North Dakota
North Dakota’s first Norwegian immigrant was notable for more than his name
FARGO — Quiz time: This individual is probably going probably the most well-known North Dakotan with a reduplicated identify (a single identify repeated within the full identify). He was additionally North Dakota’s first Norwegian immigrant, the primary North Dakotan to be awarded a homestead and has a county named in his honor.
Who’s he? In case your reply is Nelson E. Nelson, you’re right.
Nelson labored within the workplace of customs collector in Pembina for 33 years, 12 of these as the pinnacle collector. He was elected to the Dakota Territorial Legislature and served as Pembina’s mayor. Previous to coming to Pembina, Nelson fought for the Union Military in a few of the bloodiest battles of the Civil Warfare.
Nelson Edward Nelson was born Dec. 25, 1830, although some sources say 1833, on a farm “about 13 miles from Christiana (Oslo), Norway, to John and Anna Knudson. Nelson’s father died earlier than he was born and his mom handed away when he was solely seven years previous.”
Nelson was raised by his maternal grandparents, Ole and Martha Knuteson, and “attended widespread faculties till age 10.” He then enrolled at a seminary within the municipality of Lier, positioned just some miles southwest of Oslo. After graduating, Nelson taught faculty within the space for a yr.
Whereas Nelson was in Lier, one of many main subjects of debate was in regards to the members of that neighborhood who had immigrated to the U.S. and helped discovered a neighborhood generally known as the Muskego Settlement. This settlement, close to Lake Michigan, which was positioned southwest of Milwaukee, later grew to become the city of Norway, Wis., and “was one of many first Norwegian-American settlements within the U.S.”
In 1849, Nelson immigrated to the U.S. alongside together with his grandparents and, after a short while on the Muskego Settlement, he went to Milwaukee the place he labored odd jobs and attended lessons to study the English language. After spending quick durations of time in Black River Falls, Wis., and St. Louis, Mo., Nelson moved to La Crosse, Wis., to the clerk at a retailer owned by Samuel D. Hastings. Hastings had simply been elected to the state meeting (legislature) and wanted somebody accountable to handle his retailer in his absence.
In 1854, Nelson was employed by Choose Cyrus Okay. Lord to be his clerk on the U.S. Land Workplace in La Crosse. Whereas there, Nelson fell in love with Martha Hansen, who had additionally lately immigrated from Norway. After the 2 obtained married, they relocated to Winona, Minn., in 1855, the place Nelson was to assist open the land workplace. In 1856, he grew to become the clerk of the Land Workplace in Purple Wing, Minn., and when that workplace was eliminated to Henderson, Minn., in Sibley County in 1857, he went with it and continued performing because the clerk till the spring of 1861.
On April 12, 1861, members of the South Carolina militia shelled the Union garrison stationed at Fort Sumter, igniting the beginning of the American Civil Warfare. Two days later Minnesota’s then-governor, Alexander Ramsey, supplied 1,000 males to President Abraham Lincoln, the very first group of volunteers the Union obtained in response to the South’s assault on Fort Sumter.
On April 29, the first Minnesota Infantry Regiment was fashioned beneath the command of Col. Willis A. Gorman. The first Minnesota was thought-about “one of the crucial influential and courageous regiments within the Civil Warfare.”
Contributed / Kenneth C. Zirkel / CC BY-SA 3.0, through Wikimedia Commons
On Could 17, Nelson enlisted within the Minnesota regiment, regardless that he was married with 5 younger youngsters. He was assigned to Firm A, commanded by Capt. Alexander Wilkin, and after intensive coaching at Fort Snelling, Nelson “boarded a river boat to go South to a rail line in order that he might head east.” Nelson’s Minnesota regiment skilled its first motion on July 21 within the First Battle of Bull Run, close to Manassas, Va. “The first Minnesota was one of many final regiments to go away the battlefield and suffered among the many highest casualties (20%) of any northern regiment.”
Throughout the subsequent yr, the first Minnesota noticed little motion aside from the disastrous Battle of Ball’s Bluff on Oct. 21 in Loudoun County, Va. In the summertime of 1862, between June 1 and July 1, the first Minnesota was concerned in 4 pitched battles within the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. On June 1 they fought within the Battle of Seven Pines; on June 29, the Battle of Savage’s Station; on June 30, the Battle of Glendale; and on July 1, the Battle of Malvern Hill.
These clashes set the stage for a few of the bloodiest battles of the Civil Warfare. From Aug. 28-30, the Second Battle of Bull Run was fought, which was on a a lot bigger scale than the First Battle of Bull Run. Then, on Sept. 17, the bloody battle of Antietam passed off close to Sharpsburg, Md.
The first Minnesota, beneath the command of Col. Alfred Sully, was thrust into fight alongside the fifteenth Massachusetts, commanded by Brig. Gen. Willis Gorman. Sure, the identical one that had commanded the first Minnesota on the First Battle of Bull Run.
Throughout the battle, the Accomplice forces made “an unseen and sudden try and flank Gorman,” however the Minnesota forces “fired with a lot coolness and accuracy” that they pushed the Confederates again, rescuing Gorman’s troopers. This battle “stays the bloodiest day in American historical past, with a mixed tally of twenty-two,717 useless, wounded, or lacking.” The casualty stage of the first Minnesota was 141 males, 28% of their troopers, however the battle was thought-about “a significant turning level within the Union’s favor.”
Following the 2 Battles of Fredericksburg in Virginia, on Dec. 11-15 and n Could 3, 1863, each of which the first Minnesota participated in, Accomplice Gen. Robert E. Lee made a daring transfer to try to destroy the guts of the Union military at Gettysburg, Pa., in early July. Col. William J. Colvill, who had served within the 1st Minnesota regiment ever because the begin of the warfare, was now the commander.
On July 2, the second day of the battle, the Union military was in retreat from a Accomplice assault, and the first Minnesota was “the one out there organized troops” that would decelerate the attackers lengthy sufficient to permit the Union forces “time to assemble and muster themselves right into a defensible place.” “All 262 males of the first Minnesota charged into the a lot bigger Accomplice brigade,’ permitting the fleeing Union troopers to regroup. Historians have written, “with out the first Minnesota’s bravery, sacrifice, and fast motion, the Union would have misplaced the complete Battle of Gettysburg.” A memorial to the first Minnesota now stands on the battlegrounds in Gettysburg.
Nelson suffered a incapacity from the battle and was discharged in November. He returned to his residence in Henderson and have become energetic in public affairs. He served as deputy county auditor of Sibley County, then county choose of probate for 2 phrases, and county register of deeds for 2 phrases. In 1869, Minnesota legislator John C. Stoever appointed Nelson the deputy collector of customs at Pembina. Why Minnesota nonetheless held any governmental authority in 1869, I have no idea.
We’ll conclude the article about Nelson E. Nelson subsequent week.
FARGO — Slowly, the North Dakota Horse Park in Fargo is growing its live horse racing meet and for the first time in nearly a decade, the organization that runs the track is not scrambling to make the tax payment that once loomed over it.
The Fargo track is operated by Horse Race North Dakota, a nonprofit organization that contributed when the track was built in 2003.
At a meeting of Horse Race North Dakota on Friday, Dec. 20. Cindy Slaughter, accountant and co-owner of TaxLady, which contracts with Horse Race North Dakota, said the track’s overall income is up about $93,000 from this time last year.
A fourth weekend of racing cost the track about $148,000 this year. However, that cost can be offset in the future by factors such as attendance and the amount bet on the races.
“There’s a couple of things we could do differently this year to reduce that amount,” North Dakota Horse Park General Manager Hugh Alan Drexler said.
Alyssa Goelzer/The Forum
While Drexler and HRND will look to decrease costs, they will not try to do that at the expense of the horsemen, as they hope to keep purses for each race flat or increase them in 2025.
“I don’t want to cut the purses at all, that would be the last thing we would cut,” HRND President Jay Aslop said.
“That is what our goal is, to promote racing and to increase race dates,” Drexler said. “The day the finances don’t look the same, that is when we need to make a change.”
Live racing receives additional funds from the North Dakota Racing Commission. The commission will meet in February to determine the amount of funds that will be granted to the Fargo track as well as Chippewa Downs, the second horse racing track in North Dakota near Belcourt.
Overcoming financial struggles
Heavy special assessments loomed over the North Dakota Horse Park for several years after it opened.
In 2003, the city of Fargo spent $1.5 million to extend sewer, water and other infrastructure to the track. The city planned to recoup the costs with special assessments, a kind of property tax assessed to benefiting properties, but the city agreed to suspend the assessments for five years in hopes that the race track would stimulate the development of commercial and residential properties. This would spread the assessments over more property owners and create a smaller bill for the track, which in 2015 was about $1.9 million.
The track is now in repayment of its taxes, making annual payments to the city of Fargo, and accountants are confident a fourth weekend of racing in 2025 will not adversely affect the track.
“I don’t have any concerns about running a fourth weekend this year,” Slaughter said.
Horse racing will be held at the Fargo track in 2025 over four weekends, likely July 12 through Aug. 3, track officials said.
“(It will be) some combination of either Friday, Saturday or Saturday, Sunday depending on what other events are going on in the area,” said Drexler.
In 2024, attendance at the Fargo track was up overall with about 8,358 in attendance over the eight race days, up from about 8,127, in 2023.
The Fargo track held horse races on Saturday and Sunday afternoons for four consecutive weekends, starting Saturday, July 13. The weekend of July 27-28, races were held in the evening so as to not compete with the Fargo AirSho. The horse park competed for attendance each weekend as the Fargo Street Fair, Red River Valley Fair and the Renaissance Fair overlapped the schedule. The horse park’s closing weekend coincided with WeFest.
The track hosted only three weekends of racing in 2022 and 2023, as it was constricted to operating expenses and the amount of money granted for a live season by the North Dakota Racing Commission. The Fargo track hosted a four-week meet in 2021 but held only two weekends in 2020.
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Bismarck High Wrestlers win a lot of titles.
“We’re striving for a state championship, that’s where the bar is set,” said Bismarck High Wrestling head coach Mark Lardy.
Three of said titles belong to the top-ranked 133-pound wrestler in North Dakota, Ben DeForest.
Now, Ben’s going for number four.
“It would mean everything to me,” said Ben DeForest. “There have been some great wrestlers from BHS that have been four-timers it would just mean a lot for me to add my name to that list.”
”He led a lot by example in the past,” said Lardy. “Now he leads not only by example but his voice in the room is heard.“
Even when his BHS days are over, Ben has another chapter to write in his story: He’s committed to Wrestle at UMary.
“We pride ourselves on trying to keep and retain as many local North Dakota kids here at U-Mary and we’re just very thankful that Ben chose to come here and wrestle for us as well,” said U-Mary Wrestling head coach Adam Aho.
The state champ has a bigger goal in mind.
“His goal is way beyond what our room is going to give him. This is just a stepping stone,” said Lardy.
Ben wants a national championship.
“We need every guy to have that type of mentality,” said Aho. “Without it, we will never be relevant on the national scene.”
”Once you get your hand raised you realize, all those morning practices you didn’t want to go to and all those lifts that you were like, uh I don’t know, it’s worth it. It’s worth it,” said DeForest.
Copyright 2024 KFYR. All rights reserved.
My Heartfelt Christmas Wish To You North Dakota.
Not a “catchy-clicky” title and I doubt many of my listeners or readers will probably even read this article.
However, I wanted to share something with you that is on my heart. This is so not me, as I’m more the guy who writes about “North Dakota’s 10 most quirky this and that”.
It’s not that I’m not a sensitive guy, because when I was growing up, I was probably too sensitive. I would avoid sad movies, songs, or anything that would spark too much of an emotion.
Yes, you could say my heart has become a bit jaded and cold over the years. It’s not something I’m proud of but more of a defense mechanism.
2024 has probably been one of the most challenging years for my family.
From losing loved ones to family issues to health issues to very challenging financial times, it’s been one of those years where you just can’t catch a break. I’m sure many of you can relate.
As we were attending a Christmas Eve candlelight service last night a young child caught my eye.
She was a cute little toddler who was starting to act up. Something I remember oh so well at church with my little now 20-year-old son.
As her father took her outside the sanctuary to attend to her, I couldn’t help but notice this child’s extremely unfair situation. She had a disability at a year or so old, that none of us could ever imagine. It broke my heart.
This poor child and her family no doubt have a long road ahead of them. As we lit our candles later in the service, I caught the wonder in her eyes, and it couldn’t help but melt my cold heart at the time.
She was perfect and I found myself saying a prayer for this little blonde girl with curly locks and her family.
Her situation also reminded me that I should be thankful for what I have and not what I don’t this Christmas. This is my Christmas wish for you North Dakota, that you will realize the same thing.
Be thankful for who you have around the tree today, not what’s under it.
Merry Christmas to all my listeners and readers. I hope at least a few of you get to read this and it will touch you the same way this little girl touched me on Christmas Eve.
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Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
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