The Devils Lake Area Chamber of Commerce recently received two grants and is excited to partner with Lake Region State College (LRSC) on initiatives funded by these grants.
These grants are provided by the state of North Dakota through the Regional Workforce Impact Program (RWIP) and will run until June 30, 2025.
Grant #1: Retention Efforts
The first grant focuses on retaining Devils Lake High School and LRSC students in our community at various stages of their journey—whether they choose to enter the workforce immediately, pursue college, or return to the community after completing their education or training elsewhere.
A significant part of this grant involves collaboration between the Chamber and the high school on several key initiatives:
• Aligning students with job shadow opportunities in their career areas of interest.
• Hosting a career fair and a summer job fair.
• Meeting with high school juniors (alongside LRSC staff) to help them plan for their senior year and beyond.
In addition to working with high school students, the Chamber hopes to also assist LRSC students who are interested in job shadow opportunities within the local community. A flyer for this program is attached and will be displayed on media screens. Faculty members are encouraged to share this information with students and encourage them to reach out if they’re interested in participating.
LRSC students will be invited to attend the Summer Job Fair at the high school on March 26th. This event will be a great opportunity to connect with local employers and explore summer job opportunities. While details are being finalized, LRSC students are currently scheduled to attend from 12:00–1:15 PM. The event will be held in the DLHS gymnasium. This information will also be shared on media screens when available.
This semester, the Chamber will set up a booth in the student union a few times to interact with students. The goal is to share information about the exciting opportunities in Devils Lake, including careers, entertainment, arts, and more.
Additionally, the grant aims to support local businesses by providing ideas and strategies for recruitment and retention.
Grant #2: Attracting Talent
The second grant focuses on attracting new talent and students to the Devils Lake area. These efforts are primarily marketing-driven and aim to encourage individuals and families to move to the area for employment and students to attend school here. This grant will focus on marketing through ads, billboards, digital media, and social media campaigns. We hope you’ll notice some of these efforts as the campaigns roll out.
We are grateful to be part of these grants and look forward to working with the Chamber staff.
If you have any questions about these grants, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Ann Pollert at 701.740.5207 or Suzie Kenner at the Devils Lake Area Chamber at 701.662.4903