Grid lines were laid out for a potential fossil dig at a home in northwest North Dakota. Mammoth teeth were found 1988 while preparing the site for the construction of the garage at the right. (Photo courtesy of the North Dakota Geological Survey via the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) -Some mammoth bones have been gnawing at North Dakota State Geologist Ed Murphy for more than 35 years.

Murphy on Tuesday described for the North Dakota Industrial Commission how he became aware of a find of mammoth bones in 1988. He updated the commission, which oversees the North Dakota Geological Survey, because his department, in cooperation with the State Historical Society, plans to excavate part of the site and may need to request money from the state to finish the job.

In 1988, Murphy said he received a report of a homeowner finding some woolly mammoth bones while digging a foundation for a garage in northwest North Dakota. Murphy did not disclose a more precise location of the find.

The family had already sent a couple of teeth to North Dakota State University to verify that they had come from a woolly mammoth, prehistoric beasts that lived in what is now North Dakota during the Pleistocene Epoch, commonly called the Ice Age.

Weeks later, word got to Murphy that teeth had been confirmed as coming from a mammoth and he went to the site the next day. But by this time, the foundation had been poured and the garage built.

Murphy said he asked the homeowner if he would be willing to have the garage moved and foundation busted up so there could be an archeological dig. Murphy said the homeowner was willing, as long as the garage was restored the next month.

But Murphy was not able to find the people or the money to make that happen.

In December, 35 years later, Murphy started going through his notes from that visit. After the holidays, he contacted the person who now owns the home and attached garage.

While the property had changed hands, the new owner knew people from the garage construction crew, who had shared that there may be a mammoth under the garage.

So it was not a big surprise when Murphy reached out. The homeowner agreed to a test dig near the garage. Murphy said the small pit revealed some bone fragments and pieces of tusk in the backfill for the garage slab. Digging a little deeper revealed three undisturbed bones.

Margaret Patton, a research archaeologist with the Historical Society, also used ground-penetrating radar at the site.

“It doesn’t make beautiful pictures,” Patton said of the radar, but it does detect anomalies, something different from the soil around it, that corresponded to where construction workers had reported bones being found.

Murphy said a crew will return to the garage for a larger dig — about 6 feet by 6 feet and down at least 30 inches — in mid-September.

“If they uncover a big rock, I’ll be sad, but I’m hoping that it really will be bigger mammoth bones,” Patton said.

Patton said the September dig should provide a better idea of the potential for the site and the potential cost. There may need to be a budget request for the Legislature when it meets in January so work can continue into 2025.

While there have been woolly mammoth tusks and other bones found in the state, “a skeleton or a nearly full skeleton would be a first” for North Dakota, Murphy said.

Several species of mammoth lived in North America, including the woolly mammoth and the Columbian mammoth, according to the North Dakota Geological Survey. They lived alongside other animals like saber-toothed tigers and giant sloths before going extinct in the area about 10,000 years ago.

In 2023, coal miners near Beulah discovered a 7-foot tusk of an ancient mammoth.

“There we had a beautiful tusk that was really in great shape,” Murphy said. In addition, 18 other bones or parts of bones were found.

Murphy said fossil bones like the tusk are soft and need to be encased in plaster to be safely removed. Then it’s a monthslong process to stabilize the fossil.

Murphy said he is hopeful for the new dig site, but there are no guarantees.

“It still will be a gamble of what’s under there,” he said.

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – The State Auditor’s Office found three separate areas where North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) can improve.

State Auditor Josh Gallion said the findings were part of a routine auditing schedule, which happens every one or two years. The department found that HHS’s nearly $7 million workforce retention program is ineffective, citing money mismanagement. The grant is meant to pay at-homecare givers. The report said some of the people who received grant money weren’t eligible, and some of the businesses awarded money didn’t pass that onto their caregivers.

The report also found that children in extremely abusive situations were not removed from those situations in the state’s mandated timeframe, which is between one to 14 days. It also said children in 83% of the cases examined did not receive their required in-person interviews in a timely manner.

“I strongly believe that here in North Dakota, we can do better, and we should be doing better, and I want to make sure we take all of these opportunities from the Auditor’s Office standpoint to make sure that we’re looking out for the most vulnerable among us,” Gallion said.

The Auditor’s Office said the State Hospital needs to strengthen its controlled substances safeguarding policies as well.

We reached out to HHS for a statement, but haven’t received a response yet.

Copyright 2024 KFYR. All rights reserved.

The Colorado Buffaloes kick off the 2024 season and second under Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders tomorrow night at home against the North Dakota State Bison before a national ESPN television audience.

These are two different squads starting with understanding bison and buffalo are not the same animal. They’re related but different. Bison and buffalo are in the Bovidae family, but there are distinct differences. A bison has a large hump at its shoulders, not so for the buffalo. Bison also have larger heads and beards and also shed their thick coats in spring and early summer. One more distinguishing difference? The horns. A buffalo’s horns resemble a handlebar mustache while bison’s are shorter and sharper.

In the 1800’s, millions of bison roamed America’s northern plains but in an effort to cut off the food supply and livelihood of Native Americans, the U.S. government began slaughtering the animals. Today, about 30,000 American bison survive in conservation herds. Another approximately 500,000 are managed commercially as livestock.

What about the football prowess of buffaloes from the University of Colorado and bison from North Dakota State? The differences are more dramatic than humps, heads and horns. Since 2011, the Bison are 149-12 and have won seven national championships at the FCS level. The Buffaloes since then? 52-102 under five different coaches. Granted, we’re talking about one program operating at the FBS level and the other having great success at the FCS level. Apples and oranges.

The Bison have a new head coach in Tim Polasek. A former college quarterback at Concordia University in Wisconsin, Polasek cut his coaching teeth under current Wyoming coach Craig Bohl, first at NDSU and the later as offensive coordinator for the ‘Pokes under Bohl before returning to Fargo after being named the school’s 32nd head coach last December. Another former Bison head coach, Chris Klieman, is head coach at Big 12 rival Kansas State. The Wildcats are expected to contend for a conference title in CU’s return to the conference which now boasts 16 schools.

Deion Sanders says Buffs players know “the world is watching” before NDST opener

NDSU recruits heavily from Minnesota, especially the Twin Cities area and lures athletes from traditional Big Ten schools like the University of Minnesota and Wisconsin forgo because they are deemed not big, fast or strong enough to compete in the super conference. However, NDSU has produced two quarterbacks recently drafted in the first-round of the NFL Draft: Carson Wentz was the second-overall pick in the 2016 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and currently a backup to Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs. Dallas Cowboy backup quarterback Trey Lance was the third overall pick in the 2021 draft by San Francisco.

The Buffs have not ever had a quarterback drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. That should change this season with Shedeur Sanders projected to go early. The 6’2” senior would be the first CU signal-caller drafted since Koy Detmer back in 1997.

Odds makers have the Buffs currently a double-digit favorite but everyone inside the Colorado locker room knows the Bison have a penchant for scoring big upsets, including beating Iowa and Iowa State on the road in the past decade.

This is not an easy task for a Colorado team with an entirely new offensive line and revamped defense that was one of the worst in college football last season in yards allowed and points surrendered. The Bison have a talented quarterback of their own in Cam Miller. The senior is a dual threat. The Iowa native has a 31-9 record as NDSU’s starting quarterback, has made 38 consecutive starts in leading the Bison to a national championship in 2021, a runner-up finish in 2022, and the national semifinals in 2023.

Road games at Nebraska and Colorado State follow this dangerous season opener for Prime and his revamped roster. Colorado is still trying to find its way to restoring the pride and tradition of CU football. The Bison are trying to keep theirs intact. Buffaloes normally live in warmer climates than bison. It’s gonna get downright toasty in Boulder if the Buffs stumble. No heads, horns and humps about it.