You are currently browsing the daily archive for December 29th, 2008.
(Editor’s Note: This is the first in a three-part series reviewing the events of the past year in the Ransom County area.)
January
*Dale’s Jewelry, Main Street, Lisbon closed as of the end of December, 2007, after being in business for over 45 years.
*The father-son hunting team of Dale and Tyler Keller, Gwinner, shot and killed a 107-pound mountain lion eight miles south of Cogswell on New Years Day, January 1, 2008.
*The First Baby of the New Year and winner of the Gazette contest prizes donated by various businesses was Eli William Lyons, son of Matthew and Sara Lyons, rural Lisbon. Eli was born on January 3 at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo.
*An open house was held at the new $2.5 million Bremer Bank facility during the week of January 21-25. The bank opened for business in its new building on December 17, 2007.
*Mr. Elmer Lindstrom, long-time area educator and administrator, was granted honorary life membership in the North Dakota Association of School Administrators at their presidential dinner held on January 28.
February
*The Lisbon City Council accepted a $2.8 million bid from Kvamsdal (Quam) Construction, Willmar, Minnesota on a sewer, water, and street improvement project.
*The Traill Blazers, a 72-member men’s chorus from Traill County, North Dakota performed at the North Dakota Veterans Home on February 7. The group’s transportation to Lisbon was paid for through a donation from Kyle Van Wechel, a State Bank and Trust of Fargo employee whose father sings in the group. Van Wechel received the money through the bank’s “Pay It Forward” program and made the decision to use it toward bringing the group to sing for the veterans.
* Kristine M. Long, licensed professional counselor, Lisbon, was awarded the “Outstanding Mental Health Counselor Award for 2008 from the North Dakota Mental Health Counselors Association on February 12 in Bismarck.
*The Lisbon Broncos were crowned both 2008 Class B North Dakota High School Activities Association State Dual Champions and State Individual Team Champions on February 15 at the state wrestling tournament held at the Bismarck Civic Center. Coach Joe Kern of Lisbon was named Class B Wrestling Coach of the Year. Michael Nord won the state championship in the 119-pound weight class.
*The Lisbon School Board, at their February 20 meeting, voted to start a full day, every day kindergarten program at the school in the fall of 2008.
*The North Dakota Public Service Commission on February 21 approved the permit to allow a Trans Canada Keystone Pipeline to be constructed in North Dakota. The 218-mile, 30-inch pipeline is scheduled to go through the state from Cavalier to Sargent County, including a route through Ransom County.
March
*On March 6 the Lisbon Broncos Boys’ Basketball Team captured the Region 1 title by defeating the Central Cass Squirrels 59 to 32 at the Fargo Civic Center.
*Norman Cross, Milnor, was honored as the recipient of the 2008 Ransom County Agriculturist of the Year Award at the 44th annual awards banquet held on March 11. Miss Rodeo America 2008, Ashley Andrews, was the guest speaker for the event. The banquet was sponsored by the Ransom County Crop and Livestock Association.
*In a meeting held on March 24, several local landowners opposed to the construction of the Keystone Pipeline joined forces with the Dakota Resource Council to appeal the permit granted by the North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC).
*City Auditor Rachel Eppler and the Lisbon Police Department moved into their new offices in the Old Bremer Insurance Building at the corner of Main Street and Fifth Avenue, Lisbon over the weekend of March 29-30.
April
*At their April 1 meeting, the Ransom County Commissioners approved a new plan for the Sheyenne Valley Multi-County Correctional Center proposed to be constructed in Valley City. After running into funding problems, the plan was scaled down to a 34-bed facility and each member of the coalition was asked to donate additional funding toward the project.
*Pastor William “Bill” Rindy, who served at Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisbon from the fall of 1994 to the fall of 1997, was elected Bishop of the Eastern North Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) at the synod assembly on April 6.
*On April 7, the Lisbon City Council voted to change the allocation of the city’s one percent sales tax from a 50-50 allocation to 2/3 to the city for infrastructure improvements and 1/3 to the Sales Tax Area Revitalization (STAR) committee. The change in allocation was to be effective April 19.
*Charles Armstrong, owner of Armstrong Funeral Home of Lisbon and Enderlin, was voted President Elect of the North Dakota Funeral Directors’ Association at their annual convention held in Fargo on April 8, 2008.
*It was reported at an April 9 meeting of the board of the Sheyenne Valley Multi-County Correctional Center consortium that Dickey, LaMoure and Steele Counties had all voted against a new proposal which involved a larger financial commitment from each member of the consortium than proposed in the original plan.
The Ransom County Farm Expo is scheduled for Tuesday, January 6 at the Ransom County Expo Center, which is located on the Ransom County Fairgrounds in Lisbon. This year’s event is being sponsored by the Ransom County Extension Service, KQLX Radio, and the Ransom County Crop and Livestock Association.
The doors will open at 8:30 a.m. to give producers a chance to walk around and visit with exhibitors before the presentations begin at 9:00 a.m. The Expo is scheduled to conclude at 3:30 p.m.
Morning presentations will feature “Drain Tile” by Hans Kandel, NDSU; “Farm Bill Program Update” by Scott Stofferahn; “A Summary of Research Trials Conducted at Carrington Research Center on Crop Rotatons and Tillage Options” by Greg Endres, NDSU.
At 11:45 a.m., a county commodity election for wheat will be held. If a producer grew wheat last year or plans to grow it this spring, he or she is eligible to run for a position on the board. If anyone is interested in running for the wheat board contact the extension office or show up at the designated time for that election.
Lunch will be served from noon – 1:00 p.m.
After lunch, presentations will continue with topics on “Alternative Cattle Feeds” by Vern Anderson, and “Carrington Research Station and Grazing Management Strategies with Emphasis on Cover Crops” by Grant Peterson.
In addition to the various presentations throughout the day, several exhibitors will be on hand to visit with. A Bull Showcase will be featured. The Bull Showcase gives Cattle producers an opportunity to display a sample set of cattle that they will be selling in upcoming sales around the state. It also gives cattle producers who are in the market for new bulls a chance to look at many different genetic lines and to talk to producers displaying the cattle about their program.
For a complete listing of the schedule and speakers contact the extension office at 701-683-6128 or log on to: www.ag.ndsu.edu/county/ransom/FarmExpo.htm
This story is complimentary to you by the writing staff of your Ransom County Gazette. To receive more stories along with photos, subscribe today by calling 1-866-702-9032.
About half of those in Prairie Poll are spending the same as last year.
Retailers are singing the blues this Christmas season as a slumping national economy has put the brakes on what typically is a seasonal shopping frenzy.
But North Dakota’s stores are as busy as ever, according to those who responded to the latest North Dakota Prairie Poll.
Despite indications that a slumping American economy may finally be slowing North Dakota’s boom, more than half of the North Dakotans responding to the poll said they are spending about the same as they do their Christmas shopping this year.
The Prairie Poll periodically surveys readers of 11 community newspapers from around the state.
The current polling was done earlier in December, during the height of the Christmas shopping season.
It found that 52 percent of respondents are spending about the same as in the past.
This complimentary news brief is brought to you by the writing staff of your Ransom County Gazette. To receive the story in its entirety, please be sure to subscribe to the Ransom County Gazette today! Toll free 1-866-702-9032
Lisbon landed two number-one rankings in 135–Michael Nord, and heavyweight Jordan Stenson.
The rankings are handled by the Region 1 coaches and are based on head-to-head competition that has happened in the season.
Oakes dominates that number-one seed with Tornadoes earning the number-one mark at 103, 112, 119, 125, 140, and 145.
103 – 1. Cody Voegeli, Oakes; 4. Dylan Urbach, Lisbon
112 – 1. Brady Coleman, Oakes
119 – 1. Deven Loepp, Oakes; 4. Wyatt Aberle, Lisbon
125 – 1. Josh Kelly, Oakes
130 – 1. Cole Gentzkow, LaMoure; 4. Hunter Mairs, Lisbon
135 – 1. Michael Nord, Lisbon
140 – 1. Taylor Ptacek, Oakes; 4. Jade Huether, Lisbon
145 – 1. Rob Krueger, Oakes; 2. Tanner Long, Lisbon
152 – 1. Evan Gross, Napoleon; 3. Reed Huether, Lisbon
160 – 1. Drew Moch, Linton HMB; 2. Patrick Nord, Lisbon
171 – 1. Damon Wiegel, Napoleon; 3. Spencer Mairs, Lisbon
189 – 1. Nate Arnold, Ellendale-Edgeley; 2. Jonny Carter, Lisbon
215 – 1. Tyler Meidinger, South Border
285 – 1. Jordan Stenson, Lisbon
This story is complimentary to you by the writing staff of your Ransom County Gazette. To receive more stories along with photos, subscribe today by calling 1-866-702-9032.
by Joe Howell
*In wrestling duals on December 19: Carrington 47, Jamestown 27; Fargo North 33, Valley City 30; Oakes 54, LaMoure 0.
*CNDC boys’ basketball tournament champs were the New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets. NRS also won the girl’s CNDC championship.
*Roughrider boys’ basketball tournament was again won by Dickinson Trinity. The Titans gained a berth in the title game with an upset win over state-ranked Bowman County.
*Wishek East-West girls’ basketball shoot-out was won by Norman County West, Minnesota. Former Wishek teacher and LaMoure Lobo, Dave Rufsvold annually brings his team to this tournament.
*Min-Dak boys’ basketball shoot-out at NDSCS was postponed from Saturday, Dec. 20 to December 22 and 23.
*The Mandan boys thumped Bismarck Century in boys’ basketball. The Braves are currently ranked number one in the state.
The Century girls handed #1 ranked Mandan a 67-63 loss in the second game of the doubleheader between the Patriots and the Braves.
*Williston edged the Patriots in boys’ basketball 80-79 to give Century only their second loss of the season.
*Fargo North easily won the Dickinson wrestling tournament.
*Ellendale hammered Oakes 70-46 in their annual Cowbell game.
*Berthold won the Velva boys’ tournament championship.
*Hazen girls defeated Linton 46-43.
Lisbon shocked Wahpeton in a wrestling match in the Bronco gym on Thursday, Dec. 18. Going into the match, Bronco Coach Joe Kern was more wishful than hopeful. Lisbon was missing starters Tanner Long and Reed Huether because of injuries, and LHS could ill afford any mistakes against a solid Huskie club.
The match started at 160 pounds, and Kern could not have drawn up a better starting point. Momentum in any sport is important, and in wrestling IF a team gets on a roll, the snowball can become an avalanche by the time the match is over.
Enderlin senior, Patrick Nord’s quick pin in forty seconds put the Broncos up 6-0.
Spencer Mairs’ pin of Sam Weisz at 4:33 put the Broncos in the driver’s seat at 12-0. Momentum was definitely on the Bronco’s side, and Jonny Carter used the hometown crowd’s cheering to earn a tough 2-0 win over Jake Weisz, and LHS led 15-0.
Wahpeton earned six points with a pin at 215, but Bronco heavyweight got those points back with a quick pin, and Lisbon led 21-6 with nine matches remaining. The Huskies would be heavy favorites in most of the next nine matches.
Seventh grader Dylan Urbach’s pin at 103 kept the momentum going and LHS led 27-6.
Jace Berg, an 8th grader and a cousin to Urbach, was pinned with 15 seconds left in his match to Dillon Solberg of Wahpeton. Berg had a solid performance, and two little mistakes kept this hardworking Bronco from keeping Wahpeton’s score from reaching 12.
Nebraska transfer, Pat Rollins, added six more points to the Huskies’ total with a pin at 119, and Wahpeton trailed Lisbon 27-18.
In the Broncos’ season opening dual loss to Oakes, Lisbon wrestlers did not do a very good job of fighting to keep off their backs and limiting the Tornadoes’ team point total.
James Briss at 125 demonstrated how far the current Bronco wrestling team has improved with a 14-4 loss to Wahpeton standout Danny Gordon. Briss fought off a couple of pinning combinations by Gordon, and because of the extra effort, the Huskies only scored four points instead of six.
Nonetheless, Wahpeton now trailed by only five at 27-22 instead of 27-6 just three matches earlier.
The Broncos had two-time state champion Michael Nord waiting in the wings, but how Bronco freshman Hunter Mairs would fare in his match might determine the final score.
Mairs, like Briss before him, lost but stayed off of his back and lost by a 10-6 decision, only allowing WHS three team points, and Wahpeton now trailed by two at 27-25.
Michael Nord came through as expected with a pin in 1:55 over Justin Johnson. Johnson is one tough hombre, but Nord reached deep to flatten his opponent when his team needed the extra points, and the Broncos had a chance to steal this match with a 33-25 lead with just three matches remaining.
At 140, Bronco senior Jade Huether needed to win by fall (six points) or technical fall (five points) and Wahpeton would not be able to score enough points to win the match.
Huether’s win by pin at 3:22 sealed the win as Lisbon led 39-25, with two matches and only 12 possible points remaining for Wahpeton.
The Huskies did win by fall in the final two matches to close the gap to 39-37.
The Valley City wrestling tournament scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 20 was cancelled due to the latest blizzard to hit the state.
Lisbon is scheduled to dual at Napoleon on Tuesday, Jan. 6
160 Patrick Nord, L pinned Eric Lehmann, W :40
171 Spencer Mairs, L pinned Sam Weisz, W 4:33
189 Jonny Carter, L won by decision over Jake Weisz. W 2-0
215 Shane Ringdahl, W pinned Kasey Groettum, L 1:59
285 Jordan Stenson, L pinned Patrick Griffith, W 1:35
103 Dylan Urbach, L pinned Ethan Meade, W 4:36
112 Dillon Solberg, W pinned Jace Berg, L 5:45
119 Pat Rollins, W pinned Garrett Johnson, L 1:46
125 Danny Gordon, W won by major decision over James Briss, L 14-4
130 Caleb Meade, Wahpeton won by decision over Hunter Mairs, L 10-6
135 Michael Nord, L pinned Justin Johnson, W 1:55
140 Jade Huether, L pinned Danny Bult, W 3:22
145 James Crandall, W pinned Derek Rotenberger, L 3:19
152 Brett Hagen, W won by technical fall over Wyatt Smith, L 16-0
There were 22 prelim matches with Lisbon winning 13.
This story is complimentary to you by the writing staff of your Ransom County Gazette. To receive more stories along with photos, subscribe today by calling 1-866-702-9032.
“Happy New Year!” That greeting will be said and heard for at least the first couple of weeks as a new year gets under way. But the day celebrated as New Year’s Day in modern America was not always January 1.
Ancient New Years
The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible crescent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).
The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.
The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year’s Eve festivities pale in comparison.
The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun.
In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.
New year traditions
Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year’s resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian’s most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment. Read the rest of this entry »
Three leadership conferences for members of the FFA will be held in Bismarck on January 10-11, 2009. The Greenhand (GH) conference which will be conducted by the North Dakota State FFA Officer team, will be held at the Ramkota Hotel. This segment of the tri-conference will involve FFA members who are freshmen and are learning about the FFA and how to become a good member in an organization.
For sophomores, the Made for Excellence (MFE) conference is aimed at the development of basic leadership skills in members. This group will also be at the Ramkota Hotel.
The Advanced Leadership Development (ALD) conference is aimed at grades 11-12 with the focus on working with chapter leaders who may become leaders in the state and perhaps on a national level. This conference will be held at the Radisson Inn.
Steve Zimmerman, State Supervisor of Ag-education and FFA said, “These conferences are a great opportunity for students to work toward becoming both better members and better leaders. The skills they learn here will better them as individuals but, more important, they are skills they can take home to their chapters, school and community. The over 700 students attending this conference weekend are the best and the brightest youth of North Dakota agriculture.”
Conference sponsors are the Tom and Francis Leach Foundation, Nodak Mutual Insurance, and the CHS Foundation.
Who: FFA members from ND
What: Leadership Conferences for FFA
When: January 10-11, 2009
Where: GH – Ramkota Hotel
MFE – Ramkota Hotel
ALD – Radisson Inn
by Joe Howell
A different game, a different opponent, a different leading scorer for Coach Brad Bittner’s Bronco girls’ basketball team.
Susie Lyons became the fourth different girl to lead Lisbon in scoring this season with her game-high 8 points in the Broncos 39-34 win over a visiting Valley City team. Lyons, a reserve junior guard, sparked Lisbon’s offense and her long arms helped keep the Hi-Liners at bay.
Michele Hoistad and Veronica Munkeby added seven and six points as Lisbon raised its record to 3-2, with two more games to be played before the New Year.
Valley City, who will be moving into the Class B ranks starting next fall, led after one quarter 12-7. The Broncos used strong defensive pressure to limit the Hi-Liners to just three second-quarter points while blitzing the nets for 16 of their own. Lisbon was in control of the game for the remainder of the contest.
The Broncos would go onto outscore VC 16-11 in the fourth quarter to win their third straight game after opening the season with consecutive losses.
1 2 H 3 4 F
Lisbon 7 16 23 7 16 39
Valley City 12 3 15 8 11 34
Lisbon scoring – Susie Lyons 8, Kayla Rotenberger 4, Morgan VanWell 1, Whittney Berube 4, Taryn Wagner 5, Michele Hoistad 7, Jess Rotenberger 2, Karlee Dick 2, Veronica Munkeby 6.
This story is complimentary to you by the writing staff of your Ransom County Gazette. To receive more stories along with photos, subscribe today by calling 1-866-702-9032.
Name: Lyle Vernal Hilde
Age: 88
Residence: Reno, NV
Date of Death: November 22, 2008
Birthplace: rural Fort Ransom, ND
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