Meet Our Team

Ted Bolton

Owner and Sales

Ted was raised on a dairy farm in upstate NY. After graduating from Cobleskill High School in 1976 he married the love of his life, Margie and joined the USAF. Ted & Margie arrived at MAFB July 4th 1977. He worked as an AGE mechanic until 1981, and then began his 41 year newspaper career selling ads for a regional farm publication, Farm & Ranch Guide. In 2018 he purchased the MAFB newspaper, Northern Sentry. “My wife had advertised her business in the base paper for years, but the Sentry had become a shadow of what it was back when I was on active duty, so when it came up for sale I bought it with the idea that the folks on MAFB should have a newspaper they could be proud of, one that focused on their unique community, memorializing their stories and accomplishments in print.” Ted says his greatest joy is when active duty folks tell him they have started a scrapbook with keepsake clippings from their own Community Newspaper, Northern Sentry!

Rod Wilson

Business Development/Sales

Born in the small town of Maddock, ND, Rod used to come to Minot to Main Medical to the “eye doctor”. For some reason he always thought he may return to Minot later in life. He attended the University of North Dakota where he was active in The Dakota Student (the UND newspaper), and was chosen to have some of his writing published.
In 1976, after graduating from the UND with a double major in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science. He started working for KMOT-TV in news and production. In 1977, he met his wife, Sue, who was just graduating from Minot State University in nursing. 3 boys and 44 years later, he still lives in and loves Minot, North Dakota.
Several years ago he started working for the Northern Sentry. He has a new passion, besides writing for the Northern Sentry, as a liaison between Downtown Minot and Minot Air Force Base. It has been exciting to see Minot grow and prosper, and more exciting to be able to create friendships between the community and the base.
Summer weekends you will more than likely find Rod sailing on Lake Sakakawea. When the boat is out of the water he and Sue look for reasons to travel to Fargo to visit their 4 grandchildren.
His hobbies are woodworking, photography and writing. He has also taken an active role in many North Dakota election campaigns which allows him to keep sharp on marketing trends.

Nikki Greening

Graphic Designer/Pagination

Nikki does all the graphic design and pagination for the Northern Sentry. She is responsible for putting the puzzle pieces of the newspaper together each week and making it look fabulous! Nikki is a graduate of NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) Graphic Communications Program in Alberta Canada. She has worked in the newspaper and print business for nearly 20 years and was recently awarded the Minot Area EDC Eagle Award for Customer Service.  Working on a product that will be shelved in history for years to come is what she loves about working on the Northern Sentry.

Erin Beene

Editor & Digital Marketing Manager

Erin is a mil spouse, mom, and writer. Originally from the proud state of Texas, Erin graduated from Hardin-Simmons University (Abilene TX) in 2007 with a degree in History. She has traveled the world with her Active Duty Air Force husband since they married in 2009. Erin has had the opportunity to learn, travel and grow around the globe thanks to the Air Force. She has had many jobs including, Events Coordinator for a bed & breakfast, and Managing Editor for a parent-focused website.  Erin graduated with her Master of Science degree in Digital Marketing in April of 2022, and began working for the Northern Sentry in March of the same year as the base reporter. Now, she manages the online marketing aspects and has taken on the editor role for the Northern Sentry.  

Martina Kranz

Base Reporter

Years ago, Martina contributed to the Northern Sentry’s column, “Operation Homefront” and recently wrote stories and poems for the column “Community Voices.” While in graduate school, she served as the copyeditor for Minot State’s Red & Green newspaper. She retired from the U.S. Army in 2006. She lives in Minot with her husband, Ed, who retired from the Air Force in 2009.