Pat Schaffer

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.

In an industry dominated by giants, Butcher’s Edge, a new beef processing plant located at the south edge of Edgeley, may seem like a small player.

Even so, Butcher’s Edge will play a big role boosting the local economy by offering ranchers a place to process their beef, providing employment for at least six local workers and offering customers a reliable source for some of the most wholesome beef raised in the United States.

Even though the title eluded her, she surely exemplifies what it means to be a “county woman.”

“She is the vet, cook, fence fixer, gardener, rock roller, digger, truck driver, bookkeeper and, most important, mother and wife,” says her daughter, Stacy Adams.