02/03/26: In January, McKenzie County Economic Development welcomed Meghan Taunton into her new position as director. She most recently worked as a Communications and Grant Coordinator with Tri-County Regional Development, is excited to participate firsthand in the relationship between industry and economic growth.

Gene Veeder is a third generation rancher in McKenzie County working with his daughter and son in law to transition the operation to the fourth generation. He is a retired McKenzie County Commissioner and has served on the McKenzie County Economic Development Board, the McKenzie County Water Resource District, Western Area Water Supply Authority, Theodore Roosevelt Expressway and Badlands Advisory Group as well as the North Dakota Water Commission and EmPower North Dakota.

(Joel Heitkamp is a talk show host on the Mighty 790 KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. His award-winning program, “News & Views,” can be heard weekdays from 8 – 11 a.m. Follow Joel on X/Twitter @JoelKFGO.)