Turtle Mountain man wins top business honor

Jim Laducer, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, has been named 2007 Marketplace Entrepreneur of the Year in North Dakota.

Laducer is the founder and president of Laducer & Associates. The firm, based in Mandan, provides information management services and employs more than 300 people across the state.

"Jim is a business leader, whose vision and ambition has benefited all North Dakota," said Sen. Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota) and Roger Johnson, the state's Agriculture Commissioner. "He is an inspiration for today's budding entrepreneurs and is proof of how hard work can result in great success."

Laducer was presented his award on January 17 at Marketplace for Enterprise, North Dakota's largest and longest-running economic development conference. Conrad and Johnson are the organizing sponsors of Marketplace.

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