The story · Since 1998
Northwinds has been here since 1998.
Four eras of Northwinds -- from 1998 dial-up to today's web work.
1998
Founded
Local ISP for the 218 area code, out of International Falls.
Early 2000s
Web era
Web design + hosting added alongside the internet service.
2011
ISP retired
Dial-up and wireless internet service wound down.
2026
Continuing
Custom websites and software, under XStream Customs LLC.
1998 -- The founding
Northwinds started as a local ISP.
On May 1, 1998, Top Ten Video, Inc. -- a family-run business out of International Falls -- launched Northwinds Net as a local internet service provider.
Dial-up access for the 218 area code, specifically the local prefixes: 283, 285, 286, 377, 875, and 278. If your phone number started with one of those, Northwinds could get you online.
Wireless broadband
Then came wireless, broadcast off water towers.
As dial-up gave way to broadband, Northwinds added fixed wireless internet service -- transmitted from water towers in South Falls and Fort Frances.
All of it was engineered and kept running in-house.
Early 2000s -- Web design
Then came the websites.
By the early 2000s, small businesses in the area were starting to need websites of their own. Northwinds added web design alongside its internet service, building sites for local operations across the International Falls area.
Over time, the company expanded into a local-business hub -- web-mail, photo printing, computer repair -- all run out of the same family of businesses.
2026 -- Continuing
Back to building websites and software.
I'm Jordan Riggs. I grew up around Northwinds and the family businesses around it. I do the websites and the software, working from the same town.
More about how I work on the about page.