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Doctor with Dakota Resource Council warns controversial dairy operation will impact Fargo

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Doctor with Dakota Resource Council warns controversial dairy operation will impact Fargo


FARGO — The impacts of a highly controversial dairy operation planned for Abercrombie could hit home in Fargo.

The proposed 12,500-head dairy operation is cause for concern for Fargo residents, Dr. Madeline Luke told members of the city’s Sustainability Committee on March 18, because the waste and chemicals from the farm will flow into the Red River and straight into Fargo’s water supply.

The site of a proposed dairy farm near Abercrombie, North Dakota.

Troy Becker/The Forum

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“I’m here to give you a heads up on what may be coming,” Luke said.

She spoke on behalf of the Dakota Resource Council’s Agricultural Committee, a group that joined with residents in Abercrombie to petition the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality to repeal the permit for the cattle operation.

The $90 million facility is planned for just south of Abercrombie in Richland County, about 34 miles south of Fargo. The facility would be 1.4 miles from the Wild Rice River and 1.8 miles from the Red River, on top of the Wahpeton Buried Valley Aquifer that supplies nearby communities.

In addition, another controversial new dairy farm farther north in Traill County plans to have 25,000 head of cattle.

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AbercrombieDairy.jpeg

About 35 area residents attend a town hall meeting Thursday, Sept. 12, regarding a proposed corporate dairy farm near Abercrombie, North Dakota.

Wendy Reuer / The Forum

“This vastly outnumbers the amount of dairy cattle in the whole state, and these are both projects of Riverview Dairy, which is a company out of Morris, Minnesota,” Luke said.

In those numbers, cattle will send large amounts of pollutants out into the water and air, she said, which can cause negative health impacts on North Dakotans.

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Officials with Riverview were not at Tuesday’s meeting, but issued a statement to The Forum on Thursday night:

“The claims being made are not accurate. Our goal is to always be good neighbors, which includes farming in a manner that protects our shared water resources and the environment. Abercrombie Dairy will be designed, built, and operated for the protection of surface waters. All manure will be collected and stored on-site. This manure will then be tilled into the soil on surrounding farmland as an organic fertilizer. Manure application will occur at agronomic rates so that nutrients are used in crop production, which prevents run-off.”

The company also said it has been working with neighbors and other government agencies as the farm is being developed, and that all manure handling and application processes will be regulated.

“We are excited to grow dairy in North Dakota, and we encourage anyone with interest in our farms to contact us,” the statement said.

A retired internal medicine doctor, Luke said the cow manure contains nitrogen and phosphorus and creates a perfect breeding ground for green algae and other disease-causing organisms like E. coli.

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The Red River already has more nitrogen than is advisable for community health, she said.

“North Dakota really hasn’t faced this kind of industrial farm operation before so they talk about nutrients and they talk about E. coli, but they don’t really mention things like hormones. All of these cows are making milk and excreting a lot of estrogen,” Luke said. “This is a lot of estrogen that is going into the urine, into the ground, and into your river.”

Anything the farm operators give the cows — vaccinations, disease treatments — can also flow into the water.

In addition, the state will face air pollution from the cattle, she said, with small particulates that cause inflammation of the circulatory system and increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people who live nearby.

Increased costs to the city of Fargo

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While the city’s newly updated water treatment plant can filter pollutants out, Luke said, doing so would raise the cost of running the facility and, ultimately, impact Fargo taxpayers.

The amount of wastewater and manure from this farm will be massive, she said, and none of it will be treated as it leaves the farm before joining the river.

On Tuesday, Luke asked the sustainability committee to join the Dakota Resource Council in appealing the permit in court this month.

The committee did not take any action Tuesday.

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Commissioners John Strand asks questions about a proposal to build new housing as part of a renaissance zone rehabilitation project during the Fargo City Commission meeting on Monday, March 17, 2025, at City Hall in downtown Fargo.

Anna Paige / The Forum

Chairman and City Commissioner John Strand said Tuesday it was “important to hear from the people” but that the committee had to “wrap up” the meeting.

Neither Mayor Tim Mahoney nor other top city officials in attendance said anything further about the matter.

The sustainability committee only meets four times per year, meaning they would not be able to sign on to the appeal without calling a special meeting.

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Melissa Van Der Stad

Reporter working the night shift 👻. I cover Fargo city government, Cass County government and underserved populations in the area.





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North Dakota voters to decide single-subject requirement for future constitutional amendments on June 9

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North Dakota voters to decide single-subject requirement for future constitutional amendments on June 9


On June 9, North Dakota voters will decide Constitutional Amendment 1, which would, if approved, create a single-subject rule for future constitutional amendments. A single-subject rule is a requirement for ballot measures to address a single subject, topic, or issue. Constitutional Amendment 1 would also establish a separate-vote requirement for legislatively referred constitutional amendments. This […]



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And he’s off

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And he’s off


BRECKENRIDGE — Coaches, teammates, friends and family gathered in the south parking lot of Breckenridge High School for another state tournament sendoff.

Friends, family, teammates and coaches joined Berndt for a photo before cheering him on as he rode off in the ceremonial convertible.

Corbin Abner Lee / Wahpeton Daily News

This year, it was Troy Berndt taking the ceremonial convertible ride. He is headed to St. Michael-Albertville High School for the Minnesota Class A State Track and Field Meet on June 4-6.

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Breckenridge track - Berndt, Erlandson and the Haires
Troy Berndt, left, give his supporters one last smile before embarking on his state journey. David Erlandson, next to Berndt, accompanied him in the convertible, and will be with him at the meet on June 4. Tom Haire, driving, and Christy Haire are in the front seats.

Corbin Abner Lee / Wahpeton Daily News

He will be running in the third heat of the 400-meter prelims, scheduled for 4:52 p.m. June 4. There are seven athletes in each heat, 21 total, and nine will advance to the finals at 6:20 p.m. June 5.

The top two finishers in each heat advance, along with the next three best times. Berndt’s personal best time of 50.67 has him seeded 13th, but the 10th-, 11th- and 12th-seeded runners are less than five hundredths of a second ahead of him. The eighth- and ninth-seeded runners are also close, at 50.33 and 50.39, respectively.

Berndt dropped nearly seven-tenths of a second from his previous personal best at the Section 6A West Subsection Meet on May 21, running 51.35, and shaved another 0.68 seconds off at the Section 6A Championships on May 28 with a time of 50.67. If he keeps lowering his time, he will have a shot at reaching the podium against the best runners in Class A.

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Breckenridge track - convoy
Berndt and company taking their spot in the convoy behind Breckenridge Fire Department and Police Department vehicles.

Corbin Abner Lee / Wahpeton Daily News

Results and photos will be available online immediately following the race June 4 and in the June 10 print edition of the Wahpeton Daily News.

Corbin Abner Lee

Corbin Lee is a sports reporter for the Wahpeton Daily News and Richland County News-Monitor. Corbin can be reached by calling (701) 291-3551 or emailing corbin.lee@wahpetondailynews.com.

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Today in History, 1971: Rugby repeats as North Dakota sand greens golf champion

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Today in History, 1971: Rugby repeats as North Dakota sand greens golf champion


On this day in 1971, Rugby repeated as North Dakota’s high school sand greens golf champion behind medalist Dwight Stempson’s winning performance.

Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:

Rugby Repeats As Sand Greens Golf Champion

RUGBY, N. D. — Rugby repeated as North Dakota high school sand greens golf champion here Wednesday, posting a four-man total of 293 strokes for 18 holes.

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Led by medalist Dwight Stempson’s medalist 36-35 — 71, the Panthers were eight strokes ahead of runnerup Stanley, which had a 301. Following were Garrison 311, Beulah 315, Leeds 322, Ashley 323, Bottineau 328, Pembina 329, Tioga 332, Parshall 341 and Hettinger 342.

See more history at Newspapers.com

Stempson and teammate Bruce Carlson each had one-under par 71s, but Carlson was unable to be at the regional and wasn’t qualified for individual honors.

Rounding out the Rugby totals were Delwin Wilson 40-37 — 77 and Dennett Hutchinson 35-39 — 74. Gary Kirchoffner, 41-39 — 80, was Rugby’s fifth entrant with the best four-of-five scores counted.

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Runnerup Stanley was led by Steve Springan’s 34-38 — 72 and Joe Springan’s 36-38 — 74. Their two-man total of 146 strokes was good enough for the doubles title. Two strokes back with a 148 was the duo of Stempson and Wilson. Stan Saathoff and Mike Stepina of Garrison each had 76s for a 152 total and the Ashley combo of Steve Maier (76) and Dave Kretschmar (78) was fourth with a 154.

Stempson was the driving contest winner with a distance of 280 yards. Chris Knutson of Garrison headed the pitch and putt competition.

Ads featured in The Forum on June 3, 1971. Newspapers.com

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Kate Almquist

Kate Almquist is the social media manager for InForum. After working as an intern, she joined The Forum full time starting in January 2022. Readers can reach her at kalmquist@forumcomm.com.





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