Matt and Tena Liudahl, owners of Mr. Squeegee Window Cleaning Inc., recently attended the International Window Cleaning Association's annual convention in Nashville, Tenn. They participated in safety training, customer service and management seminars. The IWCA attendees also raised more than $22,000 for the Nashville chapter of the Ronald McDonald House.

Training completed

Heart Centered Therapy is being offered by occupational therapist Karen Gayton, MS, OTR/L, at Lifeways, located in the Phoenix Mind and Body Medicine Clinic. This therapy may be utilized in work with post traumatic stress disorder as well as with relationship issues, chronic pain, physical or emotional traumas, anxiety or depression. Heart Centered Therapy involves guided visualizations and dialogue, and can be used in conjunction with Somato-Emotional Release/CranioSacral Therapy sessions.

Bertness hired

Victoria Bertness recently joined Agency MABU as an intern from the University of Mary. During her internship, her responsibilities include special events coordination, writing, graphic design and layout for different media.

Bertness will complete her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Mary in August with a communications major and minors in multimedia and theater.

Wulf hired

Melissa Wulf has been hired as marketing specialist by Starion Financial. Located in the downtown Mandan bank, she assists in implementing strategies involving media relations, advertising, customer communications and retail merchandising. She provides graphic design, research, writing and Web site maintenance support for the marketing department.

Stellick attends

The captain of the Lewis & Clark Riverboat, Jim Stellick, recently attended the American Bus Association Convention in Grapevine, Texas. While there, he made 33 separate informational presentations about the riverboat, its facilities and Bismarck.

Three join staff

Knife River Corp. says Rob Pfennig and Brian Delaney have joined the company.

Pfennig has been hired as a senior corporate development analyst. He transferred to Knife River from Centennial Energy Resources, an MDU Resources Group Inc. subsidiary, where he had worked since 2003. Pfennig began his career with MDU Resources as a financial analyst for Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.

Delaney has been hired as an applications analyst for Knife River. He holds bachelor degrees in information systems and business administration and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Mary. Prior to joining Knife River, he worked as programmer for NISC, and as a billing analyst and a business analyst for Unisys.

Knife River Corp. also announced that Glenn Pladsen has joined the company as senior information technology director.

In his new role, Pladsen will be responsible for leading the information technology department for Knife River. Specifically, he will provide leadership for the development and implementation of the company's ERP system business process strategies and improvement initiatives, and will oversee all IT services provided to company's field operations.

Erhardt hired

Jesse Erhardt recently joined Agency MABU as an advertising coordinator. He will be providing a wide range of advertising services including media buying, ad writing and ad concepting.

Erhardt is a graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead with a bachelor of science degree in mass communications with an advertising emphasis. A Mandan native, he recently returned from working as a financial designer in St Cloud, Minn., to join MABU.

Whitman presents

Brenda Whitman, an assistant professor at Medcenter One's College of Nursing, recently attended a conference titled "Beyond the Box: Meeting the Challenges of Being a Nurse Educator Today." The conference was sponsored by Mosby's Faculty Development Institute.

Whitman presented a poster titled "Using Art to Express a Personal Philosophy of Nursing" at the conference. The poster was created by Whitman and Wanda Rose, associate professor at the Medcenter One College of Nursing.

Deics joins staff

Medcenter One has announced that Cathy Deics has joined the staff at Medcenter One's Occupational Health Clinic.

Deics will serve as the clinic's corporate health and relations coordinator. She is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator, and holds degrees in nutrition and exercise physiology from Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn. She brings 15 years of experience from Avera Health System, Aberdeen, S.D., as the wellness director. She will oversee worksite employee health and wellness promotion and disease management services for Medcenter One.

Schultz hired

Dustin Schultz has joined the team at AE2S (Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc.) as a design engineer, and will work in the Moorhead, Minn., office. Originally from Lisbon, he earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from North Dakota State University.

Dockter hired

Spherion Staffing, a full service employment agency in Bismarck, has added Annie Dockter as an account representative.

Dockter will be responsible for recruiting, marketing and consulting with new and existing clients about their temporary and direct-hire staffing needs in the western North Dakota region. Dockter is originally from Park City, Utah.

Spagnolia certified

Dr. Thomas Spagnolia, a board-certified neurosurgeon at Medcenter One, was recently certified to perform the AxiaLIF technique for the surgical treatment of lower back pain.

The AxiaLIF (Axial Lumbar Interbody Fusion) System alleviates the need for surgeons to cut through soft tissues like muscles and ligaments, lessening patient pain and the likelihood of complications.

Two hired

Capital Electric Cooperative recently hired Wes Engbrecht to work as the director of communications and public relations, and Louis Ciavarella to work as an information technology specialist.

A native of Zap, Engbrecht will serve as the company spokesperson, educate the community on industry issues, and coordinate internal and external communications for the co-op.

A Bismarck native, Ciavarella will provide computer and network maintenance, plan for future hardware and software needs, and maintain the cooperative's two-way automatic communication system.

Martin attends

Grady Martin, an instructor at the Medcenter One College of Nursing, recently attended a clinical training seminar on HIV and AIDS. The event was sponsored by the Mountain Plains AIDS Education and Training Center.

The Mountain Plains AIDS Education and Training Center is one of 12 regional AETCs funded nationwide by a grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration through the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act.

Realty awards

Century 21 Morrison Realty announced that Century 21 Real Estate LLC recently recognized Fred Rusch, Arlene Volk and Carol Petersen, sales associates with the office, as among the system's top producers nationwide when it honored them with the ruby level, Century 21 Masters Award.

Morrison Realty also announced that Century 21 Real Estate LLC, recently awarded the company's results team sales team with the Centurion Team Award for the team's production in 2006. Members of the Results Team are Kay Schlosser, Sue Jacobson and Kristin Oban.

Morrison Realty also announced that Century 21 Real Estate LLC recently recognized the office with the Centurion Office Award for production for its sales in 2006. The award is presented to Century 21 System offices that achieve or surpass sales production of $1,590,000 or 400 closed transaction sides within a calendar year.

Mongeon named

Karin Mongeon has been named manager of the office of traffic safety for the North Dakota Department of Transportation. Mongeon will help develop, implement and evaluate programs to reduce traffic crashes and related fatalities, injuries and property damage. OTS programs include occupant protection-child passenger safety, impaired driver, motorcycle safety, police traffic services, emergency medical services and traffic records.

Beattie attends

Dr. Brian Beattie, an optometrist at Dakota Eye Institute, recently attended the inaugural Global Keratoconus Congress in Las Vegas.

More than 400 attendees were there from 29 countries to learn about the latest research on causes and treatment options for keratoconus.

Keratoconus is a disease of the cornea that causes blurred vision that may be uncorrectable with glasses. Special contact lenses are used to correct the vision. A corneal transplant may be necessary if contacts cannot be tolerated.

Staffing changes

Heartland Mortgage Co. promoted Stacy Bitz to office manager. Bitz will be responsible for processing applications, day-to-day operations of the business, scheduling appointments and greeting clients.

Bitz has been in the mortgage business for six years and the financial world for 18 years.

Heartland Mortgage Co. recently hired Cindy Pfenning as a mortgage associate. Pfenning will be responsible for assisting the mortgage consultants, processing applications and greeting clients.