North Dakota
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum pardons Grace the turkey as Thanksgiving approaches
BISMARCK — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum granted clemency Monday, Nov. 25, to a fair-feathered hen named Grace, allegedly saving the turkey from what could’ve been a fateful demise come Thursday.
Grace flocked to the state Capitol in Bismarck from Fullerton to be a part of the annual, Thanksgiving-spirited event hosted by the North Dakota Turkey Federation.
She was chosen for the gig after successfully dodging the truck that took her compatriots to “their next stop,” where they will be staged to join people for Thanksgiving in a “different way,” according to Burgum.
President George W. Bush was the first president to officially pardon a turkey, according to
White House Archives,
but Burgum said the tradition has been a part of North Dakota’s culture since the 1970s when Gov. Art Link was in office.
North Dakota produces around
1 million turkeys
every year. That’s 39 million fewer than Minnesota —
the national leader
in turkey production.
The Turkey Federation will donate 32 frozen turkeys, split evenly between the Heaven’s Helpers Soup Cafe and the Abused Adult Resource Center in Bismarck.
Michelle Erickson,
Abused Adults Resource Center
executive director, said the center is about 2,000 shelter bed nights ahead of where the center was last year — a measure that refers to a single night a person spends sleeping in a bed provided by a shelter.
“The staff is overwhelmed, to say the least,” Erickson said. “Donations like this continually help us out and help our clients.”
Heaven Helpers Soup Cafe
founder and Director Mike Meyer said he serves upwards of 350 people daily— approximately a quarter of whom he says are experiencing homelessness.
“Our numbers have really been up as costs go up,” he said.
Those interested in donating or volunteering with either of the nonprofit organizations can find more information at
soupcafe.org
or
www.abusedadultresourcecenter.com/get-involved.
North Dakota
North Dakota voters to decide single-subject requirement for future constitutional amendments on June 9
BRECKENRIDGE — Coaches, teammates, friends and family gathered in the south parking lot of Breckenridge High School for another state tournament sendoff.
Corbin Abner Lee / Wahpeton Daily News
This year, it was Troy Berndt taking the ceremonial convertible ride. He is headed to St. Michael-Albertville High School for the Minnesota Class A State Track and Field Meet on June 4-6.
Corbin Abner Lee / Wahpeton Daily News
He will be running in the third heat of the 400-meter prelims, scheduled for 4:52 p.m. June 4. There are seven athletes in each heat, 21 total, and nine will advance to the finals at 6:20 p.m. June 5.
The top two finishers in each heat advance, along with the next three best times. Berndt’s personal best time of 50.67 has him seeded 13th, but the 10th-, 11th- and 12th-seeded runners are less than five hundredths of a second ahead of him. The eighth- and ninth-seeded runners are also close, at 50.33 and 50.39, respectively.
Berndt dropped nearly seven-tenths of a second from his previous personal best at the Section 6A West Subsection Meet on May 21, running 51.35, and shaved another 0.68 seconds off at the Section 6A Championships on May 28 with a time of 50.67. If he keeps lowering his time, he will have a shot at reaching the podium against the best runners in Class A.
Corbin Abner Lee / Wahpeton Daily News
Results and photos will be available online immediately following the race June 4 and in the June 10 print edition of the Wahpeton Daily News.
Corbin Lee is a sports reporter for the Wahpeton Daily News and Richland County News-Monitor. Corbin can be reached by calling (701) 291-3551 or emailing corbin.lee@wahpetondailynews.com.
On this day in 1971, Rugby repeated as North Dakota’s high school sand greens golf champion behind medalist Dwight Stempson’s winning performance.
Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:
Rugby Repeats As Sand Greens Golf Champion
RUGBY, N. D. — Rugby repeated as North Dakota high school sand greens golf champion here Wednesday, posting a four-man total of 293 strokes for 18 holes.
Led by medalist Dwight Stempson’s medalist 36-35 — 71, the Panthers were eight strokes ahead of runnerup Stanley, which had a 301. Following were Garrison 311, Beulah 315, Leeds 322, Ashley 323, Bottineau 328, Pembina 329, Tioga 332, Parshall 341 and Hettinger 342.
Stempson and teammate Bruce Carlson each had one-under par 71s, but Carlson was unable to be at the regional and wasn’t qualified for individual honors.
Rounding out the Rugby totals were Delwin Wilson 40-37 — 77 and Dennett Hutchinson 35-39 — 74. Gary Kirchoffner, 41-39 — 80, was Rugby’s fifth entrant with the best four-of-five scores counted.
Runnerup Stanley was led by Steve Springan’s 34-38 — 72 and Joe Springan’s 36-38 — 74. Their two-man total of 146 strokes was good enough for the doubles title. Two strokes back with a 148 was the duo of Stempson and Wilson. Stan Saathoff and Mike Stepina of Garrison each had 76s for a 152 total and the Ashley combo of Steve Maier (76) and Dave Kretschmar (78) was fourth with a 154.
Stempson was the driving contest winner with a distance of 280 yards. Chris Knutson of Garrison headed the pitch and putt competition.
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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