North Dakota

May rains led to big improvement in drought conditions

Published

9 months ago

June 2, 2025

May rains led to big improvement in drought conditions

Some North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network stations went a year without getting a daily half-inch of rain, and some went nearly two years without a daily 1-inch rainfall. Heavy rainfall throughout much of the region since the middle of May has changed that and helped improve drought situations in much of the region.

Bowman County had several stations that hadn’t received a soaking rainfall in a long time. But the rain didn’t fall evenly everywhere.

“In Bowman, we are close to 4 inches of rainfall the last two weeks,” said Penny Nester, North Dakota State University Extension ag and natural resources agent for Bowman County. “In the places out west, like along the Montana-South Dakota lines, they’ve been a little bit drier, so they probably got an inch, eighty hundredths, total, it’s just so spotty.”

But in some places, the rain came with some low temperatures and frost. In Bowman County, two NDAWN stations hit 31 degrees.

“So crop wise, you know we have enough small grains that that’s not going to be a big issue for us. But on the side of alfalfa and hay production and pasture production, that’s kind of what everyone is waiting for to see if it’s going to nip our alfalfa,” Nester said.

The worst drought conditions in North Dakota largely have been in the northwest, including McKenzie County, where dry conditions led to wildfires in the fall of 2024. About half of the county had been in extreme drought as of May 13, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, along with large portions of Mountrail, Dunn, Billings and Golden Valley counties.

Several NDAWN stations in McKenzie County received more than a third of an inch of rain May 14, and on May 15 and 16, numerous stations received more than an inch or even more than 2 inches of rain each day. That was followed by more than a quarter of an inch in some places May 19. Through May 27, the Watford City NDAWN station had received 5.18 inches for the month.

The Drought Monitor released May 29 showed marked improvement in North Dakota since May 13, though parts of McKenzie County, Dunn, Billings and Golden Valley counties still had spots of extreme drought.

Spring wheat was growing in Stutsman County on May 27, 2025.

Jenny Schlecht / Agweek

Much of central North Dakota hasn’t struggled as much with drought conditions, but even some of those places were getting a little dry. That included Foster County, where NDSU Extension ag and natural resources agent Jeff Gale said farmers had gotten a good start on planting prior to the rainfall, which amounted to 2.26 inches at the Carrington NDAWN station and 1.81 inches at the Cooperstown station.

Farmers had gotten a good start on planting by the time the rain started and likely were ready for a short break, but the continued storms put them out about 10 days, he said.

“Often, the rule of thumb is, we’ll take rain whenever we can get it. It’s a headache at planting time, people get anxious,” he said. “But it’s nice to have the soil profile full of water heading into growing season.”

Farmers were back in the fields a few days after the rain stopped, and Gale said with a good week of work, most of the county’s crops will be planted. On the cattle side, ranchers have complained a little about muddy lots, but the cool, wet weather also kick-started pasture growth, he said.

Tractors were back in the field across central North Dakota on May 27, 2025, days after heavy rains stopped field work.

Even with the long break from planting in some places, planting progress remains on or ahead of the average pace in the region, according to a Crop Progress report released May 27 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

North Dakota wasn’t alone in getting much-needed rain. In southwestern South Dakota, the Fall River station of the South Dakota Mesonet received only 15.5 inches of rain in 2024. So far, the station has received 4.04 inches in 2025, including 1.45 inches in May of which 1.39 inches fell from May 14 to 20. The Red River Valley and much of southern Minnesota received heavy rain on May 20.

The rain should help pastures in drought-stricken places, but since they already were stressed by previous years of dry conditions and grasshoppers, along with recent frost, it won’t solve all the problems.

Drought conditions improved in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota after the rains, but pockets of severe drought remain in South Dakota and North Dakota, with some extreme drought still in parts of western North Dakota. Extreme drought remains in northwestern Bowman County.

“Our recommendation is that we need rain before June 1st, and then, if it’s after June 1st, then we have to start looking at carrying capacity reduction,” Nester said. “But I think with the drought conditions that we’ve had previously, we’re just not really getting the grass that we should see by now, so we probably still are looking at decreased stocking rates regardless.”

More rain will be needed throughout the growing season still, and Nester said it’s always hard to tell how things will turn out. Grain farmers in the county are largely finished planting, while most livestock producers likely still have seed to put in the ground, she said. There are questions about how the weather conditions have impacted fertilizer that was applied earlier, and concerns about weeds that will come later.

But though the May rain didn’t solve all the problems of the growing season, Nester said it certainly still was vital. For instance, it likely saved the canola crop in the area.

“Everything that we got, we sure appreciated. So we didn’t get 6 or 8 inches, like other places did this last week, but we just got enough to at least put everyone in a little bit better mood, and we know that our crops are probably going to make it to the next stage of production. So that’s all that we can hope for,” Nester said.

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North Dakota

Today in History, 1943: 2 North Dakota men die in separate Army plane crashes

Published

9 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Today in History, 1943: 2 North Dakota men die in separate Army plane crashes

On this day in 1943, two North Dakota army officers, Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz and First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson, were killed in separate medium bomber training crashes in Florida and Georgia.

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

Army Plane Crashes Kill Two N. D. Men

Two North Dakota officers in the army air forces were killed Sunday in bomber crashes during training flights, Associated Press dispatches revealed Monday.

Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz of Harvey (Wells county) was killed with 10 others from the Avon Park, Fla., army bomber base when two medium bombers collided during a routine formation flight. Both planes crashed and there were no survivors.

First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson of Warwick (Benson county) was one of six killed when a medium bomber from MacDill field, Tampa, Fla., crashed near Savannah, Ga. Lieutenant Anderson was co-pilot of the plane.

None of the other victims of either accident was from the Dakotas or Minnesota.

Lieutenant Kuntz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Kuntz of Harvey, was graduated from the army air force navigation school at Hondo, Texas, as a second lieutenant last October, and received his wings as a navigator.

See more history at Newspapers.com

An ad featured in The Forum on March 2, 1943. Newspapers.com

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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North Dakota

Presidential Searches at 3 North Dakota Colleges Narrowing

Published

21 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Presidential Searches at 3 North Dakota Colleges Narrowing

(Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Two North Dakotans are semifinalists for the Bismarck State College president’s job as North Dakota State University narrows its presidential candidate list.

Valley City State University also is searching for a new president, with an application period closing this month..

Kevin Black, chair of the State Board of Higher Education and co-chair of the North Dakota State University Presidential Search Committee, said the committee reviewed over 60 applications. The committee is planning off-site interviews with candidates March 9-10 and campus visits with semifinal candidates March 23-27.

“We’re really excited about taking the next step and there’s some very quality people in there,” Black said.

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North Dakota

After falling short a year ago, West Fargo United wins ND girls hockey state title

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

After falling short a year ago, West Fargo United wins ND girls hockey state title

FARGO — One season ago, a Cinderella run for the West Fargo United girls hockey team came up just short in the state championship game.

United, the No. 7 seed, fell to Legacy/Bismarck in the 2025 final.

This time around, the team had momentum swaying in its favor, riding nine consecutive wins into Saturday’s title game against Grand Forks at Scheels Arena.

Led by goals from a pair of senior captains, United capped its redemption season with a 10th straight victory, fending off the KnightRiders 2-1 to claim the North Dakota girls hockey state tournament championship.

“It just means everything,” said United’s Payton Stocker, whose goal at the 12:31 mark of the second period gave her team a 1-0 lead. “We’ve worked so hard and throughout the season, it’s just been such a battle. Winning and coming out on top is just such a great feeling.”

West Fargo United captains react as they are presented the team’s 2026 state championship hockey trophy after defeating Grand Forks on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Scheels Arena in Fargo.

Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald

Stocker was followed up in scoring by United captain Rachel Spanier. The defenseman fired a slap shot from the left point that beat Grand Forks goaltender Kylie Schmaltz to make it 2-0 with 35 seconds remaining in the middle frame.

Reagan Wilson locked things down in net for United, finishing with 23 saves and picking up an all-tournament team nod.

“This is my first year of high school hockey,” the sophomore goaltender said. “I can’t believe coming in here and winning a state title with all of these girls. I just love them so much.”

While it was the senior duo of Stocker and Spanier finding the net for United on Saturday, contributions were seen across the board.

Sophomore Emma Hassler also put forth an all-tournament campaign with five goals and an assist for six points over the three-day stretch.

030226 WFGOUnited3.jpg — Grand Forks’ Dustee Balek’s shot is blocked by West Fargo United goalie Reagan Wilson in the North Dakota girls hockey state championship game on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Scheels Arena.

Freshman Kaylee Augdahl finished the tournament with four points — including

a double-overtime winner

over Fargo North/South in Friday’s semifinals — and junior Liana Williamson added three assists.

“It wasn’t just us (seniors),” said Stocker, who joined Hassler and Wilson on the all-tourney team. “It was everyone collectively. Being seniors, it feels a lot better. It was a great feeling.”

United, the No. 5 seed this year, capped its season with a record of 17-9-0.

“These girls are awesome,” first-year United head coach Kennedy Blair said. “They’ve worked super, super hard since last April. Wake up early in the mornings, go into off-ice training, on-ice training and all that.

“This group of girls is really special. They’re a really close-knit group, and they trusted our coaching staff coming in as a first-year group.”

030226 WFGOUnited2.jpg — West Fargo United players pose for the camera as they wait for the 2026 state championship hockey trophy after defeating Grand Forks on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Scheels Arena.

Blair knows a thing or two about winning championships. She was a North Dakota state champion goaltender with the former Bismarck Blizzard co-op and also won an NCAA Division I national title with the Wisconsin women’s program in 2021.

Yet, she never imagined ending her first year as a high school varsity coach with a state championship.

“No, I didn’t,” said Blair, who also won North Dakota High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors. “But I had belief in these girls that we could get to the state championship again.”

It’s the United co-op’s first-ever state title — which consists of West Fargo, West Fargo Sheyenne and West Fargo Horace high schools.

Prior to Saturday, the last time a West Fargo girls program won the state title was in 2014 when it was still a standalone program competing as the Packers.

“It’s amazing considering United hockey has never won a championship game,” Wilson said.

Grand Forks, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, ended its campaign with a 21-5-0 record.

Ella Yahna’s fourth goal of the tournament — which came on a 2-on-1 rush with the assist from teammate Reese Meagher, put the KnightRiders within one shot with 8:17 remaining in the third.

Grand Forks, however, was unable to find the equalizer as its bid for a first state championship came up just short.

“I thought we came out in the first and we had a tough time,” Grand Forks head coach Kelly Kilgore said. “I felt we battled some nerves. I really liked our second period … We carried the play and tilted the ice a little bit back in our favor. The shots kind of started to really turn in our favor.”

Stocker said she wouldn’t have wanted to win a state title as a senior with any other group of teammates.

“(They mean) everything,” Stocker said. “We’re so tight and they’re all my friends. Leaving them is going to be hard. But they mean everything to me. We’re all so close and I love them a lot.”