North Dakota
Sharing North Dakota's Cold War History – KVRR Local News
COOPERSTOWN, N.D. (KVRR) — Just outside of Cooperstown, N.D. lies the former site of Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility.
It is now the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site, where travelers can come to get a glimpse of where U.S. soldiers stood ready to launch in case of nuclear war.
Site Supervisor Robert Branting has been working at the site for several years, and this year he received the Heritage Award for a Front-line Tourism Employee at the Governor’s Travel and Tourism awards.
“It’s just an amazing ability to work with great seasonal staff. Have the veterans come through. Have visitors come in from all over the world. I’m very happy to help share that story of our Cold War mission.”
Branting has been sharing stories of the site on social media, as well as collecting oral histories from the veterans that were stationed there.
“They were able to talk to their loved ones down there in the capsules. So I’ve talked to their wives who would say, you know, “I was on the phone with my husband who was working at the console, and all of a sudden I hear the primary alerting system alarm,” and the husband goes “Gotta go.”
On tours of the site, visitors are taken down an elevator to the command center, more than 50 feet below the ground.
Tour guests will see two consoles where soldiers would have been sitting and turned the keys to launch a missile in the case of a nuclear strike.
Branting says that these histories are an important part of the story of the United States during the cold war.
“It’s very enlightening just to see how folks react and see where the launch keys were that potentially could have ended the lives of millions of people.”
Just to the south of Cooperstown is the November-33 launch facility, where the missiles would have taken off from.
There used to be more facilities like these, but like this one near Hope, N.D. many have been abandoned.
For Branting, who’s father contracted cancer from Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, it’s all about sharing the stories about how the history of the Cold War era affected people.
“I remember a woman visited, who lived outside of Moscow, who was basically my age and she was just kind of in awe of all of these machinery here in place to potentially be targeting, you know, Russian installations near her home and I’m sure I’m sure I’d feel the same way over there.“
If you’re interested in taking a tour, you can stop by the Ronald Reagan middleman missile historical site just North of Cooperstown, N.D.
North Dakota
Johnson scores 22 as Denver defeats North Dakota 98-79
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Carson Johnson had 22 points in Denver’s 98-79 victory over North Dakota on Saturday.
Johnson added seven assists for the Pioneers (12-14, 5-6 Summit League). Logan Kinsey scored 20 points while going 8 of 11 and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line and added nine rebounds. Jeremiah Burke went 8 of 15 from the field (3 for 7 from 3-point range) to finish with 20 points, while adding seven rebounds and five assists.
Zane Nelson scored 12 of his 17 points in the first half to help put the Pioneers up 43-27 at the break.
The Fightin’ Hawks (14-13, 8-3) were led by Greyson Uelmen, who finished with 24 points and two steals. North Dakota also got 14 points from Marley Curtis. George Natsvlishvili also had 12 points. The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the Fightin’ Hawks.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
North Dakota
5 North Dakotans have announced their candidacy for the state’s U.S. House seat
GRAND FORKS — No candidates for the state’s U.S. representative seat have been officially certified yet, but some have still started campaigns ahead of the 2026 election.
The most recent to announce his candidacy is Vern Thompson, a former state lawmaker who will be running on the Democrat ticket.
Aside from Thompson, Trygve Hammer is so far the only other Democrat in the race. Republicans who have announced are Alex Balazs, Ferris Broxton and incumbent Julie Fedorchak.
Thompson served in the state House of Representatives from 1989-1990 and in the state Senate from 1997-2000. He said his decision to run for the congressional seat was prompted by others suggesting the idea after a letter he wrote to Fedorchak, giving her what he called “tough love,” was popular on Facebook.
“I was getting people asking me, ‘Well, you know, maybe you should run?’ ” he said. “I prayed about it; I talked to my family about it; I talked to all the former congressional members from North Dakota that were with the Democratic-NPL (Nonpartisan League) … and kind of let them know what was going through my mind.”
Thompson, of Minnewaukan, said his previous experience with the Legislature gives him the tools needed to fill the U.S. House seat, adding he also had “the knowledge, the energy, the passion and the inspiration” to do the job. He also has no plans to become a “career politician,” he said, and would only serve two terms if elected.
Thompson wants to address health insurance costs, utility prices, and support for farmers and agriculture, among other topics.
He is also concerned about tariffs on other countries like Canada, saying he’s heard frustrations from Canadians.
“I’m talking to as many Canadians as I do on the U.S. side, and the president has just gotten our neighbors, or biggest trading partner, angry with us, where they’re not coming as far as tourism for Grand Forks,” he said.
Another recent entry into the race is Republican Ferris Broxton, a businessman from Minot.
Broxton, who’s originally from Georgia, said he chose to run for the seat because of what he called systemic corruption in the government. He said he reached out about it to Gov. Kelly Armstrong — when Armstrong was North Dakota’s representative — as well as to Sen. Kevin Cramer, Sen. John Hoeven and Fedorchak.
By running for the U.S. House, Broxton said he can make his concerns about the government known more publicly.
“That’s a position where I can make a difference; where I can have a megaphone, where I can talk to the news on a regular basis, where I can educate people,” he said.
Broxton has also laid out more of his goals if elected on his website, including holding public town hall meetings and improving transparency at all levels of government.
He also said while he doesn’t have prior experience as a politician, he has been a “fighter” all his life and hopes to hold government officials accountable if he is elected.
“If nobody’s able to step forward and get me heard and show that they will represent North Dakota and protect us from the biggest threat, then I will do everything I can to take that position. That’s what I’m running for,” he said.
Fedorchak, the incumbent,
announced her bid for reelection at the beginning of January.
She was first elected to the position in 2024 and is a native of Williston.
“As a fourth-generation North Dakotan, I want the very best state and nation for my kids and for families across our state,” Fedorchak said in a news release. “That means advancing policies to make America safer, stronger and more affordable — and that’s what I’m working toward every day.”
Alex Balazs
announced his candidacy in December.
Balazs previously ran for the House seat during the primary in 2024. He is a military veteran from Cando.
“Public service should never become a permanent campaign,” Balazs said in a news release. “North Dakota deserves a representative who leads, who introduces legislation, drives the conversation, and stays accountable to the people, not the politics.”
Trygve Hammer
also launched his campaign in January,
having also ran for the same seat during the 2024 election. Hammer is a Velva native, a retired Marine and former educator.
“Right now we have no voice in Congress. We need someone who will see something and say something. We need a representative who will demand that Congress take back its rightful powers,” Hammer said via release.
The primary election on June 9 will determine which Democrat and Republican candidate will move forward to the general election on Nov. 3.
North Dakota
North Dakota health leaders see new funding as turning point for rural patients
FARGO — A historic opportunity in North Dakota health care will be providing more access to rural patients.
The state’s Rural Health Transformation Program recently received $199 million in federal funding.
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