North Dakota
All sports are a bridge to the past … in more ways than one
Is being fixated on sports, and/or the past, a bad thing?
NOPE.
Over the last month or so, that’s become apparent because y’all are dancing down memory lane via the “Yesteryear” pieces The Dickinson Press is submitting and that circumstance was as predictable as sunrise. Midwestern people like you who grew up here, live here, work here, raise children here, and thrive here move the planet, and it’s not a surprise that you glommed onto the subject-matter.
And it got-me-to-thinkin’ …
Via limited research, it was obvious football has changed over the years in rural North Dakota (and, it’s my intention to “Yesteryear” basketball, baseball, hockey, softball, DSU or whichever) and — while looking back over the website that has become instrumental to the piece’s success — a funny circumstance popped-up: Like New England’s football team from last week, there are those which no-longer exist. Now, they had a sense of pride and history, written down by us on the staff, and the names of those teams (somewhat-long-forgotten), are AWESOME.
Seriously, it pushed the rusted-wheels in motion to find the coolest one. While chatting with Mr. Rod Kleinjan of KDIX in the BAC pressbox during the Killdeer/Trinity game the other-day, he recalled them all, and regaled us whippersnappers with even more history. Stuff like that is enthralling, and it was a joyful trip that otherwise would be lost-to-human-memory.
Honestly: Best lightning delay, ever.
That-all-said, do you remember the Ashley Aces or the Sawyer Flashes? Perhaps you played for the Sheldon Shadows or the Rogers North Central Corvairs or you earned a letterman jacket from the Petersburg Dakota Prairie Knights, the Buxton Central Valley Valiants or the McClusky Dragons? Whether you signed yearbooks for your classmates with the Carson Chieftains or the Garrison Troopers is fine, and the Fargo Oak Grove Lutheran Grovers still miss you.
Seriously, what a buncha cool names … but I digress …
I’m not gonna tell you the website I use for this little excursion until the end of football season, but it’s fantastic. It unfolds things that are recognizable to old-timers and provides food-for-thought for an abundance of opportunities. As another sentiment, my gratitude goes out to the Dickinson Public Library for helping me wend my way through microfiche, which was initially confusing until they provided their guidance in this effort. I know the Dewey Decimal System, but management of tape-rolls from the 1960s ain’t my forte.
So, back to these unbelievably awesome nicknames/mascots of North Dakota football … it has long been a curiosity of mine how-many “Lions” live in Detroit and how few “Jaguars” live in Jax, but with names like the Steelers and Packers (both-of-which were based on working-people in those communities) it’s obvious why they have so much fan support. That said, I have met a “Giant” or two from New York and Florida still has real Panthers, so mascot-naming is not all for naught.
My contrary version of this story is that I have animus towards Utah for keeping the name “Jazz,” because Utah seems like perhaps the-most-un-jazzy place in the world, and the New Orleans team is now called the Pelicans (which is a great bird, but a terrible mascot) and I resent the Lakers’ maintaining the moniker because I know from-where they came. Los Angeles has no water (much-less, lakes) but Minneapolis does. I attribute the decision to laziness and alliteration, nothing-more-nothing-less.
Just to tick off a few-more-boxes’-worth of fabulous former ND mascots, I would be remiss to leave out the Kulm Gophers, Hope Hustlers, Hebron Brickmakers or Powers Lake Ranchers, and while Minnewaukan had their own “Midgets” (once-upon-a-time), I prefer ours. And, all-joking-aside, can we bring back the Rattlers, Glen Ullin? “Rattlers” might be my favorite mascot name, EVER.
I’ve read that “too-much attention” is paid to sports in America, and my simple retort is that sports might be the only thing holding the whole country together at this point. They provide a connection between the past and the present that neither politics, nor entertainment, nor music, nor residence could ever bridge. And, the people who dispense silliness like that probably never felt the symbiosis between themselves and teammates, combined with the fans in the stands supporting them … nor fed off that undeniable energy.
As a point of reality: Athletics are probably the last/best hope for this country.
You ever seen a person wearing the jersey of your favorite team in a city 2,500 miles away from where you stood? What happens?
Friendliness, and — most-likely — a conversation, quick hello or a thumbs-up happen. Pretty-much all the time. I’ve seen it, done it and bathed in that cohesion.
The names of these teams are gone, but anybody who played for the Cooperstown Lynx, Edgeley Rangers, Willow City Red Wings, Bowbells Eskimos, or Starkweather Stormkings would sever the index finger off their dominant-hand and relearn to write all-over again to relive those days. The efforts, hard-work and individual moments helped provide a foundation that built whatever futures that followed.
It’s a shame those days are gone, but the memories live on, forever. And it all can come full-circle … just ask the Belfield Bantams and South Heart Eagles.
Gaylon is a sportswriter who originally is from Jensen Beach, Fla. and his column appears weekly. He can be reached at
gparker@thedickinsonpress.com
and/or 701-456-1213.
Gaylon is a sportswriter from Jensen Beach, Fla., but has lived all over the world. Growing up with an athletic background gave him a love of sports that led to a journalism career in such places as Enid, Okla., Alamogordo, N.M., Pascagoula, Miss. and Viera, Fla. since 1998. His main passion is small-town community sports, particularly baseball and soccer.
GRAND FORKS — A North Dakota composer’s dream is turning into a statewide invitation.
Williston-based musician Emily Black-Driscoll was chosen as the North Dakota Music Teachers Association’s commissioned composer for 2026. She’s preparing an original composition that will premiere in August.
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North Dakota
Challengers declare victory after ND Supreme Court rules against Legislature’s attempt to alter term limits
BISMARCK — A constitutional ballot measure to amend the state’s term limits law as proposed by the Legislature will not appear on November’s ballot, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday, siding with petitioners who argued the Legislature exceeded its authority and violated the state constitution in proposing the changes.
“The people’s voice was heard,” Grand Forks County Commissioner Terry Bjerke said in reaction to the news.
Bjerke was a member of the sponsoring committee behind the successful 2022 effort to pass a term limits initiative, which amended the state constitution by capping legislative term limits to eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. The amendment, which became article XV of the state constitution, also included a clause barring the Legislature from making constitutional changes to term limits.
During the 2025 session, however, lawmakers narrowly approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 4008, in which the legislature proposed Constitutional Measure 1, a ballot measure to amend the term limits language to allow legislators to decide in which chamber they want to serve their 16 years, and to repeal the clause limiting the legislative assembly’s authority to propose an amendment to alter or repeal term limits.
Bjerke and former Minot legislator Oley Larsen brought the lawsuit challenging the validity of the Legislature’s action in January, and the state Supreme Court
heard oral arguments in the case
this spring.
“Those term limits may only be altered by a measure proposed by the people rather than the Legislative Assembly. And yet a few years later, the Legislative Assembly is doing what they are prohibited from doing,” attorney Zachary Wallen argued on Bjerke and Larsen’s behalf.
Tanner Ecker / The Bismarck Tribune
The Legislature’s attorneys argued the clause prohibiting legislative proposals to alter the constitutional term limits language “infringes on our republican form of government” by “limiting the people’s ability to vote on amendments proposed by their elected officials.”
Justice Jon Jensen seemed skeptical of that argument during the April 2 hearing, questioning whether a second vote was appropriate.
“The public did speak on this. The public spoke on it when it passed the original constitutional amendment and they said, ‘Legislature, you don’t even get to propose a change.’ They have already spoken on it,” Jensen said. “You want a second shot, or a second bite at the apple, not a first one, a second.”
In Thursday’s ruling, all five justices sided with Bjerke and Larsen.
“We … conclude the Legislative Assembly’s adoption of S.C.R. 4008 violated N.D. Const. art. XV … and declare S.C.R. 4008 and Constitutional Measure 1 void … We enjoin the Secretary of State from placing Constitutional Measure 1 on the November 2026 general election ballot,” the ruling said.
Bjerke thanked the legal team that worked on behalf of their lawsuit, and said he was grateful the court reached the conclusion it did.
“I’m thrilled that what the people voted on and approved has been validated,” Bjerke said.
He added that the Legislature had “multiple opportunities” to address term limits prior to 2022’s initiated measure and chose not to, and gave a nod to the country’s coming milestone and the process by which voters expressed their support for term limits.
“We’ve lasted 250 years,” Bjerke said. “I have two words for those elected leaders who think they aren’t: everyone’s replaceable.”
North Dakota
Fargo woman convicted in North Dakota fraud case now faces charges in Minnesota: A deeper dive
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A North Dakota woman who was sentenced to 180 days in jail in Cass County for defrauding healthcare providers and Medicaid programs is now facing additional fraud charges in Minnesota.
Christine Marie Pryor, 55, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to theft by deception involving more than $50,000. She was sentenced to first serve 180 days with a 3-year sentence suspended. She received credit for 44 days already served.
Pryor was ordered to pay $82,584.78 in restitution to Southeast Human Services in Fargo, where she worked between 2018 and 2019.
How the scheme unfolded
According to court documents, Pryor worked at multiple healthcare facilities in North Dakota and Minnesota between 2018 and 2023, using the identities and credentials of three licensed professionals without their knowledge. She submitted fraudulent Capella University diplomas and transcripts to gain employment.
Investigators say Pryor admitted she searched state licensing websites for therapists who shared her first name, then used those therapists’ last names and license numbers when applying for jobs.
At Southeast Human Services, where she worked as a Licensed Addiction Counselor, Pryor earned $55,584.82 while providing therapy services to approximately 150 patients. She also opened her own counseling center, NIAM Brain Injury Center, in Fargo between 2020 and 2021, and worked at The Lotus Center in Moorhead, Minnesota, from 2021 to 2023.
Court documents say the three licensed professionals whose identities were used told investigators they had no knowledge of Pryor’s actions and did not give her permission to use their information.
Two additional charges against Pryor in North Dakota, unauthorized use of personal identifying information, were dismissed on motion of the state.
Additional charges in Minnesota
Pryor is also facing charges in Minnesota. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Tuesday charges against Pryor in Clay County District Court for six theft offenses and six identity theft offenses related to defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program of more than $150,000.
According to the Minnesota complaint, Pryor claimed to provide psychotherapy and alcohol and drug counseling services to Medicaid recipients despite having no license or credentials to do so. Prosecutors allege she used the credentials and identities of three licensed professionals while claiming to provide Medicaid-funded services to 169 clients.
The Minnesota charges were filed as part of National Health Care Fraud Takedown Day, a joint effort involving the Department of Justice and more than 40 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
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