Midwest
North Dakota coal miners unearth ancient mammoth fossil, including 7-foot-long tusk: 'Exciting find'
A group of coal miners made a “mammoth” discovery this year while working in North Dakota.
While working overnight at the Freedom Mine during the Memorial Day weekend, the miners uncovered the remains of an ancient mammoth that went extinct in the area roughly 10,000 years ago.
Understanding the importance of the discovery, which came in the early morning hours at the mine located north of Beulah, the miners roped off certain areas and called in the North Dakota Geological Survey (NDGS), the State Historical Society of North Dakota, and the Bureau of Land Management.
Led by paleontologists from the NDGS, a team worked for 12 days to excavate the streambed where the fossil had been preserved for thousands of years, according to a press release this month from the NDGS.
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Led by paleontologists from the NDGS, a team worked for 12 days to excavate the streambed where the remains had been preserved for thousands of years, according to the NDGS. (North Dakota Geological Survey)
More than 20 bones were recovered from the skeleton, including ribs, a shoulder blade, a tooth, and portions of the hips. But perhaps the most astonishing find was a seven-foot-long mammoth tusk that had been preserved since the Ice Age.
Clint Boyd, a senior paleontologist for the NDGS, told Fox News Digital that the tusk had been scooped up by the miners who were removing heavy rock from the area and placed into the bed of a dump truck.
“So when they dump the dump truck out, the very last thing that came out of the bed of the dump truck that landed right on top of the pile was that full, complete seven-foot-long mammoth tusk,” Boyd said.
In an effort to preserve the fossil, Boyd said the team placed the bones into plastic bags to help retain moisture.
“We have all of the materials wrapped up in plastic right now because this Ice Age stuff is what we refer to as subfossils. It’s not fully fossilized, there’s a lot of organics still in it,” Boyd explained. “The sediment is really wet when you first uncover it, and if it dries out too quickly, it’ll just kind of crack and split and fall apart and kind of destroy itself.”
In order to save the bones, Boyd said the team must soak them in a “special chemical compound” that “takes the water out of the specimen and then replaces it with this slower drying alcohol.”
Perhaps the most astonishing find from the fossil was a seven-foot-long mammoth tusk that had been well-preserved. (North Dakota Geological Survey)
The soaking process to ensure the bones don’t become brittle and crumble, Boyd said, could take a few months. “After that’s done, then it’ll be nice and stable,” he said.
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Boyd said the mammoth fossil is believed to be “the most complete one” that has ever been discovered in North Dakota and that it’s “the first one that’s come out of a coal mine.”
“You get them out of gravel pits once in a while, but usually just like a bone or two, or like an isolated tooth. For whatever reason, we haven’t had a lot of really complete mammoth specimens from North Dakota before, so this was an exciting find,” he added.
The NDGS is also working alongside the Freedom Mine as the duo searches for somewhere to put the remains on display for others to see.
“We’re looking at places where we could potentially get the specimen on display,” Boyd said. “We’re talking with the mine, trying to see if there’s any place close by up there, maybe in the town of Beulah, which is the nearest town, or someplace like that. If not, then [we’re] looking at where we could put it into the state museum here in Bismarck, since we’re only a little over an hour away from the mine.”
“We’d like to get the fossils back on display as close to the area they came from as possible so that local people can see it and understand, you know, what it was and what else they could find out there,” he added.
Mammoths roamed what is now known as North Dakota during the Pleistocene Epoch, more commonly known as the Ice Age. They went extinct in the area around 10,000 years ago, according to the NDGS. (Getty Images)
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Mammoths roamed what is now known as North Dakota during the Pleistocene Epoch, more commonly known as the Ice Age. They went extinct in the area around 10,000 years ago, according to the NDGS.
A variety of mammoth species occupied the land of North America, including the Woolly Mammoth and the Columbian Mammoth, which lived among saber-toothed tigers and giant sloths. Once the bones have gone through the cleaning process, paleontologists will be able to identify which species the fossil belonged to.
Boyd said he hopes the rare discovery will lead to others reporting their findings and keeping an eye out for additional fossils in the future.
“Hopefully this, you know, gets everyone to keep their eyes peeled and let us know if they see anything else out there,” he said of the discovery.
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Millions of asylum seekers have been impacted as caseloads have grown
A general crackdown on immigration courts the administration sees as liberal has led to the firing of dozens of immigration judges.
Recent polls show President Donald Trump’s approval ratings continue to dip as the war in Iran endures and national gas prices float above $4.
One such poll conducted by CNN/SSRS illustrates widespread upset among Americans with regards to Trump’s handling of the economy and inflation. Here’s how Trump’s approval ratings look nationally and within Illinois, as of April 20.
Donald Trump approval rating: CNN
Only 31% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling the economy, compared to 39% in January 2026, according to the poll.
The decline in approval on the issue is even higher among Republicans, especially Republicans under 45 years old, according to CNN.
In the poll, President Donald Trump received his worst approval rating yet in either of his two terms on the economy.
CNN findings show about two-thirds of Americans say Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions, and 27% say they approve of Trump’s handling of inflation.
CNN also reported 63% of Americans say the prices at the pump have caused financial hardship in their household, including 15% calling it “severe.”
The poll, conducted March 26-30 among 1,201 U.S. adults, found 35% approve of Trump’s job performance overall. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
One poll respondent told CNN and the pollster about the most important issue facing the country: “Prices! Everything is so expensive. Makes it very difficult to do anything other than work and go home. Trips to the grocery store are ridiculous! Between gas and grocery prices, we are poor!”
Trump addressed the concerns about gas prices in his address to the nation on April 1, saying the Strait of Hormuz would reopen when the conflict was over and the prices would fall again.
Trump reaffirmed his promise about the strait on April 18, saying his administration had “very good conversations going on” with Iran after the country said the strait would not be reopened.
Donald Trump approval rating in Illinois: Civiqs
Trump’s job approval rating in Illinois, as of April 18, according to data from online survey platform Civiqs, is as follows:
- Approve — 32%.
- Disapprove — 65%.
- Neither — 4%.
Donald Trump national approval rating: Civiqs
Trump’s national approval rating as of April 13, according to data from Civiqs, is as follows:
- Approve — 39%.
- Disapprove — 57%.
- Neither — 4%.
Donald Trump approval rating in Illinois: The Economist
Trump has a -36% net approval rating in Illinois as of April 20, according to data from The Economist.
Donald Trump national approval rating: The Economist
Trump’s national approval rating as of April 20, according to data from The Economist, is as follows:
- Approve — 38%.
- Disapprove — 56%.
- Don’t know — 7%.
Trump, Iran War approval rating: Pew Research Center
A Pew Research study conducted in mid-March found that about six-in-ten Americans (61%) approve of Trump’s handling of the conflict in Iran, with 39% approving.
A report released in early April found that the largest concern for most Americans as a result of the conflict is higher gas prices, with 69% saying they are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the issue.
Other Trump approval rating polls as of April 20
Here is a look at some other polling aggregators to understand how CNN/SSRS’s poll compares to the average Trump approval numbers as of April 20:
RealClearPolitics Poll Average: 41.2% approve, 56.6% disapprove.
The New York Times: 40% approve, 56% disapprove.
Silver Bulletin: 39.7% approve, 56.4% disapprove.
Which president has the lowest approval rating ever?
Although Trump has dropped to a historic low in approval rating polls this term so far, he hit a 34% low in the first term and other recent presidents such as Joe Biden hit a 36% low, Barack Obama hit a 40% low, George W. Bush hit a 25% low and Bill Clinton hit a 37% low, according to the Gallup polls, whose recorded lowest rating was Harry Truman with 22%.
As for the highest presidential approval ratings, George W. Bush holds the highest approval rating ever recorded at 90%, while his father, George H. Bush holds the second highest at 89%.
Trump is the only president that has not reached a 50% or higher approval to date in the Gallup polls’ history.
For many Hoosiers living in rural Indiana, accessing health care can mean driving 30 minutes or even an hour to see a doctor or reach the nearest hospital. As workforce shortages and financial pressures challenge rural hospitals across the country, ensuring access to care close to home has become one of the most important health-care issues facing our state.
About one in four Indiana residents live in a rural community, yet access to health-care services in many of these communities continues to shrink. Across the nation, rural hospitals and clinics report extremely thin operating margins and often say workforce shortages and rising costs make it difficult to sustain services such as primary care, maternity care and behavioral health.
When rural communities struggle to maintain health-care access, the impact doesn’t stay confined to small towns. It ripples across the entire health-care system, contributing to increases in chronic conditions, reduced preventative care for children, and worsening outcomes for the sickest patients.
Communities such as Greater Lafayette serve as a regional hub for care, with hospitals like IU Health Arnett caring for patients from surrounding counties across north-central and west-central Indiana. That role is something we are proud to fulfill. But when rural residents must travel long distances for care that should be available closer to home, it places increasing pressure on emergency departments, specialty clinics and inpatient services at larger regional hospitals.
In many cases, what might have been a routine appointment, preventive screening or early diagnosis in a local clinic becomes far more serious by the time a patient reaches a larger hospital. A missed screening can escalate into a medical emergency.
That reality makes strengthening rural health care more important than ever — not just for rural communities, but for the health of the entire state.
One of the most important steps we can take is investing in the next generation of health-care professionals who will care for these communities.
At IU Health, we are working directly with local schools and community partners to help build that workforce pipeline. Across the region, IU Health has partnered with the Greater Lafayette Career Academy and area school districts to introduce students to health-care careers earlier and provide hands-on learning opportunities that bring those careers to life.
Through these programs, students explore health-care pathways and earn certifications such as certified nursing assistant, medical assistant or emergency medical technician while still in high school. Many participate in job shadowing opportunities, clinical experiences and mentorship programs, giving them valuable exposure to the field before they graduate. In fact, since the first cohort in 2023, IU Health has extended job offers to more than 70 students.
The goal is simple but powerful: help students see that meaningful careers in health care exist in their own communities and create pathways that allow them to stay and serve those communities.
For rural health care, this approach is critical. Students who train and develop personal mentorship connections locally are far more likely to remain in the region after completing their education. By helping young people build skills and connections early, we can create a sustainable workforce that strengthens health-care access in both rural communities and regional centers, including Greater Lafayette.
Since launching the $200 million Community Impact Investment Fund in 2018, IU Health has invested more than $40 million in community grants supporting workforce development, education and school-based programs that build Indiana’s health-care talent pipeline. This includes funding for the Indiana Latino Institute, which placed Latino students in health-care internships, supported career pathways, and provided medical interpreter training and college coaching to communities across the state.
Our goal is to make Indiana one of the healthiest states in the nation, and this is one way we work toward that in partnership with our communities.
But workforce development is only part of the solution.
Strengthening rural health care will also require continued collaboration between health-care providers, educators, community leaders and policymakers. Expanding telehealth access, supporting rural hospitals and investing in primary care and behavioral health services are all critical steps toward ensuring patients can receive care close to home.
Greater Lafayette will always play an important role as a regional health-care center, providing specialized care and advanced services for patients across a broad region. But the long-term health of Indiana’s health-care system depends on maintaining strong local access points for care in rural communities.
When rural clinics and hospitals can provide preventive care, manage chronic conditions and connect patients with the services they need early, the entire system works better.
Patients receive care sooner, communities stay healthier and larger hospitals can focus on the complex cases they are designed to treat.
Healthy rural communities do not just benefit the towns where they are. They strengthen Indiana’s entire health-care system by ensuring that every Hoosier — no matter where they live — has access to the care and resources they need to live healthier lives.
When rural health care succeeds, all of Indiana benefits.
Gary Henriott is a lifelong resident of Lafayette and the retired CEO and Chairman of Henriott Group. He is the chair of the IU Health West Region board of directors and the Wabash Heartland Innovation Network, and president of Lafayette’s Board of Public Works and Safety.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Senator Chuck Grassley said he’s recovering from a gallstone removal procedure.
His media team shared that he is working in Iowa “in good spirits and looks forward to returning to Washington soon.”
“I’m gr8ful [sic] for the excellent care from local health care providers,” he shared on X.
Over the weekend in Iowa I had a procedure to remove gallstones I’m gr8ful for the excellent care from local health care providers Be back to capitol ASAP
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) April 20, 2026
Grassley, 92, is the oldest senator currently in office and the sixth-longest-serving senator in U.S. history.
The Senate is in session this week.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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