Logan Dahl is a Utility Worker in the Alma Offsite/Waste Group. Logan was most recently employed as a Truck Driver/Heavy Equipment Operator for Reglin and Hesch Construction. | Jason Herbert is Vice President, External Affairs. Jason was most recently employed at Energy Northwest (Richland, Wash.) as the Senior Director of External Strategy. | Erin Tlougan is a Contract Administrator in Purchasing. Erin will graduate from Viterbo University in May 2024 with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Erin was most recently employed at Gundersen Health Systems as a Contract Intern. | |
Strategic Priority: People First
Photo: President & CEO Brent Ridge welcomed member cooperative attendees.
As part of the Leadership Academy (Member Experience), Dairyland hosted its first HR & Administrative Excellence Conference this week, welcoming co-op professionals across the Dairyland system at the Radisson Hotel. Conference topics included talent management, strategic workforce planning, compensation/benefits, email management, event planning best practices and more.
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Dairyland and conference attendees showed their support of Cooperative Principle #7 Concern for Community by supporting the Wisconsin Family Keys pilot program. Dairyland provided over $2,500 worth of household supplies for basket donations to unsheltered community members transitioning to housing. Baskets included household supplies such as bathroom essentials, kitchen items and more. Elizabeth Ressie and Courtney Cuta shopped for the items and many attendees wrote inspirational messages.
All attendees assembled the baskets as part of the conference's evening event (pictured). Baskets were delivered to the La Crosse County Human Services Department, which is partnering with the Family Keys project. The County already sent a thank you, remarking on the quality and consideration taken in assembling the donation baskets: "All of the staff who have seen the amount and quality of the donations have been really impressed and grateful. Thank you for partnering with our agency on this endeavor - please know the donations will be put to good use."
| EVP & CFO April Wehling is participating in the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) Legislative Fly-In this week in Washington, D.C. April is meeting with elected officials representing Dairyland's service territory, including Rep. Tiffany and Rep. Van Orden, on issues that impact reliability and progress towards the clean energy transition, including the Nemadji Trail Energy Center. | |
Congratulations to Bart (Plant Engineering) and Paige Pedretti following the Jan. 31 birth of their daughter, Stella Rae Pedretti!
Stella weighed 7 lbs., 7 ozs., and was 22 inches long at birth. She is their first child.
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Strategic Priority: Asset Reliability & Diversification
The current issue of Wisconsin Energy Cooperative News features the Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line, highlighting the project's long trajectory, greater-than-ever need and lingering challenges.
Dairyland is a co-owner of the line with ATC and ITC Midwest. WECN Reporter Julie Lund interviewed EVP/COO Ben Porath for the Treading Water article, with Vice President, Strategic Growth John Carr's work to advance permitting reform also highlighted. For information on Cardinal-Hickory Creek, click here.
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Please find details and submit your electronic application for the following positions through Workday Career:
(Internal/External)
Business Development Manager: Responsible for obtaining Transmission Construction projects in the commercial market. Responsible for creating estimates, bids and cost proposals, and managing projects throughout their lifecycle. Also responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with new and existing clients.
Vice President, Transmission:
Will serve as a strategic partner to the EVP/COO on matters within Dairyland’s Transmission departments which include: System Operations, Operations Engineering, Innovation and Demand Response, Transmission Construction and Maintenance, Vegetation Management, Field Operations and Fleet Operations. Will provide leadership and direction to ensure compliance with safety, operational, budgetary, environmental, sustainability, regulatory and regional reliability requirements.
| Dairyland member Freeborn Mower Electric Cooperative (Albert Lea, Minn.) is seeking a Communications & Marketing Specialist. For details, visit fmec.coop/careers. Application deadline: Feb. 16. | |  |
S&P AFFIRMS DAIRYLAND'S A+ RATING | |
Strategic Priority: Financial & Competitive Strength
Standard and Poor’s (S&P) credit rating agency has affirmed its 2023 annual credit opinion of Dairyland with the same strong rating as 2022: A+ with a stable outlook.
In its ratings rationale, S&P indicated Dairyland’s credit rating reflects our stable and diverse membership with all-requirements contracts extending through 2064; robust liquidity; timely rate recovery mechanisms (such as the power cost adjustment) and clean energy transition plans.
Delays to the Nemadji Trail Energy Center project (due to litigation and permitting challenges), Dairyland’s projected declining metrics due to capital spending and moderate equity to total capitalization were noted as concerns.
In December 2023, Moody’s Investors Service credit rating agency also affirmed its 2023 annual credit opinion of Dairyland with the same rating as 2022: A3/Stable. The three major credit rating agencies in the United States are Moody’s Investors Service, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, Inc.
“Financial strength is absolutely essential for sustainability and Dairyland’s ability to meet its obligation as a critical services provider,” said Chief Risk Officer John Young. “Our continued solid credit ratings are a tribute to Dairyland’s Board, leadership and teams who focus every day on our strategic business plan to ensure long-term success.”
Why good credit ratings are critical to financial strength
Credit ratings are opinions of the relative future credit risk of a given company. Therefore, it is critical to maintain a solid rating and a stable to positive outlook to assure current and future lenders of Dairyland’s creditworthiness. In addition to helping provide greater access to funds for needed projects, a solid credit rating can reduce funding costs.
| SAFETY: PREVENTING SLIPS, TRIPS & FALLS |  | |
Dairyland Strategic Priority: Safety Culture
The risk of slipping, tripping and falling increases dramatically during winter months. But did you know slips, trips and falls are also one of the most common causes of injury in
the workplace no matter the season?
Whether you are trudging through a snow-covered right-of-way or navigating an ice-covered parking lot, you are exposed to the potential of life-altering injuries and hard-to-see hazards. The good news is that there are several things you can do to help eliminate or mitigate the hazards that lead to these injuries, regardless of the circumstances.
Planning - Know the forecast and plan accordingly. Whether you are working in the field or the office it is essential to understand the weather conditions you will face. Use the forecast to be prepared with proper footwear for the conditions. You may need to adjust the route you planned to take based on the conditions of the site and how it may have been affected by the weather. Consider what you put on your feet based on the weather and ensure your footwear is in good condition.
Stopping - STAR (Stop, Think, Act & Review) is an effective HP tool for recognizing hazards, but it doesn’t work if we do not stop. When weather conditions change it is critical that we stop and reassess the hazards at our worksite. We may start our workday with sunshine and no snow, but that could quickly change to icy rain and snow. Changing conditions introduce new hazards to our work. When weather conditions change, we need to use STAR and reassess how we may be impacted.
Eyes on the Path - Focus is critical in all conditions, but winter weather requires extra attention to avoid slips, trips and falls. We need to carefully select the path we intend to take and be prepared to take another. If we have the option to take a cleared path that is longer versus a shorter path through the snow or ice, we need to choose the clear path.
Click here and here to review recent Dairyland Safety Tailgate toolkits that reference this important topic.
Putting these actions into motion and practicing 200% accountability can help keep you, your co-workers and your loved ones safe. Prevention starts with a plan, and by identifying hazards and taking specific actions, we are reducing our risk of a preventable incident.
Today's Safety Stand-Down: Dairyland holds quarterly Safety Stand-Downs to help maintain organizational focus and align expectations on safety. If you were unable to attend the first all-hands Safety Stand-Down of 2024 in real time today, it is an expectation that you view the recording promptly after it is posted to the Breaker.
| EXCELLENCE MODEL GUIDE: V2 IS PUBLISHED | |
Dairyland's Excellence Model debuted last year, functioning as a comprehensive guide to understanding and achieving excellence at Dairyland. As a living document, the Excellence Model Guidebook has been updated in 2024, with Version 2.0 now available on the Breaker.
In addition to standard text corrections and citation inclusions, etc., updates include the following:
- Joyce Peppin has been added to the Executive Foreword (page 3).
- The Executive Team’s goal "to develop a disciplined culture which requires reporting, accountability, continuous learning and improvement to achieve excellence" has been added to the Foreword.
To reduce environmental impacts, V2 will not be printed. Access the updated guide on our Excellence Model SharePoint Site or directly here: Excellence Model eBook.
| GROW, LEARN & DEVELOP WITH DAIRYLAND'S LEADERSHIP ACADEMY | |
To ensure Dairyland is sustainable, employees must adapt to change, learn new skills and become more versatile in their roles. The Leadership Academy provides guidance and tools to support those needs and cultivate a culture of development, growth and innovation. The program has a strong emphasis on personal development, teamwork and leadership.
Human Resources has announced Q1 2024 Leadership Academy offerings for all employees. Please refer to the Feb. 5 email from Director, Safety & HR Elizabeth Ressie for details. Outlook invitations have also been delivered.
Leadership Experience trainings include HP Tool and Behavioral Interviewing sessions.
- The HP Tools course is designed to provide leaders with an opportunity to explore HP Tools in-depth. Leaders will also receive ‘Train the Trainer’ exercises so they can promote and instill key HP Tool framework, understanding and utilization to their employees.
- The Behavioral Interviewing course is designed to provide interviewers with an understanding of Behavioral Interviewing and how to best leverage it to ensure candidate selection aligns with the needs of the organization.
Employee Experience training includes "Get to Know Dairyland from the Inside Out – Energy Market Overview," which will introduce all employees to the basics of wholesale electricity markets.
"The Academy provides a learning and growth experience designed to develop employees into knowledgeable and effective leaders both within our organization and in the community," said Elizabeth.
| AI: EMPOWERING OUR FUTURE WITH NEW TOOL COMING TO DAIRYLAND | |
Strategic Priority: Growth & Innovation
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming an integral part of every sector, including the utility industry. AI will integrate into our daily operations to fuel growth and efficiency.
“Staying current and ahead of the technological curve is essential for our pursuit of excellence and sustainability,” said Vice President & CIO Nate Melby.
So… what is it? Artificial Intelligence, or AI, refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn. It is the broader concept of machines being able to carry out tasks that would typically require human intelligence. This includes processes like learning, reasoning and self-correction. AI systems can be purely software-based, like voice assistants, or they can be embodied in robots or other physical devices.
Two subfields of AI are Generative and Machine Learning.
Generative AI refers to systems that can generate new content or data that is similar but not identical to the data on which it was trained. These systems are not just focused on analyzing data but are capable of creating new data instances that can pass for real data.
Machine Learning AI involves the use of algorithms and statistical models to enable machines to improve at tasks with experience. It focuses on the development of programs that can access data and use it to learn for themselves. The learning process is automated and improved over time, based on the data input into the system.
Coming Soon: AI Tool for Dairyland Employees
Later this month, Dairyland will launch a Generative AI tool across for all employees called VoltWrite. Similar to Chat GPT, but VoltWrite is a safe alternative to commercial options. It leverages advanced machine learning algorithms and natural language processing which will help us streamline content creation, automate document analysis and gain valuable insights from text data.
This cutting-edge tool promises to enhance feature capabilities significantly and incorporate seamlessly into our existing systems, without compromising security. Stay tuned for updates regarding benefits, implementation and training in the next few weeks.
Click here to submit any questions on AI.
| NEMADJI TRAIL ENERGY CENTER: LABOR ORGANIZES RALLY WITH SUPPORTERS | |
Supporters of the Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC) held a large rally in Superior on Tuesday.
The rally was organized by the Northern Wisconsin Building trades and approximately 175 people attended. In addition to union members, representatives of the business community participated to demonstrate support. Following the rally, many union members attended the regularly scheduled City Council meeting and spoke during the public comment portion of the agenda in favor of the project.
You can view the media reports here:
View a video of the speeches given at the rally on this Facebook link.
Why do we need NTEC?
The state-of-the-art natural gas plant in Superior will ensure the delivery of safe, reliable and cost-competitive energy. It is a connection to a clean energy future, providing the electricity this region needs while enabling the integration of renewable energy resources.
Last month, NTEC project partners (Dairyland, Minnesota Power and Basin Electric Power Cooperative) hosted neighborhood open house meetings to engage with the local community. For open house materials and more information on NTEC, click here.
| YOU FIRST: WEEKLY WELLNESS NEWS | |
February Focus: The Power of Reading
February Reading Challenge
Challenge yourself to read a book from start to finish this month! Submit a brief (4-6 sentences) "book report" by Feb. 29 to [email protected], reflecting on if you enjoyed this book and whether you would recommend it to others. Responses will be shared with Dairylanders. One person will be drawn to win an Amazon Kindle!
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Congratulations to Manager, IT Infrastructure Services Bill Meshak, winner of the January You First physical activity challenge! The challenge asked for a photo of yourself and your family/pets/friends staying physically active outdoors. The reward: fitness reimbursement increase to $400 for 2024! Bill is pictured enjoying winter fun with his daughters.
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Sinus Problems Webinar (Feb. 15 at noon)
Allergy Associates of La Crosse, Ltd. is an internationally-recognized allergy clinic that helps individuals identify and treat the causes of their allergies through comprehensive diagnostics. Allergy Associates is offering a free webinar focusing on the topic of sinus problems on Thursday, Feb. 15, at noon. Many people experience frequent or long-term sinus infections or sinusitis and can spend the winter months with a stuffed-up nose, headaches and other symptoms. Click here to register.
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