North Dakota

Fargo North (SBALL) and Shanley (BSB) Win EDC Tournament – KVRR Local News

Published

2 years ago

May 27, 2024

Fargo North (SBALL) and Shanley (BSB) Win EDC Tournament – KVRR Local News

FARGO NORTH AND SHANLEY WIN THE EDC FOR SOFTBALL AND BASEBALL; RECEIVE EAST NO. 1 SEED FOR STATE

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR)–For the first time in history, the Fargo North Spartans are your Eastern Dakota Conference softball tournament champions. Down 2-0 in the top of the seventh inning, the Spartans put their rally caps on and scored four runs to take their first lead of the game.

In the bottom half of the seventh, after allowing one run in the frame already, junior pitcher Maryn Schneider left the bases full for game ending strikeout to give the Spartans the 4-3 win.”

“When I saw it hit her glove it was just surreal,” said Schneider. “I was so excited.

Head Coach Taylor Ludlum said that she always had faith in her team making the late inning comeback.

“I have a lot of trust in this team,” said Ludlum. “I know they have a lot of fight in them and they wanted this, so I was just excited for them and had all my trust in them.”

Schneider said too was confident, even with her team down two runs and only three outs to go in the top of the seventh inning.

“When we [started the seventh inning] I knew that my job wasn’t done,” said Schneider. “I knew I wanted to [get the win] for my team and that was what I did. I feel very proud of both myself and my team for completing [the comeback], especially since it’s the first championship in program history.”

Fargo North entered the EDC tournament as the number four seed. They defeated number one seed Red River in the semifinals, and then continued their Cinderella run with the championship win over two-seed West Fargo.

Schneider says the win means a lot.

“Oh my gosh, it means so much,” said Schneider. “I knew that we could [win the EDC] from the get-go and it was just a matter of proving to people that we could. “When we had the upset the first game, I knew that we could do it the second game because we had a fire under our butts. “I knew that we could do it again. It was just a matter of completing that and proving to people that we are here…watch out.”

With that confidence, the Spartans enter the Class A State Tournament as the East one seed, Schneider says the team’s focus is to keep it rolling and to keep the same mindset that got them this far.

“We’re kind of taking that momentum and just rolling with it,” said Schneider. “We kept saying ‘why not us?’ That was our mentality the whole tournament. So, the fact that we did it, it was just amazing.”

Coach Ludlum shared that same thought.

“Yeah, we’ve been having conversations just ‘why not us?’,” said Ludlum. “Why can’t we be the number one team. I just think they showed up and played together and we’re all really excited to see what’s to come [next week at the State Tournament.]”

Fargo North opens up the tournament against the West four-seed, Bismarck High. The game will take place at 12 P.M. Central Time on Thursday, May 30. The tournament runs through Saturday, June 1. The entire tournament will be played in Dickinson, North Dakota at Sanford Sports Complex.

Stay tuned throughout the week/weekend for continued coverage of the tournament on air and online.

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The softball EDC tournament was played in Casselton, North Dakota. 30 minutes East at Starion field in Fargo, the baseball EDC Champ was crowned.

The Shanley Deacons did not have it easy. After not playing on Thursday or Friday due to weather, the Deacons won their only two games on Saturday. As a result of their perfect a 11-0 conference regular season record, Shanley won the EDC title and will represent the East at State as the number one seed.

Senior pitcher and outfielder Jordan Leininger explained what the weekend was like for him and his squad.

“On Thursday we were supposed to play… at one or something, but then…one of the games in front of us went late… then it kept getting moved back…more rain came and then called the game,” said Leininger. “On Friday, tornado sirens went off and then the game got canceled. Today, here we are three days later as [EDC Champs].

Head Coach Luke Rustad said the weekend was tough, but his players powered through.

“It was crazy because you’re worried about where the guys minds go,” said Rustad. [Guys were like] ‘Hey, am I still pitching or am I still doing this’. We just kept making sure we were having our regular batting practices, keeping the kids in the loop and making sure that they’re ready to go.”

While some teams may falter when not knowing when/if they will play a conference tournament game on the weekend, the Deacons stayed composed and thrived.

Shanley won their first round game 18-0 over Fargo South. They followed that up with a 4-0 win over the three-time defending State Champion West Fargo Sheyenne Mustangs.

Leininger credits his team for staying focused throughout the weekend.

“We have a ton of senior leadership which I love,” said Leininger. “Quite a few of us have started varsity since our sophomore year. So, we have a lot of experience, but also the young guys being able to step up when we need them.”

Coach Rustad shared the same thought.

“I think it’s just a testament to having seniors that have played a lot of baseball,” said Rustad. [They have] been through a lot of different athletic success in games and being able to keep their heads and just be ready to go when it was time to play.”

The deacons now head to Dickinson in search of their first state title since 2013. After falling just one game short multiple times in the last decade, the team believes they have what it takes to end this season on top.

“We’ve had a lot of experience with playing Sheyenne and State Championships,” said Leininger. “So, this group knows a lot what it takes to get it done. I think that’s what separates us.”

As for Coach Rustad, he says, “[The] leadership we have on the team was even keel and ready to go [this weekend]. So, hopefully that’s the kind of mentality we’ll take into the State Tournament. Hopefully we play good baseball.”

Shanley opens up the tournament against the West four-seed, Williston. The game will take place at 12:30 P.M. Central Time on Thursday, May 30. The tournament runs through Saturday, June 1. The entire tournament will be played in Dickinson, North Dakota at Dakota Community Bank & Trust Ballpark.

Stay tuned throughout the week/weekend for continued coverage of the tournament on air and online.

Categories: High School, Top Sports Headlines

Tags: Deacons Baseball, Eastern Dakota Conference, eastern dakota conference softball, EDC Baseball, edc baseball champions, EDC Softball, edc softball champions, Fargo North Softball, fargo north spartans softball, jordan leininger, Luke Rustad, Maryn Schneider, Shanley Baseball, Shanley Deacons Baseball, Spartans Softball, Taylor Ludlum

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North Dakota

Grand Forks Man Running For State Attorney General

Published

12 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Grand Forks Man Running For State Attorney General

(Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota Democrats rallied for a turnaround endorsing several candidates for statewide office to take on Republicans in November.

The Democratic-NPL Party endorsed state Sen. Ryan Braunberger of Fargo for secretary of state, Scot Kelsh of Fargo and John Pederson of Mayville for Public Service Commission and Tim Lamb of Grand Forks for attorney general. The party also issued a letter of support for Tracy Foss of Hatton for superintendent of public instruction.

Democrats have 429 delegates participating, which Party Chair Adam Goldwyn said is the most since 2018. The party has 49 legislative candidates so far, but Goldwyn challenged attendees to field candidates in districts that don’t yet have anyone running.

“The North Dakota Democratic-NPL party has one goal: contest every single election up and down the ballot all across the state,” Goldwyn said.

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North Dakota

NDHP, multiple police sighted downtown

Published

24 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – North Dakota Highway Patrol, Mandan police and Bismarck police were all assisting on an incident Bismarck police say started in Mandan Saturday evening.

Multiple law enforcement vehicles were seen in downtown Bismarck and eventually ended up near Sanford Hospital.

Sanford officials say the hospital was placed under a modified lockdown for a short period of time. The lockdown has lifted.

At this time, no patients or employees were injured.

We will have more on this story as information becomes available.

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North Dakota

Laurel Hanson of Grand Forks remembered for her ‘patient, brilliant’ legal work

Published

2 days ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Laurel Hanson of Grand Forks remembered for her ‘patient, brilliant’ legal work

GRAND FORKS — Though at the time of her death it had been more than 15 years since Laurel Rae Hanson’s legal career ended, a longtime North Dakota Supreme Court chief justice and a federal magistrate judge still fondly remember her skill, passion and dedication.

“Laurel was patient, brilliant and a really good writer,” said Karen Klein, former longtime U.S. magistrate judge, now recognized as a settlement expert and mediation skills trainer. “I find it such a tragedy that her life was cut so short, and that she couldn’t carry through with the career that she so obviously loved.”

Hanson died on Feb. 21, at age 49.

She would have turned 50 on March 10. Her death came after nearly two decades spent combating various health issues, including osteoporosis and an injury that led to early retirement in 2009, when she was in her early 30s.

Former longtime North Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle said he was sorry to hear about Hanson’s death, though he knew she was in poor health. He was her first mentor out of UND School of Law, and found her the perfect fit for the role of his clerk.

“She was an outstanding law clerk, as far as I was concerned,” VandeWalle said. “She certainly deserves all the respect I have for law clerks.”

ND Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald “Gerry” W. VandeWalle is pictured with Laurel Rae Hanson.

Contributed

Hanson’s mother, Barbara Hanson, said she wasn’t sure where her daughter’s career would have ended up if it hadn’t been cut short due to her health issues. Her career had just begun, but she did enjoy clerkship. After working for VandeWalle, Laurel Hanson moved on to a two-year position as Klein’s law clerk. She later took a permanent position when it opened.

The work of law clerks takes place primarily behind the scenes. They help judges review case files, researching and writing first drafts of decisions — a particularly important job, because decisions are expected to include detailed reasoning so everyone involved in a case understands what factored into a judge’s ruling, Klein said.

“If judges were to do it all from scratch, all by themselves, the backlog would just become unmanageable, and parties would wait many months — if not years — for decisions,” she said. “So it’s really important to have that legal expertise in someone other than the judge.”

Judges don’t control the cases assigned to them. While some are simple, others are highly complex — especially in the federal court system, where civil rights issues are handled, she said. Though Hanson’s career was brief, it had impact. Klein still recalls the work Hanson did researching and writing legal documents.

At a young age, she balanced what could at times be heavy work. Hanson was there when Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. was turned over to the federal court system and arraigned for the 2003 kidnapping and murder of 22-year-old Dru Sjodin, a case that made national headlines and created a tense atmosphere in North Dakota, particularly for women, Barbara Hanson said.

Laurel Hanson suffered a fall in 2008 that didn’t seem overly significant at the time, but led to an infection that caused further damage to already weakened bones, her mother said. She retired in 2009.

“I think she loved the law; she just loved delving into issues,” Klein said. “It was just a tragedy that she couldn’t continue.”

Whether dealing with highly controversial or straightforward cases, Laurel Hanson remained level-headed and fair, which are valuable skills for the job, Klein said. She valued Hanson beyond her professional abilities; they also discussed books and Hanson’s travels. She made an effort to embark on new experiences, such as skydiving and scuba diving.

“Things that some of us wouldn’t even dream of — she was willing to take them on,” Klein said.

Barbara Hanson agreed that travel and adventure were among her daughter’s passions, which also included animals, friends and family. During the summer of last year, she was ecstatic to become a great aunt.

“Laurel did so many things, and probably could’ve done more if she hadn’t run up against all her health problems,” Barbara Hanson said. “Laurel really loved life.”