Around the State: August 19, 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.

Celebration for opening of Peace Garden Conservancy

The long-awaited Grand Opening of the expanded Conservatory highlights this year's Summer Celebration Weekend at the International Peace Garden.

The IPG Staff and Board will bring greetings on Saturday, August 10, and share the story of one of the world's most diverse collections of cacti and succulents.

The $7.5 million expansion took place between 2021 and 2024 thanks to joint funding from the Province of Manitoba and State of North Dakota.

The Don Vitko Collection of more than 5,000 plants is in a beautiful new home that will delight visitors year-round. New interpretation will continue to be added through 2024 and IPG is excited to start offering more winter experiences and field trips.

(Story taken from the Kenmare News)

North Dakota expected to lead the nation in honey production

North Dakota has been the highest honey producing state for 19 years in a row, and is set to make that an even 20 this year.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2023 North Dakota hives produced 38.3 million pounds of honey, which was valued at over $67.8 million. This is nearly triple the amount produced by the next highest producing state, California.

According to a news release on the North Dakota bee colonies by the USDA, there were 65,000 colonies within the state on January 1, 2024. By April 1, there was a colony loss of 11 percent, leaving 49,000 colonies.

During the second quarter of 2024 there were 22,000 colonies renovated, which means that a new queen was introduced to the hives in North Dakota.

By introducing a new queen, the hive is then able to not only sustain its population, but also increase in size and yield greater amounts of honey.

(Story by Kristen Jones, the McKenzie County Farmer)

Fessenden awarded $1.995 million

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded Fessenden a $1.995 million grant from Building Resilient Infrastructure in Communities, Tammy Roehrich reported to the Fessenden City Council on August 6.

Fessenden is the smallest community that has ever received this grant, Roehrich said. As Wells County emergency manager, the council authorized Roehrich to sign the grant award and administer the grant implementation.

Roehrich has been working on the grant for two years with Daniel Schwartz of Nexus Planning and Consulting, as well as Apex Engineering. "We saw the need and found the resources for the funding," Roehrich said.

The lagoon project, budgeted in 2022 at about $3 million, will be a two-phase project.

"The engineer is starting the final design phase, we'll put it out on bids. Start of construction probably won't be until 2025 or 2026," said Roehrich. She noted that timeliness are at the mercy of the federal government.

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

Oliver's got his foot in the door

A young Oliver Bromke, Wells County's new state's attorney, told a Tuesday morning crowd at the KTL Building in Fessenden all the right things: he already has his "foot in the door," his office is "up and running" and he "understands what he's getting into."

All that before he dropped his "bombshell" of sorts: His office is going "paperless."

Lord have mercy, how much can a board of county commissioners handle in one morning?

Bromke, who returned to the continental U.S. after spending a year working in Alaska, is from New Jersey. He will be working "remotely" from his home in Grand Forks.

Logan Grover, who worked with Kathleen Murray, will staff Bromke's office in Fessenden.

The commissioners appreciate how Bromke "has hit the ground running," noted board chairman Stan Buxa.

Bromke has had time to review former state's attorney Kathleen Murray's demand for compensation for the extra time she put in before leaving office earlier this summer.

It's possible, Bromke said, that Murray will bring a civil suit against the county, if she doesn't receive "some form of payment."

Murray, who was paid $1,452.99, is asking for upwards of $4,000.

Hesitant to accommodate Murray's request, the board reasoned that it is "important to have this settled and be done with it." They agreed to allow Bromke to continue his discussion with Murray's attorney.

County auditor Dan Stutlien reminded the board that Murray was a salaried employee and not subject to extra pay or compensation while on the county payroll.

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

Critics, supporters of planned dairy trade barbs

Out-of-town critics and local supporters of a 25,000-cow dairy planned in Herberg Township traded barbs during a public meeting on August 1 in Hillsboro.

Sponsored by the Dakota Resource Council, the two-hour forum was intended to outline the environmental and financial impacts that Riverview LLP's proposed dairy could have if the project moves forward.

Riverview's planned confined animal feeding operation or CAFO would house more than double the number of dairy cows currently in the state.

But Sam Wagner, who serves on the Casselton City Council, and other Dakota Resource Council members received pushback about their concerns from Sarah Lovas, a Hillsboro-area agronomist, and Greg Amundson, a fourth-generation farmer who raises corn near Gilby, N.D.

Lovas and Amundson countered claims from Wagner and other Dakota Resource Council members that Herberg Dairy could become too powerful locally, take away profits from area elevators and lead to the closure of dairy farms across the state.

Emerado, N.D. farmer Todd Leake alleged that Riverview, which operates a 10,500-cow dairy operation known as Waukon Dairy near Gary, Minn., selected Herberg Township as an expansion site in order to escape heavy-handed oversight and regulation in Minnesota.

(Story by Cole Short, the Hillsboro Banner)