SNOWKITERS TO VISIT GOVERNOR HOEVEN!
A crew of adventure athletes and environmental educators who recently completed the first kite-powered expedition across an entire state will visit Governor Hoeven’s office on Tuesday, April 15th from 3:15 to 3:45pm. Members of the media are invited to join us before the meeting to view the letters and speak with some of the participants.
On February 11th, three extreme athletes set out to snowkite nearly 400 miles from Crosby, N.D. down to Keldron, S.D. 18 days later, they accomplished that goal!
In addition to the kiters’ epic journey, a community outreach crew visited over 30 communities throughout the state speaking to over 7,000 people and giving free snowkiting lessons. “We came with a hopeful message connecting the exciting wind-powered sport of snowkiting with North Dakota’s incredible wind energy potential and the role it can play in mitigating climate change,” said education crew member Jason Schaefer, of Grand Forks. The education crew also offered students the opportunity to write a letter to the governor communicating their ambitions for the state, with the promise of hand-delivering them.
According to 2XtM education crewmember, Chelsea Hummon, who recently moved to North Dakota from Michigan, “Students across North Dakota are very hopeful in having their voices heard by Governor Hoeven. They look up to him as someone who is able to make their state a more healthy and enjoyable place to live.”
The crew is really excited to meet with the governor and share their successes. Perhaps 2XtM’s greatest accomplishment has been to show people around the country another side of North Dakota. A reporter from Outside Magazine, a competitor to National Geographic with a circulation over two million, came to North Dakota to cover the expedition for a week. A feature story will run in the June issue. The expedition garnered statewide coverage as well as regional, national and even international attention. “We want to instill pride in North Dakota while showing there are many wonderful people doing creative things in our state,” exclaimed Kathryn Joyce, a member of the education crew from Fargo.
“We look forward to representing the wonderful people of North Dakota who treated us with so much kindness,” said Hummon. “They opened their homes, fed us, and even gave us gifts! We were overwhelmed by their generosity and honored by their strong support of our cause.”
“Our overall goal,” commented Sam Salwei, “was to instill pride in North Dakota by turning negatives such as the wind and snow into positives,” commented Salwei.
North Dakota’s director of Tourism, Sara Otte Coleman will be in attendance as well giving the 2XtM team a chance to express their gratitude for all the assistance provided by ND Tourism in getting the word out about the expedition. ND Tourism worked with 2XtM sponsor Mortenson Construction to find media contacts and send out press releases.
Now that the expedition is complete, the crew is working on making educational packets available to teachers across the region. 2XtM is also working on a documentary film. A professional videographer and three professional photographers captured action as the kiters and the education crew crossed the state. The crew envisions a documentary film to be released and a tour in conjunction with the film. The film will be submitted to festivals such as the prestigious Banff festival as well as to outdoor networks such as Discovery and National Geographic.
The meeting with the governor’s office will take place from 3:15 to 3:45 at the capitol. Included in that meeting will be Ron Rauschenberger (Chief of Staff) and/or Lance Gaebe (Deputy Chief of Staff), Paul Govig (Dept. of Commerce) and Sara Otte Coleman (Dept. of Tourism). Governor Hoeven will try to stop by to accept the letters, but he is not able to attend the entire meeting. The 2XtM crew will have the letters and be available for comment starting at 2:30pm and after the meeting as well.
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In an effort to practice what they preach while lessening their contribution to global warming, all the pollution generated during the crew’s travels was offset by renewable energy investments thanks to a partnership with 3 Degrees Energy, a leading company offering renewable energy credits.
Updated blog entries, photos and videos of the expedition can be found at 2XtM.com
About Northern Great Plains, Inc.
Northern Great Plains Inc. is a not-for-profit research, demonstration and convening organization. NGP Inc. focuses its work on futures study, creating economic opportunity, and supporting a healthy environment and vital communities.
About YogaSlackers
Team YogaSlackers are a small group of elite ultra-endurance adventurers, master yoga teachers, and stewards of the environment. Through adventure racing, yoga instruction, slacklining (tight-rope walking), remote climbing, packrafting and snowkiting expeditions, team members strive to live by the principles of environmental sustainability. Team YogaSlackers is committed to eco-conscious education, renewable energy promotion, and partnering only with companies who truly share the ideals of positive global change.
About Mortenson Construction
Founded in 1954, Mortenson Construction is a U.S.-based, family-owned construction company. As one of the nation's top builders, and the leading wind power contractor in North America, Mortenson provides a complete range of services, including planning, program management, preconstruction, general contracting, construction management, design-build, and turn-key development. Mortenson has offices in Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Seattle with international operations in Canada and China. Engineering News-Record ranked Mortenson 12 in power in the 2007 Top 400 Contractors listing, all of which is renewable power, and named the company the 17th Top Green Contractor. For more information, please visit mortenson.com.
On February 11th, three extreme athletes set out to snowkite nearly 400 miles from Crosby, N.D. down to Keldron, S.D. 18 days later, they accomplished that goal!
In addition to the kiters’ epic journey, a community outreach crew visited over 30 communities throughout the state speaking to over 7,000 people and giving free snowkiting lessons. “We came with a hopeful message connecting the exciting wind-powered sport of snowkiting with North Dakota’s incredible wind energy potential and the role it can play in mitigating climate change,” said education crew member Jason Schaefer, of Grand Forks. The education crew also offered students the opportunity to write a letter to the governor communicating their ambitions for the state, with the promise of hand-delivering them.
According to 2XtM education crewmember, Chelsea Hummon, who recently moved to North Dakota from Michigan, “Students across North Dakota are very hopeful in having their voices heard by Governor Hoeven. They look up to him as someone who is able to make their state a more healthy and enjoyable place to live.”
The crew is really excited to meet with the governor and share their successes. Perhaps 2XtM’s greatest accomplishment has been to show people around the country another side of North Dakota. A reporter from Outside Magazine, a competitor to National Geographic with a circulation over two million, came to North Dakota to cover the expedition for a week. A feature story will run in the June issue. The expedition garnered statewide coverage as well as regional, national and even international attention. “We want to instill pride in North Dakota while showing there are many wonderful people doing creative things in our state,” exclaimed Kathryn Joyce, a member of the education crew from Fargo.
“We look forward to representing the wonderful people of North Dakota who treated us with so much kindness,” said Hummon. “They opened their homes, fed us, and even gave us gifts! We were overwhelmed by their generosity and honored by their strong support of our cause.”
“Our overall goal,” commented Sam Salwei, “was to instill pride in North Dakota by turning negatives such as the wind and snow into positives,” commented Salwei.
North Dakota’s director of Tourism, Sara Otte Coleman will be in attendance as well giving the 2XtM team a chance to express their gratitude for all the assistance provided by ND Tourism in getting the word out about the expedition. ND Tourism worked with 2XtM sponsor Mortenson Construction to find media contacts and send out press releases.
Now that the expedition is complete, the crew is working on making educational packets available to teachers across the region. 2XtM is also working on a documentary film. A professional videographer and three professional photographers captured action as the kiters and the education crew crossed the state. The crew envisions a documentary film to be released and a tour in conjunction with the film. The film will be submitted to festivals such as the prestigious Banff festival as well as to outdoor networks such as Discovery and National Geographic.
The meeting with the governor’s office will take place from 3:15 to 3:45 at the capitol. Included in that meeting will be Ron Rauschenberger (Chief of Staff) and/or Lance Gaebe (Deputy Chief of Staff), Paul Govig (Dept. of Commerce) and Sara Otte Coleman (Dept. of Tourism). Governor Hoeven will try to stop by to accept the letters, but he is not able to attend the entire meeting. The 2XtM crew will have the letters and be available for comment starting at 2:30pm and after the meeting as well.
---
In an effort to practice what they preach while lessening their contribution to global warming, all the pollution generated during the crew’s travels was offset by renewable energy investments thanks to a partnership with 3 Degrees Energy, a leading company offering renewable energy credits.
Updated blog entries, photos and videos of the expedition can be found at 2XtM.com
About Northern Great Plains, Inc.
Northern Great Plains Inc. is a not-for-profit research, demonstration and convening organization. NGP Inc. focuses its work on futures study, creating economic opportunity, and supporting a healthy environment and vital communities.
About YogaSlackers
Team YogaSlackers are a small group of elite ultra-endurance adventurers, master yoga teachers, and stewards of the environment. Through adventure racing, yoga instruction, slacklining (tight-rope walking), remote climbing, packrafting and snowkiting expeditions, team members strive to live by the principles of environmental sustainability. Team YogaSlackers is committed to eco-conscious education, renewable energy promotion, and partnering only with companies who truly share the ideals of positive global change.
About Mortenson Construction
Founded in 1954, Mortenson Construction is a U.S.-based, family-owned construction company. As one of the nation's top builders, and the leading wind power contractor in North America, Mortenson provides a complete range of services, including planning, program management, preconstruction, general contracting, construction management, design-build, and turn-key development. Mortenson has offices in Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Seattle with international operations in Canada and China. Engineering News-Record ranked Mortenson 12 in power in the 2007 Top 400 Contractors listing, all of which is renewable power, and named the company the 17th Top Green Contractor. For more information, please visit mortenson.com.