Rural development champion Lori Capouch to be inducted into Cooperative Hall of Fame

MANDAN, N.D. — On Dec. 6, the Cooperative Development Foundation announced Lori Capouch as a 2025 inductee to the Cooperative Hall of Fame – the highest honor bestowed on individuals who have made outstanding contributions to cooperatives. Capouch, who retired from the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDAREC) in July, dedicated nearly three decades to rural and frontier co-op development. She will be formally inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame Oct. 9, 2025, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The first woman from North Dakota to receive this prestigious honor, Capouch joins other outstanding North Dakota cooperators, Everett Dobrinski and Vern Dosch, in the hall of fame.

“Lori spent a career championing issues others did not. She worked in the trenches on rural quality-of-life issues to improve access to food, child care, health and basic services,” says NDAREC General Manager and Executive Vice President Josh Kramer. “She has helped farmers, ranchers and rural people form meat processing cooperatives. She has helped rural communities retain workers and families through the formation of child care cooperatives. And, her innovative idea led to the establishment of the first-known rural food access and distribution cooperative in the United States, which is helping keep small-town groceries viable and proving the cooperative model can change a broken food supply system.”

Now in its 51st year, the Cooperative Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have enhanced and advanced cooperative enterprises, empowered people through their association with cooperatives and contributed to the broader acceptance of the cooperative model in the United States and around the world.

“Capouch’s work has proven that in frontier and rural places, where the free market has trouble serving, the cooperative model can be a viable solution. Her own measure of success is saying goodbye to the cooperatives she helped. For all her work supporting cooperatives and families in rural America, we welcome Capouch as a national co-op hero,” the Cooperative Hall of Fame website states.

“I am truly humbled and honored to be inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame,” Capouch says. "Reflecting on my career, I think of the amazing people I’ve had the privilege to work with and the incredible support I’ve received from NDAREC, my family and my friends. This recognition is not just for me, but for everyone who has been part of this journey. I am proud to be a part of the rich history of the cooperative movement in our nation.”

Notably, Capouch’s 2025 induction will coincide with the International Year of Cooperatives, which highlights the lasting global impact of cooperatives and the application of the cooperative model to address global challenges.

“Rural North Dakota – and rural America – is better because of Lori and her application of the cooperative business model to solve the problems we face. Many of the models Lori helped develop in North Dakota communities are being replicated today across the country, from rural Kansas to the bustling Bronx, New York,” Kramer says. “The contributions she has made to improve the lives of rural people using the cooperative model are nothing short of heroic.”

NDAREC is the statewide trade association for 17 electric distribution cooperatives and five generation and transmission cooperatives operating in North Dakota. The distribution cooperatives provide electricity to more than 250,000 North Dakotans. NDAREC services include legislative advocacy, line worker safety training and professional development services, cooperative business development, and communication services, including publication of the North Dakota Living magazine.