North Dakota
Ruby, the service dog so beloved her owner offered $10,000 to find her, has died
FARGO — Ruby, the service dog so beloved that her owner offered a $10,000 reward to find her, has died.
Owner Jason Larkin shared the news via a public Facebook post Sunday afternoon.
“It saddens me to share that Ruby has been found and unfortunately she is in doggie heaven,” he wrote. “It wasn’t the outcome we prayed for but we do have closure.”
People first heard about the missing service dog in December, after Ruby slipped out of the Larkin’s backyard on a Sunday morning.
“She must have spotted a rabbit, and we saw her run back toward the back and that’s last we saw of her,” Larkin told WDAY’s Kevin Wallevand at the time.
Ruby had been specially trained to help Larkin, who was paralyzed in a 2013 accident. She followed him everywhere and would do anything — from open a door to pick up a single Kleenex — to help him,
according to the WDAY story.
The search for Ruby spread like wildfire on social media, and the Larkins purchased huge, electronic billboards and offered a reward of $10,000 to anyone who could find the golden-hearted Goldendoodle.
Unfortunately, this tale did not end happily. Larkin didn’t share details of Ruby’s death and did not immediately respond to The Forum’s request for a short conversation Sunday evening.
But he did note that the family buried Ruby where she would never be far away — in their backyard. “Since Ruby loved hockey, the kids and I are going to make a cross out of one of the many broken hockey sticks we have piled up in the basement,” he wrote.
Larkin’s post also ended on an upbeat note, when he reminded followers that the family adopted another stalwart goldendoodle, Knox, in February.
“Remember because of Ruby and an amazing family we have Knox,” Larkin wrote. “Knox carries Ruby’s spirit. Knox is an amazing dog and is so loving, caring, and gentle.”
We think Ruby would approve.
North Dakota
Pepperdine hosts North Dakota State following Koenen’s 22-point game
North Dakota State Bison (8-2) at Pepperdine Waves (7-2)
Malibu, California; Tuesday, 5 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: North Dakota State visits Pepperdine after Avery Koenen scored 22 points in North Dakota State’s 83-55 victory against the Eastern Illinois Panthers.
The Waves are 4-0 on their home court. Pepperdine is 1-0 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 18.2 turnovers per game.
The Bison are 3-0 on the road. North Dakota State scores 77.4 points and has outscored opponents by 15.3 points per game.
Pepperdine averages 8.1 made 3-pointers per game, 2.8 more made shots than the 5.3 per game North Dakota State gives up. North Dakota State averages 6.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.1 fewer made shots on average than the 7.3 per game Pepperdine allows.
TOP PERFORMERS: Seleh Harmon averages 2.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Waves, scoring 10.4 points while shooting 44.4% from beyond the arc. Elli Guiney is shooting 47.3% and averaging 14.4 points.
Molly Lenz averages 1.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Bison, scoring 7.8 points while shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc. Koenen is averaging 18.2 points, 10 rebounds and 1.6 steals.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
North Dakota
North Dakota lawmakers from West Fargo announce bid for reelection
WEST FARGO — Three incumbents from West Fargo will run for reelection to their state legislative seats.
North Dakota Sen. Judy Lee and Reps. Jim Jonas and Austen Schauer, all Republicans, announced Sunday, Dec. 14, that they would campaign to represent District 13 in the state Legislature. The district covers much of north West Fargo.
Special to The Forum
Lee was first elected to the North Dakota Senate in 1994. Jonas and Schauer have served in the state House since 2023 and 2019, respectively.
The three ran unopposed in the 2022 election. The next election for their seats is in 2026.
Forum file photo
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.
North Dakota
Bids awarded for construction of Highway 85
WATFORD CITY, N.D. (KUMV) – The North Dakota Department of Transportation awarded more than 150 million dollars in bids to continue expanding highway 85 south of Watford City.
More than $83.8 million will go to Park Construction out of Minneapolis for one segment. It covers about five and a half miles south of the Long X Bridge, going through another section of the badlands. It’s expected to be a three-year project due to the rough terrain.
The next segment covers 12 and a half miles south from the badlands to the highway 200 intersection. The winning bid went to Strata out of Grand Forks for $61.7 million. It will be a two-year project.
Funding for these projects were provided by both the state and federal government.
Copyright 2025 KFYR. All rights reserved.
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