00:00:10,630	Welcome to Bismarck Insights with Mayor Mike Schmitz, a transparent and engaging conversational dive into meaningful topics impacting local government in Bismarck, North Dakota. Bismarck Insights is dedicated to removing barriers between the city of Bismarck and the citizens we serve every day.

00:00:31,870	Bismarck. Insights on Bismarck Mayor Mike Schmitz. Today, we're going to focus on a community partner in that in the cities of Bismarck and Mandan. Fanatics and I have Will Sattler with me.

00:00:50,270	Will, please introduce yourself to the audience, let them know who you are, what your background is, and what led you to joining the team providing fun in this community. Yeah, thanks for having me. Yeah. Like you said, my name is Wil. I'm from Colorado originally. I got an opportunity to come out here and work for a baseball team in the height of the pandemic in 2020. I took an internship.

00:01:04,700	I wanted to work in baseball. I wanted to be in sports. And I got a chance to come out here and intern with Bismarck Lakes. It was graphic design. I got to activate the things that happened on the field in between innings. Had a ton of fun with that and kind of stuck.

00:01:19,830	I, was here for two years as an intern, coming out between school and the summer when I could come out as an intern. And, eventually I got hired on full time by the team and, then ended up moving over to the event company when my opportunity opened. And now I'm.

00:01:34,700	Not only do we get to work in baseball, I get to work in rodeos and marathons and community events. So. And and what is your role with fanatics? I'm the general manager, so I get to kind of oversee the entire team.

00:01:50,470	We have quite a few different team members that specialize in event operations, and the sponsorships and the marketing. So it's cool to have a hand on all the different things. Sure. You've talked about how you started here with the Larks. But the event group or te, company is a little different.

00:02:07,670	So what's the differences? Because I think sometimes some of our people may think they're one and the same, but they're very different because you do very different things. Yeah, they're very different in a way. But there is the kind of the synergies that we share. I mean, even some of the, the team that works for the likes get to help us with its graphic design or whatever that might be.

00:02:21,830	But, you know, when finance got started, we we were kind of one in the same. And so over the last couple years we've been able to grow just because there's so much interest in this community for things to do. And so now we, we operate kind of as our own, our own gig. And, it's been a lot of fun.

00:02:38,630	But at the same time, we can also take ideas and strategies that are also going on with the larks. Sure. And it's become a cornerstone, at least the larks have for the for the community. It's part of the identity of Bismarck when, for the during the summer for, for a lot of families.

00:02:55,700	And and with what's going on with fanatics and some of the things that I've witnessed being engaged downtown, at the depot parking lot. And there's other things that are happening, too. So let's get a little bit behind the scenes or what what is fanatics doing that is community oriented? That's really helping a lot of it.

00:03:14,570	A lot of entities level up, not for profits. Do things. Yeah. You know, it's it's cool. We've as we continue to expand, you know, for a long time we were tied to the summer months, you know, when the sun is really shining and may and till you sometimes

00:03:29,100	the, the beginning of October, that's when we were the busiest. And it's kind of continued to expand in that way. I think one of the coolest things about the company and my job at the same time is that no two days are the same, no two events are the same.

00:03:45,300	Whether it's, helping a nonprofit community board like the Bismarck Marathon, they're all volunteers. It's A51 C3. They get to bring in runners from over 45 different states to our community. Is such a cool opportunity. As well as the runners that are from Bismarck and North Dakota, they get to run. That's that's a blast.

00:04:01,500	But then we get to have fun, especially downtown at the depot. You know, Fiesta Fest is coming up in, in, in June, and that's a fun food festival, but really a nostalgic tie. Back to the fiesta. Be a restaurant downtown.

00:04:19,430	And what's been the coolest is like, as of last year was our first year at the depot, you know, just feel the energy under the lights in in that heart of, a vibrant city that's continuing to grow has been a lot of fun.

00:04:41,830	So what are some of the things you're looking at, to provide further experiences to those our visitors and those who are residents of the two communities, Bismarck and Mandan? Outside of what's been going on, is there any fun and exciting things that you can share? Yeah, yeah, we're still working quite hard to get all of our final details for our event calendar for the year. I do know that we we work really hard year round to find experiences that people are looking for. And that starts with hearing from the community.

00:05:00,530	You know, when people attend to our events, we always ask for their, their feedback after, and one of the main questions we like to ask is, well, what would be the next event you'd like to attend? So we're always listening for that.

00:05:15,570	We're also just continuing to try and provide that variety that one family may be looking to bring the family up for a food festival. Another might be for a Thursday night concert, you know, so there's many different ways that people can get involved. And I think that's the, the kind of the interesting thing is we continue to, really, work downtown to and throughout the community to provide these experiences.

00:05:35,570	We hear constantly that there's nothing to do in town. And that's not true. We continue to put on experiences and for things for people to do. That makes Bismarck and the surrounding areas a very strong place to live. Sure.

00:05:53,100	And I know we you know, it's not developed or completed yet, but down by the river, there's there's going to be development occurring over the summer and hopefully could be maybe ready by next summer. We don't know. What do you think that brings for some opportunities for some of these community engagement things? It will be more of a central focus time. Probably more than just the summer, but the summer certainly, because the river is there.

00:06:11,300	Yeah, but there are winter things to do, too. But what do you think that might open up for opportunities? It's such a cool opportunity because one of the staples of this community is the river. And so, you know, there are some opportunities to get there.

00:06:27,070	And this just adds another, another way so that people that maybe don't go out on the river, little boats or whatever they might do, they get access to this staple in our area, and not only for the people that live here, but also for the people that are visiting or coming through, you know, so there's a lot of history in this town.

00:06:41,530	And so be able to see that and then to see the river is a really cool opportunity. Sure. I know there's something coming up this summer that's fairly large, actually. It's going to happen across both cities and on different days. As we celebrate 250 years as a country.

00:06:59,070	But, let's talk about the 4th of July and what's going on there and how you guys are involved. Well, I don't know if there's a better state or region, for the 4th of July this year to celebrate the 250th, unless you're in Washington, DC or something like that. I mean, with the third man, that's going to have a great performance. The fourth.

00:07:15,200	We've been working really hard with a lot of different partners to bring an awesome community experience to this park, something that is free. So, Redwing Boom, which is historically been at, Capitol grounds, made a move to the MDU resources community last year. It was awesome.

00:07:32,730	We really were able to get the the community's appetite for something like this, a free event, where they can come together and really get to see their neighbors get to see people from their community, you know, for, for many years, the Bismarck Mandan Symphony Orchestra has performed, and that's become a staple of People's 4th of July.

00:07:51,070	And we're excited to continue to expand that, especially this year, with great supporters from the city of Bismarck, early County, and a lot of other private, support for that, we've been able to not only have a fireworks show this year, but also have a drone show that's going to be synchronized all together.

00:08:06,830	It's going to be such a cool experience to see this display, with the music in the background. I'm really looking forward to it. So and, and I'm obviously very proud of that, that the community is going to have that.

00:08:23,570	But I don't want to forego the fact that over there and have a pretty special day on the third as well, with fireworks that maybe people haven't seen the likes of, at least on the 4th of July. Yeah. And that was part of what they were planning, is we had discussions, you know, they could have picked the 4th of July for their fireworks show too. But they said, all right, let's do July 3rd. Give something for the community to enjoy.

00:08:35,870	This is going to be an awesome display. You know, they did something similar, for New Year's Eve this year. Raised a lot of money for some good causes. And so now you get to see the show on the third. That's certainly something you can do.

00:08:49,700	The fourth, you get to come over to Bismarck and see something just as cool. And last year, during the Bismarck, celebration of the 4th of July, down at the ball, we had a lot of people we probably had never seen before. This from I was at the gate.

00:09:07,630	So I got to see a lot of people I don't remember seeing the diversity of individuals coming through, and I don't know, the number was really hard to know how many we had there, but it was upwards of 6000, I think. And there's a goal to surpass that. Yeah, I absolutely think so. And one of the things we've been focusing on as we plan is giving people a wider variety of ways to experience the show.

00:09:23,630	You know, hearing the 6000 people, you know, inside the ball, we may not have had that number, but people on the campus of VSC, whether it was on the roads, we even heard feedback that over at the golf courses, people could see, nearby.

00:09:38,230	So that that's a really cool opportunity for us to continue to get this a more inclusive experience, you know, for the people that can make it down, that that's awesome. And, a wide range of people from the community, everyone is welcome. And I think that's one of the coolest. And there's some changes planned, at least on how some of that's going to be presented.

00:09:52,430	Is that not true? Maybe you do. Utilizing the, scoreboard facility better or. Yeah, absolutely. So we've been working with our audio and visual, visual, visual, video, partners, because one of the pieces of feedback we heard last year and it's like, well, it's great to see the symphony on stage, but I'd also be able to look

00:10:11,330	at the screen. And if you go to any, sporting events or things like that, video board screens are very common. So it allows our, our attendees to be able to see that from wherever they're seated, see whether they bring their lawn chair further back or they're right at the front row.

00:10:26,700	They can see that, but also inside the ball where the turf field is, you know, they have a video board and also a video board inside the community Bowl so people can do it from there, which is another opportunity.

00:10:41,100	And so ultimately just trying to give people the widest range of ways to enjoy the show because everybody's different, you know, and what people do. Oh, they're going to be able get access. And I think we've got some arrangements figured out. So we handle parking a little better as we move forward. So please do take it in. This is a pretty, pretty special time.

00:10:55,600	Not very often do we get to have this kind of celebration in the country below the state. In North Dakota, we're celebrating 250 years as a country. It's going to be a great experience with both communities. I know you mentioned marathon. Let's talk about that a little bit. What? That's a big item that, that you guys put on that certainly supports some local charities.

00:11:14,870	Yeah, well, we certainly could put it on by herself. It's it is run by a nonprofit volunteer board. These are awesome members of our community that have full time jobs. And in their free time, they get to plan a marathon, which is no, no easy feat.

00:11:29,370	I mean, not only are you planning 26.2 miles of, a race course, but all the logistics that go behind that. And there's also a half marathon and a ten K and A5K, and we have a kids race. So there's a lot of different things going on there.

00:11:42,830	I think one of the coolest things about the marathon one, it's an awesome running event. Running gets you healthy. It gets you active. There's a community behind it, which we've been really excited to learn about. But it's the the community aspect of it. You know, this is, again, a five and one C3 nonprofit. They've, I think it was over $30,000 given back to charity last year.

00:12:00,630	These are, community groups to support youth health and wellness in our community. Which is so cool to give that to. And I love, at the end of the year, always seeing how if you support them, perfect.

00:12:14,500	So we talked, you know, about the 4th of July and the music there and the and the just the events, the kind of the major events. But you know, do we have any other things where throughout the community throughout the year where we're bringing, like the symphony in to do things or other organizations that just help us celebrate, or, or is that the big event for for what you guys are doing?

00:12:32,600	I think that's one of the big events. I know we're again, we're working on quite a few things that are going to go on at the depot. I'm excited for the next month and a half to hopefully release some of those things, really programing that's happening every month.

00:12:45,670	And it's not just ticketed events, it's also free community events, you know, live music down at the depot. We have a lot of lot of, a lot of really cool ideas that we're trying to implement that bring live music from, different community members that are performing.

00:13:03,600	So I'm really looking forward to and I'm seeing a lot more of that stuff, and really being able to, throughout the summer, give people something to do. And for us, you know, there's a lot of competition and not necessarily competition in the event world, but competition for people's time.

00:13:18,770	There are so many different things they can do and spend their money, and so we have to continue to develop things that are immersive and really give back to those people that are attending so that they can continue to love where they live and love what they do. So how do individuals in the communities I know those visitors, visitors find out what's going on, at least the things that you guys are putting on.

00:13:34,230	What's the best way for for someone to secure that information? Yeah, it's a great question. Fanatics events.com is our website. That's our hub where we get to host all of our events. From there, you can get to the Bismarck Marathon's website when the rodeo days, the 4th of July website for graduate and boom, you can go there.

00:13:50,470	We're constantly working with our local media partners to make sure people can know what's going on. What's the exciting thing about this event? Right? Not just this. There's another event, but like, why should I spend my time going to this? So that's the best way to stay up to date.

00:14:04,630	But, you know, always keep an eye out around town. I mean, we're we're also there are other great partners in town that are doing things. And you can hear about the different, things to do events in the community. Just by being, in Bismarck, I'm sure.

00:14:21,600	Can we focus a lot on the summer? What kind of events happened this past winter that you were a part of? Or. We're starting to coordinate because, as you mentioned, it's evolved to more of a 365 calendar than maybe a 90 day calendar. Yeah. You know, I always get the question, especially when I work for the likes.

00:14:38,300	What do you guys do in the offseason? You sit in the office, you don't do anything that really it's very heavily planned. You know, this year is a little different than last year. Last year we had a great opportunity to partner with the governor, Kelly Armstrong, and host his inaugural party for kicking off his government. So that was a lot of fun.

00:14:53,500	This year we get to, we worked with Bismarck Tribune to put on their annual sports show. I believe this was 55 years for them. They've been putting this on and raising close to 10,000 people to the Bismarck Event Center. Over, of course, on Friday through Saturday, on Sunday. And, those are not just people from Bismarck.

00:15:12,200	Those are people coming from across the state. They are very interested in outdoors, and being a sportsman and all those different things. So that that was a blast for us to work on.

00:15:27,070	And, again, I, you know, we're planning on a lot of cool events to still come out later this summer, but, a lot of the work that we did during the the cooler the winter months this year, just kind of thinking about the, the winter of 2026. So there's some cool things coming to downtown, hopefully this, this this winter. So keep your eyes open and ears open, people. Yeah.

00:15:43,800	With the major events and I just touched on it briefly, but I mean, like the 4th of July celebration is we're anticipating a lot of attendees. So what kind of logistics can we tell people about? Do we have some timelines yet? You know, it's it's going to be here pretty soon. Yeah.

00:16:02,930	I think, last week was 100 days away, so it'll be a blink of an eye before it's here. You know, the best way to stay up to date is go to the website. That's biz fourth, biz 42nd. That's where all the information about the events is going to live.

00:16:17,300	Right now, we have a lot of the preliminary details about the drone show and the fireworks display, and what you can expect from that point of view. We've really expanded the variety of food and drinks that people can enjoy, really making this not just coming for the symphony and the music you're coming for, community from 6:00 all the way until the fireworks and drone display at the end.

00:16:32,400	So, that's the best place to find it. We're already very deeply in talks with city management to make sure we have the best emergency plan and exit plan for parking and all those different things, and information on that will be coming shortly here.

00:16:48,000	I would say your end of May, June, as people start to make their real, detailed plans. We'd love for you to mark your calendars now. Of course, July 4th, you get to make your plans. Lots of things to do. But we'll certainly be getting more information. In what time will events are they plan to start? 6:00.

00:17:05,570	So the gates open right at 6:00 for, the then do your resources community bowl. And we plan to have programing the entire time. So we've been working with a few local bands as well as potentially some large scale artists to team up with the symphony orchestra to really make sure that there's live music the entire time.

00:17:22,530	But there'll also be activities for families to do, whether that's more crafty or more active competitions. There'll be lots of different things for people to do. And just, you know, I think back to my childhood, on the 4th of July, we would set up, you know, late afternoon, we bring our lawn chairs and a blanket.

00:17:38,170	We'd sit on the grass and just having that connection with family and friends and neighbors is such a good. I'm glad you brought up that there's a lot of family orientated activity or kid orientated activity planned because that's important. This is the community, especially on these holidays. It's about family and, relationships like that. So glad will have that. Again, keep it out there.

00:17:58,630	Individuals that are looking for something to do on the 4th of July. In Bismarck on the fourth. How about the Mandan rodeo, is there? I mean, besides, the rodeo obviously is a big item for them during the. And that's going on now.

00:18:17,030	But with the fireworks display for that, how's that coordinating with the rodeo? And yeah, it's crazy. They're going to celebrate 147 years of this rodeo this year. So, we've really been working behind the scenes to put a America 250 spin on it. They're making some small adjustments to the actual performance of the rodeo to make it smoother.

00:18:35,770	That was feedback we heard in previous years is, you know, the competition is always excellent. That comes to the Mandan and that awesome arena. How do we make it from an attendee experience? So awesome to watch, really get to collaborate with your families and your friends. So that that is really a blast.

00:18:52,570	Again, we're working behind the scenes to bring some stuff together for for a very special 147th anniversary. You know, we have three different nights of themes. So the first night is really about family, which brings people together with family activities, additional family activities, I should say, along with the rodeo.

00:19:09,330	July 3rd is Patriot Night, where we're hoping to honor some of our service members and really, heroes and patriots in our community. And then, like you said on the fourth, there's a small firework show in Mandan that's been going on for quite, quite a few years. And, it's always something to look forward to after a great, great rodeo performance. Okay.

00:19:25,570	Any other major events that I, we haven't touched on that you would like to highlight? As we look towards the summer and fall? Well, definitely. Again, the marathon, the rodeo, the 4th of July celebration in Bismarck. They're going to be a fun activities down at the deep hole.

00:19:41,330	You are there other areas in town where there are some of those kinds of events being talked about? Are you involved in. Yeah. I mean, there's always, we have such a great connection with a lot of the community partners.

00:19:59,130	They think of the festival patio just up the road in Bismarck downtown, and, the eclipse venue that is, where bar bikes used to be, that we've had great discussions with them about some potential partnerships. But we're always looking for locations and partners to put on great experiences throughout the year. I think that's the cool thing. So I'm going to throw it out there to our business community who are not downtown, who might be in North Bismarck.

00:20:16,270	If you've got something you want to celebrate and you need some help, put it on. Reach out. Well, it would be glad to find it a way, a way to do that. Because it is not just downtown centric that you're that you're focused.

00:20:32,400	Obviously you're doing things and man, then and I want to understand that yes, downtown is where a lot stuff, some of this stuff happens is because there's some space there. But I think there's space on the north side of Bismarck as well. I'm certain there are people who would love to do things if they just had an idea, or maybe even just give a call and, find a way to do it.

00:20:46,700	That's absolutely, correct. And I think we what we are very, good with is you can be as creative as possible. Ultimately, at the end of the day, it goes back to how do we celebrate and give back to our community.

00:21:03,030	And our community is not only are the people that live here, but it's it's the businesses that are here. And so we want to deliver an exceptional experience for them, for the vendors that provide services for our events, from all the different things that you maybe just enjoy when you come to an event but don't think about, we want to get back to them. So any anything is possible, I think.

00:21:17,030	Just like so we talk about events. You're the the engine behind it, but it takes a lot of coordination from a lot of people. And a lot of this is volunteer work.

00:21:38,000	So how can people help these big events to occur? What kind of help you need and how do they get involved? Yeah, I always like to think when we talk about volunteerism in events, I look at the pinnacle, which is really the Bismarck marathon. For three years, they've had over 500 volunteers. Volunteer and participate. These are local sports teams, you know, Bismarck State College, University of Mary. They have huge their athletic departments are super involved with the marathon.

00:21:56,070	But it's also, the bio girls, which have a great impact in our society and in the area. So, there's such a wide range of people that get involved, you know, the two events that really stick out the Bismarck marathon in the Bismarck, 4th of July.

00:22:13,130	And I love how you said earlier you were at the front, the greeting everybody for every person that came in. And that's part of some of the volunteer opportunities. I mean, it doesn't have to be, you know, something there are a lot of different ways that you can volunteer, whether it's, helping a kid design a poster in the craft station or greeting someone handing out a giveaway item.

00:22:32,030	There are so many different ways that we can get you involved in our events. And allow you to also give back to your community. So let's get let's make sure people know how to get Ahold of you, hold of you.

00:22:48,300	But specifically, if there's some particular areas, you know, you're going to need volunteerism for, and it doesn't have to be out front, as you mentioned, it could very well be behind the scenes. So a particular functions you're looking to fill in there.

00:23:06,230	How does someone get Ahold of you or the team with fanatics or or the organization has put it on because it may not directly be with you? Yeah, you might be there. You're behind it. How do they do that? So, the best way right now or again, our website for next events.com. There's a form on there where you can fill it out, provide your contact information and maybe what you're looking to do.

00:23:21,130	I know that outreach for the 4th of July event for volunteers started earlier this week. So, if you're a community group in town, you're probably going to hear from our team. We do have quite a few reach out because we want to get those people to help us. But yeah, greeting, giving out giveaway items, really just being a part of the event.

00:23:37,570	I think we talked about the activities that go on. I mean, someone has to help, make sure that, you know, your family comes through. We want to make sure the markers are organized and the poster points are good. So we want to deliver an exceptional experience.

00:23:50,770	And while we keep this free, volunteers are a very key part of that. Sure. So as you look forward to the next 3 to 5 years, what opportunities do you see, called challenges maybe sometimes to, for fanatics and for the community at large? Yeah. Well, I kind of talked about it a little bit earlier.

00:24:11,500	I think one of the challenges we constantly face is the competition of people's time. And so we have to continue to, to push ourselves, you know, we have such a cool display. We stand for the 4th of July issue. That's a really cool event. I do get to top that in 2027. That's a challenge for us, and I think that's exciting for us.

00:24:27,670	As we continue to look forward not only for the next couple of years, but, as you said, 5 to 10 years, just in my short time here, like I think back to when I came in 2020 or even when I started with the event company in 2023. They're just continuously really cool ideas, cool things coming to Bismarck.

00:24:44,330	And as we continue to see the support from the private businesses, from people that come out to our events, allows us to invest more into these experiences, it allows us to get your feedback and then implement it on ways to make it smoother.

00:24:58,730	I think that's the coolest way that we can continue to grow over the next few years. If people show up, we sell out these events, they have a great time, they give us our feedback and we can do even cooler things in the next few years, which is exciting.

00:25:12,700	And and I know we've talked a lot about the the general community related items, but you're available to do other things. You you mentioned the The Tribune Sports Show, so you'll help businesses engage in an activity to put some of on as well. Absolutely. I'm glad you brought that up because we also have quite a bit on the private event side, which the community may not necessarily see.

00:25:31,900	And for one example, we work with Sanford Health, who is a very large employer in Bismarck, a very large part of this community. They have over 2000 of their employees come together for a summer celebration every year in August, and they throw an awesome celebration that brings their families out.

00:25:47,930	They get to enjoy food and live music and a theme, and that's a blast. So that's one way that we're certainly able to support, you know, one other partnership that we've been able to work on, the, the North Dakota Governor's Cup, we've raised over 250, $50,000 in scholarship and loan repayment, funds, that can be used and are match dollar for dollar by the state through the Governor's Cup,

00:26:07,830	which has been a blast. So very many, a lot of different ways to get involved on the private side. And that's why I try to point out is, you know, it's not just about okay, the big celebration, the 4th of July or the marathon or the rodeo, there are other things that that your entity does.

00:26:23,600	You're about having fun, which means businesses might want to have fun sometimes, and you can help them with that event. And there's so many different ways, you know, if it's just helping on the catering side, make sure you have a really good meal and it's presented well.

00:26:38,730	I mean, that's something we can do if it's the actual experience. You know, Ida automotive Group had their Christmas party at the Event Center this last year. And what a fun way for us to plan something that's different, right? It's not a summer festival.

00:26:54,030	And so we really got to sit down and think about every single piece of the journey that an employee and their family would experience at a Christmas party, put it all together, and they had a great time, and they're excited to do it again this year. So one thing I should have asked way back probably, is how many team members do you have? It's growing.

00:27:08,330	We are at six, that are full time on our fanatic side. We're going to have two awesome interns, both from the University of Mary on our team this year. So local. It's a it's a strong team that continues to grow.

00:27:24,430	And as you know, we there are quite a few experiences that we're doing in town, and we want to continue to grow that. And I think our team is going to continue to grow as well. Wonderful. Well, thank you for joining me today on Bismarck Insights. It's been an engaging conversation. And, people look for the events, look up their website to find out what's going on in town.

00:27:39,300	And I will also mention look at the convention visitor bill, website. They have a new calendar which, will incorporate all of these events as well. So there are things to do in our community. Please check those out. Yeah. Thanks for having me here.

00:28:02,130	Thank you for watching Bismarck Insights with mayor Mike Schmitz. If you have specific topics or questions you like addressed in future episodes, email em Schmitz at Bismarck and Gov.

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