North Dakota
Dirt is moving as construction begins on Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora
MEDORA, N.D. — Construction of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library has begun with excavation of the site on top of a butte overlooking the national park that commemorates America’s “cowboy president.”
Earth scraping began June 15 and is 65% accomplished, with excavation completion expected by mid-July, according to Ed O’Keefe, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation.
“Magnificent milestone,” he said. “We are under construction.”
Completion of the library, including installation of exhibits, is scheduled for July 4, 2026, an official event celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Excavated topsoil is being placed in two large piles for later landscaping use on the 93-acre site, including a “green” roof for the building that will be
planted in native prairie and plants from seeds collected in the area
.
Construction is broken up into four bid packages, and all of the bids in the first group were awarded to western North Dakota contractors, O’Keefe said. “We feel good about that,” he said.
The construction manager, J.E. Dunn, has a large base of operations in nearby Dickinson.
Once excavation is finished, work will begin on a retaining wall for the library’s east wing, where a 28-foot hole will be dug, then allowed to settle for one or two months.
A “proud moment” will come in March or April of 2024 with delivery of steel and massive timbers hewn from Douglas firs.
Some prominent walls will be fashioned from what is called “rammed earth,” layered soils compressed in bands to mimic the striking striations of the Little Missouri Badlands.
“It’s an alternative to concrete and steel and it’s absolutely gorgeous,” O’Keefe said. “It’s a beautiful natural material.”
Douglas fir also will be used to make custom ceiling baffles to dampen sounds in high-traffic areas, including the main lobby of the west wing. The ceilings are designed by ARUP Group, an acoustic engineering firm that is working with Snöhetta, the lead architect on the project.
The goal is to use as many materials as possible from a radius of 400 or 500 miles from Medora. One material that is a notable exception to that goal: slabs from a copper beech tree Roosevelt planted at his Sagamore Hill home in New York that will be used for a lectern and a conference table.
“We wanted to find ways where we could bring the East into the West and the West into the East,” O’Keefe said.
With an eye to local flavor, the library foundation is working with an indigenous chef to source food for the cafe locally, including beef from nearby ranches.
A breezeway with a view of the national park will be made from wood. About a dozen samples are on the site, exposed to the elements, to allow designers to pick the one that best blends with other materials.
All of the materials are being chosen with a 100-year lifespan in mind.
One of the library’s distinctive rooms is a 301-seat auditorium in the east wing that is designed to accommodate major events, including presidential debates and speeches.
“This is going to be an extraordinary, special space,” O’Keefe said. Behind the stage, windows will allow a view of the rugged buttes of the national park, but can be closed for events.
The library’s grounds will include a path encircling the site that will connect directly with the nearby Maah Daah Hey trail, which runs throughout the Badlands.
The trailhead will include shaded seating, a newly added feature thanks to a donation from a benefactor, O’Keefe said.
Fundraising for the project continues. So far, $200 million has been raised. The library has a construction budget of $178.7 million, but the capital budget also must cover exhibits and programming, O’Keefe said.
“We definitely want people to know we want them ‘in the arena,’” he said, referring to ongoing fundraising. “The capital project is more than a building.”
“In the arena” is a touchstone phrase from a famous speech by Roosevelt, who urged people to ignore critics and enter the fray to achieve worthwhile accomplishments. Words from the speech will surround visitors in an exhibit.
“Those words continue to inspire today,” O’Keefe said, noting the speech has entered popular culture, citing basketball star LeBron James’ allusion to the speech when he was named NBA scoring leader and a tattoo worn by singer Miley Cyrus.
“His philosophy has an impact,” he said.
Working along construction crews are horned moths collected from the area that feed on leafy spurge, a noxious weed and invasive species that vexes property owners including ranchers and the park.
North Dakota
Jelly Roll to headline 2025 North Dakota State Fair
MINOT, N.D. (KFYR) – A big North Dakota State Fair announcement. We now know who will headline the fair this year.
Jelly Roll is set to take the main stage in Minot on Sunday, July 20.
The Grammy-nominated artist also played at the state fair in 2023.
He just finished his sold-out arena tour, “Beautifully Broken” making 2024 his most successful year.
Single tickets for Jelly Roll will be 80 dollars, it’s the same price for reserved seating or standing-room spots.
Tickets go on sale on March 3.
You can get them online, in person, or at one of seven kiosks throughoUt the state.
The North Dakota State Fair will soon release the other artists joining the line-up with Jelly Roll and Bailey Zimmerman.
Copyright 2025 KFYR. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
South Dakota State soars past North Dakota
BROOKINGS — The Jackrabbits had their shootin’ boots on Thursday night against North Dakota, blowing past the Fighting Hawks 109-73 before a First Bank & Trust Arena crowd of 3,261 in one of the most impressive offensive performances in recent memory by South Dakota State.
The win marked the second most points they’ve ever scored against a Division I opponent (fans may remember the 139 they dropped on Savannah State in 2018), and their .656 field goal percentage is the fourth-best of the D1 era.
Joe Sayler had 25 points for the Jacks — all of them coming in the first half — while Isaac Lindsey had 13, Oscar Cluff and Kalen Garry 12 and Jaden Jackson 11, as all 11 active players on the roster scored.
But hot shooting and scoring exploits aside, the Jacks needed this win. An 0-2 road trip last week dropped them to 1-2 in league play, and while it’s far too early to really be worrying about the standings, SDSU wanted to end the losing streak before it became an actual streak.
“It was an important win, especially back on our home court,” said Lindsey, who was 5-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. “We knew this week in practice that this was a big game after a tough road trip and the coaches were on us but they stayed super positive with us. That helped us come to work with a good attitude, so we were gonna get back on track at home.”
Both teams started out hot, with SDSU leading 32-28 at the midpoint of a fast-paced first half. But the Hawks started to gradually cool off (or the Jacks played better defense), while SDSU just kept on ripping the nets.
The Jacks connected on 71 percent of their shots from the field before the break, and actually kept pushing that shooting percentage higher in the early stages of the second half before finally cooling off.
“We started off a little slow on the defensive end but we picked it up late in the half and when we play good defense our offense comes along,” said Sayler, who was 10-of-13 from the floor and hit 4-of-7 3-pointers. “We just trust each other to make the right play, shots went in tonight and that’s what we needed on our home floor.”
Matthew Mors had nine points, four rebounds and four assists, Owen Larson had six points, six rebounds and four assists and Damon Wilkinson had eight points and four rebounds.
Amar Kuljuhovic had 14 points to lead the Fighting Hawks (7-13, 1-4), while SDSU held UND’s leading scorer, Treysen Eaglestaff, to 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting. Mier Panoam had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists. The Hawks shot 47 percent in the first half but a dreadful 21 percent (7-of-32) in the second.
It’s almost become a running gag how Jacks coach Eric Henderson always focuses on and talks about his team’s defense no matter how well they play on offense, but this game figured to put that to the test. One of the most efficient and entertaining offensive performances the Jacks have put together in Henderson’s tenure — would he still credit the defense first in his postgame remarks? Of course he did, and when teased about it, the coach offered no apologies.
“You know me,” Henderson said with a laugh. “Joe’s performance was pretty special. The pace that we played with and how we shared the basketball is as good as we’ve done all year.”
Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at mzimmer@siouxfallslive.com.
North Dakota
North Dakota Forest Service leads group to fight California wildfires
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Since the Palisades wildfire began in California on Jan. 7, firefighting crews have been working to contain them.
Many western states have sent equipment and firefighters to help. Now, Hunter Noor of the North Dakota Forest Service is leading a task force of South Dakota firefighters to manage the Eden fires outside of Pasadena.
“It’s just a chunk of ground that starts going up into those high mountains they have there right outside of Pasadena. And we’re just patrolling fire lines, putting out hot spots and just making sure that the lines that are there hold,” said Noor.
Noor and his group plan to be in California for at least another week and a half.
Copyright 2025 KFYR. All rights reserved.
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