North Dakota
Miners Find Mammoth Remains Buried in North Dakota
The first person who saw it was working overnight. The worker, a shovel operator, saw something white as he placed a large amount of dirt into the back of a truck.
The driver of the truck put the dirt in the road. Another worker operating a bulldozer was ready to flatten it. But the worker stopped for a closer look when he, too, saw a piece of white.
Only then did the mining workers realize they had found something special: a 2-meter-long mammoth tusk that had been buried for thousands of years.
A mammoth is a kind of animal that lived in ancient times and had very long tusks. The animal went extinct, or disappeared, about 10,000 years ago in what is now the American state of North Dakota.
The miners unearthed the tusk at the Freedom Mine near Beulah, North Dakota. The mine produces up to 14.5 metric tons of coal each year.
“We were very fortunate, lucky to find what we found,” said David Straley. He is an executive of North American Coal, which owns the mine.
After finding the tusk, the workers stopped digging in the area and called in experts. The experts estimated the tusk to be anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 years old.
Jeff Person is a paleontologist with the North Dakota Geologic Survey. A paleontologist is an expert on ancient remains. Person was one of the experts that examined the tusk. He said it was “miraculous” that the tusk had not been more damaged, considering the large equipment that miners use at the site.
Another dig at the discovery site found more bones. Experts found more than 20 bones. It is likely the most complete mammoth found in North Dakota, where it is more common to find one mammoth bone, tooth or piece of a tusk.
Person said it is not a lot of bones compared to how many make up the animal’s skeleton. But he said, “…it’s a lot more than we’ve ever found of one animal together.”
Mammoths once were found across parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Paul Ullmann, a University of North Dakota paleontologist, said mammoth remains have been found throughout the United States and Canada.
The discovery at the mine is somewhat rare in North Dakota and in the area. Many remains of the animals alive during the last Ice Age were destroyed by movements of ice sheets, Ullmann said.
Other areas have produced more mammoth remains, such as in Texas and South Dakota. People have even found frozen mammoth bodies in Canada and Russia, Ullmann added.
The tusk weighs more than 22.6 kilograms and can break easily. Experts covered the tusk in plastic in order to control how fast the tusk loses water. If it loses water too quickly, the bone could break apart, Person said.
The experts covered the other bones in plastic and stored them. The bones will remain in plastic for at least several months until the scientists can get the water out safely. The paleontologists will identify what kind of mammoth the tusk came from later, Person said.
The mining company plans to donate the bones to the state for educational purposes.
“Our goal is to give it to the kids,” Straley said.
I’m Gregory Stachel.
Jack Dura reported this story for Voice of America. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
shovel – n. a tool with a long handle that is used for lifting and throwing dirt, sand, or snow
bulldozer – n. a powerful and heavy vehicle that has a large curved piece of metal at its front and that is used for moving dirt and rocks and pushing over trees and other structures
tusk – n. a very long, large tooth that sticks out of the mouth of an animal (such as an elephant, walrus, or boar)
fortunate – adj. having good luck
miraculous – adj. very wonderful or amazing like a miracle
kid – n. a young person
A new North Dakota Department of Public Instruction survey seeks statewide feedback on potential changes to how students are using technology.
Superintendent Levi Bachmeier, who
took over the state’s top education role
in November, said he hopes the survey results will inform policymakers on potential reforms to school-issued device policies across the state. During his first student Cabinet meeting, he said a Mandan freshman told him the devices needed to be a “tool, not a toy.”
“The world that these young people are inheriting requires them to use technology responsibly, but we know that these devices are just as addictive as substances,” Bachmeier said during a press conference Thursday. “And that can be just as true for the school-issued device in their hands as the cellphone they carry around in their pocket.”
North Dakota
banned the use of cellphones
during the school day during the 2025 legislative session, something Bachmeier said has received a near universal
positive response
during its first year in effect.
The cellphone ban triggered a migration of some students from using their cellphones to access YouTube and other social media sites to using their school-issued laptops or tablets, Bachmeier said.
The
survey
includes questions about restrictions on device usage in elementary school, a potential prohibition on taking devices home, built-in make-up days into school scheduling before using virtual instruction and whether the state should require districts to use monitoring software on the devices.
He added that some school districts already have monitoring software that tracks student technology usage, but it is not a uniform policy.
“It’s inconsistent,” Bachmeier said. “Our challenge is how do we find what’s the best that is going on in North Dakota and make that a reality for every student in our state.”
Sen. Michelle Axtman, R-Bismarck, a lawmaker who sponsored multiple education bills during the 2025 legislative session, said any potential reforms to technology policies should enhance instruction, support learning and allow students to develop interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
“This effort today is not about eliminating technology from education,” Axtman said. “It’s about ensuring that technology serves learning rather than competes with it.”
Axtman said any potential changes to school device policies could be proposed during the 2027 legislative session and be implemented for the 2027-28 school year.
“By working towards clear statewide expectations for school-issued device use, we will help schools create learning environments that are more focused, more productive and healthier for students,” she said.
The
survey
can be filled out by any North Dakota student, parent, educator or community member through Aug. 1.
This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com.
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This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.
VALLEY CITY — A truck hauling bees rolled over Thursday, May 28, on westbound Interstate 94 near mile marker 292 near Valley City, releasing millions of bees and closing the right lane of traffic.
The crash was reported at about 4:45 p.m. Thursday, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol. Officials said the westbound right-side lane was closed following the rollover.
Millions of bees were released in the crash, and beekeepers were called to the scene to help recover and contain the insects.
Officials said the cable barrier area marked where large groups of bees had clustered.
Drivers were asked to slow down, follow directions from emergency responders and give crews and the bees plenty of space while work continued at the scene.
WIBAUX, Mont. (KFYR) – Several fire departments from both North Dakota and Montana are fighting a grass fire about 40 miles south of Wibaux in the Pine Unit area.
The editor of the Wibaux Pioneer Gazette tells us no structures are in danger at this time, and the Wibaux, Beach, Golva and Glendive Fire Departments are working to put out the flames.
The public is asked to avoid the area at this time.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
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