Three North Dakota leaders join Emmy Award winners Ben Stein and Bill Kurtis to weigh in on the future and fortunes of their state at a major conference that focuses on both North Dakota and South Dakota in Sioux Falls, August 8-9, 2006.

The North Dakota contingent includes Rick Killion, editor of Prairie Business and John Boehle, founder and CEO of Point2Point Airways, both in Grand Forks, and Mary Erman, senior vice president and CEO of Starion Financial in Bismarck. They will be panelists for an all-conference town meeting led by Bill Kurtis.

"Capitalizing on Rural America -- the Dakotas" is sponsored by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines and continues a three-year series of dynamic dialogues about energizing and revitalizing rural America. The August conference is designed to introduce community leaders and community bankers from North Dakota and South Dakota to new models for everything from economic development to capital formation.

Stein, best known for his nerdy role in the movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and as host of Comedy Central's Win Ben Stein's Money, applies his law and economics background to issues facing rural America. Stein will keynote the conference.

A centerpiece of the conference is this year's version of the dialogue -- a town meeting moderated by Bill Kurtis, distinguished journalist and Emmy Award-winning producer of A&E's Cold Case Files and Investigative Reports. As an angel investor in the small town of Sedan, Kansas, Kurtis is especially suited to his role in the dialogue.

The town meeting features a discussion among panelists and the audience. Kurtis guides the dialogue which is expected to cover issues such as entrepreneurship, jobs, capital resources and quality of life.

Joining North Dakota panelists are Rod Fouberg, CEO of Dacotah Bank in Aberdeen, S.D.; Sheila Hoffman, founder and CEO, Golden Pond Software, Milbank, S.D., and Marty Shukert, partner in RDG Planning & Design and specialist in small-town revitalization.

The dual themed conference offers educational forums for community bankers alongside special sessions for community leaders that focus on innovative ways to grow rural areas in the Dakotas.

Tom Walker, creator of the national model to develop an entrepreneurial economy, will lead a session on how to turn innovation into a business. He is COO of i2E in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Jerry Yoshitomi, an arts expert who has worked in small communities across the country, comes from California to share his wisdom and success stories. Andrew Skadberg, chief knowledge officer of AdventGX in College Station, Texas will focus on tourism as an economic development strategy.

Also on tap at the conference: The four towns in North Dakota that have received the Bank's Capital Community Award each year since the dialogues on rural America began. They are Cavalier, Hettinger, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nation, and this year's winner, Rugby. Community representatives will "exhibit" their town, share success stories and interact with conference attendees.

The conference will be held at the Sheraton Sioux Falls & Convention Center. For more information, contact Angie Richards at (800) 544-3452, ext. 1014 or arichards@fhlbdm.com.

Editor's note: There is no charge to attend the conference, but registration is required. The public can register by calling 800.544.3452 or online at www.fhlbdm.com.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines is a $50 billion wholesale bank with more than 1,200 members which include commercial banks, saving institutions, credit unions and insurance companies. The Bank is owned by its members and receives no taxpayer funding. The Des Moines-based Bank serves Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and is one of 12 regional banks that make up the Federal Home Loan Bank System.

CONTACT: The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines

Angie Richards

(515) 281-1014

arichards@fhlbdm.com

Source: primezone