North Dakota
North Dakota bus driver steps down after nearly 6 decades on the job
PORTLAND, N.D. — He looks straight ahead through the haze of the early morning sky, country music coming out of the radio speaker loud enough to compete against the constant rattle of his school bus on the gravel road.
Two fifth grade boys sit behind him talking about the Minnesota Twins and Max Kepler while playing a baseball game on their phones. The next seat over, two first grade girls whisper secrets to each other as their feet, both in tiny Crocs, tap along to the music on the radio.
It’s just another day in the life of school bus driver Allan Kville — day 9,858 to be approximately exact. It’s been 57 years since Kville first sat behind the wheel of a school bus. But in just a day, he’s stepping off of it for good, retiring after a lifetime of serving the place he loves.
He calls himself “just a bus driver.” But to the people in his school community of May-Port CG, he’s so much more — someone who has literally watched as three generations have attended school, graduated and started lives of their own. Now, it’s their turn to celebrate the man who got them on the road.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Before you get too far into Allan Kville’s story, it’s important to note he’s of 100% Norwegian descent, so being the center of attention is almost painful to him.
It’s something he clearly wasn’t seeking when he first took a part-time job driving a school bus in 1963. Only four years out of Portland High School himself, he was looking for a way to supplement his farm income. It worked. And so did he, logging hundreds of thousands of miles on his route which circles around the western edge of the May-Port CG district.
Contributed / May-Port CG School District
“The morning route is about 45 miles or so,” he says.
It leaves from his house where he parks the bus, then winds around the country roads picking up mostly elementary and middle school students, 25 of them on this May morning. An hour into the ride, the first few quiet moments of baseball chats and secret-sharing have given way to what Kville calls a “rambunctious” group stepping off the bus for school around 8:30 a.m.
Rambunctious as they are, Kville notes “they’re good kids,” and he says most even thank him for the ride.
Then he goes back home where he farms with his son, Brett. (Allan and Mary have two other children; Bonnie and Shane). Then it’s back to school by 3 p.m. to pick up the kids and take them back home. In all, about a 90-mile day.
Sometimes it’s a grind, but he’s never taken a sick day. He’s been there to pick up and drop off kids in hailstorms and heat waves and through North Dakota blizzards that wreaked havoc on everyone.
“Those are some of the most memorable times,” he says. “A storm this spring was so bad I stopped because I couldn’t tell where I was. Everything was pure white.”
But it helps that Kville knows these roads like the back of his hand. While many would see endless corn and soybean fields, he spots tiny landmarks that let him navigate exactly where he’s going even in blinding snow. Experience has also given him the rural route common sense to know exactly when to pull over and let giant farm machinery pass.
Technical skills aside, what makes Kville special is the lives he’s touched in his nearly non-stop work as a bus driver. (While he started in 1963, he took about three years off in the ‘70s to work on his house. But he says the total is about 57 years on the job.)
“When you think about all of the students over the years he’s transported not just to school, but to games and tournaments, it’s just incredible,” May-Port CG Superintendent Michael Bradner says.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
His smile has been the first to welcome kids to their school day for three, sometimes four, generations. Those first students he drove when Americans first stepped foot on the moon are now grandparents. Their children were on Kville’s bus when the World Trade Center towers fell and their children are his latest riders.
He says the students really haven’t changed that much. Styles have come and gone, but kids are kids. The boys who chatted about Max Kepler today might have been talking about Rod Carew back then, but not on any phone.
“That’s one of the biggest changes. The kids will get on the bus, and even the little ones, second graders will pull out their phones,” he says.
It’s also been fun for Kville to see the students change and grow from year to year.
Even this stoic Norwegian can swell up with emotion as he sees kids he first took on the bus as scared kindergartners walk across the stage in a graduation gown in what seems like a heartbeat later.
“I’m afraid I tend to be a little emotional. The throat fills up or the eyes water a little bit when the kids are talking about their plans for the future,” he says.
Some of his former students showed up for him at a recent celebration open house at the school.
Shirley Bohnsack was on Kville’s very first bus route in the fall of 1963. A scared sixth grader fresh from country school, she was the new kid. She found new friends, and Kville also made it better.
“Allan gave a lot of advice during the years, and I’d like to sit close to the front so I could visit with him on the way home,” she says.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Kville says it’s not easy saying goodbye, but it’s time. He says he might even shed a tear on his official last day driving. But he and Mary want to do more traveling, and his bus schedule made that difficult.
“My wife has been after me for several years. It’s every fall. She’ll say ‘Have you told Mike you’re quitting yet? Have you told Mike you’re quitting yet?’”
When he finally told the superintendent, it didn’t come as a big shock, but Bradner says it’s a big loss.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
“He’s been a phenomenal employee. He’s always been so reliable. He’s just a great example to all employees and bus drivers in particular,” Bradner says.
Kville might have been reluctant to quit because of the sense of responsibility to his hometown, its school and its children. But as he’s seen year after year as the faces of his riders change and grow, so must his life evolve.
He’ll hand over the keys of the bus to another who will, like he did, navigate the kids through their school days (both literally and figuratively).
It’s his turn to travel away from the corn and soybean fields of May-Port CG to locations unknown with his wife. Maybe he’ll even get to kick back and relax in the passenger seat and let Mary drive.
She laughs at that thought.
“No way, he always drives!”
GALLERY: More from Allan Kville’s last week on the job
North Dakota
North Dakota Supreme Court Considers Motion to Reinstate Abortion Ban While Appeal is Pending
The North Dakota Supreme Court hears arguments involving abortion via Zoom on Nov. 21, 2024. (Screenshot Bismarck Tribune via the North Dakota Monitor)
(North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota’s solicitor general called on the North Dakota Supreme Court to reinstate an abortion law struck down by a lower court until a final decision in the case is made, arguing that the ban must remain in effect because the state has a compelling interest in protecting unborn life.
“We say that not to be dramatic, but because the district court seems to have lost sight of that,” Phil Axt told justices Thursday.
The ban, signed into law by Gov. Doug Burgum in April 2023, made abortion illegal in all cases except rape or incest if the mother has been pregnant for less than six weeks, or when the pregnancy poses a serious physical health threat.
South Central Judicial District Court Judge Bruce Romanick vacated the law in September, declaring it unconstitutionally vague and an infringement on medical freedom.
He further wrote that “pregnant women in North Dakota have a fundamental right to choose abortion before viability exists.”
The law went into effect just weeks after the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled the state’s previous abortion ban unconstitutional and found that women have a right to seek an abortion for health reasons.
Axt argued Thursday that Romanick’s judgment striking down the 2023 law conflicts with the Supreme Court’s prior ruling, and that Romanick’s legal analysis contains “glaring errors.” Axt claimed there’s nothing in the state constitution that supports a right to abortion until the point of viability.
“It’s been clear since our territorial days that in order to justify killing another human being, there must be a threat of death or serious bodily injury,” Axt said.
Meetra Mehdizadeh, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said to reverse Romanick’s decision even temporarily would be to disregard many serious problems he identified with the statute.
The ban does not sufficiently explain to doctors when they may legally provide abortions — which chills their ability to provide necessary health care for fear of prosecution, she said.
“The district court correctly held that the ban violates the rights of both physicians and patients, and staying the judgment and allowing the state to continue to enforce an unconstitutional law would be nonsensical,” Mehdizadeh said.
Axt countered that the law is not vague, and that doctors are incorrect to assume they would face criminal penalties for good-faith medical decisions.
If doctors are confused about the ban, said Axt, “the solution is not striking down the law — it is providing some professional education.”
In briefs filed with the court, the state also argued that Romanick’s judgment vacating the law seems to conflict with his original order declaring the law unconstitutional.
While the order identifies a right to abortion until the point of fetal viability, Romanick’s judgment does not include any reference to viability. The state is now confused as to whether it can now enforce any restrictions on abortion, Axt said.
North Dakota still must observe abortion regulations established under other laws not challenged in the lawsuit, Mehdizadeh said.
Axt further claimed that Romanick’s judgment should be put on hold because it addresses a “novel” area of law, and because it takes a supermajority of the Supreme Court to declare a statute unconstitutional.
“Statutes should not be presumed unconstitutional until this court has had an opportunity to weigh in on the matter, and a super majority of this court is of that opinion,” Axt said.
Justice Daniel Crothers said he questioned Axt’s logic.
“Any novel issue where the district court declares something unconstitutional, it’s sounding like you’re suggesting that we should presume that it’s wrong,” Crothers said to Axt.
The appeal is the latest step in a lawsuit brought against the state by a group of reproductive health care doctors and a Moorhead, Minnesota-based abortion provider, Red River Women’s Clinic. The clinic previously operated in Fargo, but moved across the state line after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
The ban, passed with overwhelming support by both chambers of the Republican-dominated Legislature, set penalties of up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000 for any health care professionals found in violation of the law.
The arguments were only on whether Romanick’s decision should be put on hold during the appeal, not on the merits of the case itself, which the Supreme Court will consider separately. The justices took the matter under advisement.
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – The quarterfinal round of the NDHSAA State Volleyball tournament played out in the Fargodome Thursday with four teams from the west side of the state advancing to the semifinals.
In Class A, Century avenged a quarterfinal loss from a year ago to advance to the semifinals. Meanwhile, Legacy upended West Fargo Horace in an upset.
The two teams will face off in the semifinals, which guarantees that a team from the west will make the Class A State Championship game. The Patriots are 2-0 against the Sabers this season.
In Class B, South Prairie-Max and Medina-Pingree-Buchanan both advanced to the semifinals in their first ever state tournament appearance.
The Royals defeated Kenmare-Bowbells 3-0. The Thunder defeated Central McLean 3-0. That guarantees that a team from the west will also make the Class B State Championship game as the Royals and Thunder will face off in the semifinals.
Copyright 2024 KFYR. All rights reserved.
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy who is under investigation by the the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) has resigned from the department.
Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner says he was contacted by the BCI in September saying they were initiating an investigation into Deputy Carson Quam for alleged criminal activity. Jahner says the Sheriff’s Office was unaware of any criminal activity Quam was potentially involved with.
On November 21, the Sheriff’s office announced that Quam is no longer an employee of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.
Jahner says the information was not released in September because it was an active and ongoing investigation from another agency.
“Any time criminal allegations are made against one of my employees, my Office will always collaborate with the investigating and prosecuting agencies to assist throughout the investigation and potential prosecution, working to ensure the integrity of the case. If criminal activity is substantiated, it will not be tolerated. My Office will always strive through rigorous background checks, department training, and accountability to put the best deputies in our communities to protect and serve our citizens,” said Sheriff Jahner.
The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says it is unable to comment further pending investigation and review by the Grand Forks and Cass County States Attorney’s Offices. Valley News Live will continue to follow this situation as it develops.
Copyright 2024 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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