701 Rundown: July 1, 2024

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

Young minds in full bloom in Carrington

Whether it's a part-time high school job, a diversion from the grind of college courses, or a budding passion waiting to be unleashed, Petals and Stems in Carrington has become a station for young women to let their creativity fly.

Owner Brenda Bush has been a proud promoter of her employees' higher education, which began almost since the flower shop's founding in 2017.

"I always look for creativity in an employee, and I especially enjoy working with young creative minds," Bush says.

With newer generations tending to move away from the skills of customer service and in-person communication in favor of technology, Bush sees a need to preserve that level of connectivity with customers.

"Somewhere along the line, we stopped teaching young people how to interact with others at a basic level, like looking someone in the eyes when you speak with them," she said.

Most of what Bush teaches her workers revolves around life skills as a result.

"They teach me just as much as I teach them," she said. "We have such a unique blend of generations at the shop, and I hope they can learn an actual trade they can always use in the future, but more so, I hope they learn to trust themselves and have the courage to follow their dreams."

She has been diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system essentially turns on the body and begins attacking healthy tissue.

Because of that, Bush has been limited in her hours where she's running the shop, and is not as able to work at the pace she has in the past.

Currently, Sydnie Grager and Alleigha Guthmiller are part of the Petals and Stems staff, and work full-time and pick up extra side jobs while taking online classes.

(Story by Erik Gjovik, The Foster County Independent)

The crown jewel of Maddock

Small, rural towns are often overlooked and seen as places that refuse to move with the times.

But if people took a closer look, their eyes would be opened to not only how amazing the people who make up these small towns are, but also their ability to come together with ideas and make things happen.

In 2009, some individuals in Maddock decided they were going to make a difference by fixing up a building that had stood unused for quite a while and making it something new that would not only bring people to the area but connect existing members of the town.

This was the Harriman Building, which was constructed in 1905 as a mercantile store originally owned by L. W. Harriman, with the second floor being the Maddock Opera House.

Many Maddock residents might also remember when the building housed a hardware store run by the Mildes and the Plums.

By 2000, the building was no longer in use, but a little over 100 years after it had been built, a group of people in the Maddock community decided to come together and give the building new life.

The project began in 2010, and included new roofing, restoring the brick quality, integral design elements and much more.

The group successfully modernized the building while still keeping much of the original look.

(Story by Hailey Maddock, Benson County Farmers Press)

Horace teen charged with DUI in head-on collision

A head-on collision in Horace sent four teens to the hospital with serious injuries, including 18-year-old McKenzie Moser, who was charged with DUI and DUI-Refusal.

The collision occurred June 13 at around 10:55 p.m. at the intersection of Cass County Road 17 and 6th Ave North.

Moser, a Horace resident, was traveling southbound on County Road 17 and crossed into the northbound lane and into the path of a vehicle driven by a 16-year-old female juvenile.

The vehicles struck one another head-on, and after colliding the 16-year-old’s vehicle came to rest facing north, partially in the ditch in the southeast corner of the intersection in an upright position.

The 16-year-old and her two passengers were all transported to Sanford hospital in Fargo. The driver and a 14-year-old passenger were transported via ambulance, while a 16-year-old passenger was life-flighted. All three suffered serious injuries.

Moser was arrested on scene and also transported to the Sanford hospital in Fargo.

(Story by Angela Kolden, Cass County Reporter)

Wells Co., Harvey residents back library in election

Harvey’s library was given new life in this year’s primary election.

The election had a few surprises – one being the relative ease with which a measure passed to allow Wells County and the City of Harvey to establish a joint county-city library.

The Harvey Public Library staff was “very happy” over the resounding victory of the measure, giving the library the capability of generating revenue by levying a marginal tax, enough to maintain the library’s operation and to secure its future.

“It’s all just great, fabulous,” said librarian Roberta Cotton.

Peggy Lemer, president of the library board, said the news was indeed wonderful.

“We’re thankful for our community and are hoping everyone will stop in and use the library and its soon-to-be UPS drop-off site,” she said.

Meanwhile, the City of Harvey has also elected a new mayor, Dean Klier.

Klier couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the first tabulations.

“Holy cripes, am I reading this right? I thought I had a shot,” he said, but to receive 71 percent of the vote was a very pleasant surprise, he added.

“I am humbled and appreciative of all the support I have received from the people in Harvey. I just want what’s good for the community, that’s the bottom line.”

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