DICKINSON — The West River Ice Center will be a busy venue this weekend as The Pit Strength and Fitness hosts a pair of events. The gym will collaborate with Below Zero Wrestling on March 27 for a wrestling show, followed by a powerlifting competition on March 28.

The powerlifting event will feature athletes from across the country competing in three disciplines: squat, bench press and deadlift. Competitors’ scores will be combined, with the highest total earning a cash prize.

Scholarships will also be awarded to top powerlifting qualifiers who attend Dickinson State University. Eligible participants include high school seniors and older.

Saturday’s “King of the North” event will also include vendors, bounce houses and other activities, with festivities beginning at 8 a.m. and running all day.

David and Katie Stensland, who have directed this event and similar ones in years past, will once again lead the competition. This marks their fifth year directing the event.

“We do the Arnold in Columbus, Ohio, in March, and we also host regional events in North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota,” director David Stensland said. “This is our ‘King of the North’ event that we hold every spring in Dickinson. For the size of Dickinson, it’s one that usually sells out and does pretty well.”

A major milestone for this year’s competition is its designation as an “Arnold qualifier” event. That status allows placers of each weight class to qualify for the following year’s Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, one of the most prestigious bodybuilding competitions in the country.

After several years of hosting meets, the Stenslands have built enough credibility to earn the Arnold qualifier designation.

“Dave and Katie do a really great job with their meets – they have the lights, stages, and all kinds of bells and whistles,” The Pit owner Jess Neel said. “Last year went so well, and between the reputation of the facility and Dave and Katie within the sport, it just made sense. That’s how we were able to get the Arnold qualifier.”

In addition to the powerlifting competition, the West River Ice Center and The Pit will host Below Zero Wrestling on Friday. This event will feature WWF-style wrestling entertainment, with several match-ups between professional wrestlers. This marks the third year the promotion has returned to the venue. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the event will start at 7.

The family-friendly event will feature both floor and ringside seating, along with food and drinks. A meet-and-greet with wrestlers will follow the show. Tickets can be purchased online, at The Pit or at the door.

More information as well as tickets are

available here.

Carter is a sports reporter for the Dickinson Press. Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2025 with a journalism degree.

Strange Encounters

District Game Warden Riley Gerding

One day during the deer hunting season I was patrolling dirt roads in the middle of nowhere, keeping an eye out for potential hunting violations. At this time of year, it’s pretty common to see trucks parked along section lines or tucked along field approaches as hunters head out on foot. Most of the time it’s nothing unusual, but occasionally something catches your attention.

As I drove down a gravel road, I noticed a pickup sitting in the middle of a field near a slough. That immediately stood out to me. There was one individual outside the vehicle wearing high-visibility orange, which at least told me he was aware of the hunting season.

I stopped for a moment and watched from a distance. At first, I figured he had shot a deer and was tracking it into the slough, which wouldn’t be uncommon as hunters sometimes have to follow a trail into thick cover to find their deer.

After a few minutes, though, I noticed he kept moving around in one specific area. From where I was sitting, it looked like he might be bent over working on something. My next thought was that maybe he had already recovered the deer and was gutting it out in the field.

What really caught my attention was that the back door of his pickup was open. Then, in one quick motion, I saw him hurry over and place something in the back seat. That’s when it started to look a little suspicious.

It wasn’t clear what he had just put in the vehicle, but the way he moved made me curious enough to go take a closer look.

When I pulled alongside his vehicle, I rolled down my window and introduced myself, and asked what he was doing out there.

He casually replied, “Getting my bird.”

For a second, I assumed he meant he had been pheasant hunting. That would have made sense for the area, and sometimes hunters will combine deer hunting with a little bird hunting if the opportunity comes up.

“What do you mean, your bird?”

He turned and pointed to the back seat of his pickup and said again, “I was getting my bird.”

At first, all I could see was a dark shape sitting there. For a moment, I thought maybe it was a big black dog.

Then it shifted a little. That’s when I realized it definitely wasn’t a dog. It was an emu.

The man went on to explain that the emu had gotten out of its pen earlier and had wandered off. He told me he had three emus at home that he kept as pets, and this one had decided to go exploring.

So, instead of a hunting violation or a deer being processed in the field, what I had actually come across was a man chasing down his runaway emu during the middle of deer season.

As a game warden, you never know what you’re going to run into while out on patrol. Some days it’s chasing poachers, and other days it’s watching someone round up a wandering emu in the middle of a field.

It’s just another reminder that no two days in this line of work are ever quite the same.

The 2026 North Dakota high school boys basketball season has come to an end, and champions have been crowned across each classification.

After months of competition, the teams listed below rose above the field to capture state titles in their respective divisions.

High School On SI has the completed brackets along with the champions, runner-ups, and third place for every classification.