Our Story
Our Beginning
In the summer of 2000 Rail America Inc. approached Frank Nesbit, President and Owner of the Minnesota based company, Independent Locomotive Service, concerning a possible sale of two short line railroads they controlled in Minnesota. The two short lines were the Minnesota Northern Railroad, headquartered in Crookston, MN, and St. Croix Valley Railroad which was headquartered in Rush City, MN. Frank realized he needed a team for this endeavor. Frank chose two long time partners in the railroad business to begin this adventure; Thomas Kotnour, and Pete Bierwerth. They formed KBN Inc. (Kotnour Bierwerth Nesbit). The purchase took place on October 1, 2000. Thomas Kotnour served as the original President and Pete and Frank acted as Co-Vice Presidents.
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Five years later, KBN Inc. was approached by the BNSF Railway concerning taking over several lines in NE North Dakota. On February 1, 2006 the Dakota Northern Railroad started its operations. It was headquartered in Grafton, North Dakota.
From Left to Right: Pete Bierwerth, Frank Nesbit, and George LaPray
Thomas Kotnour
From Left to Right: Don Porter, Jason Bierwerth, Leon Steege,
Jerrold Moyer, and Tom Schuppert
Years of Railroad Service
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Frank Nesbit started his railroad journey with the Soo Line Railroad in Thief River Falls, MN. He later accepted progressiveively more responsible positions within the mechanical department at SOO’s principal locomotive shop at Shoreman in Minneapolis. Frank left the Soo to start Independent Locomotive Services, a firm that refurbishes locomotives and sells and leases them to industries, such as grain elevators, mines, and large and small railroads.
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Pete Bierwerth was from a railroad family and started with the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad in St Paul, MN. His career was always associated with locomotives and their operation and maintenance. Pete developed a number of improvements to locomotive performance and maintenance which eventually led him to start his own company, Midwest Locomotive Services Inc. located in Atwater, MN.
Thomas Kotnour started with the Great Northern Railroad in St. Paul. Eventually he rose to the position of Vice President of motive power with the Burlington Northern Railroad. Upon his retirement from BN, he was recruited to became the first president of the Red River Valley and Western, a start up regional railroad in Minnesota and North Dakota. Tom’s passion for railroads would not let him stay retired and he served as a consultant to railroad systems from Saudi Arabia to South America.
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KBN Inc's initial general manager of railroads was George LaPray. George was a 30 plus year industry veteran who had consulted with Frank and Tom on several short line startups in the West and Midwest.
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The Next Generations
The next chapter of the KBN Inc.'s story begins with Jason Bierwerth, son of Pete Bierwerth. Jason grew up in Atwater, MN and moved to Crookston, MN in 2001 after high school. He started off in railcar repair and as part of the MOW. Jason became an official conductor in 2004 followed with becoming an engineer. In 2009, he transferred to the Dakota Northern to manage daily operations and was there for two years before returning to Crookston, MN in 2011. It was in late 2011 when Jason was appointed as Operations Manager. Despite his various roles, he never stopped doing railcar repair.
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When Jason's dad, Pete, passed away in 2013, he found himself suddenly taking on the managerial roles his father once held along with the responsibilities he already had. It was a learning curve for sure, but with the behind the scenes team helping, they were able to learn and persevere.
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As his family has grown, Jason has made sure to involve them in the workings of the railroad in hopes that one day they will take over the daily tasks of the Minnesota Northern, Dakota Northern, and St. Croix Valley.
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Our Future
"Today, we remain committed to working with our customers to ensure their success, while also guiding potential new customers who want to ship by rail. The success of our customers directly contributes to the success of our short lines - Minnesota Northern Railroad, Dakota Northern Railroad, and St. Croix Valley Railroad - and we'll continue pushing forward to keep things going strong."
~ Jason Bierwerth
Manager of Operations