North Dakota
Scientists discover ancient river-dwelling mosasaur in North Dakota
Some 66 million years ago, a city bus-sized terrifying predator prowled a prehistoric river in what is now North Dakota.
This finding is based on the analysis of a single mosasaur tooth conducted by an international team of researchers from the United States, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
The tooth came from a prognathodontine mosasaur — a reptile reaching up to 11 meters long. This makes it an apex predator on par with the largest killer whales.
It shows that massive mosasaurs successfully adapted to life in rivers right up until their extinction.
Isotope analysis
Dating from 98 to 66 million years ago, abundant mosasaur fossils have been uncovered in marine deposits across North America, Europe, and Africa.
However, these marine reptile fossils have been rarely found in North Dakota before.
In this new study, the large mosasaur tooth was unearthed in a fluvial deposit (river sediment) in North Dakota.
Its neighbors in the dirt were just as compelling: a tooth from a Tyrannosaurus rex and a crocodylian jawbone. Interestingly, all these fossilized remains came from a similar age, around 66 million years old.
This unusual gathering — sea monster, land dinosaur, and river croc — raised an intriguing question: If the mosasaur was a sea creature, how did its remains end up in an inland river?
The answer lay in the chemistry of the tooth enamel. Using advanced isotope analysis at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, the team compared the chemical composition of the mosasaur tooth with its neighbors.
The key was the ratio of oxygen isotopes.
The mosasaur teeth contained a higher proportion of the lighter oxygen isotope than is typical for mosasaurs living in saltwater. This specific isotopic signature, along with the strontium isotope ratio, strongly suggests that the mosasaur lived in a freshwater habitat.
Analysis also revealed that the mosasaur did not dive as deep as many of its marine relatives and may have fed on unusual prey, such as drowned dinosaurs.
The isotope signatures indicated that this mosasaur had inhabited this freshwater riverine environment. When we looked at two additional mosasaur teeth found nearby, slightly older sites in North Dakota, we saw similar freshwater signatures. These analyses show that mosasaurs lived in riverine environments in the final million years before going extinct,” explained Melanie During, the study author.
Transformation of the Seaway
The adaptation occurred during the final million years of the Cretaceous period.
It is hypothesized that the mosasaurs were adapting to an enormous environmental shift in the Western Interior Seaway, the vast inland sea that once divided North America.
Increased freshwater influx gradually transformed the ancient sea from saltwater to brackish water, and finally to mostly freshwater, similar to the modern Gulf of Bothnia.
The researchers hypothesize that this change led to the formation of a halocline: a structure where a lighter layer of freshwater rested atop heavier saltwater. The findings of the isotope analyses directly support this theory.
The analyzed mosasaur teeth belong to individuals who successfully adapted to the shifting environments.
This transition from marine to freshwater habitats (reverse adaptation) is considered less complex than the opposite shift and is not unique among large predators.
Modern parallels include river dolphins, which evolved from marine ancestors but now thrive in freshwater, and the estuarine crocodile, which moves freely between freshwater rivers and the open sea for hunting.
Findings were published in the journal BMC Zoology on December 11.
North Dakota
Runners will soon trek across North Dakota to bring awareness for families grieving the loss of a child – KVRR Local News
FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — For more than 400 miles, 12 runners will trek across North Dakota to carry the stories of love, loss, and resilience from community to community.
“After having run Haven since 2017, the 10.15 Project came, and it just is so exciting because it’s really looking at pregnancy and infant loss and putting it in a new light. And really giving people the opportunity to do something that you can see and it’s meaningful,” said Jen Burgard, Founder and Executive Director of Haven.
The 10.15 Project was co-founded by Haven, an organization that supports grieving families. The relay begins on International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. And during the four days, the team hopes to bring awareness to families.
“It gives you pieces of solitude, of quiet, of reflection, and also a purpose. It gives you meaning, and I think endurance is one of the biggest pieces of this. It’s the endurance required to navigate pregnancy and infant loss is extreme. And I think this really mirrors that,” said Burgard.
While many of the runners come from different fields, many have also experienced a loss themselves.
“When it happened in my family, it was kind of something we were all struck by. You realize how common it is. And you know, I want to bring light to that,” said Ty Casey, Runner and Learning and Development Specialist at TrueNorth Steel.
Casey has multiple runs planned over the next few months, but with this run in particular, he hopes this will bring awareness.
“If this is one thing that can help bring light to it and help people be more open and help people to talk about it, and take some of the grief away that would be totally ideal for us just to help out a little bit,” said Casey.
The relay begins on October 15 in Medora and will end on October 18th in Fargo.
Spring Fever
District Game Warden Sam Feldmann
As winter begins to fade and ice fishing begins to slow, everyone gets the itch to be outside on nice days when it’s warming and the sun is shining. People are beginning to think about their garden or outdoor projects around the house they have been pondering all winter.
While others have been thinking about open water fishing, getting the boat ready, hitting the field to look for shed antlers in a favorite spot they’ve been watching deer all winter, or slipping into the field to lure a spring gobbler into shotgun range with a new call they’ve been practicing with all winter.
With the excitement of warm weather and getting out to enjoy everything a spring day has to offer, I would like to remind everyone of a few things while enjoying what North Dakota has to offer.
This year is a registration year for all motorized watercrafts. This doesn’t just mean you have to renew your registration. It means that when you get the new red stickers sporting “28” on them that they must be affixed to both sides of the bow of the boat.
Another reminder is that if you are going shed hunting, there are a few things to remember. Shed antlers are legal to possess. This time of year, our officers receive lots of calls about shed hunters locating “dead heads,” which are animals that have died and the antlers are still attached to the skull plate.
If you happen to locate a dead head, you cannot possess it without contacting your local game warden and receiving a permit for the animal. Also, if you are going to shed hunt on posted private property or a Private Lands Opens To Sportsmen tract, you need to obtain permission to do so. Wildlife management areas and other state and federal lands are open to shed hunting, but a good rule of thumb is to check the regulations on public property before heading out.
If you are going to be chasing turkeys this spring through the timber, there are a few things that should be remembered. Make sure you have your tag with you when you are in the field. Remember that your tag is only legal for one bearded wild turkey. If you are lucky enough to harvest a turkey you fooled into coming to your calling and decoy, you must tag it before doing anything else.
One last reminder for the spring activities. Remember that all licenses, whether it’s a hunting license or fishing license, expired March 31 and needed to be renewed as of April 1, 2026
With these few reminders out of the way, remember to have fun and enjoy what the great state of North Dakota has to offer.
MANDAN, N.D. (KVRR-KFGO) – Former North Dakota Game & Fish Director Terry Steinwand has been charged with molesting a child.
The Class “A” misdemeanor was filed after a Morton County District Court judge rejected a proposed plea agreement to a felony charge and prosecutors dismissed the charge while retaining the right to file an amended charge.
Steinwand is from Mandan. The 72-year-old is now charged with one count of sexual assault-offensive contact. The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail.
Steinwand was originally charged in September, 2025, when police say he admitted to sexual misconduct.
Steinwand worked for the Game & Fish Dept. for 40 years. He led the agency for about 15 years and retired in 2021.
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