Around the State: March 13, 2023

The counties and cities within the state of North Dakota hold many interesting news stories.

Here are just a few of the feature stories that others are reading in communities around the state.

Devastation

Doug Heil, employee of Patzer Truck Repair and a Harvey fireman, arrived at the scene of the early morning fire in time to save a number of trucks and tractors before the roof of the business’s main building crashed to the ground.

This isn’t good, Heil was telling himself.

At daybreak he knew it was a total loss.

The night shift at Ardent Mills, immediately to the south of Patzer Truck Repair, heard the first of many explosions. They immediately called Harvey’s fire department.

Fire had consumed the structure on the city’s north edge by the time the firemen arrived.

“With all the accelerants they had out there, in addition to the equipment, basically, that thing went up like a roman candle.”

The inferno accelerated “very, very fast,” added the Harvey police chief.

The many “booms” heard across the city awakened many residents. Some suspected trouble on the Canadian Pacific rail lines.

Owner Floyd “Butch” Keller was called at 4 a.m. in the morning, he arrived shortly after that, knowing the business was likely to suffer a devastating loss.

At 9 a.m. he was “still processing” the situation.

(Story by Neil O. Nelson, the Herald-Press, Harvey)

N.D. Senator calls for increased focus on border

U.S. Senator John Hoeven (R-North Dakota) says the country has a border security issue, and it’s not limited to its southern-most territory.

Hoeven is referring to the numbers recently released from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) citing 109,536 encounters in Fiscal Year 2022 with individuals looking to illegally cross into the U.S. from Canada. This number represents a 303 percent increase over the prior year.

Hoeven, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says the issue is invisible to many, considering the increased attention on the nation’s border with Mexico.

CBP data shows that, from October of 2022 through January of 2023, 70 immigrants tried to illegally cross the northern border in the Grand Forks sector, up from a total of 81 illegal crossings for the entire 12 months between October 2021 and October 2022.

(Story by Steve Hallstrom, the McKenzie County Farmer)

Kenmare college student worked at Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is known as the most extravagant sports event in the world. As such, most football fans know they may never have the chance to attend the massively hyped event, especially with the average cost of a ticket at $5,596 in 2023.

A Kenmare college student, Jeneca Kostad, had the opportunity of a lifetime this year, however, as she worked behind the scenes to help Arizona host the Super Bowl in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

Kostad is in her senior year of undergraduate studies at Arizona State University.

Her path to the Super Bowl began when she enrolled in the special events management class, called the Arizona Cardinals Rotational Program.

This program offered a behind-the-scenes look at the Arizona Cardinals football stadium and how it operated on Game Day and for other special events like concerts.

On Super Bowl Sunday, Kostad and the other interns finally got the opportunity to work the big event.

“I was stationed in the Media Workroom which was a tent built up on the exterior of the stadium. I helped cater to the different media stations with food and beverages throughout the day.”

“I made new connections and life-long friends while making lots of memories,” said Kostad.

(Story taken from the Kenmare News)

Bottineau grad Spaeth wins Marshall Islands race

Robyn (Wondrasek) Spaeth recently finished first in the Women’s solo division of the seventh Saipan Duathlon at the Banzai Cliffs of Saipan, Marshall Islands.

Spaeth graduated from Bottineau High School and is married to Travis Spaeth of Minnesota and they have two children. Spaeth has been running for several years, taking part in many competitions. This particular event included a 5 km run, 20 km bike and a 2.5 km run.

The Triathlon Association of the CNMI is the sponsor of the events on Saipan. Spaeth was still sore from running the Ekiden Relay a day before, but pushed through and tried to see throughout the race if she could keep the same pace or go a little faster.

All her determination resulted in her attaining first in the women’s solo division.

(Story taken from the Bottineau Courant)

A cruise through Belgium and the Netherlands

A Valley City student has won an educational river cruise in Europe through AAA-The Auto Club Group’s Discovery Crew Contest.

Kylie Van Bruggen, along with her father, Tyler, will join 59 other eighth-grade students and their chaperones on the trip in March. They will join up with the group in Amsterdam, then sail together on an AmaWaterways river cruise through Belgium and the Netherlands.

This contest was open to all eighth graders throughout the 14 states that AAA serves. A total of 60 winners were selected. The students entered the contest by answering three essay questions and submitting a selfie showing their passion for travel.

(Story taken from the Traill County Tribune)

Pastor faces temporary suspension

A local minister has been removed temporarily from service.

Bishop Craig A. Schweitzer with the Western North Dakota Synod stated that Erin Gullickson was “temporarily suspended with pay and without prejudice” on Feb. 17.

At the time of her suspension, Gullickson served Our Savior Lutheran Church in Max and Concordia Lutheran Church in Benedict. Both churches are part of the Dakota Prairie Winds Parish.

In relation to Gullickson’s suspension, the McLean County Sheriff’s office is conducting an active investigation.

Bradley Nielsen, a detective with McLean County Sheriff’s Office, could not elaborate on details other than that it was “in regard to financials.”

(Story by James C. Falcon, McLean County Independent)