North Dakota is a sparsely populated state; the 70,000-square-mile region claims fewer than 800,000 residents, yet some of its secluded towns are so extraordinary travelers often wonder why there aren’t more people here! With a giant amphitheater, an Indigenous village, peace gardens and more, North Dakota offers up some of the most breathtaking landscapes and attractions. From quaint Medora to the historic Fort Ransom, the following ND communities are liable to take your breath away.

Medora

Home to about 120 people, Medora attracts thousands of tourists via Theodore Roosevelt National Park within the Little Missouri National Grassland. This million-acre expanse of badlands, grasslands, and petrified woods engulfs the community and fuels its economy, although Medora has several of its own spectacular attractions. These include the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame, Chateau de Mores State Historic Site, Rushmore Mountain Taffy Shop, and Pitchfork Steak Fondue. The last of those is a “badlands barbecue” consisting of New York strip steaks impaled on pitchforks and dunked in barrels of oil. But the most breathtaking attraction in Medora (aside from the literally breathtaking terrain of Theodore Roosevelt National Park) is the Medora Musical, a lovely musical revue at the open-air, 2,800-plus-seat Burning Hills Amphitheater. It is called “The Greatest Show in the West” and we can understand why.

Stanton

Stanton straddles a tributary of the Missouri River called the Knife River, which is famous for the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site. Sitting a half-mile north of town, it is a preserve of Hidatsa tribal grounds, complete with remnants of centuries-old villages enmeshed in beautiful riverside scenery. The highlight is a reconstructed 40-foot earth lodge with a seating area, cache pit, fire pit, corral, shrine, and platform beds. From the Indian Villages, tourists can recharge with food and drink at The River Run, Inc. or a nap at the Sakakawea Park Campground before heading north to Lake Sakakawea and its namesake park or east to Washburn and its heritage haunts. The Fort Clark State Historic Site, Fort Mandan State Historic Site, and Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center surround Stanton’s slightly larger neighbor.

Jamestown

Jamestown is the ninth-largest community in North Dakota despite equating to roughly 15,000 people! A non-misleading Jamestown superlative is that it has the World’s Largest Buffalo Monument, which is 26 feet tall, 46 feet long, and weighs 60 tons. If your jaw will not drop for a concrete bison, perhaps it will for real bison – specifically, white bison. The North American Bison Discovery Center has a bison herd and museum, which displays the taxidermized body of Mahpiya Ska (AKA White Cloud), an extremely rare albino that headlined the herd for almost two decades. White Cloud had a white calf named Dakota Miracle, who also passed away. Another white bison, Dakota Legend, is presumably still alive and roaming the preserve.

Take that gaped mouth over to Jonny B’s Brickhouse for wood-fired pizza. Sufficiently stuffed, you can tour historic downtown buildings like the Stutsman County Memorial Museum, Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site, and St. James Basilica, a Vatican-worthy church in the middle of North Dakota.

Rugby

Rugby has a scrum of attractions. This 2,500ish-person “city,” named after the town of Rugby, England, is considered the geographical center of North America and has a 21-foot stone obelisk in commemoration. But it is just a quarter of the size of another Rugby sculpture, the Northern Lights Tower, which stands more than 88 feet and is dedicated to the aurora borealis.

After rounding out your Rugby tour at the Prairie Village & Museum, drive north to Bottineau to see 30-foot Tommy the Turtle at the gateway to the Turtle Mountains and then to the Canadian border for one of ND’s top attractions, the International Peace Garden. It spans nearly 2,400 acres of indoor and outdoor gardens and is so iconic that ND’s official nickname is the Peace Garden State.

Fort Ransom

Claim Fort Ransom for a scenic ND vacation. Among its luxuriant loot are Fort Ransom State Park, a 950-acre nature preserve along the Sheyenne River; Pyramid Hill, a mysterious earthen mound topped with a 25-foot Viking statue; and the Sheyenne River State Forest, which contains North Dakota’s only registered waterfall. Other scenic spoils in the area include the Sheyenne National Grassland, Fort Ransom State Historic Site, and Thor’s and The Old Mill Grill. Fort Ransom has only about 100 residents but deep Norwegian roots, which explains the Viking statue and Thor-themed pub. Some believe that Vikings sailed up the Sheyenne River, but this is pseudohistorical.

Richardton

If you thought Jamestown’s basilica was the only out-of-place shrine in North Dakota, check out Richardton’s St. Mary’s Church/Assumption Abbey, which looks like it came from Medieval Europe. Sure enough, the abbey was founded by a monk from Switzerland’s Benedictine Order, which dates to the Middle Ages. The present building was completed in 1910 and is still run by Benedictine monks.

After getting your Assumption on, you can get your consumption on at El Noa Noa Bar and Grill before heading east to see the 50-foot-long fiberglass cow in New Salem and then continuing on to Mandan for sights at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park and bites at Frieds Family Restaurant. Try a fleischkuechle, the unofficial state sandwich and a symbol of ND’s German culinary influence.

Regent

Instead of traveling east of Richardton, you can go 15 miles west to Gladstone and then head south to Regent. Make sure to take your time, because the 32-mile road between Gladstone and Regent is called the Enchanted Highway and is lined with massive, magical sculptures. There are nine, including Teddy Roosevelt Rides Again, Sir Albert and the Dragon (in progress), and Geese in Flight, the last of which is 110 feet tall, 154 feet wide, weighs almost 80 tons and was declared the “largest scrap-metal sculpture” by the Guinness Book of World Records. Regent-born Gary Greff built these sculptures to help keep his tiny town alive. It worked since Regent boasts the Enchanted Highway Gift Shop and Enchanted Castle Hotel with the Excalibur Steakhouse.

Do not think that North Dakota is north of anything interesting. The state centers several small communities containing breathtaking attractions, such as Medora and its musical, Stanton and its earth lodge, Jamestown and its buffalo, Rugby and its obelisk, Fort Ransom and its pyramid, Richardton and its abbey, and Regent and its highway. Suffice it to say, do not let this upper Midwestern state pass you by!

GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks throwing program for track and field has a long history of success.

In a reflection of that success, one of Grand Forks’ veteran throwing coaches will be honored next weekend.

Lee Baker will be inducted into the North Dakota Track and Field Hall of Fame in a presentation in conjunction with the state’s high school meet in Bismarck.

“Lee has a good rapport with this athletes,” said Tim Tandeski, who’s also a long-time throws coach in Grand Forks. “(Baker) works well with all levels of kids.”

Baker has coached 25 North Dakota Class A state champions in the shot put and the discus over his coaching career, and has coached 100 state place-winners in the same events.

Baker coached Bryan Bjerk, the current Class A boys state track discus record holder, overall state meet record holder and owner of the longest boys discus throw ever in the state of North Dakota.

Bjerk threw 192 feet, 8 inches at the 2012 state track meet and 198-1 at the East Region meet in 2012.

Baker also coached Shelby Frank, who was a four-time state champion in the discus and would have been an overwhelming favorite to win her fifth if it hadn’t been for COVID during the 2020 season.

Frank is now one of the top throwers in NCAA Division I with the University of Minnesota.

Baker has coached four girls who rank in the Top 10 for farthest throws of all time in the state in girls shot put and two boys in the Top 10 for farthest throws in the shot put.

Baker, who has coached since 1991, will be inducted May 24.

Former Langdon athlete Julie Dinius will also be inducted. Dinius collected 15 individual region championships and eight state titles.

Greg Kuch from Beulah and Fargo South’s McKenzie Mehlisch will also be inducted. Three athletes from pre-1980 were also voted in to the Hall of Fame by the committee: Cavalier’s Gordon Fisher (1915), Hebron’s Roger Reinbold (1961) and Bismarck’s Randy Lussenden (1968).

Choice Bank, partnering with The Member Impact Fund, has donated more than $600,000 to support affordable housing and community development in North Dakota and that includes a donation to a Grand Forks wrestling club.

The club received a donation of $16,000 that will provide scholarships to those who can’t afford tournament fees, club practice fees or travel expenses.

“At Choice Bank, we make it a priority to invest in the communities we serve by supporting local families and businesses,” said Chris Johnson, Choice Bank Grand Forks Location President. “With this $16,000 donation to the Grand Forks Gladiators Wrestling Club, we are investing in the youth, particularly those who might not otherwise have the opportunity, by providing them with the chance to develop their wrestling skills.

“The donation will fund scholarships that cover various costs associated with the sport, ensuring that financial constraints do not impede the participation of aspiring young athletes.”

East Grand Forks’ Jake Hjelle had to cancel a fishing trip last week. The former Minnesota Crookston standout received his call to start a professional baseball career.

Hjelle has signed with the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks.

“This year, (the UMC) season got finished, and I was sitting around a few days,” Hjelle said. “I was planning to go on a fishing trip and then (UMC coach Steve) Gust called me and said it sounds like (Redhawks coach Chris) Coste wants to sign you. That was a no-brainer in my eyes.”

HJelle said Coste has told him to take practice repititions at first base and outfield.

“As I was growing up, the biggest goal was to get paid to play this game,” Hjelle said. “I want to keep getting better and moving up. I want to take my opportunity and run with it and see how far it takes me.”

The 23-year-old Hjelle graduated the first week of May from UMC with a degree in natural resources.

Grand Forks Central product and University of Minnesota track and field athlete Jak Urlacher won the Big Ten Championship in the pole vault last weekend, clearing a personal-best 18 feet, 1 inch.

Urlacher’s mark tied the fourth-best in Gophers program history.

Urlacher’s mark is also the No. 6-ranked performance in the NCAA Division I West Region.

As a high school senior, Urlacher broke the North Dakota state record in the pole vault at 15-7.5 in 2021.

The college junior was fifth at the Big Ten Championships as a sophomore in 2023.

Former Grand Forks Central athlete Joey Grabanski, now at Concordia (Neb.), became the NAIA’s all-time home runs leader earlier this spring.

Now, he’s also the NAIA’s all-time RBI leader. Grabanski passed this mark during the NAIA National Tournament, where his team was eliminated earlier this week to halt a 42-win season.

Grabanski finishes his Concordia career with 88 home runs, 300 RBIs and program records in career batting average (.382), total bases (626) and walks (129).

Grabanski’s 88 home runs are tied for the third-most in college baseball history across all divisions: Division I, Division II, Division III and NAIA.

After recording two All-Summit League performances at the 2024 Summit League Outdoor Championships, UND distance runner Luke Labatte was named the Men’s Most Outstanding Performer of the Championship, the conference offices announced Wednesday.

Labatte took the track in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday night and claimed the title in a time of 8:50.89. His race was not close, with him winning by over 8 seconds.

With the win, Labatte successfully defended his titles from the 2022 and 2023 Summit League Outdoor Championships and became the first steeplechase runner to become a three-time steeplechase champion at the meet since Jeff Mettler of South Dakota did it from 2012-14.

On Saturday, Labatte had his second All-Summit League performance of the meet and earned the bronze medal in the 5,000 meters in 14:29.10.

UND had 11 athletes named to the All-Summit League Team, which is accomplished by finishing in the top three in respective events at the Summit League Outdoor Championships.

Those athletes include Yonca Kutluk (1,500, 5,000 and 10,000), Labatte (3,000 steeplechase, 5,000), Kenna Curry (shot put, hammer throw), Tiffanie Magnusson (heptathlon, long jump), Jadyn Keeler (3,000 steeplechase), Frida Giersdorff (3,000 steeplechase), Justice Dick (800), Jesse Middendorf (800), Malene Kollberg (heptathlon), James Weninger (high jump) and Justina Esangbedo (triple jump).

Devils Lake’s Ashley Abrahamson was one of 25 players named to the All-USA Today HSSA Girls Hockey Team on May 9.

Abrahamson led the state of North Dakota with 69 points, while nobody else reached 50. The second-highest mark was another Firebird, Siri Olson, with 49.

Abrahamson scored 52 goals, while nobody else had more than 27 goals.

FARGO — Hilery Klein started with finding kids a place to call home, but it was always someone’s else’s home.

“Most of them had gotten adopted by those family members,” Klein said.

Then she finally got the chance to give her home to one of them.

“With my oldest son, it actually went pretty smoothly. We didn’t have very many hiccups with the whole process itself,” she said.

But there were many steps she had to take before she could adopt the now four-year-old.

“With the first adoption there was several home visits. It took several months to get through all of the home visits and all of the paperwork,” Klein said. “There’s tests that you have to take, you take it yourself, and then a significant other person in your life takes it.”

After that the adoption process could begin. But now under the redesigned process for North Dakota the adoption — not the foster process — starts first.

According to Adults Adopting Special Kids Assistant Director Morgan Nerat, the new rules have made the paperwork quicker.

“So we get more involved and get that paperwork rolling and get the family’s home assessments done and the approvals with the state. So then once termination of parental rights occurs, we can really dive in and get things going, and then finalize the adoption sooner,” Nerat said.

That made adopting Klein’s 3-year-old son go a lot faster with not as many home visits.

“Being that I knew what to expect, it was a lot less stressful, less kind of anxiety of the unknown of where it’s going, and how things are going to progress and how quickly,” Nerat said.

She has no biological kids of her own, so she says adopting two kids has completely changed her life.

“It’s been a blessing to be able to just kind of move forward and start taking steps to just kind of get on with our family,” Klein said.

“We’re making those steps to meet those goals. So children are in permanent, safe, loving, forever families,” Nerat said.

As Klein makes the boys feel at home. The caseworker gives each child a life story book to celebrate their adoption.

Since the streamlined process began on February 1, more than 60 children have found a home.

You can find More information about adoption in North Dakota here.

My name is Anne Sara, better known as Sara.
I was born an only child in Port-au-prince, Haiti and moved to the U.S at the age of 2.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is where I was raised.
After graduating with my bachelor degree at Albright College, I moved to Florida to continue my studies.
WDAY is the reason why I moved to North Dakota.