Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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It's a battle of adolescent wits, and one word separates the winner from the loser. "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" debuts on the Old Church Theatre stage Wednesday, July 10. This colorful musical comedy takes place in the late '70s, with plenty of shenanigans on stage to keep audiences engaged. Folks, this is no ordinary spelling bee. An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. While candidly disclosing hilarious and touching stories...
For the first time since I've been in business, I had to file an insurance claim. The electricity went out in Carrington during a severe thunderstorm the night of Monday, June 17. When Independent staff came to work Tuesday morning, they discovered that some of our office equipment was not working properly. The main office printer wouldn't turn on, so they made the call to Central Business Systems, the company that maintains our printer. It turns out that the surge protector box had done its job...
Eagles Aerie 2923 hosted more than 200 members at its first Dakota State Convention. President Josh Guler capped off a banner year of service as the organization's top office, and two others were elected to state offices at the four-day event, June 5-8. Guler exceeded his fundraising goal, raising more than $112,000 for his chosen charity, Home on the Range. Brad Herman, a 30-year member of the local Eagles Aerie, was elected trustee. Janine Anderson, who has been an integral part of the Eagles...
“It’s like going to a family reunion where they all actually like you.” “You would never have known it was their first time hosting a convention.” “That is one of the best, most beautiful rooms I’ve ever stayed in. It’s right up there with resorts in big cities.” That’s what members of the Fraternal Order of Eagles had to say about their time in New Rockford and Carrington this past weekend, as New Rockford Aerie 2923 hosted the Dakota State Convention. In total, more than 200 people from across...
With a big boost from the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission (NDAC), Tomlinson Field is slated for an overhaul in 2025. President Stuart Richter delivered good news to the commission at their June 3 regular meeting. The aeronautics commission awarded the city $1,600,900 to reclaim the city's municipal airport. The project is estimated to cost a total of $2.2 million. On April 18, five bids for the project were opened. The low bid of $1,875,875.87 includes "full-depth reclamation" of the runway...
This primary season has been quite the experience. On one hand, it’s positive to see so many North Dakotans interested in running for political office. We’re seeing primary challenges in both state and local government races, which means voters have choices in who they want to represent them over the next few years. On the other hand, more candidates means more political advertising. Citizens have started write-in campaigns, and announced their candidacy in newspapers, radio, TV and all ove...
GUARDS NEEDED! We are at crunch time!! We are in need of SEVERAL more guards!!! Accepting full- and part-time applicants, hours are flexible! Teenagers, the Carrington Community Pool needs your help! This is my third summer as publisher of the Independent, and I’ve seen a similar scene play out every year. There are also some open coaching positions in New Rockford, and seemingly every local business needs one, a few or many workers to fill their roster. The popular job site, Indeed.com, c...
I’m writing this column as a citizen and member of the board of governors for W-E Wind, LLC, the local organization that has led the wind energy effort in Eddy County. I was the economic development director for New Rockford when the idea of a wind farm first floated into our orbit nearly 18 years ago. During my first few weeks on the job, I met with every NRABC (then known as NRACBC) board member about their ideas. Tracy Henningsgard, one of the board members at the time, brought up wind e...
Over the past 30 days, local offiicals have worked with Interstate Engineering to advance the airport rehabilitation project. On April 18, the bid opening was held at city hall. The city received five bids for the project, which was estimated by engineers to cost $2.38 million. The result was favorable, with one bid rising to the top of the list. The bid submitted by Fargo, N.D. -based Border States Paving came in $500,000 under the estimates. The total, which includes all the improvements as pr...
Your local newspaper took home 30 awards from the 2024 NDNA Better Newspaper Contest on May 3. The New Rockford Transcript earned 10 first place, six second place, 10 third place and four honorable mention awards in news, photography and advertising. Among the highlights was first place among all weekly newspapers for Online Coverage of Breaking News, which recognizes the newspaper's online coverage of the Troyal Thumb murder and subsequent manhunt for the suspect, Nicholas Poitra. The judge had...
“My name is Derek Petteway. I have been out of MRCC custody since November 28th, 2023. While at MRCC I was able to obtain my CDL, and since have found a very fulfilling career path because of it. I started a job as a crane rigger about two months ago. This job has treated me very well and it will provide me with outstanding benefits and a great retirement plan. The end goal for me is to eventually become a certified crane operator one day. “None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for t...
For the second year in a row, the Rocket archery program has produced a team that's competitive on the national stage. Another group of 27 archers from New Rockford-Sheyenne boarded the bus to Sandy, Utah at the end of April – this time it was the youngest among them. The state champion elementary team shot both bullseye and 3D over two days and ended the tournament in eighth place out of 26 teams for bullseye. Meanwhile, Layton Jacobson competed at nationals as a state champion for the third y...
Spring sports are a crap shoot. One week, we don’t have anywhere to go. The next, we have all the places and not enough people to go. We get it all in every chance we get. On Tuesday, your local newspaper had four people at five different events. New Rockford hosted a doubleheader of high school baseball, first Carrington vs. LaMoure, followed by SNR vs. LaMoure. In the NR-S gym, the elementary club volleyball team took on the Benson County Wildcats. Carrington hosted softball, where Carrington...
The news came to me in a text message on Sunday. Lloyd Omdahl, former lieutenant governor of North Dakota and writer of opinion columns published across the state each week, passed away at the age of 93. Although he has been writing his weekly column since before I was born, I did not know much about Mr. Omdahl until I began working for the Transcript in 2015. Truth be told, although I read newspapers, I didn’t really engage with his writing much. If I read the opinion page, I was often f...
It must be spring, because cleaning and renewal are on the brain. I'm looking at all the work that needs to be done in and around our home before we host a graduation party in six weeks. I also need to take down the snowflake decor in the New Rockford store window and replace it with something more "seasonally-appropriate." I wish I had gotten that knack from my mother. She changes her décor every month, and the tables, archways and other areas of her home are always in season. We renewed our...
City Assessor Kristy O’Connor shared news of growth with the New Rockford City Commission Monday. She presented to city leaders during their annual tax equalization meeting, held in conjunction with the April 1 regular meeting. “Growth reflects increase,” O’Connor noted, referencing the many new businesses that have started in the community in the past five years. The projected taxable valuation for the City of New Rockford in 2024 is $3,217,665, an increase of 12 percent from last year, O...
“Help, I need advice! Tell me what to do with this weird corner below the stairs in my house!” “Show my husband that our brick home’s exterior would look better painted.” “I can’t stand these ‘orange’ wood cabinets that were custom built by the previous owner. Would they look better stained black or painted white?” Such are common questions a typical homeowner might ask his friends and neighbors. Every home has its quirks; some more than others. I remember watching “This Old House” and “Home Imp...
Shoo-be-doo-wop! You'll flip your lid for this one! DPRCA presents "The Marvelous Wonderettes," a must-take musical trip down memory lane featuring over 30 classic '50s and '60s hits. The show opens during the 1958 Springfield High School prom. Meet Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy and Suzy: four girls with hopes and dreams as big as their crinoline skirts. They go on about their lives and loves, all the while belting out classic '50s hits including "Lollipop," "Dream Lover," "Stupid Cupid,"... Full story
I'm not a big fan of April Fools' Day, or any kind of pranks for that matter. Perhaps that's because I am more likely to be the one pranked than I am the mastermind behind the hoax. My husband, on the other hand, can pull a prank with the best of them. Our oldest was born the day after April Fools' Day, and I happened to go into labor on the dreaded day. My husband and his dad were out of town for work the four days prior, and I was anxious to say the least. I had been staying with his dad's...
During National Ag Week, all eyes are on the farmers and ranchers who are responsible for keeping the world fed. According to the American Farm Bureau, one U.S. farmer feeds 166 people annually in America and abroad. In the 1800s when North Dakota was first established, a farmer fed 3-5 people, most likely his family members or neighbors. In 1960, one farmer could feed about 26 people. Even though we have the world's third largest population to feed, the United States is still the world's...
Rocket archers competed in their last regular season tournament on Saturday, March 16. Mt. Pleasant School in Rolla hosted 10 other schools, offering both bullseye and 3D competition. Layton Jacobson shot bullseye bright and early Saturday morning and set the tone for the entire day. He shot a 293 and finished first among high school boys. It was a sweep for the Rocket archers in the middle school boys’ division of bullseye. Sawyer Huso finished first with a 286, Braylon Alfstad earned the s...
New Rockford residents will want to make note of two key takeaways from the March 4 city commission meeting. First, the green garbage totes will make a seasonal appearance in the streets from now on. After discussion with Waste Management staff, the commission decided to set a seasonal schedule for residential trash pickup. The new schedule will go into effect May 1, with residents asked to continue putting their garbage totes in the alleys for pick up until November 1. Then, on November 1,...
It's Sunshine Week, a national observance of the importance of public records and open government. Sunshine Week occurs each year in mid-March, coinciding with James Madison's birthday, March 16 (1751). Madison, one of our country's founding fathers and an advocate of open government, presented the first version of the Bill of Rights to Congress. He was later elected the fourth president of the United States. Sunshine Week, observed this year from March 10-16, highlights the importance of open g...
Rockets archers competed in the home of the Bison on Saturday, March 2. At Barnes County North, the locals had the most success in the 3D tournament, where 15 archers secured top 10 finishes in their respective divisions. Freshman Layton Jacobson brought home the gold for the Rockets in 3D. His 289 was the top score of the tournament for high school boys. The other medal winner for the Rockets was fifth grader Lydia Huso. She scored a 233, good enough for the bronze in the elementary girls'...
I photographed the Forever Dance Spring Show at Carrington School last Sunday. It wasn’t the first spring show I’ve attended (or photographed), but for some reason this performance had me enthralled. It was an absolute joy to see dozens of young girls leave it all on the floor. The energy level was off the charts, and the costumes and props were spectacular. Even coaches Brianne Partlow and Jane Sauby got in on the jazz, wearing outfits adorned with sequins and sparkles. I thought the action was...
