The ND Career Builders program received a $25,000 grant from Microsoft to promote enrollment in computer and information sciences and support services programs of study. Based on the current high-need and emerging occupations, Dakota College at Bottineau (Dakota College) has degrees or certificates that qualify a student.

It has been a bountiful harvest for the Entrepreneurial Center for Horticultural (ECH) at Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB). Optimistic planning started spring 2020 to plant pumpkins in the campus gardens with hopes of Bottineau Public School students getting to pick a pumpkin after coming on a field trips to learn about food production. Unfortunately, field trips were yet another thing that had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. BUT not all the fun has been cancelled!

Entrepreneurial Center for Horticulture (ECH) at Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) has received a funding opportunity in the amount of $48,675.00 from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for outreach, education and technical assistance for beginning producers in North Dakota. This is a portion of the grant investments of more than $53 million across three unique programs for U.S. farmers, ranchers, and military veterans to support American agriculture.

Dakota College at Bottineau closes the fall 2020 enrollment with an increase. The North Dakota University System calculates official fall enrollment for all 11 colleges and universities on the 20th instructional day of the semester. That day was yesterday, September 21, 2020. As expected, due to COVID-19, Dakota College is experiencing some changes in the enrollment pattern for the 2020-2021 academic year.

When Dakota College at Bottineau admissions counselors asked high school students’ what program they would be interested in over seven years ago, photography was at the top of the list. Using that information, Dakota College moved forward with a photography program with approval from the ND State Board of Higher Education. This unique career and technical program combine classroom instruction with hands-on experience to train students for a rewarding career. Dakota College’s program was developed by Clint Saunders who also teaches courses in the photography program. This program has grown from an original on-campus program to a full online program, and a hybrid program combining on-campus and online instruction.

Today, Tuesday August 25 marks the first full day of classes at Dakota College at Bottineau under what is now referred to as the “new normal”. Students participated in a welcome weekend that looked different than past years.

The Dakota Nursing program at Dakota College at Bottineau will pin forty-one Practical Nurse graduates July 16 and 17, 2020. Dakota College at Bottineau’s practicum is a member of the Dakota Nursing Program, a consortium of four community college nursing departments which work together to offer a common curriculum for a Practical Nursing Certificate and an Associate in Applied Science in Nursing.

Dakota College at Bottineau’s PTK chapter of Beta Rho Eta conducted a community centered campaign geared towards promoting community spirit and financial support for local businesses. Over the course of a four-week period, members of PTK decorated fifty lawns within the Bottineau and Metigoshe area. They placed a series of axe cut outs and forestry themed décor on peoples’ lawns. In order to move the décor from the yard, residents were ‘axed’ to pay forward a financial gift to a community member of their choice. The homeowner selected the next house to be axed. For every dollar donated, PTK converted it into Bottineau Bucks and to facilitate a pay it forward to the next home. Gifts ranged anywhere from $10 to $100 per lawn with over $1,250.00 generated in Bottineau Bucks which may now be used in Bottineau to boost the re-opening within the community.

Dakota College at Bottineau is one of 12 recipients of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) investment of $4.8 million to support workforce training by community colleges. These awards are made possible through the Agricultural and Food Research Initiative’s (AFRI) Agricultural Workforce Training program priority area. This is the first time that the NIFA has specifically targeted community colleges to increase training opportunities for the food and agricultural workforce sector.