North Dakota
Driver charged after head-on crash with trooper in Bismarck
BISMARCK—A Bismarck man was hospitalized and received multiple charges early Sunday, March 10 after driving the wrong way down a highway and striking a North Dakota Highway Patrol vehicle.
A NDHP trooper was parked in the median on Highway 83 in north Bismarck around 3 a.m. when he saw a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix traveling south in the northbound lane of the highway.
According to a release from the NDHP, the trooper activated his lights and drove onto the highway to get the driver’s attention. As the Pontiac drew closer, it drifted toward the median then swerved back onto the roadway, hitting the trooper’s vehicle head on.
Submitted photo / North Dakota Highway Patrol
Front airbags deployed on both cars. Another vehicle on the highway at the time avoided collision.
The trooper sustained minor injuries and did not require hospitalization. The driver of the Pontiac, Steven Kessel of Bismarck, and his passenger, Nathan Lavallie of Mandan, were both taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Kessel was charged with DUI, reckless endangerment and driving with a suspended license.
The crash remains under investigation.
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BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – North Dakota has a new junior duck stamp winner.
On Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service held an awards ceremony for the state contest at the Heritage Center in Bismarck. 900 kids submitted entries.
16-year old, Gabe Coleman, from Baldwin, took first place overall with his entry which is an acrylic painting of a pair of blue-winged teal. Gabe has been entering the contest since he was in kindergarten, but this year is the first time he took best of show.
“For all my nine years, this is what I have been trying to do, and I finally achieved it this year. To win it is actually amazing”, said Coleman, who is a homeschooled sophomore.
Coleman has another reason to celebrate. As the top finisher in the state, his winning artwork advanced to the national competition. He ranked among the top 15 out of 13-thousand entries in the national contest.
Runner-Up Best of Show (Second Place) in the North Dakota contest this year went to first time-entrant Kamryn Nissen from Grand Forks. Kamryn, a sophomore at Thompson Public School, used colored pencils to design her entry of a mallard drake in eclipse plumage.
The Conservation Message winner was Brandi Agnew, a seventh grader from Menoken, with her message: “Protect the prairie; preserve the hunt.”
The call for entries is an educational program that uses science and art to encourage students to explore wildlife, conservation, and recreation.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – A grant from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture is helping a small business in Bismarck expand.
FOMO 10/40 Creamery, located in the central part of the city, is planning to sell its ice cream wholesale at other small businesses across the state.
For owner Andrew Hershey, consistent quality is important, so he doesn’t expect to sell his ice cream in grocery chains quite yet.
“We want to really support the small, local businesses to help them keep open, but also give them the opportunity to sell our product first. I think local North Dakota ice cream sold locally, within a local business, means more to me,” said Hershey.
With the grant, FOMO will also be doing a brand refresh by updating its space.
The business started as an ice cream trailer in 2019.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
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