The Fargo Five with Conrad Fargo

Holger Loor Weaponizes Military-Grade Attention to Detail & Resilience as Owner of Ultra Clean in Fargo, ND

Conrad Fargo sits down with Holger Loor, owner of Ultra Cleaning Services, for a conversation that goes far beyond mops, crews, and commercial accounts. Holger shares what it took to leave Ecuador, adapt to life in Fargo, learn English, survive the weather, and build a company while raising a family and leading a multilingual team. What starts as a story about cleaning quickly opens into something deeper: immigration, resilience, military structure, cultural translation, and the discipline required to create something of your own.Holger talks about his upbringing in Ecuador, where military service carried prestige and identity, and how that warrior mindset followed him to the United States. He explains his path through the North Dakota Army National Guard, law enforcement, and corrections, and how military attention to detail eventually became the foundation for his business. Ultra Cleaning Services now handles residential, commercial, move-in, move-out, post-construction, and even lake country properties near Detroit Lakes and Pelican Rapids, all while Holger manages a growing crew and still gets his own hands dirty.The episode also explores the human side of leadership. Holger describes his Sunday team meetings, the culture he has built between Spanish and English speakers, and why he sees cleaning not as janitorial work, but as transforming spaces and protecting families. Along the way, he shares funny and revealing stories about learning English, misunderstanding American idioms, and trying to find his footing in a new country.

Tara Kohn Reframes Pain Into Possibility Through Reflexology, Gut Health, and Mindset Shifts

In this episode of The Fargo Five, Conrad Fargo sits down with Tara Kohn, a Fargo-based holistic health coach and foot reflexologist, to explore how mindset, gratitude, and nutrition can radically alter a person’s life trajectory. From a 26-year career in massage therapy to building a self-employed coaching business, Tara shares how her lifelong experience with chronic pain shaped her perspective on healing and human potential.The conversation dives into the power of gratitude as a habit, not just a feeling, and how rewiring your brain to see the good can change your reality. Tara breaks down reflexology as more than a “foot massage,” describing it as an organized system that maps the entire body through pressure points in the feet, hands, and ears. Conrad challenges the ideas with his usual skepticism, creating a dynamic discussion on alternative health versus traditional medicine.Tara also shares her personal diagnosis with a rare spinal cord condition and how it led her deeper into nutrition, gut health, and anti-inflammatory living. She explains her transition into health coaching and her partnership with Purium, focusing on whole-food-based supplementation and detox programs designed to restore gut health and energy levels.Along the way, they touch on the realities of entrepreneurship in Fargo, networking through groups like BNI and the emerging Power Team FM, and the growing local health and wellness scene, including voices like Penny Static. This episode blends personal story, business insight, and philosophical debate into a grounded look at what it means to take ownership of your health in a modern world.

Aaron Dorval Composes a Life of Systems, Curiosity, & Consulting, From Call Centers to Save Me CJ

Aaron Dorval joins The Fargo Five to unpack a career that spans from a 17-year-old call center agent in Dickinson, North Dakota to a global business analyst consulting for companies around the world through Humana. What starts as a conversation about honesty and transparency quickly turns into a deep exploration of how systems thinking, curiosity, and problem-solving can reshape entire organizations. Aaron shares how he optimized airline ticketing workflows using early automation tricks, got written up for “not working” because he was too efficient, and ultimately turned that into a 25-year career building processes, leading analytics teams, and consulting across Fortune-level operations.The discussion moves through his unconventional path with no formal college education, instead relying on certifications like Six Sigma, Lean, and Agile, along with relentless self-teaching. From working in corporate travel for companies like Oracle and McDonald’s to inventing patented workflow systems at UnitedHealthcare, Aaron breaks down how identifying problems first, rather than applying pre-defined skills, became the core driver of his success.The episode also explores Fargo connections, including his music career with bands like Chaos And Question and Save Me CJ, and collaborations with local figures like Danny Vyechow (Cow). Aaron reflects on touring, recording, and playing alongside acts like Buckcherry and Smash Mouth, while also promoting upcoming shows at Unhinged in West Fargo and appearances at the Red River Valley Fair alongside Stone Temple Pilots, Candlebox, and Pop Evil.At its core, this episode is about mindset; how curiosity, systems thinking, and a willingness to explore the unknown can create opportunities that don’t follow a traditional path, all while balancing creativity through music and a global consulting career.

Arthur Weidner Distills Crude Spirits From 100-Year Family Recipe Into Modern North Dakota Success

Arthur Weidner, owner of Crude Spirits, joins The Fargo Five to unpack a journey that blends old-world tradition with modern engineering precision. From a 100-year-old family recipe born in the smokehouses of western North Dakota to a multi-state liquor brand, Arthur shares how North Dakota Sweet Crude and Sweet Crude Orange came to life and what makes them fundamentally different from typical liqueurs. The conversation explores the philosophical divide between work and toil, rooted in Arthur’s Lutheran upbringing and influenced by thinkers like Martin Luther and Solomon, before shifting into the realities of building a business in one of the most regulated industries in the country. Arthur walks through the science of distillation, flavor extraction, and the challenge of scaling something as deceptively simple as caramelized sugar into a repeatable commercial process. His background in mechanical engineering from North Dakota State University, combined with experience at companies like Boeing, GE, Cargill, and Otter Tail Corporation, ultimately led him back to entrepreneurship. Along the way, stories of hunting trips, homemade batches shared with farmers, and grassroots demand turning into real opportunity paint a clear picture of how Crude Spirits grew from kitchen experiment to regional product. This episode also touches on military service with the Air National Guard, flying, resilience after setbacks, and the mindset required to build something from scratch. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to bring a product to market, control distribution, and carve out space in a crowded field, this conversation delivers both insight and inspiration.

Erika Wiger Returns From California To Be with Family, Launches Turning Point Chiropractic in Fargo

In this episode of The Fargo Five, Conrad sits down with Dr. Erika Wiger, owner of Turning Point Chiropractic in Fargo, North Dakota, to explore the deeper meaning of family, belonging, and what it really takes to build a life and business aligned with your values. After spending over a decade in California, Erika made the deliberate decision to return home to the Fargo-Moorhead area, trading sunshine for something far more meaningful; proximity to family, community, and a sense of rootedness.Dr. Wiger shares her journey from Fargo South to NDSU, through chiropractic school in the Bay Area, and into nearly a decade of practice before launching her own solo clinic. Along the way, she opens up about the cultural differences between California and the Midwest, the challenge of building connections in a high-density but low-relational environment, and the emotional realization that ultimately brought her back home.The conversation dives into her specialty in prenatal, perinatal, and pediatric chiropractic care, her work with NDSU Bison athletics, and what it’s really like to run a one-woman practice handling everything from patient care to marketing and operations. Conrad and Erika also unpack the concept of “family” as a value, exploring whether it’s about blood, proximity, shared patterns, or something deeper like legacy and belonging.