North Dakota

He came to North Dakota from Denmark for farm experience; he stayed to raise a family

Published

1 year ago

July 31, 2023

He came to North Dakota from Denmark for farm experience; he stayed to raise a family

LAKOTA, N.D. — Mass Pedersen is a longtime employee of a North Dakota farm, fulfilling a dream he had in his home country of Denmark.

“I always had a dream, just go try it,” Pedersen said while baling hay at Scot Nelson’s Lakota, North Dakota, farm.

Pedersen gave working in North Dakota a try in 2004, at first on a J1 training visa, that brought him to Lakota in 2004.

He knew someone in Denmark who had worked for Nelson. That meant he did the process “backwards,” already having a job offer before he got his visa and not having to go through a placement process.

He has since helped recruit other workers from Denmark and has obtained a green card to work in the U.S. permanently.

Nelson said such recruiting is common.

“If we have a new new employee, typically they’ve been referred by one of our former employees,” Nelson said.

But Pedersen says wages in the U.S. hold some potential workers back.

He said when factoring in the housing and transportation that H2A employers are required to provide, that he figured he had roughly an equal amount of disposable income at the end of each month as he would have back in Denmark.

But there also is time and expense that go into obtaining a visa.

“It’s not as easy as just flying into the country,” Pedersen said.

Nelson has used numerous international workers over the years, primarily from Denmark, Ukraine and Moldova, and has helped sponsor other employees to become U.S. citizens.

There also is a lot of red tape for employees, so much that Nelson uses a service to help navigate it all, which is not uncommon.

“I would not want to navigate that myself without using the service,” Nelson said.

International workers on temporary visas have become essential on many Midwest farms,

but there are fears that changes will make it too expensive for many employers

Once in North Dakota, Pedersen and other workers have to adjust to bigger fields, bigger farms and bigger equipment than back in Denmark, where he said 50 acres would be considered a large field.

A combine harvests grain at the Scott Nelson farm at Lakota, North Dakota.

Things are more spread out in North Dakota and the weather, both in the winter and the summer, is more extreme, making for a different crop mix than in Denmark, where corn and soybeans aren’t grown.

Pedersen and Nelson agree that cultural and agricultural exchange of information is beneficial to both employee and employer.

“I think the biggest thing is you might learn other ways to do stuff that you’re not used to over here,” Pedersen said. “Many times it’s, ‘my dad, my granddad did it this way so we’re still doing it this way’ where sometimes you might learn something that might benefit your operation that hasn’t been thought of.”

“I feel we gained as much as they do,” Nelson said. “Learning about different countries different traditions. It’s been a great experience.”

Sheri Mass.jpg — Sherri and Mass Pedersen of Michigan, North Dakota.

Pedersen said he had no plans to stay in the U.S. when he first came, but said he “accidentally” found a girlfriend.

He jokes that she was one of two single women in the nearby spot of Mapes, North Dakota, with the other being her grandmother.

He kept getting his H2A visa renewed but knew there could be a day when it would not be. He said that can happen for seemingly no reason. If someone at the embassy, “had a bad day, they could tell you ‘no’” he said.

When his visa was not renewed, the couple was faced with a choice — she could move to Denmark or they could get married and stay in North Dakota.

Now Pedersen and his wife Sheri Pedersen are raising three children at Michigan, North Dakota.

Sherri and Mass Pedersen are raising three children at Michigan, North Dakota: Leah, left; Alex, right, and Rebecca, center.

They try to bring the whole family to see his parents in Denmark about every three years.

Both Pedersen and Nelson used the term “like a second family” when talking about the employer-employee relationship.

But Pedersen also encourages young people, from his homeland and from the U.S., to go on an adventure and get away from Mom and Dad.

“I think a lot of young people benefit a lot from that.”

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North Dakota

North Dakota Horse Park gets finances on track as 2025 season takes shape

Published

3 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Press Room

North Dakota Horse Park gets finances on track as 2025 season takes shape

FARGO — Slowly, the North Dakota Horse Park in Fargo is growing its live horse racing meet and for the first time in nearly a decade, the organization that runs the track is not scrambling to make the tax payment that once loomed over it.

The Fargo track is operated by Horse Race North Dakota, a nonprofit organization that contributed when the track was built in 2003.

At a meeting of Horse Race North Dakota on Friday, Dec. 20. Cindy Slaughter, accountant and co-owner of TaxLady, which contracts with Horse Race North Dakota, said the track’s overall income is up about $93,000 from this time last year.

A fourth weekend of racing cost the track about $148,000 this year. However, that cost can be offset in the future by factors such as attendance and the amount bet on the races.

“There’s a couple of things we could do differently this year to reduce that amount,” North Dakota Horse Park General Manager Hugh Alan Drexler said.

Horses race out of the starting gates in the 5th race of the day during opening day at the North Dakota Horse Park on Saturday, July 13, 2024.

Alyssa Goelzer/The Forum

While Drexler and HRND will look to decrease costs, they will not try to do that at the expense of the horsemen, as they hope to keep purses for each race flat or increase them in 2025.

“I don’t want to cut the purses at all, that would be the last thing we would cut,” HRND President Jay Aslop said.

“That is what our goal is, to promote racing and to increase race dates,” Drexler said. “The day the finances don’t look the same, that is when we need to make a change.”

Live racing receives additional funds from the North Dakota Racing Commission. The commission will meet in February to determine the amount of funds that will be granted to the Fargo track as well as Chippewa Downs, the second horse racing track in North Dakota near Belcourt.

Overcoming financial struggles

Heavy special assessments loomed over the North Dakota Horse Park for several years after it opened.

In 2003, the city of Fargo spent $1.5 million to extend sewer, water and other infrastructure to the track. The city planned to recoup the costs with special assessments, a kind of property tax assessed to benefiting properties, but the city agreed to suspend the assessments for five years in hopes that the race track would stimulate the development of commercial and residential properties. This would spread the assessments over more property owners and create a smaller bill for the track, which in 2015 was about $1.9 million.

The track is now in repayment of its taxes, making annual payments to the city of Fargo, and accountants are confident a fourth weekend of racing in 2025 will not adversely affect the track.

“I don’t have any concerns about running a fourth weekend this year,” Slaughter said.

Horse racing will be held at the Fargo track in 2025 over four weekends, likely July 12 through Aug. 3, track officials said.

“(It will be) some combination of either Friday, Saturday or Saturday, Sunday depending on what other events are going on in the area,” said Drexler.

In 2024, attendance at the Fargo track was up overall with about 8,358 in attendance over the eight race days, up from about 8,127, in 2023.

The Fargo track held horse races on Saturday and Sunday afternoons for four consecutive weekends, starting Saturday, July 13. The weekend of July 27-28, races were held in the evening so as to not compete with the Fargo AirSho. The horse park competed for attendance each weekend as the Fargo Street Fair, Red River Valley Fair and the Renaissance Fair overlapped the schedule. The horse park’s closing weekend coincided with WeFest.

The track hosted only three weekends of racing in 2022 and 2023, as it was constricted to operating expenses and the amount of money granted for a live season by the North Dakota Racing Commission. The Fargo track hosted a four-week meet in 2021 but held only two weekends in 2020.

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North Dakota

Sports Spotlight: Ben DeForest

Published

11 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Press Room

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Bismarck High Wrestlers win a lot of titles.

“We’re striving for a state championship, that’s where the bar is set,” said Bismarck High Wrestling head coach Mark Lardy.

Three of said titles belong to the top-ranked 133-pound wrestler in North Dakota, Ben DeForest.

Now, Ben’s going for number four.

“It would mean everything to me,” said Ben DeForest. “There have been some great wrestlers from BHS that have been four-timers it would just mean a lot for me to add my name to that list.”

”He led a lot by example in the past,” said Lardy. “Now he leads not only by example but his voice in the room is heard.“

Even when his BHS days are over, Ben has another chapter to write in his story: He’s committed to Wrestle at UMary.

“We pride ourselves on trying to keep and retain as many local North Dakota kids here at U-Mary and we’re just very thankful that Ben chose to come here and wrestle for us as well,” said U-Mary Wrestling head coach Adam Aho.

The state champ has a bigger goal in mind.

“His goal is way beyond what our room is going to give him. This is just a stepping stone,” said Lardy.

Ben wants a national championship.

“We need every guy to have that type of mentality,” said Aho. “Without it, we will never be relevant on the national scene.”

”Once you get your hand raised you realize, all those morning practices you didn’t want to go to and all those lifts that you were like, uh I don’t know, it’s worth it. It’s worth it,” said DeForest.

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North Dakota

My Heartfelt Christmas Wish To You North Dakota

Published

23 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

My Heartfelt Christmas Wish To You North Dakota.

Not a “catchy-clicky” title and I doubt many of my listeners or readers will probably even read this article.

However, I wanted to share something with you that is on my heart. This is so not me, as I’m more the guy who writes about “North Dakota’s 10 most quirky this and that”.

It’s not that I’m not a sensitive guy, because when I was growing up, I was probably too sensitive. I would avoid sad movies, songs, or anything that would spark too much of an emotion.

Yes, you could say my heart has become a bit jaded and cold over the years. It’s not something I’m proud of but more of a defense mechanism.

2024 has probably been one of the most challenging years for my family.

From losing loved ones to family issues to health issues to very challenging financial times, it’s been one of those years where you just can’t catch a break. I’m sure many of you can relate.

As we were attending a Christmas Eve candlelight service last night a young child caught my eye.

She was a cute little toddler who was starting to act up. Something I remember oh so well at church with my little now 20-year-old son.

As her father took her outside the sanctuary to attend to her, I couldn’t help but notice this child’s extremely unfair situation. She had a disability at a year or so old, that none of us could ever imagine. It broke my heart.

This poor child and her family no doubt have a long road ahead of them. As we lit our candles later in the service, I caught the wonder in her eyes, and it couldn’t help but melt my cold heart at the time.

She was perfect and I found myself saying a prayer for this little blonde girl with curly locks and her family.

Her situation also reminded me that I should be thankful for what I have and not what I don’t this Christmas. This is my Christmas wish for you North Dakota, that you will realize the same thing.

Be thankful for who you have around the tree today, not what’s under it.

Merry Christmas to all my listeners and readers. I hope at least a few of you get to read this and it will touch you the same way this little girl touched me on Christmas Eve.