North Dakota
From hunting for prehistoric sea monsters to white-water rafting, gorgeous Pembina Gorge has it all
WALHALLA, N.D. — When the state’s Senior Paleontologist Clint Boyd leads first-time visitors into the Pembina Gorge for public fossil hunts, their responses often surprise him.
Of course, these weekend paleontologists are thrilled that they might unearth part of a mosasaurus — a prehistoric sea “monster” bigger than a city bus — from the oldest exposed rock in the state.
But whether they’re native North Dakotans or Italian tourists, they also thrill at the beauty of their surroundings: a 2,800-acre stretch of land so filled with hills, soaring river-valley cliffs, pockets of wetlands and the largest continuous, undisturbed forest in North Dakota that it seems custom-built for its own full-color coffee table book.
Some say they never anticipated such lush landscapes in North Dakota, which is sometimes unfairly stereotyped as one endless farm field. But this, they’ll insist, looks more like the north woods of Minnesota or perhaps even Canada.
Now the Gorge is getting its due.
In May of 2023, Gov. Doug Burgum announced plans to develop the Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area into North Dakota’s 14th state park. Drawing from an ambitious master plan developed in 2014, North Dakota Parks and Recreation has invested $6 million in state dollars and $2 million in federal dollars toward completing the first phase of that plan: a 55-unit campground, with 50 modern campsites, five primitive sites, up to six year-round cabins, underground utilities, roads, a maintenance shop and a comfort station.
The campground is slated to open in 2026.
Contributed / Poppy Mills
It’s all to provide an “adventure park” experience to the estimated 8,000 to 10,000 visitors who explore the trails through Pembina Gorge annually, said Mike Deurre of North Dakota Parks and Recreation.
The area boasts trails for hiking, mountain-biking, ATV-riding, snowmobiling and horseback riding. The Pembina River offers the only white-water rafting (albeit a fairly tame, Class 1 version) in the state. That’s not to mention sightseeing, leaf-gazing, bird-watching and fossil-digging aplenty.
Ask Mike Deurre, who manages the Gorge recreation area and nearby Icelandic State Park, if he’s excited about the Gorge’s upcoming upgrade, and he chuckles.
“I’ve kind of described it like the Gorge has been like my fourth child,” he said. “After year 17 here, I feel like my baby got a full-ride scholarship to college.”
He’s not alone.
Screenshot / PembinaCountyND.gov
“We’ve had people showing up at the construction gate with their campers until they realized it was still under construction and wasn’t quite ready to go yet,” he said. “We get questions all the time: ‘When is it ready? What are we looking at?’ It’s been really fun to see that.”
Especially for Deurre, a Mandan, N.D., native who admits “I’d never even heard of anything north of Grand Forks,” before applying for a job here in 2007.
But once he saw firsthand the beauty, wildlife and landscape, he was amazed he hadn’t heard of the area sooner. The 12,500-acre formation was shaped by massive glacial runoff which carved out the soft shales left by the oceans millions of years ago to create one of the deepest and steepest river valleys in North Dakota.
Contributed / Cassie Theurer for North Dakota Tourism
Back then, Deurre’s top priority was to find a workable solution for ATV enthusiasts and landowners alike amid the Gorge.
“Originally, there were a lot of landowner complaints on ATVs with people driving everywhere. So they hired me, the dumb 26-year-old, to go up there and figure it out,” he joked.
The agency quickly realized they couldn’t stop ATV traffic, as the four-wheeling genie had already roared out of the bottle.
“You have to give people somewhere to go, because there’s not a lot of trails for ATVs in North Dakota,” he said. “The consensus was we had to build something.”
That would spark the 2014 master plan, which outlined a template for development based on public feedback in a 159-page document.
Today, the recreational area offers nearly 30 miles of trails for everyone from horseback riders to ATV drivers. Deurre described the pathways as tight and twisty, with hairpin turns. “I usually tell people if you’re going over 8 (miles an hour), you’re going too fast. But people have a lot of fun on them,” he said.
Contributed / North Dakota Tourism
That’s not to mention the extensive snowmobile trail network in this area, which totals 455 miles, taps into a statewide trail system and is managed by volunteers from the Northeast Snowmobile Club Association.
Trails may be an ideal way to explore the Gorge, as they can take you into the most scenic areas. Case in point: The Tetrault State Forest Lookout Point, which is so naturally magazine-ready that it frequently graces state tourism publications.
Trail-blazing might also give you a glimpse of wildlife, like elk, white-tail deer, red fox, river otters and even the occasional lone wolf or black bear. The Gorge contains a sweep of forest that serves as a transition zone between three different biogeographical provinces: boreal forest, eastern deciduous forest and central grassland. It’s one reason you’ll find the state’s most extensive woodlands for oak and birch here.
Contributed / North Dakota Parks and Recreation
The diverse ecosystem also includes 30 plant species and 21 animal species categorized as “rare” in the state.
It’s getting late for this season, but autumn is historically the Gorge’s time to shine. The trees form a plush carpet of greens, orangey-browns and golds that rolls across the undulating terrain. Look closer, and you’ll spot the fiery reds of sumac and other smaller plants beneath the canopy of bigger trees.
“To get out on the trails during that time, it’s just nice,” Deurre said. “It’s nice, crisp air and it feels so good. You find yourself stopping and staring at things.”
Some say the best way to see the Gorge is to forego trails completely and canoe or kayak it instead.
Visitors can kayak the Pembina River by contacting the office of the Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area. Through this program, they can opt for a 3.5-mile, two-hour float, which begins at the Vang Bridge near Frost Fire Ski Resort and travels to the Brick Mine Bridge. The bridge is a charming, red structure originally built by the Fargo Bridge & Iron Company for Mayo Brick & Tile Company in 1905. Traveling to and from it will expose you to some of the Gorge’s prettiest views.
Contributed / Cassie Theurer for North Dakota Tourism
Another kayak option is to travel from the Vang Bridge to the Highway 32 Bridge, which is 10.75 miles and provides four to six hours of scenic sailing.
The Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area offers kayak rentals for $32/half day or $50/full day. Life jackets and paddles are provided with your rental. The recreation area also will transport kayakers for an additional fee.
Contributed / Dan Koeck for North Dakota Tourism
“It’s a really cool way to see the Gorge on the river,” Deurre said. “You kind of feel like you’re right there in the middle of nowhere.”
Clearly, people dig the Gorge.
Like, literally.
The North Dakota Geological Survey runs public dinosaur digs in four locations across the state — Bismarck, Dickinson, Medora and the Pembina Gorge.
The Gorge alone opens up 100 spots to aspiring archaeologists each summer. Clint Boyd, who oversees all the public digs, says that when registration for its statewide digs is announced to its 2,500-strong email list, they fill quickly — sometimes within minutes. “It’s crazy popular,” he said.
Since the state’s first public dig in 2000, Boyd said the event has attracted people from 45 states and countries as far-flung as Norway and Italy.
Boyd cites several reasons for the dig’s attraction.
One is that North Dakota’s public dig program is so affordable. The department charges $40 to $60 per person per day to cover supply costs and the salaries of summer interns to help at the site. In comparison, he said, public digs in other states charge up to $300 per day.
People also can opt to dig just a day, or even a half-day, rather than committing to a full week.
Another is the high concentration of specimens found in the Gorge. “Normally when you go look for fossils, you dig out what’s there and then have to explore around to find another,” Boyd said. “This site we’ve been working at Gorge, we collect a skeleton for a mosasaurus and shortly after that, 40 or 50 feet from there, we’ll find another one. “
The Gorge has proven to be an especially rich source of marine life from 75 million years ago, including turtles, fish, plesiosaurs, squid and sharks.
Contributed / Cassie K. Theurer for North Dakota Tourism
It’s a mecca for the mosasaur, a huge, carnivorous aquatic lizard whose bones have been found in the black shale of the Pierre Foundation, which runs throughout the Gorge.
Mosasaurs were essentially the kings of the food chain for their time, with some species growing as large as 60 feet.
In 2015, Boyd and a team discovered a new species of mosasaur which may have been a precursor to the Mosasaurus, a larger form that grew to nearly 50 feet long and lived alongside the T-rex.
“If you put flippers on a Komodo dragon and made it really big, that’s basically what it would have looked like,” said
Amelia Zietlow
, a doctoral student in comparative biology who co-authored a study on the discovery with Boyd and another researcher for the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.
The researchers also described the prehistoric predator as possessing an extra row of teeth, a shark-like tail and a bony ridge on the skull which gave it the appearance of “angry eyebrows.”
Boyd named the discovery Jormungandr walhallaensis to honor the nearby community of Walhalla and the ethnicity of the area.
“Given the similarity of spelling between Walhalla and the mythological Norse location Valhalla, we chose to name it after the legendary sea-dwelling World Serpent: Jormungandr,” Boyd wrote in a North Dakota Geological Survey newsletter.
Those itching to unearth their own sea-faring fossils should know there’s no prior experience required to participate in the dig. Kids as young as 10 can attend for a half-day, but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Participants must be 15 or older to attend a full-day dig.
Learn more about fossil digs at
https://www.dmr.nd.gov/dmr/paleontology/fossil-digs.
Information about rentals and other Gorge attractions is available by contacting the Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area at 701-549-2444 or pgsra@nd.gov.
The pursuit began in Roberts County, South Dakota, and ended in Richland County, North Dakota.
RICHLAND COUNTY, N.D. – Just past midnight on the morning of Friday, December 27th, a Roberts County, South Dakota Sheriff’s Deputy pursued a 2008 Lincoln MKZ northbound on I-29 into Richland County in North Dakota.
That’s when the NDHP jumped into action – taking over the pursuit near Mile Marker 37.
One trooper deflated two of the Lincoln’s tires with a spike strip. Shortly thereafter, another trooper executed a PIT maneuver, which brought the vehicle to a halt.
The driver of the Lincoln, 40-year-old Gregory Richards of Fargo, was taken into custody.
He’s been charged with felony fleeing, and misdemeanor driving under the influence, driving under suspension, and reckless endangerment.
A female passenger in the Lincoln was not arrested and transported to a residence in Fargo.
There are also charges for Richards pending in South Dakota.
North Dakota
Here are 15 potential candidates to replace Jimmy Rogers as South Dakota State football coach
SIOUX FALLS — After having the same coach for a quarter century, South Dakota State is now looking for a new one after just two seasons.
Jimmy Rogers went 27-3 with a national championship after replacing John Stiegelmeier, but he’s already on to his next rung on the ladder, as the new head coach of Washington State, where he replaces another former Stiegelmeier assistant in Jake Dickert, who left Wazzu to coach Wake Forest.
SDSU athletic director Justin Sell always says he has a list of names ready for anytime he needs to make a coaching change, but this might be bit more challenging. Rogers is expected to bring his staff with him to Pullman, and there wasn’t necessarily an obvious in-house candidate on staff, anyway.
There seems to be an assumption among fans that Sell would prefer to hire in-house, and that if that can’t work at least bring in someone with ties to the program.
Maybe. But this feels like a time to cast a wide net and consider candidates from outside the program, too.
Here’s a list of 15 candidates. If you’ve been following my work for awhile you know I have a pretty good track record with these, but I want to make clear, here. I would not at all be surprised or embarrassed if the eventual SDSU football coach isn’t one of these 15 guys.
I’m not going to speculate about assistant coaches I know nothing about from programs I don’t cover. Maybe there’s a position coach in the Big Ten or SEC or the NFL who wants the job. That could very well be the case. So keep that in mind while reading this list.
There’s already been plenty of hand-wringing about Rogers leaving the program in the dust. Not only is that not really fair, let me assure you, the Jacks program is going to be fine.
Will they take a step back? Almost certainly. Star receiver Griffin Wilde announced he’s entering the transfer portal on Saturday and more are sure to follow.
But the Jacks still have all the pieces in place to win and win big. Remember, the FCS doesn’t have a ton of great contenders right now. Unless SDSU isn’t able to hang on to any of their players I’d expect them to be back in the playoffs next year (keeping pace with USD and NDSU may be another story, at least in the short term).
Anyway, here are 15 candidates, listed in alphabetical order.
Nick Benedetto, defensive coordinator, Fresno State
He played cornerback under Kalen DeBoer at USF, spent a year as a grad assistant at USD and then served as defensive coordinator at West Virginia State, USF, Samford and, for the last three years, Northern Illinois. He was just hired at Fresno State, but could be interested in coming back to South Dakota for his first shot at being a head coach.
Brian Bergstrom, head coach, Winona State
Served as SDSU’s safeties coach and then co-defensive coordinator, along with Rogers, from 2019-2021. From there he went to Division II Winona State, where he took the Warriors to the playoffs in his debut season but has gone 5-6 in each of the last two.
Josh Davis, Fresno State offensive coordinator
The former SDSU assistant just left USD after two successful seasons as offensive coordinator to take the same job at Fresno State, an FBS program. Would he turn back around and come home to Brookings to lead his alma mater? My hunch is no but it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
Eric Eidsness, quarterbacks coach, Northern Illinois
SDSU’s offensive coordinator before Jason Eck (who was before Zach Lujan who was before Ryan Olson), Eidsness presided over some truly explosive Jackrabbit offenses and served some time as the assistant head coach, as well.
He’s since been at Northern Illinois, where he’s been the quarterbacks coach since 2019 and was offensive coordinator from 2019-22. Eidsness was behind the Zach Zenner and Taryn Christion-led offenses of SDSU’s pre-Frisco era, and he posted a 26-40 record in six seasons as the head coach at Division II Southwest Minnesota State, which is much better than it sounds if you know anything about that program.
Danny Freund, quarterbacks coach, SDSU
A surprise addition to the Jacks staff in 2024, Freund had been the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach at North Dakota, where he’d also been a quarterback. He seemed to be the coach-in-waiting under Bubba Schweigert, but instead he came to SDSU, and then after one year Schweigert retired and the Hawks hired Eric Schmidt.
Did SDSU bring Freund in to be their coach in waiting, knowing Rogers would likely not be here long? Perhaps. But if he’s going with Rogers to Washington State it’s a non-starter. And even if he wants to stay here the Jacks may decide to go elsewhere.
Dan Jackson, defensive coordinator, New Mexico
The father of the ‘NebraskaJacks’, Jackson was once SDSU’s cornerbacks coach, recruiting coordinator and assistant head coach, and certainly made an impression in his stint in Brookings as an aggressive recruiter and outgoing personality. He recruited the hell out of Nebraska, making enemies in Lincoln by stealing from the Huskers’ pool of walk-ons.
He’s since been to Northern Illinois, Vanderbilt and spent the past season as the defensive coordinator for Jason Eck at Idaho. He just agreed to follow Eck to New Mexico. FBS money may be tough to compete with, but Jackson has never been a head coach and might be ready to make the move.
Jake Landry, offensive coordinator, NDSU
Just completed his first year as NDSU’s offensive coordinator. Landry is also a former UND quarterback (he was the QB when they lost to USF in 2009), one who’s been at some successful programs in a 15-year coaching career.
Alyssa Goelzer/The Forum
UMD (under Bob Nielson), Northern Illinois, Wisconsin-La Crosse, St. Thomas and even a year as an FBS position coach when he spent one season as the quarterback coach at Temple.
Zach Lujan, offensive coordinator, Northwestern
My sources say Lujan is a popular choice among players and administration. But he’s reportedly making about a half-million a year at Northwestern and has only been there for one season. He’d be taking a pay cut to come back and he may not be ready to be a head coach yet, either.
Landon Dierks / Mitchell Republic
Then again, he’s an extremely bright and mature young coach. His players at SDSU loved him. He’s also an alum and Northwestern went 4-8 this year. The Wildcats face a big challenge in the expanded Big Ten. Maybe Lujan could decide it would be better for his career to come back to Brookings to take his first head coaching gig to better serve a later climb up the ladder.
Luke Meadows, offensive line coach, Northern Illinois
It’s been more than a decade since he was in Brookings, but Meadows is an SDSU alum, was associate head coach in 2005 and offensive coordinator from 2008-2012. He’s an offensive line coach by trade.
He later worked at Florida Atlantic, Southern Miss, Eastern Michigan, Troy and most recently Northern Illinois.
Jerry Olszewski, head coach, Augustana
I’m well aware that SDSU fans will oppose the idea of a national championship FCS team hiring a Division II coach, particularly one that used to be an inferior rival, but these are unique circumstances under which it does make a little more sense.
Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live
Namely: Rogers’ departure is expected to lead to a mass exodus of SDSU players into the transfer portal. Well, OJ recruits a lot of the same players. Many of SDSU’s best had offers from Augustana. Most had positive impressions of OJ and the Viking program. Olszewski could potentially stem the tide of transfers out the door through his own familiarity with the region and the players in it.
He’s also led the Vikings to consecutive NSIC titles, brought his team to Brookings in September and held the Jacks to 24 points, and has often talked of molding his program in the image of SDSU.
Kurtiss Riggs, analyst, Riggs Academy director
Nobody knows the local recruiting scene better than Riggs, who was once the right-hand man of Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer. He’s been the color analyst for SDSU games on Midco the last few years so he knows the Jackrabbit roster well, knows the program well, and so far hasn’t joined DeBoer in Tuscaloosa.
Trent Singer / Sioux Falls Live
Now that he’s done with the indoor game the time might be right for Riggs to take his first college head coaching job. The guy knows how to win — he was a part of four national championships at USF (one as a player, three as assistant coach) and won 11 titles as the head coach of the Sioux Falls Storm.
Brad Salem, tight ends coach, Memphis
A Sioux Falls native and son of former Gophers coach Joe Salem, Brad helped launch Augustana’s run of success in Division II, and then spent a decade at Michigan State, coaching running backs, quarterbacks and spending one year as offensive coordinator. He’s been at Memphis for the last four years. He’s 54, but Salem knows everybody and has coached some pretty high level players.
John Stiegelmeier, retired former SDSU coach
If Rogers were leaving to, say, be the defensive coordinator at Georgia or something and not taking anyone with him, I would go as far out of my way as I could to make the case that bringing back Stig for a year or two would be the right decision. He could slide right back into the same role he had near the end of his career — the guy who coaches the coaches — and groom a potential successor.
Landon Dierks / Mitchell Republic
But if almost the entire staff is gone, that seems like an awful daunting task, asking the soon-to-be 68-year old to come in and build a staff from scratch and try to retain/rebuild the roster.
That said, Stig didn’t really want to retire when he did (he stepped aside to prevent Rogers from leaving for the D-coordinator job at Washington State), he’s stuck at 199 career wins and while he’s content in retirement he also might be a little bored. It wouldn’t be a bad direction to go.
Jed Stugart, head coach, Lindenwood
The former USF coach has gone 41-38 in seven seasons at Lindenwood, a newcomer to the FCS level. He had a close relationship with John Stiegelmeier and keeps close tabs on the South Dakota football scene. A former country music singer, the 54-year-old Stugart has the kind of charisma and personality to help sell tickets, raise money and win over fans and recruits.
But perhaps more importantly, the guy knows how to take over a successful program and keep it running. He replaced Kalen DeBoer in 2010 after DeBoer had just won his second consecutive (and third overall) national championship. DeBoer left USF with a 67-3 record, his top two assistants (Chuck Morrell and Kurtiss Riggs) also left and so did dozens of star players.
Stugart stepped in and reloaded the roster quickly, taking USF right back to the national championship game and eventually up to the Division II level where they immediately became playoff contenders.
Zach Zenner, former SDSU running back
I’m mostly joking with this one, but there is a sudden trend of hiring former star players with little coaching experience. The idea seems to be that celebrity coaches sell tickets, attract donors and impress recruits.
David Samson / The Forum
David Samson/Forum Communications Co.
Zenner has been working as an agent since his five-year NFL career ended, he’s got a genius intellect and, much like Rogers, is a much funnier and personable guy in person than he sometimes comes across on camera.
Who’s to say he couldn’t build something special?
Filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court
North Dakota
Angela Latisha Farley, Fargo, Chapter 7
Desirae L. Johnson, Mandan, Chapter 7
Jessie J. Messmer, formerly known as Jessie Sticka, Dickinson, Chapter 7
Paulette Kay Thurn, Bismarck, Chapter 7
Jerry A. and Linda L. Dornback, formerly known as Linda amber, Valley City, Chapter 7
Justin N. and Alexis R. Tormaschy, also known as Alexis R. Emter, Belfield, Chapter 13
Minnesota
Bankruptcy filings from the following counties: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Norman, Otter Tail, Polk, Traverse, Wadena and Wilkin.
There were no bankruptcies filed in this reporting area the week of Dec. 16, 2024.
Chapter 7 is a petition to liquidate assets and discharge debts.
Chapter 11 is a petition for protection from creditors and to reorganize.
Chapter 12 is a petition for family farmers to reorganize.
Chapter 13 is a petition for wage earners to readjust debts.
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.
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