Fundraiser will establish foundation… LAHS to host Fall Gala November 13

Lisbon Area Health Services will host a Fall Gala on Friday, November 13 at the Expo Center. This evening is being billed as an “event of its own” as a spin-off of past celebrations.
The evening will begin with a social hour at 6:00 p.m. with a dinner of seasoned pork and new potatoes to follow at 7:00 p.m. The dinner is being catered by Carnivore Catering, NDSU.

Farm Rescue harvests over 400 acres of Dale Baasch’ crop

Farm Rescue harvested over 400 acres of soybeans for Dale and Lisa Baasch, rural Lisbon, over the past two weeks despite the rain delays.
Dale Baasch was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer and has been unable to harvest his crops. Dale and Lisa are at their other home in South Dakota.
“Under the circumstances, I really appreciate Farm Rescue,” said Baasch in a telephone interview. “They have good people working for them. They are doing a good job.”
Baasch is currently experiencing a setback, so he also appreciates all of the thoughts and prayers of the community that he hears about.
In the meantime, people like Clarence Kuss, Jamestown, and Charlie Hardy, Fargo, and even  Jack Limke, a former North Dakotan from Kentucky, along with Dale’s sons and grandsons are harvesting crops for Dale and Lisa.
Farm Rescue plants and harvests crops for farm families who are dealing with an unexpected injury, illness or natural disaster. The organization was founded by Bill Gross, a native North Dakota farm boy and pilot for UPS Airlines in 2005 and started operations in 2006.
As a nonprofit organization, Farm Rescue merely provides the equipment and manpower (volunteer labor) to plant and harvest crops for farm families that are in crisis. Up to 1,000 acres are planted or harvested for each family. The assisted family is responsible for providing crop inputs, such as seed, fertilizer and fuel.
RDO Equipment Company provides all the John Deere planting and harvesting equipment to Farm Rescue, free of charge. Other local sponsors include: Bremer, Farm Credit Services, CornerStone Bank and Walock-Johnson Insurance Inc.

Farm-related businesses team up to help with crops… Tragic accident takes the life of Dan Wiltse

By Terri Kelly Barta
A tragic farm accident took the life of a Ransom County farmer on Thursday, Oct. 22.
Dan Wiltse, 58, rural Lisbon, was caught in the combine hopper auger and died.
The Ransom County Sheriff’s Department along with Lisbon Fire Department and First Medic Ambulance Service responded to the call at 1:52 p.m. Wiltse was extricated from the machine and was transported to Armstrong Funeral Home.
Harvest has been delayed this fall and Thursday was a warmer, slightly dryer day, a good day in the otherwise rainy week, to get some work done.
Wiltse had a passion for farming, according to family members. After he received an associate degree in agriculture at the University of Minnesota at Crookston, he returned to Lisbon to farm with his dad, Warren.  He married Gaye Weisgram and they moved to the family farm. When his father retired in 1982, he took over the farming operation.     Dan and Gaye raised two daughters and one son on the family farm. They have four grandchildren.
Throughout the years, Dan Wiltse was involved in numerous farming organizations. He was, currently, chairman of the Northern Crops Institute, vice-president of the N.D. Oilseed Council, and second vice-president of the board of directors, National Sunflower Association. He was a major force in purchasing plot equipment for research. Wiltse served as secretary of the Agricultural Appointment for the USDA Wildlife Service    He was very active around the state with various agricultural organizations. He was a member of the US Feed Grains Association. He was also a member/board member of the Ransom County Farmers Union and a voting member of the Agricultural Research Fund for sunflowers from 2008-2009.
He was a community leader and participated in Lisbon Jaycees and Lisbon Dollars for Scholars. He had a lifelong membership and involvement in Lisbon’s First Baptist Church.