(North Dakota Monitor) -The new North Dakota Military History Museum will be tall enough to suspend a helicopter or drone. It will incorporate thousands of personal service stories from North Dakota veterans and, according to the state’s adjutant general, represents a “Thank you for your service” from every North Dakotan to the state’s military service members.

The Capitol Grounds Planning Commission voted unanimously this week to approve conceptual designs and the basic floor plan. The step allows project designers to move forward with more detailed construction designs in preparation for an expected groundbreaking in 2025 and scheduled completion in 2027.

Brian Berg, principal architect for Zerr Berg Architects, told the commission the designers tried to keep some uniformity with other structures on the Capitol grounds in the designs for the museum’s exterior that will be attached to the North Dakota Heritage Center.

Craig Peterson, a design architect at BWBR, a design firm working with Zerr Berg, said the new museum’s main entrance will be similar to the entrance to the Heritage Center, which utilizes stone, copper and glass.

The new military gallery will be two levels, Peterson said, and large enough to hang large military vehicles or equipment from the ceiling. The gallery will be an enclosed space with little to no natural sunlight penetrating into the gallery in order to better preserve the items on display, he said.

The military gallery will total about 20,000 square feet, he said, and will equal the size of the Heritage Center’s largest gallery, the Inspiration Gallery. The facility also will include an expanded food service area and outdoor courtyard and amphitheater.

Bill Peterson, director of the State Historical Society of North Dakota, said his staff has collected about 2,000 oral history recordings from North Dakota veterans.

“The exhibits company that we are working with has been fully committed to working with us to develop these stories that highlight the experiences and the lives of real North Dakotans in this gallery space to make it very personal,” Bill Peterson said.

The military museum will showcase a history of Native American military units that will include pre- and post-contact with the United States.

“It will be a very complete story with everybody’s histories included,” he said.

Craig Peterson said the museum designs leave space for the possible additions of an agriculture gallery and structure for large object storage.

Aside from when the North Dakota Legislature is in session, there appears to be ample parking around the campus to accommodate the new museum traffic, Peterson added.

State Rep. Bernie Satrom, R-Jamestown, told the designers he had just visited the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio, and said many of the people he talked to there were proud of their facility that was established in 2018.

“After going through that, I thought, ‘You know what? That’s great, but what we’re doing is going to be so much better,’” Satrom said. He also said he hoped to incorporate the stories of North Dakota veterans into the gallery, similar to Ellis Island in New York.

Berg said the design team is putting together a final preliminary project cost that should be ready in coming weeks.

Bill Peterson told the Legislature’s Budget Section in December the final project cost is estimated to be about $55 million to $60 million. This week, Peterson said the goal is for $30 million to be raised in private fundraising through the National Guard Foundation.

About $400,000 in pledges had been secured for the project as of late July, said Brig. Gen. Jackie Huber, deputy adjutant general.

The Historical Society plans to submit a funding request for the project to be considered in the upcoming legislative session, Bill Peterson said.

A bill in the 2023 session authorized a $20 million line of credit from the Bank of North Dakota that must be paid back. The bill directed the Historical Society to request funding in the 2025 session from Legacy Fund earnings.

During the meeting, Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrmann, adjutant general for the North Dakota National Guard, praised the collaborative effort on the museum project.

“When I look at this project, it’s the state of North Dakota saying, ‘Thank you for your service,’” Dohrmann said. “It’s a tangible sign that we appreciate that less than 1% that raises a right hand to defend the Constitution, up to and including the cost of their own life.”

Commissioner Wendy Van Duyne abstained during the vote on the museum designs due to a conflict of interest involving her employer being involved with the design process.

For more information on the North Dakota Military History Museum, visit the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum website.

North Dakota ranks at the bottom of the United States when it comes to snake diversity.

THANK GOD!  I’m not a fan of snakes and never have been.  Growing up in eastern North Dakota, I really only had a couple of encounters with garter snakes and that’s about it.

My lake cabin in northeast South Dakota also only has garter snakes thankfully.  It does freak me out sometimes when I see them swimming in the water, and I wonder if they’re going to try to crawl in?

Summertime is always a time in North Dakota when you can expect snakes to be more active.

I’ve heard about several encounters people have had with Rattlesnakes on the Missouri River, where a snake will be swimming on the surface of the water and will try to take up residency inside the boat.  I’ve read that Game & Fish says you should keep your oar on hand in case of such an encounter.  Apparently, the rattlers get confused and think your boat is an island.  YIKES!

Getting back to North Dakota snakes. 

We only have 8 different species of snakes in North Dakota and only one of them is venomous.   The Prairie Rattlesnake is the most common rattlesnake in the United States.  It’s also the only venomous snake in Canada.

Bullsnakes, a nonvenomous snake in North Dakota are often mistaken for Prairie Rattlesnakes.  Both the Bull and Prairie Rattlesnake have a primary range west of the Missouri River, however, they can and do swim across the river at times.

It’s been well documented that Prairie Rattlesnakes have been expanding their range east of the Missouri River.  You can read all about that here.

Bullsnakes have been reported numerous times near my house south of Lincoln in the Copper Ridge Development. I usually see one or two that get run over on the roads each year.  So, it wouldn’t be unheard of to run into a rattlesnake on the Bismarck side of the river.

Here are the 8 different species of snakes in North Dakota.

Try not to get too creeped out.

8 Snakes You Could Encounter In North Dakota

North Dakota’s Top 11 Lakes According To Our Fans

KEEP READING: Get answers to 51 of the most frequently asked weather questions…

• Former North Dakota lawmaker Ray Holmberg, 80, pleaded guilty to traveling to Europe with the intent to pay for sex with minors.
• Holmberg admitted in court to paying young male masseuses during multiple trips to the Czech Republic.
• He was indicted in 2023 on charges related to illicit sexual activity and child sexual abuse material but agreed to a plea deal.

A powerful former North Dakota lawmaker pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to a charge that he traveled to Europe with the intent to pay for sex with a minor.

Ray Holmberg, 80, of Grand Forks, admitted in court that he had paid young male masseuses, with some of whom he had sexual contact, during multiple visits to the Czech Republic, though he said he did not know for certain how old they were.

Holmberg was indicted in October 2023 for travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity and receipt and attempted receipt of child sexual abuse material. The Republican served more than 45 years in the North Dakota Senate before resigning in 2022.

NORTH DAKOTA POLITICIAN CHARGED WITH TRAVELING TO CZECH REPUBLIC FOR SEX WITH MINOR

Under a plea agreement he signed in June, Holmberg agreed to plead guilty to the former charge, and prosecutors would move to dismiss the latter and recommend a sentence at the low end of the guideline range.

Judge Daniel Hovland accepted his plea and allowed Holmberg to remain released, with restrictions, until a later sentencing hearing. Wearing a dark suit, the disgraced former lawmaker declined to comment after the hearing.

The travel charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervised release.

In the plea agreement, Holmberg acknowledged that he had “repeatedly traveled from Grand Forks, North Dakota to Prague, Czech Republic with a motivating purpose of engaging in commercial sex with adolescent-age individuals under the age of 18 years.”

ND POLITICIAN ACCUSED OF TRAVELING TO PRAGUE FOR SEX WITH MINOR TOOK TAXPAYER-FUNDED TRIPS TO CITY: REPORT

In court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl detailed the allegations against Holmberg, including his emails with others related to his encounters in Prague. Puhl said he made 14 trips to Prague from 2011 to 2021 and frequented a villa that one travel companion described as a brothel that had teenage male masseuses. Another travel companion told investigators that he paid for the nights at the villa because Holmberg did not want his name on the register, Puhl said.

Puhl said the investigation began around 2020-21 as child-exploitation investigators were looking into a landscaper Holmberg knew named Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier. She said investigators interviewed an 18-year-old former employee of Morgan-Derosier’s who said he had sex with Holmberg in exchange for a condo association landscaping contract, and also saw Morgan-Derosier and Holmberg view child sexual abuse material at Holmberg’s house.

In 2022, after initially announcing he wouldn’t seek reelection, Holmberg resigned his Senate seat after The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead reported on dozens of text messages the lawmaker exchanged with Morgan-Derosier, who was in jail at the time. Morgan-Derosier is currently serving a 40-year prison sentence.

The judge asked Holmberg how he got “caught up in this lifestyle,” the age of the youngest person he paid for sex and whether he traveled to other countries for the same purpose.

North Dakota Sen. Ray Holmberg listens during a joint House and Senate Appropriations Committee meeting at the Capitol in Bismarck, North Dakota, on Jan. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Will Kincaid, File)

Holmberg, a retired high school counselor, said, “It was just something — I don’t want to say fell into … that I did,” and “it was after retirement before any of this activity occurred.” He retired in 2002. He said he had been to Prague a few times before 2011, liking opera and castles. He said he generally traveled by himself.

Holmberg said he became aware of the villa after possibly seeing it online, but said he wasn’t sure how old the masseuses were or how many encounters he had with them. Sexual contact occurred with “some of them,” he said. He noted that the Czech Republic has a younger age of consent than the U.S. does and said he didn’t recall traveling to other countries for the same purpose.

“I’ve been in a number of countries and the only one that sticks out is the Czech Republic,” he said.

SCHOOL BOARDS GROUP BACKS OUT OF TEACHER EXCHANGE PROGRAM AMID EX-NORTH DAKOTA LAWMAKER’S CHARGES

Holmberg has been under numerous conditions of release, including travel restrictions, location monitoring and the surrender of his passport.

On Friday, a pretrial services officer filed a report saying Holmberg hadn’t met those conditions, including unapproved Internet access, a visit to an adult novelty store and testing positive once for alcohol. Holmberg was not arrested.

The judge said he will respect an agreement between Holmberg’s attorney and prosecutors for him to remain on release before his sentencing. His attorney, Mark Friese, cited Holmberg’s various health issues and upcoming medical appointments. The judge told Holmberg he is concerned about his compliance.

For many years, Holmberg chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee, which writes budgets. He also chaired the Legislative Management panel, which handles various business between biennial sessions. That job let him approve his own travel.

Records obtained by The Associated Press showed Holmberg took dozens of trips throughout the U.S. and to other countries since 1999. Destinations included cities in more than 30 states, as well as Canada, Puerto Rico and Norway.

Earlier this year, the North Dakota School Boards Association returned about $142,000 to the state and ended its role in the Global Bridges teacher exchange program months after releasing travel records following Holmberg’s indictment that showed he utilized state funds when he traveled to Prague and other European cities in 2011, 2018 and 2019.

It’s unclear whether the misconduct alleged by authorities occurred during any of those trips.

The factors in Holmberg’s case make it arguably the most significant political scandal in North Dakota history, former U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon said.

“You have a very high-profile politician. You have literally the worst allegation you possibly could come up with, the sexual abuse and rape of a child,” he said. “And then you have the idea that tax dollars paid for the plane ticket.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In a statement, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley called Holmberg’s guilty plea “an important milestone in North Dakota’s battle against child sex trafficking. Former State Senator Ray Holmberg has admitted his heinous crimes and now stands convicted of conduct that fuels the domestic and global sexual exploitation of children.”