We are about six months away from Colorado football’s 2024 season opener, but early betting lines are already available for the Buffs.
Colorado will open the season on Aug. 31 against the North Dakota State Bison and unlike last year, the Buffs are favored in their opener, according to FanDuel.
TCU was favored by about three touchdowns in last season’s opener, but Colorado is currently an 8.5-point home favorite against the Bison. NDSU lost in the Football Championship semifinals in 2023, dropping a double-overtime game to Montana, 31-29. The Bison are breaking in a new head coach next season, too, as Tom Polasek is taking over for Matt Entz.
CU will undoubtedly be tested by the Bison, who have previously knocked off Football Bowl Subdivision opponents, including then-No. 13 Iowa in 2016. I’ve been nervous about this game for years, but the favorable 8.5-point line is helping ease my concerns.
Advertisement
The early betting line for Colorado’s over/under season win total has also been released.
Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (Twitter), and like our page onFacebook to follow ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.
Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — The University of North Dakota is looking to expand its ability to pull minerals needed for electronics by building a refining facility at a coal mine.
University officials are seeking a $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a facility at the Falkirk coal mine near Underwood, north of Bismarck.
The project has a total estimated cost of about $100 million, Dan Laudal, executive director and research professor with the UND College of Engineering and Mines said Tuesday during a tour of its pilot extraction facility in Grand Forks.
Advertisement
The tour provided UND the opportunity to show off its work to Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey and Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.
Cramer, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the United States needs to develop domestic sources of the critical minerals needed for electronics and the development of artificial intelligence to compete with China.
Duffey said maintaining a technological advantage is key to national security and the department has a need for high-value critical minerals.
“I’ve got a team of folks that know this industry like the back of their hand, know what’s emerging in terms of capability,” Duffey said. “I’m going to make sure that I go back and tell them what I saw here, and that we’ve got awareness of North Dakota, what North Dakota can offer for the department and the nation.”
UND is operating its rare earth pilot plant in what was a coal-fired power plant that served the city of Grand Forks.
Advertisement
Dan Laudal, left, of the University of North Dakota College of Engineering and Mines, talks with Michael Duffey of the Department of Defense in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on May 26, 2026. At right is UND President Andy Armacost. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)
Laudal said it brings in about 10 tons of lignite coal per day from western North Dakota. Critical and rare earth minerals are often found bound to coal.
“Ten tons a day of coal on the back end, we maybe get a few kilograms per week of concentrated product,” Laudal said.
That product is a mix of 17 different critical minerals that could be sold to be further separated into individual minerals and then used in electronics.
Laudal said the pilot plant is about 2% the size of a full-scale commercial operation. The proposed commercial demonstration site at the Falkirk mine would be about 10% the size of a full-scale facility.
The Department of Energy grant would help secure other investment, which likely would include state support.
David Straley of North American Coal was on the tour and said the state’s coal industry is on board.
Advertisement
David Straley of North American Coal speaks May 26, 2026, in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on using coal as a resource for critical minerals. At right is Ryan Adams, dean of the University of North Dakota College of Engineering. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)
“Lignite is one of the best possible resources for this type of project,” he said.
Using North Dakota’s existing coal mines cuts the cost of developing critical minerals.
He said the coal that remains after removing critical minerals makes an even better fuel.
If UND obtains the grant, Laudal said it may take 18 to 24 months for design and construction and it could be operating and making money by 2029.
Laudal estimated it would take 20 to 30 workers to operate the facility.
In addition to being successful commercially, he said a goal would be to create a model that could be replicated elsewhere.
Advertisement
Cramer and Duffey will visit Minot on Wednesday. Grand Forks and Minot are both home to Air Force bases.
But Cramer said the critical minerals plant tour was the most important stop of the trip.
“The adversary has a supply chain,” Cramer said of China’s critical mineral development. “At this point, we are in a hurry as a nation, rightfully so, to bring more, more rare earth elements, and everything that’s connected to that, domestically.”
N.D. (Valley News Live) – The North Dakota State Patrol is reporting one death, several injuries and multiple DUI arrests over the holiday weekend.
From Saturday through midnight Monday, troopers responded to nine crashes statewide, according to information provided by the State Patrol. Those included one fatal crash, three crashes with minor injuries and five crashes that resulted only in property damage.
During the same period, troopers conducted 49 highway assists and arrested 10 drivers on suspicion of driving under the influence.
If you’ve spent any time around Lake Sakakawea over the years, you know the lake is always changing. Some summers the water creeps up towards parking lots making a nice short walk from the ramp to your truck. Other years, boat ramps stretch farther down than anyone remembers.
This year is shaping up to be one of the lowest water years we have seen since 2008. The goal of this article is not to scare boaters, but hopefully to encourage boaters to use caution to avoid some preventable boating incidents.
Advertisement
Low water isn’t necessarily dangerous, but it does create conditions that can catch boaters off guard, especially people unfamiliar with a particular ramp or section of the lake. Lake mapping is not perfect on any lake and is especially true for Sakakawea.
One issue that may show up this year is where you safely drove your boats last year does not mean it will be safe this year. Hazards typically hidden well below the surface can become a problem quickly when lake levels drop. Rock piles, sandbars, submerged trees and old structures may sit much closer to the surface than expected. Lake points that were underwater last year now are extending farther into the bays.
Low water can also create congestion at usable ramps. Some ramps become difficult to use, funneling more traffic into fewer locations. That usually means longer waits, crowded docks and more opportunities for accidents when people get impatient.
A little patience at the ramp goes a long way.
Advertisement
Lake Sakakawea will still provide plenty of great fishing and boating opportunities this summer. Boaters simply need to slow down a little, pay attention to changing conditions and remember that the lake may not look the same as it did a year ago.
