North Dakota
Photo Contest winners celebrate ND’s beauty
FARGO – Three Minot photographers were among those submitting winning entries in the 20th annual North Dakota Governor’s Photo Contest. Gov. Doug Burgum and Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller, along with North Dakota Commerce Tourism and Marketing Director Sara Otte Coleman and North Dakota Folklorist Troyd Geist, presented the awards during the North Dakota Travel Industry Conference in Fargo.
The contest drew a record-breaking 813 submissions from 170 photographers.
“The record-breaking number of entries and the talent displayed are inspiring. These photos will be powerful tools in promoting our state as a must-visit destination,” Burgum said.
The 2024 contest embraced the state’s diverse climate and activities by introducing new scenery and activity categories based on seasons. A top photograph and honorable mentions were awarded in each category.
Theresa Mallory of Mandan won the Best in Show award for her photo “Celebrate! Bismarck Looking at Mandan,” which captures the grandeur of a Fourth of July fireworks display.
Corey Serr of Minot received an honorable mention in the fall scenery category with “The Three Musketeers,” featuring three bighorn sheep standing together with eyes trained on the camera, set off by colorful fall trees. The photo was taken in the Little Missouri National Grasslands.
Lindy Beardsley of Williston received top honors in the fall activities category for a photo “Chasing Sun or Chasing Antlers?” The photo shows a hunter walking through the trees near Stanley as the sun flare in the trees brings life to the image and the muted colors stir the pensive feeling echoed in the title.
Cody Schmidt of Minot received an honorable mention for his photo, “Dove Watching.” In the photo taken near Stanley, both hunter and dog scan the area, searching for their prey. The lines of the tree trunk and the juxtaposition of the subjects pull a viewer’s eye into the scene, and back, creating wonder as to who will spot a dove first.
In the summer activities category, Brian Heskin, Minot, received an honorable mention for his photo, “Little Shell Powwow.” In the photo, peeking through the top of the arbor, a viewer sees drum circles, colorful regalia, the color guard and the concentric circular formation of grand entry. The more a viewer looks at the image, the more there is to see.
Brock Mitchell of Rolla earned top honors for “Tip-Ups at Sun Up” in the winter activities category. The photo shows a sky ablaze with color, but that pales in comparison to the smile on the face of the young boy holding the catch of the day.
The prints will be on display at the North Dakota State Capitol, 18th floor, during May.
Kalamazoo — There’ll be a new champion in the NCHC.
Will Zellers scored the game-winning goal in the third period as No. 3 North Dakota downed No. 4 Western Michigan, 5-3, Friday night at Lawson Arena. The Broncos never led and trailed all of the third period, though a late push nearly tied the game with the net empty.
“Overall in the game, I thought it was a pretty tightly contested effort. I thought they just scored too easy,” Western Michigan coach Pat Ferschweiler said. “You know, for us, we had a couple breakdowns, and they’re so talented, so good, they took advantage when we broke down.”
The teams finish the regular season Saturday night. Western Michigan came into Friday’s game tied with Denver in standings points and five points behind North Dakota, needing that many to get a share of the Penrose Cup it won last season en route to an NCAA championship, too.
As far as regular season results go, the Broncos will play for second seed in the NCHC Tournament, needing to outpace Denver, which plays Arizona State this weekend.
Western Michigan (23-9-1, 15-7-1 NCHC) goaltender Hampton Slukynsky made 16 saves on 20 shots in the loss while North Dakota’s Jan Spunar stopped 22 of 25 shots. It was a battle of two of the NCHC’s top netminders, and each made key stops in a tight-checking, physical game.
Zellers put North Dakota (25-7-1, 17-5-1) up 4-2 4:42 into the third period off an assist from Detroit Red Wings draft choice Dylan James.
“He kind of made a play out of nothing there,” said North Dakota coach Dane Jackson, who is in his first season as head coach after being on the coaching staff since 2006. “And that was a really nice kind of moment where you go OK, we got a little got a little leeway here, and we can just kind of play a little bit more free.”
North Dakota took a 3-2 lead into the third period with goals from defenseman Sam Laurila alongside forwards Ollie Josephson and Josh Zakreski. Defenseman Zach Bookman and forward Liam Valente scored for Western Michigan.
One too many times in the second frame, Western Michigan’s blue line let a North Dakota forward in all alone to face Slukynsky, who stopped a couple of rushes in the opening minutes of the period.
With four minutes until the intermission, the Broncos finally got burned. On a feed from linemate Anthony Menghini, Lakreski cut to the glove side of a sprawling Slukynsky and beat him with the backhand. The goal gave North Dakota the 3-2 lead, after a seeing-eye shot from Bookman along the right wall had tied it up two apiece 8:10 into the period.
“I actually thought the second period was our best period,” Ferschweiler said. “… We started to take over. We got the goal, tied 2-2, and are kind of just humming along. Four minutes left, we just hand them a goal. Blown coverage. That was inexcusable, honestly, with some of our better players on the ice.”
The opening period played out as a back and forth track meet through the neutral zone as each side settled in. Laurila put North Dakota up 1-0 with his first career goal. After Slukynsky denied him on a trio of tries earlier in the shift, he fired a shot to beat the Western Michigan netminder 4:40 into the game.
It took just a minute and 34 seconds after Laurila’s opener for Western Michigan’s top line to get it right back. A blue-collar shift from captain Owen Michaels fed linemate Will Whitelaw along the left boards, and he sprung Valente for a breakaway goal that evened up the score.
“I thought we gave it to them too easy a couple times tonight,” Whitelaw said. “And I think when you’re playing a team like that, obviously they’re gonna put it in your net. But I think it’ll be a big lesson for our group going forward.”
For the better part of the first period, the Lawson Lunatics peppered North Dakota defenseman Jake Livanavage with jeers, but he got his own licks in with 7:48 left in the first period as he fed Josephson right at the net for the 2-1 goal. That score held through the first period.
With 2:02 remaining and Slukynsky pulled, forward Zaccharya Wisdom pulled Western Michigan within one. He nearly had the equalizer with 40 seconds on the clock on a backdoor try, but he mistimed the shot. Mac Swanson scored an empty-netter with 20.7 seconds on the clock to clinch the win, and with it the Penrose Cup, presented to North Dakota in the locker room and then paraded around the ice.
“It’s the hardest regular season championship to win, in my opinion,” North Dakota forward Ben Strinden said. “So it’s awesome. Obviously, it’s not our end goal, but we’re going to enjoy it for sure.”
cearegood@detroitnews.com
@ConnorEaregood
North Dakota
Morton County did not violate North Dakota’s open records law when the County Auditor, within a reasonable time, informed the requester that the requested records were not in the County’s possession.. – North Dakota Attorney General
27 Feb Morton County did not violate North Dakota’s open records law when the County Auditor, within a reasonable time, informed the requester that the requested records were not in the County’s possession..
in Opinions
February 27, 2026
Media Contact: Suzie Weigel, 701.328.2210
BISMARCK, ND – Karen Jordan requested an opinion from this office under N.D.C.C. § 44-04-21.1 asking whether Morton County violated N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18 by failing or refusing to provide records.
Conclusion: It is my opinion that Morton County’s response was in compliance with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18.
Link to opinion 2026-O-06
###
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – The North Dakota Court System threw a reception for a retiring member of the state Supreme Court.
Justice Daniel Cothers is leaving after serving for more than 20 years.
He plans to step down on Feb. 28.
Before Crothers became a judge, he served as a lawyer and as president of the State Bar Association of North Dakota.
Mark Friese is set to replace Crothers starting March 9.
“He knows what is important and what to keep focused on. Justice Friese will be an exceptional replacement to me on the bench,” said Crothers.
Crothers plans to keep up on teaching gigs and spend time at his family’s farm as he steps into retirement.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
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