Community

What was once a vacant corner lot is now home to an impressive 6,000-square-foot building – a monument to what can be accomplished when people work together to solve the challenges facing people living in rural areas.

Like so many small towns across North Dakota, many of Edgeley’s main street businesses had closed, leaving a row of vacant lots and empty, often deteriorating, buildings.

The community had hosted the local medical clinic for many years through a joint agreement between the city of Edgeley and Sanford Health.

When Judy Werner of Flasher reached retirement, she knew the Medicare system would be an important part of her future, but also a daunting one.

“I’m sure the retirement plans are difficult to understand for many people,” she says, “so it's good to have a representative who has the knowledge and skills to help make those decisions.”

When you visit Meadowlark Acres just outside of Arnegard, you’ll find more than rows of produce. It doesn’t take long to feel the heart behind it.

In Rolette and Napoleon, high school students are trading backpacks for bunker gear – and learning lessons in service, teamwork and courage.
 

Visitors to the 45th Big Iron Farm and Construction Show will immerse themselves in three days of agricultural and construction industry innovations, with plenty of opportunities to sit in the seat and test the technology.

A free concert, exhibit booths, daily demonstrations and informational sessions are all part of the schedule for the 45th annual show.

This fall, students returning to school will say goodbye to summer and their cellphones.

In April, Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed into law a bill banning student cellphone use in the state’s public schools.

The law requires cellphones to be secured during instructional time, from the start of the school day to dismissal, or “bell to bell.” It does not include school-owned devices such as laptops and tablets used for educational purposes, but covers a variety of personal devices, including smartwatches and tablets, that could distract students during the day.

Tracie Thompson hasn’t gotten a paycheck in more than a year and a half – and it isn’t because she’s not working.

She’s working – a lot. And she’s trying to make things work in the small town of Westhope, 2 miles from the Canadian border in north-central North Dakota.

A few years ago, the Westhope grocery store, which Thompson managed, was in financial trouble, and the owner was forced to close in December 2023.

A historic June 20 storm brought thunderstorms, extreme winds, large hail, tornados and even a derecho – a term reserved for the most intense, widespread and long-lasting severe thunderstorms. Wind gusts were recorded up to 101 mph 5 miles northwest of Linton, 99 mph in northern Kidder County and 94 mph near Elgin. Tornados touched down across the region, including a fatal one that killed three people in rural Enderlin. Another storm-related death occured in Stutsman County.

It was the most deadly tornado North Dakota has seen in nearly five decades.

“I’m a big believer that we need more talk about history, not less. This is how we do it,” says Robbie Lauf, executive director of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

For the last 10 years, Lauf has thought about Theodore Roosevelt, his favorite president, every single day. He’s seen North Dakota’s presidential library transform from an idea to a $400 million sustainable marvel at the doorstep of the Badlands, where America’s 26th president transformed his life.

Bill Butterfield is good at a lot of things.

The Lodgepole, S.D., native is in the Hettinger High School hall of fame. He got his PGA card two years after picking up a golf club. His Black Angus cows and calves eat out of the palm of his hand.

“I have to be competing in anything I do,” Butterfield says.

Four years ago, the self-taught pitmaster took home the People’s Choice award at his first competition barbecue event in Taylor.

Butterfield didn’t just bring the smoke that day: He brought his homemade seasonings.