North Dakota

The great 1932 balloon race

Published

2 years ago

June 23, 2024

Press Room

The 1932 National Balloon Race started on Memorial Day from Omaha, Nebraska.

We can assume the wind was from the south because three of the six competitors in the race crashed in North Dakota.

One of the balloons, an entry sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Co., crashed on the J.A. Michel farm about 4 miles south of Jamestown.

Winds weren’t the only problem the two-man crews, referring to themselves as “balloonitics,” faced during the flight. Heavy rain and thunderstorms made flying treacherous.

Technology really wasn’t on their side, either. The balloons had a 250-foot rope hanging below the basket. If the rope was dragging, your altitude was less than 250 feet.

The crew “dragged rope” about 50 miles and managed to avoid the James River Valley near Ypsilanti before venting the helium and attempting a controlled landing.

Even deflated, the balloon was a huge sail in the wind above the gondola. As the assembly settled to what was evidently a plowed farm field, the wind pushed everything along, dragging the basket and “nearly filling it full of your North Dakota gumbo,” according to the pilot.

No one was injured in the crash near Jamestown or the crash near Sherwood.

A similar crash near Bismarck left the balloonitics cut and bruised after the basket caught on a barbed wire fence as it was dragged across the ground.

The winning balloon crossed North Dakota and landed in Saskatchewan. The pilot reportedly reduced altitude to a point where he could yell at people on the ground to find out where he was.

Author Keith Norman can be reached at

www.KeithNormanBooks.com

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Related Topics:Featured history Jamestown jamestown history North Dakota north dakota history Stutsman County stutsman county history

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North Dakota

North Dakota Capitol Christmas Display Turns 90 This Year

Published

12 hours ago

December 25, 2025

Press Room

North Dakota Capitol Christmas Display Turns 90 This Year

(Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – For 90 years, the North Dakota Capitol’s window lit Christmas tree has been an annual holiday staple.

The Christmas tree design in the Capitol windows first appeared in 1935, said Sarah Walker, head of reference services for the State Historical Society of North Dakota, who has researched the display.

Construction on North Dakota’s Capitol was completed in 1934, replacing the Capitol building that was destroyed by fire in 1930. Walker’s research from newspaper stories showed that architects and the superintendent of the Capitol Commission discussed using the tower to display designs.

The first Capitol lighting display was in 1934 as construction on the building was wrapping up, Walker said. It depicted a cross in the windows to commemorate Easter.

Later that year, the star of Bethlehem, containing 120 lights and measuring about 16 feet in diameter, was the first Christmas decoration for the building, although it was affixed to the top of the building and not displayed in the windows, she said.

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North Dakota

2 killed, 1 injured in semitrailer collision in North Dakota

Published

1 day ago

December 25, 2025

Press Room

2 killed, 1 injured in semitrailer collision in North Dakota

STREETER, N.D. — Two people were killed and a third was injured Wednesday, Dec. 24, in a head-on collision between two semitrailers in North Dakota.

The crash occurred at about 8:34 a.m. on state Highway 30 about 3 miles south of Streeter, which is about 47 miles southwest of Jamestown.

A 2026 International truck pulling a semitrailer was traveling northbound when it collided head-on with a southbound 2025 Kenworth truck pulling double semitrailers, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

The driver of the International, a 39-year-old man from Moorhead, and the driver of the Kenworth, a 54-year-old man from Wishek, North Dakota, were pronounced dead at the scene, the patrol said. A 41-year-old male passenger from East Grand Forks, Minnesota, who was riding in the International, suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Sanford Hospital in Bismarck.

The highway was closed with a detour in place for approximately six hours, the patrol said.

In addition to the patrol, the Stutsman County Sheriff’s Office, Logan County Sheriff’s Office, North Dakota Department of Transportation, and several local fire, rescue and ambulance units responded.

Names have not yet been released and the crash remains under investigation.

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.

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North Dakota

North Dakota Seeks to Recover $778K Surety Bond for Grain Sellers in Hansen-Mueller Case

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

North Dakota Seeks to Recover 8K Surety Bond for Grain Sellers in Hansen-Mueller Case

The surety bond amount would be used to pay farmers and grain sellers who were not paid for grain sold to the company under standard contracts.

The state’s indemnity fund that is owned and operated by the North Dakota State Treasury, is available to reimburse someone who sold grain to a licensee under a credit-sale contract who was not fully compensated under such a contract.

Assessments to the state’s indemnity fund stop when the fund hits $6 million and restart if it drops below $3 million. According to the state, indemnity fund coverage is limited to 80% of a farmer’s unpaid credit-sale contract, up to a maximum payout of $280,000 per insolvency.

North Dakota is the second state to file such a motion, following the Nebraska Public Service Commission.

Also, this week, the Nebraska PSC asked the bankruptcy court for an extension of the Dec. 29, 2025, deadline to notify creditors of its plan to pay farmers in the state using funds from a $1 million surety bond.

Because of the Christmas holiday, the Nebraska PSC said it will be unable to meet the deadline and asked for an extension to Jan. 5, 2026.

Under the Nebraska Grain Dealer Act, dealers are required to post surety bonds to obtain licenses. If payment terms are violated by the company, the Nebraska Public Service Commission can forfeit the bond and distribute it to valid claimants.