9/10/2005:
Minnkota Power Cooperative began operating on this date in 1941. The company was located in Grand Forks, where customers were initially served by three diesel generators.
At the helm was an Upham man, Andrew Freeman, who also invented the head-bolt heater. During his 42 years as general manager, Freeman guided the growth of Minnkota from a handful of rural co-ops to a company with 12 electrical distributors and 12 municipal utilities.
Over his lifetime, Freeman received the ND Inventor of the Year Award, Greater North Dakotan Award, UND’s Sioux Award and was named the Electric Industry’s Man of the Year in 1981.
Source: UND School of Engineering and Mines.
<http://www.und.edu/dept/sem/news/inductee%20Academy_Plaques.pdf>
Dakota Datebook written by Merry Helm