JAMESTOWN — When Trev Zerr agreed to officiate his first amateur basketball game, he probably didn’t think he’d still be doing it 30 years later.
“When I was in high school I got approached by a couple of older guys who were playing amateur basketball, asking if I would be willing to help out and then my dad coached baseball so I was helping out with that, so that’s kind of how I got into it,” Zerr said.
Once he graduated college in 1996, Zerr made the commitment to ref on a more regular basis. He officiates basketball, baseball and fastpitch softball.
“I enjoy it,” Zerr said. “90% of the time, I enjoy being out there. I enjoy the comradery of the guys I am out there with — the kids — 99.9% of them are awesome out on the court so they make it a fun adventure every night.”
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Zerr is one of 15 officials belonging to the Jamestown Officials Association.
“We’re pretty fortunate,” said Brent Thielges, another local official. “We still have a decent amount of experienced officials who have been doing it for a long time. We will probably run into some situations where these experienced individuals are going to start hanging it up but we have a group that is very good at not only getting younger people involved but also mentoring them and getting them the experience that they need to be successful later on.”
Thielges officiates but he is also the assigner for the Jamestown Officials Association. Thielges took over the assigning role from Mark Ukestad in 2022.
“With assigning, really it starts with having a working relationship with the athletic directors in the area,” Thielges said. “They are the ones that will send dates of games for their upcoming season and then it’s up to me to decide if we can provide enough officials for that date.
“You have to take into consideration what you can cover with the guys that you have,” he said. “Not all days work for people. Typically the most games I will take is three per night. We’ll do our best to have three officials on the floor for every game. We haven’t had any issues with that for a while.”
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On any given night, Thielges, Zerr and Ukestad are typically responsible for officiating what prep games they can usually within 100 miles of Jamestown.
“It’s a process,” Ukestad said. “You might have the night off and then one guy goes down — you might not have the night off anymore. We do everything possible to get the games in. If you didn’t have officials, games would be recess.”
Mark Ukestad officiates a Jamestown High School girls basketball game. Ukestad has been officiating for more than 35 years.
John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun
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When there is a shortage of available officials, members of the Jamestown Officials Association often work with officials out of the Flood Lake organization — by Kulm — and the Valley City association.
“We do a very good job of working together if we need help filling in in certain areas or certain dates,” Thielges said. “I am in constant communication with the assigners from those regions too.”
While there haven’t been too many issues covering area games, there are fewer referees than there used to be.
“On some nights it is really busy,” Zerr said. “You end up using younger guys to do games that I never had the opportunity to do when I was just starting out which is maybe good, maybe bad.”
“There is a shortage,” Ukestad said. “A lot of the older guys are getting out. They’ve put in their time and their due diligence but there is more of them getting out than young guys are coming in. It’s not like it used to be where you had guys waiting around ready to work.”
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Ukestad is one official who has been at it since Ronald Reagan was president.
“I got into it by watching my dad coach and officiate for many years when I was a kid,” Ukestad said. “I always thought it would be a good way to stay in the game and earn a little bit extra pocket cash.
“I said that I would make a decision to keep going or not at age 60,” he said. “I am four years away from that but my health is still good and I still enjoy it. It’s when you don’t enjoy it that you need to get out. If you are just there for the money, you shouldn’t be there. You should be there to make the game of basketball and football better for the kids.”
Ukestad has been refereeing basketball for 36 seasons and has been a football official since 2016. He also was a track and field official for 10 years.
“I enjoy being part of the game, the atmosphere and more importantly, my buddies who do it with me,” Ukestad said. “I like spending time with those guys whether it’s in the car on the way there or on the way back when we talk about the game. You are all a part of the same fraternity.”
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Ukestad is doing his best to keep that fraternity strong.
Ukestad puts on an officials camp every summer in Jamestown, offering younger officials the chance to learn more about the game and hone their skills out on the court. While attendance at camps is not required, Zerr said those just entering the officiating realm would greatly benefit from the opportunities offered.
“It’s totally different than playing the game,” Zerr said of officiating. “Everyone thinks they know the rules, but until you sit down with the rule book you don’t know much about the game.”
Even with all the studying and practice, all three officials admitted that some calls slip through the cracks.
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Brett Thielges watches a play during a Jamestown High School girls basketball game.
John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun
“I think almost every game you get a little bit nervous,” Zerr said. “If you are reffing, you want to do a good job. We’re all going to make bad calls — there’s no doubt about it. Occasionally I’ll make a call and know at that moment that I made a bad call and it’s like, oh boy.
“You want to do a good job every night,” he said. “When you are out there you want to give everyone a fair opportunity to win the game. You don’t want to take the game away from anybody.”
Thielges added:
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“It’s more than walking into the gym, putting on your uniform, grabbing your whistle, going out onto the floor and working. There’s always more that goes into it. We’re trying to make sure that we are all on the same page and that we are learning from our mistakes.
“When we are in a game, we’re really not thinking about a lot of the things people think we’re thinking about,” he said. “We’re not necessarily thinking about who’s playing, we’re not thinking about who we want to win or who we want to lose. We’re out there trying to get the calls right.”
While the bluster and heckling from the stands might deter some people from getting involved in officiating, Ukestad said the good far outweighs the bad.
“The older I get, the worse my hearing gets so that helps,” Ukestad said of hearing negative comments. “If we have a young ref out on the floor we will let coaches know that if they have something to say, say it to one of us older guys.
“We are there to help (everyone),” he said. “We’re big on sportsmanship and we try to help players and coaches with that and most of the time it seems to work.”
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All three longstanding officials said those interested in officiating should reach out to a member of the Jamestown Officials Association to get started. There is no minimum age required to begin officiating.
“Try it, give it a whirl, you might like it,” Ukestad said to interested parties. “You might like the atmosphere. You might like the guys you are doing it with. You might find out that a little extra cash in your pocket can be helpful. If you can bring a young guy in and have him for at least three years, usually he’s hooked after that.”
PEMBINA, N.D. — The closure of the Stutsman Street bridge has put some residents in Pembina out of reach of certain recreation spots. Timelines for bridge construction remain unclear as proposals for temporary fixes have been denied by the North Dakota Department of Transportation, but a Wednesday, July 1, meeting has brought some clarity to the issue.
The bridge has been out since early June. Mainly, the Pembina Golf Course has seen its business suffer due to children and local members being unable to access the course. John Feldman, treasurer of the Pembina Golf Course, calls the bridge a “lifeline to part of the city,” and its complete closure has been causing problems.
“All of our young kids that we’re trying to groom into golfers are not golfing anymore. Our locals that used to drive their golf carts across the bridge can’t do that anymore. So, business is down immensely,” Feldman said.
Feldman is part of a committee formed to work to get the bridge opened temporarily to pedestrians and carts. The committee has expressed its concerns with the city and city leaders are hoping to meet with NDDOT to address those concerns.
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The Pembina City Council has been discussing the bridge and has made efforts to get in contact with NDDOT. Council President Connor Snitker told the Herald the NDDOT reached out to the city and a special council session took place Wednesday night with NDDOT present.
In an effort to find a temporary solution, city engineers had previously inspected the bridge to confirm the original findings and put forth a proposal to open the north half of the bridge to a weight-bearing capacity of one ton or less. That proposal, along with an alternative, was originally denied by NDDOT, but at Wednesday’s meeting, NDDOT said it would review federal regulations to find a temporary solution for pedestrians.
“We’re still running down every alternative path we can right now, trying to figure out if there’s a way to reclassify the bridge or do something that would allow us to have flexibility to at least have it operating at our temporary capacity,” Snitker said.
The DOT says the critical issues with the bridge make a temporary solution for pedestrians a challenge, but language in those regulations will be reviewed. A solution could be found as soon as this weekend.
“Late Tuesday night we received word from the Federal Highway Administration that there was an option we could pass along to the city and I think that went over well,” engineer Derek Pfeifer said. “We’ve been working really hard to find a short-term solution for them to at least allow pedestrians to cross the bridge.”
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A load analysis was expected to be done Thursday to assess whether pedestrians would be able to cross. NDDOT remains adamant that only pedestrians would be allowed access with a temporary solution, and golf carts would still be unable to access the bridge.
“As long as the bridge meets a certain standard, it could open to pedestrians,” Snitker said. “It’s a step in the right direction.”
Main issues with the bridge are spalling — or flaking of surface materials — found under the load bearings, stress cracks and splitting in some of the pedestals above the columns. At the east end of the bridge, there has been five inches of movement toward the south. As the bridge moved, it sheared the anchor rods.
Before the bridge’s closure, children would regularly play the course. Easy bridge access allowed for some to even come to the course twice in a day. Now, a six-mile detour has seen that business go away.
The detour makes its way through gravel roads, which is prohibitive to golf carts and those who were walking to the course.
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“We need the bridge open, not just for the golf course, but for the kids to come and play in the playground over there to play baseball,” Feldman said. “It’s really a livelihood over there for the kids and for adults.”
Looking ahead to a permanent resolution to the bridge, Pfeifer and NDDOT are looking to the city and county to come to a decision in order for them to determine the next steps.
“Do they want to fix it? Do they want to replace it?” he said. “A structural engineer will need to do an analysis of those findings that were there and what kind of effort it’s going to take to fix it. So at this point, it’s up to the city and county to determine how they want to move forward.”
Digital Content Producer and Sports Reporter at the Grand Forks Herald since December of 2020. Maxwell can be contacted at mmarko@gfherald.com.
The Northern Plains UAS Test Site in North Dakota has begun offering the Vantis statewide beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) system to uncrewed aerial system (UAS) operators for no cost.
As of 1 July, operators will be able to obtain Application Programming Interface (API) access and can be onboarded on the system at no cost, enabling initial flights on North Dakota’s statewide BVLOS infrastructure, along with access to Northern Plains UAS Test Site personnel and expertise. Aircraft up to 1,320 pounds (598 kg) can be flown and altitudes up to 17,999 feet mean sea level (msl) reached depending on location.
The test site will be working with industry partner, Thales, to onboard operators on Vantis – teaching them how to use the system and giving them API applications to fly successful missions using compliant aircraft.
Renowned outdoor retailer L.L. Bean is officially making its way to North Dakota, bringing its heritage gear and apparel to the Red River Valley.
The Maine-based retail giant has signed a lease to open its first-ever North Dakota location at the West Acres Shopping Center in Fargo. According to mall officials, the new store will take over the approximately 15,000-square-foot space in the Aquarium Court formerly occupied by Forever 21, positioning it right next to Crave restaurant.
Bringing a Taste of Maine to the Midwest
The announcement has already sparked significant excitement from regional retail organizers. West Acres took to Facebook to enthusiastically share the news of the partnership with the community.
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“From their iconic Duck Boots and Boat and Tote bags to clothing for men, women, and the whole family, they’re bringing it all to Fargo!” the shopping center posted.
The expansive retail footprint will feature L.L. Bean’s signature array of high-quality apparel, outerwear, and footwear designed to withstand the rugged elements—a fitting match for North Dakota’s notoriously tough winter climate.
A Strategic Multi-Year Launch Timeline
The incoming retail hub represents a major cornerstone addition for the Fargo shopping destination. West Acres Chief Operating Officer Alissa Adams noted that the addition of the iconic brand directly targets the lifestyle and outdoor needs of local and regional shoppers.
Work on the Aquarium Court space is expected to transition over the coming months. Shoppers will have to wait just a little while longer to browse the racks in person, as the store is projected to officially open its doors to the public in 2027, with specific targets aimed toward the first three months of that year.
