Welcome back everyone to Three Things We Learned for the 2024 season. Let’s take a look at the win over North Dakota this past weekend in the season opener.

The Passing Game is as Good as Advertised

The Cyclones started the game last week with a bang, scoring a touchdown in less than a minute with huge catches by Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, which signaled an explosive start to the career of Taylor Mouser as the offensive coordinator.

We also saw what the passing game can do on long drives, as the Cyclones were able to dink and dunk their way down the field, largely getting whatever they wanted in the passing game. I think that same formula could be a major key to success for Iowa State against Iowa’s very strong defense.

I also think the Cyclones may have found their third wide receiver in Eli Green, which could prove to be a big boost going forward. Given that defenses will need to focus a ton of their attention on Noel and Higgins, having Eli Green as another option will make it near impossible to cover all of Iowa State’s passing options on a well-designed route pattern. Green plays extremely similarly to Noel, so he’s a natural fit in the offense.

Linebacker is Thin

Most Cyclone fans went into the season largely agreeing that linebacker was probably the weakest position group on the defense, and that turned out to be true on Saturday. What we didn’t know was how shaky the situation actually is, as we found out on game day that Will McLaughlin is out for an extended period of time, and Caleb Bacon went down with a significant injury in the first quarter.

Right now Kooper Ebel, Jack Sadowsky, Zach Lovett, and Cael Brezina look to likely be your top four linebackers, with Jacob Ellis and John Klosterman also getting snaps. The loss of Bacon caused a lot of issues and was likely a driving factor in the twelve-minute-long possession North Dakota was able to sustain immediately following the injury.

This week, Jon Heacock and the rest of the defensive staff will be busy getting that linebacker group stabilized and figuring out a plan to deal with Iowa’s running game and tight end Luke Lachey.

Young Talent is Abundant

Even though Iowa State is returning nineteen of twenty-two starters, there is still a significant number of young players expected to get significant snaps this season, and we saw a few of them in action Saturday.

I think Kooper Ebel and Jontez Williams both had their moments of youth, but otherwise had strong showings against North Dakota that illustrate why we’ve heard so much about them in the offseason and through camp. Ebel looked the part of blossoming into another strong player in Iowa State’s lineage of great linebackers, and Jontez Williams nearly cut off a pass to the flat and took it to the house.

Williams did admit in his postgame interview that he was guilty of getting ahead of himself and not watching the ball in before running to the endzone, which shows maturity on his part.

BISMARCK — Former North Dakota Deputy Attorney General Troy Seibel has died.

North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley confirmed the 48-year-old’s death Tuesday afternoon but additional information has not yet been released.

“I was informed this morning that Mr. Seibel passed away. He and I have not communicated since he departed this office in early 2022,” Wrigley said in a statement. “No additional information has been made available to me at this time. My prayers are with Troy’s family and loved ones.”

Seibel, a Mandan resident, served as the North Dakota labor commissioner under Gov. Jack Dalrymple. Former Attorney General

Wayne Stenehjem

appointed Seibel as his chief deputy in December 2016.

Stenehjem

died of cardiac arrest on Jan. 28, 2022,

according to his family. Wrigley was then appointed to succeed Stenehjem in February 2022. Seibel resigned a month later. Wrigley then

replaced Seibel with former Legislative Council attorney Claire Ness.

Days after Stenjehem’s death, his spokeswoman, Liz Brocker, deleted Stenehjem’s email account, an act that Seibel signed off on, according to reports, prompting a criminal investigation into the matter. Seibel’s emails were also deleted about a month after he resigned from the post.

In March 2024, Wrigley announced there would not be any

charges in connection with Stenjehem’s deleted emails.

However, Seibel began to face personal legal issues in late 2022 following his resignation from public office.

Seibel was arrested in November 2022 after a North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper responded to a rollover crash at McKenzie Drive and the West Bismarck Expressway in Mandan. The trooper said he saw Seibel going 125 mph in a 55 mph zone before hitting a snowbank, according to a declaration of probable cause.

Seibel was then charged with driving under the influence of alcohol at more than twice the legal limit. At that time,

Seibel also faced charges stemming from a 2023 incident in Mandan

in which police responded to a hotel pool on Feb. 18 after receiving reports that a man was “making threatening, rude and sexual comments towards children,” according to court documents. A Morton County judge issued a warrant for Seibel’s arrest on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.

In May 2023, Seibel pleaded guilty in Morton County District Court to the DUI charge. Prosecutors then agreed to stop pursuing a disorderly conduct charge filed in connection to the February disturbance. Prosecutors said that

as long as Seibel did not violate any laws and stayed away from the Mandan hotel for 360 days, the case would be dismissed and sealed,

but prosecution could resume if Seibel broke the conditions of the agreement. The charges no longer appear in the North Dakota court record system.

For the DUI, Seibel was sentenced to 360 days of unsupervised probation and ordered to undergo a chemical dependency evaluation and complete any recommended treatment for the DUI charge. North Dakota Department of Transportation records noted Seibel’s license was suspended at the time.

However, according to court records, Seibel never completed the chemical dependency evaluation that was ordered as part of his probation terms. A probation revocation hearing was scheduled for July 9, 2024, in Morton County but Seibel did not appear in court and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

Wendy Reuer covers all things West Fargo for The Forum.

GRAND FORKS COUNTY — The North Dakota Highway Patrol and Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint on Saturday, Sept. 7, at a predetermined but undisclosed location somewhere in Grand Forks County.

In conjunction with the checkpoint, saturation patrols will be done Friday, Sept. 6, and Saturday, Sept. 7, according to an NDHP press release.

Operations such as these are carried out with the goal of increasing public safety by targeting impaired drivers and reducing the number of alcohol-related crashes.

From the beginning of the year up until Aug. 22, there were 57 fatalities across 53 crashes on North Dakota roadways. Nearly 16% of the crashes involved alcohol, the release said.

“Impaired driving is a serious problem that puts all roadway users at risk,” NDHP Northeast Regional Sgt. Matthew Johnson said. “Our goal is to ensure that everyone can safely come together and enjoy community events such as weekend college football games. We will plan these enforcement events to encourage responsible choices and deter impaired driving.”

The NDHP reminds everyone to share the road; ensure all vehicle occupants are wearing a seat belt; drive without distractions; and always drive sober.

Results from the planned enforcement events will be released the week after the events occur.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.