701 Rundown: August 14, 2023

Here’s your weekly rundown of some of the most interesting headlines from newspapers across North Dakota.

Harvest yields to be variable in Walsh County

As farmers move into August and with grain harvest on the horizon, this year’s yields are being determined by when they got planted.

“The earlier wheat that got in seems to have burnt up a little bit compared to the later planted wheat,” said Mike Syrup of Edinburg Farmers Elevator Company.

“This year’s grain harvest I believe will be all over the board,” he added.

Grain harvest in the eastern part of Walsh County could begin in the next couple of weeks. But Syrup believes the western part of the state will have to wait a little long.

“I believe we will see some action in about four weeks,” he predicted. “Our harvest is about two weeks behind Grafton’s. The area around Grafton is just about done before we get started.”

The wheat that gets harvested should make farmers a decent amount of money, as wheat has been trading around $8.25 a bushel.

(Story by Todd Morgan, The Walsh County Record)

Former bowling alley in Bottineau razed for new structure

This past week an iconic building in Bottineau was razed after coming on hard times.

With the building now removed, a new building will be erected in its place that should grant a bunch of new opportunities to the area.

The one-time bowling alley in Bottineau was razed to the ground last Wednesday to make way for a two-story commercial building that will have offices and shop condos on the first floor, as well as a golf simulator on the second floor.

The property was recently purchased by Eric Herbel, who moved forward with the building’s demolition after it had stayed empty for a number of years, except for a few items being stored inside.

The bowling alley was destroyed by a fire back in 2011, when an individual tried to cover up a robbery within the business.

Tom Kessler, the bowling alley’s previous owner, was subsequently tied up in litigation with the insurance company over whether the building should be torn down or rebuilt.

In the meantime the bowling alley was left unused and ultimately sat empty for 12 years.

(Story by Scott Wagar, Bottineau Courant)

Arrowwood Prairie Co-op in Carrington replaces tanks, moves offices to new location

There has been a flurry of activity surrounding Arrowwood Prairie Co-op, both in front of the convenience store in Carrington and at its corporate offices.

An underground tank replacement project at the Cenex C-Store is nearing completion, and Arrowwood has also relocated their office to a new space at the former High Plains Equipment dealership building on the southeast corner of the Highways 52-281/200 intersection.

General Manager Paul Klosterman says the construction activity at the store was sorely needed.

"They started around the second week of June," said Klosterman. "We had to put in new overspill containment on the underground tanks, and had to break through the cement to do it."

The tanks were originally installed in 1994, and are past their usable lifespan, he said.

In place of that, five 12,000-gallon tanks were installed on-site. Once that work was completed, dirt fill and concrete pouring began, and pumps are expected to be operational in the next week or two.

Klosterman said that the gasoline pumps will feature 87 octane unleaded gas with 10 percent ethanol, 88 octane (15% ethanol), 87 and 91 octane without ethanol, and E-85.

In the meantime, Arrowwood Prairie Co-op's office has moved to their new location, having left their previous building just north of Schulz Plumbing on 11th Avenue North.

Klosterman said that the new building represents a substantial space upgrade from their past home.

"It's 60 [feet] by 180. It's probably three or four times bigger than what we had," he said.

(Story by Erik Gjovik, Foster County Independent)

St. John grad drops by for lunch in Black Hawk helicopter

A last minute decision by a N.D. National Guard helicopter pilot led to a quick stop at the Rolla airport.

Tami Abrahamson, a 2007 graduate of St. John High School, was on a training flight near the International Peace Garden last week, a place close to the home of her parents, Darrel and Phyllis Abrahamson.

“They went and got some D&B pizza and we had lunch,” said Tami.

The meal gave the Abrahamson family, as well as pilot Dana Clifford, a chance to visit and enjoy a nice meal.

Clifford and Abrahamson, both chief warrant officers, were piloting a UH-60 Black Hawk, which can seat 11 passengers.

It is equipped with two General Electric T700-GE-701 turboshaft engines rated at 1,560 horsepower each. Internal fuel is stored in two crashworthy fuel tanks and totals 360 gallons.

Tami said the National Guard utilizes the helicopter for emergency situations, but is normally counted on to transport people.

On this occasion, it helped a St. John graduate share a nice lunch with her parents.

(Story by Jason Nordmark, Turtle Mountain Star)

Finley emergency responders receive life flight training

Emergency responders in Finley, N.D., including the Finley Fire Department as well as two members of Hope Emergency Services, recently received specialized training from Sanford.

The training helps all who partake by teaching them how to better handle landing and takeoff procedures in the field when a medical emergency takes place and responders aren’t able to safely transport a patient to a landing pad.

“We haven’t had a training session like this since there was Finley Ambulance here, and that was probably 10 years ago,” said Finley Fire Chief Kevin Corey.

“I felt like it was time to do something about that, so I got a hold of Sanford, and they put me in touch with a gentleman there and got it all set up.”

(Story by Lisa Saxberg, Steele County Press)