A family tradition: three generations at Dakota Gas

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Baylee Carr, operator in fertilizer at Dakota Gasification Company.

Baylee Carr is proof that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” A process operations field technician at Dakota Gasification Company, he is one of three generations in his family that has worked at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant over the past 50 years.

Carr’s grandfather, Larry Carr, was the first of the family to find work at Dakota Gas. He worked as a supervisor from 1983 until 2001 when he retired. He was also involved in the research to help build Dakota Gas.

Mike Carr, Larry’s son and Carr’s father, worked at Dakota Gas from 1984 until 2013. He worked in operations as a field technician for the duration of his career, the same position that Carr has today. “My dad was always a hard worker and took his job very seriously,” says Carr.

While Carr always respected and appreciated what his family did, being employed at Dakota Gas and working in the gas and oil industry was not always part of his plan.

Originally from Hazen, North Dakota, Carr went to school at University of North Dakota in Grand Forks where he played college football. He went on to coach collegiate football at both University of North Dakota and University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, but he realized he wanted to be doing something else with his career.

After studying process plant technology online through Bismarck State College, his love for the Hazen/Bismarck  area made him decide to settle down. As fate would have it, the first job offer he received out of college was at the very place his father and grandfather worked. “I thought that was really cool considering the family history,” he says. 

Carr started working at Dakota Gas in 2018 and now works as an operator in the fertilizer section. His daily tasks include taking readings on pumps and vessels, loading urea trucks, shipping products by railcar, and tackling any other issues there may be in the unit.

“It definitely means a lot to me to be working at the same place my father and grandfather worked. I would say the one word that comes to mind is thankful. They definitely had an influence on the decision to choose this career path,” he says.

Carr believes the influence was happening subconsciously at the time, but his mother argues that she always knew he would follow his father’s career path one day.

Happy memories of Dakota Gas as a kid may have also been an influence. Carr recalls going to Family Night at the All Seasons Arena in Hazen. “I remember as a child, I enjoyed these evenings with my family as well as seeing all of my friends that had family members that also worked for DGC (Dakota Gas),” he says.

Now an adult, Carr is thankful for the opportunity to make a good living at the same place that provided for his family as a child.

“With my father working here for 30 years, I was well aware of the opportunity to make a good living while working for Basin,” Carr says. “Sometimes a job can be looked at as just that, but in reality, a job at Dakota Gas has provided for generations for the Carr family, and working for a good employer truly means everything.”

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