North Dakota
North Dakota man grows gargantuan gourd, sets sights on pumpkin world record
HUNTER, N.D. — A Minnesota man may hold the world record for growing the largest pumpkin, but an ambitious North Dakota pumpkin farmer is hoping to give him some competition.
Tim Iwen, who has grown and sold pumpkins for 29 years near Hunter, successfully harvested his first giant pumpkin. At 1,250 pounds, the gargantuan gourd is proudly displayed next to a tree at Tim’s U-Pick Pumpkin Patch.
“Maybe some year I can catch up to those Minnesota guys,” Iwen said.
Tim Iwen and his brother, Dan Iwen, are partners in producing and selling pumpkins. Their large patch has 20,000-plus gourds, while the small one has roughly 4,000, Tim Iwen said.
Starting in mid-September, families come to the patch about 3 miles south of Hunter on Highway 18 to pick from an array of pumpkins, squash and gourds. The brothers also sell pumpkins commercially to Hornbacher’s stores in the Fargo-Moorhead area.
Hunter is about 35 miles northwest of Fargo.
Tim Iwen focuses on growing the fruit — yes, squash, gourds and pumpkins are fruit — while Dan Iwen handles commercial deliveries to Hornbacher’s.
This year, Tim Iwen started growing his giant pumpkin in April. It started in a greenhouse, then he moved it outside in May, he said.
David Samson / The Forum
He realized about three-fourths of the way through the growing season just how large the pumpkin would be, he said. At its peak, the light orange could-be jack-o’-lantern grew 15 pounds per day, he said.
“That’s nothing to sneeze at,” he said.
On Friday, the pumpkin stopped growing, Tim Iwen said. He cut it and put it on display.
The key is finding seeds that can become super-sized pumpkins, Tim Iwen said. He bought a seed for $80, he said, adding it came from a pumpkin that weighed 2,200 pounds.
“If you do anything else, you’re not going to get any size whatsoever,” he said.
David Samson / The Forum
The Hunter pumpkin isn’t quite in the running for the champion title.
Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota,
nabbed the Guinness World Record last year when he grew a pumpkin that weighed 2,749 pounds.
That broke the previous record of 2,702 pounds held by Stefano Cutrupi from Italy.
Tim Iwen acknowledged he has a long way to go before he grows a pumpkin over 2,700 pounds, but he wants to keep trying.
“I’m behind some of those guys in Minnesota,” he said. “We do live in an area conducive to growing large pumpkins.”
David Samson / The Forum
This was his second year trying to grow a giant pumpkin. Last year, the bottom of his pumpkin cracked and fell out.
There are cracks on his pumpkin this year, but it is solid.
“I thought it was a little ugly, but it gives it character,” he said.
He had another pumpkin that weighed 1,100 pounds, but he sold it.
Tim Iwen said he is unsure what he’ll do with the giant gourd. For now, it sits on a pallet waiting for customers to admire it.
David Samson / The Forum
What: Tim’s U-Pick Pumpkin Patch
When: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
Where: 1750 155th Ave. SE, Hunter, N.D.
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Here’s something North Dakotans can take pride in: North Dakota has the third-highest average IQ in the nation, tying with Vermont at 103.8. That is 3.5 points above the national average.
The state with the highest average is Massachusetts at 104.3 and the state with the lowest average is Mississippi at 94.2.
Ninety-four percent of North Dakotans graduate high school, making it the state with the sixth-highest graduation rate in the nation.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
WEST FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Authorities have identified the man killed and the driver involved in a fatal overnight crash in West Fargo.
Jose Rodriguez, 38, of West Fargo, died after being struck by a vehicle early Wednesday morning, according to the North Dakota State Patrol.
The driver, Carly Vizenor, 25, of West Fargo, was not injured. Charges and restraint use remain under investigation.
The crash happened at approximately 2:46 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of 32nd Avenue South and 9th Street West.
According to the State Patrol, a 2016 Ford Fusion was traveling westbound on 32nd Avenue South when it struck Rodriguez, who was crossing the street approximately 20 to 30 yards east of the 9th Street intersection.
The driver left the scene and returned approximately 10 minutes later.
Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene.
The North Dakota State Patrol, West Fargo Police Department, and West Fargo Fire Department all responded to the crash.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
Getty
NDSU could make the CFP in 2026.
Winning has been the standard at North Dakota State for decades, and one college football analyst expects a similar result in the FBS right away.
Brett McMurphy of On3 believes NDSU will run the table 12-0 with a Mountain West Conference championship and make the College Football Playoff. McMurphy projects the Bison to face Oregon in the CFP, the Fargo Forum’s Jeff Kolpack reported.
That would mean the Bison would go on the road to Eugene against a perennial FBS contender, which didn’t go well for the last Group of Six team to play the Ducks. Oregon steamrolled James Madison 51-34 in last season’s CFP before the Ducks took down Texas Tech and lost to eventual national champion Indiana.
It’s not impossible for the Bison to get that far based on Sagarin Ratings and the program’s history of success against FBS teams. The Bison would need to maximize what they can control and to have a few things fall their way.
That said, all of this would be contingent upon the Bison receiving clearance for postseason competition from the NCAA on Thursday. Transitioning teams normally face a two-year postseason ban, and NDSU had been in a similar situation before, with a four-year postseason ban during the move from Division II to the FCS in 2004.
NDSU Looking to Pass JMU Again
In 2016, the JMU interrupted NDSU’s five-year FCS championship run with a playoff upset at the Fargodome.
NDSU then beat JMU in the 2017 season championship to win a sixth title in seven years. The Bison beat JMU again in the FCS championship game again for the 2019 season before the Dukes joined the FBS in 2022.
JMU’s success at the FBS level has resulted in two bowl game appearances and Sun Belt Conference title. Amid the conference crown, the Dukes slipped into the CFP as the ACC went topsy-turvy when a 5-5 Duke Blue Devils team at the time upset Virginia.
JMU made the CFP, and Miami represented the ACC while Notre Dame sat at home despite a 10-2 record and a close early-season loss to the national runner-up Hurricanes. NDSU, meanwhile, had a 12-0 regular season in the FCS and got stunned in the FCS playoffs by Illinois State, the second team ever to win a playoff game in Fargo.
The Bison looked like a program retooling to get back up from a postseason disappointment in January, but February brought the news of NDSU’s long-anticipated move up to the FBS. The Mountain West Conference invited the Bison amid the conference’s restructuring with five teams leaving for the Pac-12.
That made the former FCS titan attractive to the Mountain West, which notably lost former CFP entrant Boise State. Whether or not NDSU can become the Mountain West’s new Boise State or pass JMU as a premiere Group of Six team remains unknown.
Common Opponents Key For Bison
The Bison have the odds stacked against them in 2026 to make the CFP, but it’s not impossible.
NDSU doesn’t have a Power Four opponent, but the Bison can make up for that by margin of victory, especially with any Mountain West contenders that have Power Four opponents during the season.
New Mexico has the biggest Power Four opponent among Mountain West teams with Oklahoma, and UTEP faces Oklahoma and Michigan. San Jose State faces USC, another team with CFP hopes.
NDSU beating New Mexico, UTEP and San Jose State handily will especially help in making a run for the playoff.
Matthew Davis covers the NFL, WNBA and college sports for Heavy.com. As a contributing writer to the StarTribune, he has also covered Minnesota prep sports since 2016. More about Matthew Davis
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