Around the State: May 13, 2024

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.

Airsoft gun fired during class at Alexander School

During a sixth grade music class at Alexander Public School on April 15, a student produced an airsoft gun and fired it at another student. This incident is still under investigation and many parents have reached out to The Farmer to express frustration with how the incident has been, and is continuing to be handled.

According to the Lieutenant of the McKenzie County Sheriff's Office, Investigative Division Edward Martinez II, "A student did bring an airsoft pistol to the school and that pistol was utilized inside of a classroom setting. It wasn't known until after the class period ended that the pistol was even in the school. Later on, the administration found out, ended up finding out who the student was and later had that student come down to the office. They later found that pistol hidden within the school."

It was also stated that there was no teacher present in the class when the incident happened, though it has not been made public why there was no supervision at the time.

A group of parents held a public meeting on April 23, at the Alexander Firehouse to voice their concerns.

William Hunsaker, a parent of a sixth grader took the lead at the meeting. He said, "I hold the administrators responsible because they are the adults in the room, and I hold the teacher responsible because they are the adults. They are the ones that are supposed to keep our kids safe and they are the ones who are supposed to control the environment...The adults at the school did not provide a safe environment for our kids."

Sarah Hoyt, a parent of another sixth grade student told The Farmer that she has withdrawn her son from the school, saying, "The sad thing is, that I didn't even know it was the sixth graders, my child's class...They never even told the parents of the kids in the class. I had to find out from a third party."

There will be a school board meeting on May 8 and parents are invited to voice their concerns.

(Story by Kristen Jones, the McKenzie County Farmer)

Christian Center holds retreat for quilters

The annual Featherweight Quilting Retreat was held at the Metigoshe Ministries' Christian Center recently which brought in a number of quilters who are fond of the Singer Featherweight sewing machine and its history of producing quilts.

"The Featherweight Quilting Retreat happens every year," said Katie Vogel of the Christian Center.

The ladies like to come together to quilt and socialize with each other for three days."

This year's quilting retreat saw Featherweight quilters from a variety of locations, some of which includes Bottineau, Lake Metigoshe, Devils Lake, Rugby, Minot and the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Those who attended the retreat refer to the Singer's Featherweight sewing machine ad Model 221, which was introduced at the 1934 World Fair in Chicago and produced by the company between 1933 to 1968. The sewing machine is known for its small size and weight of around 11 pounds and such features as a lock-stitch, improved self fastening bobbin case and much more, making it one of the most sought after sewing machines in the industry which are huge collector items today.

In Singer's history of the Featherweight, it is estimated that they sold between three to three and a half million machines.

The Christian Center is known for their quilting retreats where several are held each year on the edges of Lake Metigoshe in the Turtle Mountains.

The Christian Center provides retreaters with conference rooms, comfortable accommodations, home-cooked meals and even a quilting store to purchase items from different vendors.

(Story by Scott Wagar, the Bottineau Courant)

Cramer pleads 'not guilty' in homicide case

The son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) pled "not guilty" to homicide while fleeing a peace officer, which resulted in the death of a local sheriff deputy.

During a preliminary trial conference on April 17 at the McLean County Courthouse in Washburn, Ian Cramer, 43, of Bismarck, waived his preliminary hearing and entered the "not guilty" plea to multiple felony and misdemeanor charges.

Those changes include: Homicide while fleeing peace officer, preventing arrest, reckless endangerment, possession of a controlled substance meth, possession of a controlled substance, cocaine, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under suspension, possession of a controlled substance, marijuana.

The next hearing for Cramer will be July 8 followed by the tentatively planned trial July 16-19 set to take place in Mercer County.

(Story by Kelli Ameling, the McLean County Independent)

Restored steam engine passed through Wells County

On May 1, Railway Street in Fessenden was lined with people as the Canadian Pacific steam locomotive 2816 steamed through town as it traveled across Wells County.

The final Spike tour included the engine, dubbed The Empress, pulling two water tanks, a box car and 14 passenger cars.

The Empress, a fully restored and operational steam engine, was restored in 1998 for filming purposes. Shortly thereafter, with the merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern railroads, The Empress was returned to full operational service in 2023.

The locomotive is part of the Final Spike Anniversary Steam Tour celebrating the anniversary of the CPKC merger. According to a press release, "The special cross continental journey of the 2816 steam locomotive serves as a reminder of our past and a celebration of our future. The Final Spike Anniversary Steam Tour will be the first ever steam-powered passenger train in North America to traverse Canada, the United States and Mexico in a single trip.

A list of the tour schedule is available at cpkcr.com

(Story by Anne Ehni, the Herald-Press, Harvey)

Pembina County Chess Tournament

The first annual Pembina County Chess Tournament was held on April 14 at the Pembina County Courthouse with five communities putting together teams; Cavalierr, Crystal, Drayton, Pembina and Walhalla.

The team with the highest overall score from the placing of its participants was Pembina with a very strong team showing, its team members placing 1st 4th and 5th.

This year's champion was Cayden Rhody from Pembina.

Chess boards and timers used for the tournament were bought with donated funds.

(Story taken from the Cavalier Chronicle)