Ten years ago, Great States Construction started with one tenant improvement in Fargo and a team of two. Today, we build across the Upper Midwest and Mountain West.
Since our first project in 2016, we have delivered apartment communities, restaurants, convenience stores, retail centers, offices, and industrial buildings for partners in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. As we celebrate our first decade, it is a privilege to look back on the partnerships and projects that shaped our company, and to share where we are headed next.
Where It Started
Great States Construction founder Michael Casper was no stranger to construction. In fact, it wasn’t unusual to see a young Michael following his grandfather and uncles around job sites throughout the Red River Valley.
After studying abroad in China and graduating from St. John’s University, Michael built a career managing large-scale projects in markets like the Twin Cities. He was proud of the work, but he knew there was a better way to build.
Armed with that experience and a drive to make an impact, he moved to Fargo in 2016 and launched Great States Construction.
“I started Great States Construction a decade ago with a simple belief,” Michael noted. “The right partnerships, built on trust and honest work, would lead to something worth being proud of.”
Our first project came quickly: a tenant improvement for a chiropractic office in Fargo. Calling it a team would have been a stretch. Michael handled everything from procurement to drywall, and his dad, the company’s only employee, helped with everything else.
Our first company truck
“We are proud of where we started, and even prouder of the impact our first projects made for our partners.”
Michael Casper, President and Founder
Great States Construction
Small But Mighty
Those early years were about proving what a small team could do, and word spread fast.
Within three years of that first tenant improvement, we completed Cathedral Lofts in downtown Fargo. It was our first large multi-family project and an early sign of our team’s ability to reimagine existing spaces.
Cathedral Lofts, Fargo
The new Red River Human Services Foundation location followed and became one of Fargo’s most recognized new office buildings.
Each project expanded what we could take on and deepened the relationships behind our growth. As the work grew, so did our reach.
Beyond Fargo and Growing Fast
We set our sights beyond Fargo-Moorhead and took on signature projects in new markets, including 10Bedrock in the Rapid City suburb of Box Elder, and Farmstead Apartments and Farmstead Townhomes in Billings.
10Bedrock Apartments, Box Elder
That growth earned us a spot on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies in 2022 and again in 2023.
That recognition opened doors. In 2025, we delivered the first three Kwik Trip locations in the Fargo-Moorhead area at the same time, which took tight coordination across three active job sites.
As our projects grew, so did our commitment to the communities we build in.
Giving Back
Every team member at Great States receives eight paid hours each quarter to give back to organizations that matter to them. Some help local animal shelters. Others spend time with groups like Hope Blooms, which turns discarded flowers into arrangements that brighten the day of someone in need.
Since 2024, our team has volunteered more than 350 hours. In 2026, we also ran our first United Way workplace campaign and raised nearly $11,500 through bake sales, donations, and a dunk tank competition that looked like an episode of Survivor.
That culture is a big part of why Prairie Business named us one of its 2026 50 Best Places to Work.
Looking Ahead
Today, our team is building in Billings, Bismarck, Sioux Falls, Fargo, the Twin Cities, and beyond.
Most recently, we broke ground on Emra, a new class of active adult communities developed with our sister company, Great States Development. Emra builds on our track record of delivering Class A multi-family projects on schedule and on budget. From the outside, it might look like a routine multi-family build, but its scale, timeline, and amenities draw on everything we have learned over the past decade. Emra Sioux Falls, the first of several planned communities, will be complete in 2028.
Breaking ground on Emra Sioux Falls
We also continue to bring new locations to life for national brands like Firehouse Subs and L.L. Bean.
Over the next ten years, we plan to keep doing what got us here: building with partners who trust us, growing in the communities we already serve, and taking on projects that make those places better to live and work.
Thank you to every partner, team member, and neighbor who has been part of our first ten years. We are excited for what comes next.
“We are grateful to every person who has been part of building great communities alongside us.”
Michael Casper, President and Founder
Great States Construction
Keep scrolling for a photo timeline of our projects, our team, and our progress through the past decade.
10Years
2016 to 2026Our first decade
A decade of building great communities
Our founder, at the wheel early The beginning
A great start
Yes, the little one at the wheel of that Allis-Chalmers loader is our founder, Michael Casper. Years later, he started Great States Construction with a simple mission: Building Great Communities.
Our first company truck Our original logo on an early job site trailer 2016
Founded in Fargo
Great States Construction opened with one project, a tenant improvement for a chiropractic office, and a team of two: Michael and his dad. Those early years were about proving what a small, growing team could do. Word spread, and each project expanded what we could take on.
Koneu2019s Kreamery, Fargo Koneu2019s Kreamery, Fargo eOne Solutions office, Fargo eOne Solutions office, Fargo 2018
Growing in Fargo
Two projects in two months: in May we finished Kone’s Kreamery, a gelato shop in Fargo’s Prairie Stone Center, and in July we delivered a new office for eOne Solutions, built around its wall of windows for an open, collaborative workspace.
Cathedral Lofts job site, summer 2018 Cathedral Lofts framing, fall 2018 Cathedral Lofts, Fargo 2019
Cathedral Lofts
Our first large multi-family project: 35 apartments in downtown Fargo with a rooftop patio and heated underground parking, built in nine months.
Mattu2019s Automotive Service Center, Moorhead Park Co., Realtors, Fargo Augusta Apartments (Station 3700) under construction, May 2020 2020
Busy in Fargo-Moorhead
We finished Matt’s Automotive Service Center in Moorhead in January, then The Henson Group and Park Co., Realtors in Fargo in March. That spring, work began on Augusta Apartments, 62 homes in Fargo for Campbell Properties.
Breaking ground on Red River Human Services Foundation, June 2020 Red River Human Services Foundation under construction, fall 2020 Red River Human Services Foundation, Fargo 2021
Red River Human Services Foundation
A three-story Fargo building with a gym, activity center, and commercial kitchen that became one of the city’s most recognized new office buildings. We also finished Augusta Apartments, 62 homes in Fargo for Campbell Properties.
Crumbl Cookies, West Fargo Freddyu2019s Steakburgers, Fargo Public Storage under construction, Gilbert, Arizona Whispering Creek II Apartments, Fargo 2022
Inc. 5000
Our growth earned a place on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies. That year we also built Crumbl Cookies in West Fargo, Freddy’s Steakburgers in Fargo, and a three-story Public Storage facility in Gilbert, Arizona. In south Fargo, we finished Whispering Creek II, 74 apartments for adults 55 and better.
The Plains, Watertown El Agave, Fargo 2023
Inc. 5000, again
A second year on the Inc. 5000 list. We also completed The Plains, a 216-unit apartment community in Watertown, South Dakota, and gave El Agave in Fargo a full renovation.
The Docks, Sioux Falls Trusses arriving at 10Bedrock, 2022 10Bedrock Apartments, Box Elder The Teddy, Fargo 2024
Beyond Fargo-Moorhead
We completed The Docks in Sioux Falls, the market’s first speculative industrial building at its scale, and 10Bedrock, a 288-unit community in Box Elder near Rapid City. In November, we finished The Teddy, 54 apartments in Fargo’s West Acres neighborhood.
Kwik Trip, Moorhead Kwik Trip, Dilworth Kwik Star, Fargo Farmstead Townhomes, Billings The Setting on France under construction, Edina, 2025 2025
Three Kwik Trips at once
We delivered the first three Kwik Trip and Kwik Star stores in the Fargo-Moorhead area at the same time, in Moorhead, Dilworth, and south Fargo, which took tight coordination across three active job sites. In Billings, Farmstead Townhomes joined Farmstead Apartments. In Edina, work began on The Setting on France, a 150-unit community at 7200 France Avenue.
Emra Sioux Falls groundbreaking, August 2026 Breaking ground on Emra Sioux Falls Great States Club at SCHEELS Arena, Fargo The Setting on France under construction, Edina 2026
Ten years
Prairie Business magazine named us one of its 50 Best Places to Work, we broke ground on Emra Sioux Falls, and we opened the Great States Club at SCHEELS Arena. Today our team is building in Billings, Cheyenne, Bismarck, Sioux Falls, Fargo, the Twin Cities, and beyond.
Here’s to the next ten years of building great communities together.
