North Dakota
80 years after his death, North Dakota World War II serviceman’s remains identified
FARGO — Relatives of a North Dakota serviceman who died as a prisoner of war in World War II finally have the answer they’ve waited so long to receive.
Skeletal remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Irvin C. Ellingson have been identified through new DNA technology at a forensic lab in Hawaii, 80 years after his death.
Lon Enerson, one of Ellingson’s nephews,
has led the family effort to bring his uncle’s remains home.
“We are overjoyed and relieved … It’s a long-overdue answered prayer,” Enerson told The Forum, from his home in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Contributed
Ellingson, who grew up in Dahlen, North Dakota, a tiny community east of Devils Lake, enlisted at age 22 and was 25 when he died, Enerson said.
He was serving as a radar observer on a bombing mission to Tokyo on April 14, 1945, when the plane was shot down.
Ellingson parachuted to safety but was captured by the Japanese army and held captive at a Japanese prison along with 61 other American service members.
The prison caught fire a little over a month later, on May 26, 1945, after high winds fueled fires that were started by an American B-29 bombing raid over Tokyo.
None of the American prisoners survived the fire, as they were blocked in by Japanese guards, Enerson said.
The remains of more than two dozen American service members were identified in the aftermath but those of 37 others were buried as “unknowns” at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines, where they sat untouched until 2022.
Contributed / Ryan Earp
The remains are commingled, and the Department of Defense has a threshold for disinterment,
for at least 60%
of those veterans’ families to provide DNA samples in order to make matches.
Families pushed the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to disinter those unidentified remains and bring them to a forensic lab in Honolulu, where the newest DNA technology
is being used
to identify them.
Enerson said his uncle is the third serviceman from the Tokyo prison fire to be identified in this manner. The first identification came in September 2024 and the second in January of this year.
Ellingson’s parents and all of his siblings are deceased, so the next of kin is the oldest nephew or niece, who is Cheryl Severtson, of San Diego.
Contributed
Enerson is fourth on that list.
Six groups of Ellingson’s relatives have visited the forensic lab in Hawaii since 2022, awaiting his identification, Enerson said.
Now that they have answers, some family members may return to the lab to sit privately with Ellingson’s remains, which will be placed on an army blanket, he said.
The family intends to bury Ellingson’s remains in the Middle Forest River Cemetery in rural Dahlen, alongside his parents and other siblings.
Contributed / Lon Enerson
Enerson said when that day comes, he’s been told Ellingson will be buried with full military honors, at government expense.
“We just wish his immediate family could have known 80 years ago, but this is the next best time,” Enerson said.
A new North Dakota Department of Public Instruction survey seeks statewide feedback on potential changes to how students are using technology.
Superintendent Levi Bachmeier, who
took over the state’s top education role
in November, said he hopes the survey results will inform policymakers on potential reforms to school-issued device policies across the state. During his first student Cabinet meeting, he said a Mandan freshman told him the devices needed to be a “tool, not a toy.”
“The world that these young people are inheriting requires them to use technology responsibly, but we know that these devices are just as addictive as substances,” Bachmeier said during a press conference Thursday. “And that can be just as true for the school-issued device in their hands as the cellphone they carry around in their pocket.”
North Dakota
banned the use of cellphones
during the school day during the 2025 legislative session, something Bachmeier said has received a near universal
positive response
during its first year in effect.
The cellphone ban triggered a migration of some students from using their cellphones to access YouTube and other social media sites to using their school-issued laptops or tablets, Bachmeier said.
The
survey
includes questions about restrictions on device usage in elementary school, a potential prohibition on taking devices home, built-in make-up days into school scheduling before using virtual instruction and whether the state should require districts to use monitoring software on the devices.
He added that some school districts already have monitoring software that tracks student technology usage, but it is not a uniform policy.
“It’s inconsistent,” Bachmeier said. “Our challenge is how do we find what’s the best that is going on in North Dakota and make that a reality for every student in our state.”
Sen. Michelle Axtman, R-Bismarck, a lawmaker who sponsored multiple education bills during the 2025 legislative session, said any potential reforms to technology policies should enhance instruction, support learning and allow students to develop interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
“This effort today is not about eliminating technology from education,” Axtman said. “It’s about ensuring that technology serves learning rather than competes with it.”
Axtman said any potential changes to school device policies could be proposed during the 2027 legislative session and be implemented for the 2027-28 school year.
“By working towards clear statewide expectations for school-issued device use, we will help schools create learning environments that are more focused, more productive and healthier for students,” she said.
The
survey
can be filled out by any North Dakota student, parent, educator or community member through Aug. 1.
This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com.
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This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.
VALLEY CITY — A truck hauling bees rolled over Thursday, May 28, on westbound Interstate 94 near mile marker 292 near Valley City, releasing millions of bees and closing the right lane of traffic.
The crash was reported at about 4:45 p.m. Thursday, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol. Officials said the westbound right-side lane was closed following the rollover.
Millions of bees were released in the crash, and beekeepers were called to the scene to help recover and contain the insects.
Officials said the cable barrier area marked where large groups of bees had clustered.
Drivers were asked to slow down, follow directions from emergency responders and give crews and the bees plenty of space while work continued at the scene.
WIBAUX, Mont. (KFYR) – Several fire departments from both North Dakota and Montana are fighting a grass fire about 40 miles south of Wibaux in the Pine Unit area.
The editor of the Wibaux Pioneer Gazette tells us no structures are in danger at this time, and the Wibaux, Beach, Golva and Glendive Fire Departments are working to put out the flames.
The public is asked to avoid the area at this time.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
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