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Today in History, 1993: North Dakota-born astronaut leaves Fargo school kids starstruck

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Today in History, 1993: North Dakota-born astronaut leaves Fargo school kids starstruck


On this day in 1993, Jamestown native and astronaut Rick Hieb visited Fargo’s Roosevelt Elementary School, captivating students with stories of his record-breaking spacewalks and the daily realities of life in orbit.

Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:

Students have blast with astronaut

By Tom Pantera, STAFF WRITER

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Like some astronauts, Rick Hieb downplays the importance of the profession. “We have an astronaut office; there’s a hundred of us in there,” he said. “My office-mates are astronauts. My neighbor one street over is the commander of my last flight. The next street over is the commander of the previous flight. We’re kind of a dime a dozen around where we all live” in Houston, he said.

“We sort of realize that if we make a mistake, it’s going to be of historic proportions,” he said. “But you don’t really think of yourself as being some kind of historic figure.”

But the 37-year-old Jamestown, N.D., native said his importance as a role model comes home when he speaks to children, as he did Thursday at Fargo’s Roosevelt Elementary School.

See more history at Newspapers.com

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He kept the kids spellbound with a description of the May 1992 space shuttle mission in which he was one of three astronauts who walked in space to recover an errant satellite — the largest and longest space walk in history. He illustrated his talk with slides and film of the mission, including the capture of the satellite.

But he drew perhaps his biggest reactions when he explained how astronauts handle going to the bathroom during long spacewalks — adult-size diapers — and the peculiar cleanup problems that come with getting nauseous in a weightless environment.

Hieb already has started training for his next mission, when he will be payload commander aboard the shuttle Columbia in July 1994, although he noted the schedule “might slip a little bit.”

It will be an international spacelab mission, meaning a pressurized laboratory containing 80 different experiments will be housed in the shuttle’s payload bay.

“Every one of those scientists wants to teach us their science we’ll be doing on that flight,” he said.

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About 40 percent of the experiments will be done for Japanese scientists, about 50 percent will be for Europeans, 5 percent for Canadians and the rest for Americans. The flight will last 13 days, and the shuttle will carry enough astronauts for two work shifts.

Hieb and others in the crew spent much of December in Europe for training and will be going to Europe and Japan for more training until about June.

He said he could have put in for a flight that featured another spacewalk, but he wanted to be a payload commander of a spacelab instead.

A 1973 graduate of Jamestown High School, Hieb earned degrees in math and physics from Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho, in 1977 and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado in 1979. He joined NASA right out of graduate school, becoming an astronaut in 1986.

His first mission was in spring 1991 as a crew member of the shuttle Discovery.

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Hieb would not say Thursday if the 1994 mission would be his last.

“I’m not promising anybody anything beyond this,” he said. “A spacelab flight is not nearly as sexy as putting on a spacesuit and going outside and grabbing onto satellites and stuff like that. But for me, it’ll kind of fill out the checklist of all the kinds of things that mission specialists can do. I’ll have kind of done everything that we do. I’m not for sure going to quit, but I’m not for sure going to stay either.”

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Kate Almquist

Kate Almquist is the social media manager for InForum. After working as an intern, she joined The Forum full time starting in January 2022. Readers can reach her at kalmquist@forumcomm.com.





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Fire burns at Pallet Green Recycling storage yard in rural Williston

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Fire burns at Pallet Green Recycling storage yard in rural Williston


WILLISTON, N.D. (KFYR) – UPDATE (5/10/2026 at 11:45 p.m.): A fire broke out at a Williston recycling business Sunday evening, and no one was injured.

Multiple crews responded to Pallet Green Recycling just before 8:30 p.m., according to the Williston Fire Department. Crews arrived at the scene where they fought heavy smoke and flames.

Industrial storage containers were on scene, and officials say it is unclear what, if any, chemical residue was inside them. Officials believe there is no danger to the public.

Williston Fire Chief Corey Johnson said the fire was contained to the business’s exterior storage yard, and crews were not concerned about it spreading beyond the property.

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“Right now, the structures are protected in the area. We’re not concerned about the fire spreading off of the lot,” Johnson said.

Multiple departments from across Williams County responded, and extra water trucks were brought in due to the fire’s remote location.

The cause remains under investigation.

This is a developing story. Your News Leader will provide updates as more information becomes available.

ORIGINAL STORY (5/10/2026 at 9:39 p.m.): Crews responded to a large fire at a storage yard in rural Williston on Sunday night.

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The fire is located at Pallet Green Recycling, according to the business owner.

Sylvia Luebke captured video of the scene from a distance around 8 p.m. The fire sent a large plume of smoke over the area. Luebke said it was still burning as of around 9 p.m.

Williston Rural Fire is working to battle the fire. The department was unable to comment at this time.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.

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ND Guard officer in charge of DC special mission

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ND Guard officer in charge of DC special mission


Submitted Photo
U.S. soldiers with the Nebraska and North Dakota National Guards, assigned to Joint Task Force-District of Columbia in support of the DC Safe and Beautiful mission, pose for a group photo at a hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, April 28. N.D. National Guard 2nd Lt. Caleb Hill, front row, far left, served as the officer in charge of the mission when soldiers assigned to JTF-DC responded to the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner April 25. About 2,500 National Guard members are supporting the DC Safe and Beautiful mission, providing critical assistance to the Metropolitan Police Department to help ensure the safety of residents, commuters and visitors throughout the District. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Thomas Norris.

WASHINGTON – U.S. soldiers with the North Dakota, Arkansas and Nebraska Army National Guard, assigned to Joint Task Force-District of Columbia in support of the DC Safe and Beautiful mission, responded to a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner (WHCAD) at the Washington Hilton in Northwest Washington April 25.

The Guardsmen were at the WHCAD at the request of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) as an additional patrol unit created specifically for the event, which celebrates the contribution of news organizations and independent journalists alike who provide notable coverage relating to the presidential administration.

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“Our mission was to assist the U.S. Secret Service with crowd control,” said Capt. Kevin Peatrowsky, an operations officer with the Nebraska National Guard (NENG) assigned to JTF-DC.

As the Guardsmen were monitoring their area of operations, they saw USSS agents sprint toward the hotel entrance.

“They were running full speed with their weapons drawn,” said Sgt. 1st. Class Allen Haney, a team member with the Arkansas National Guard. “We immediately followed suit.”

Staff Sgt. Kirsten Confer, a NENG combat medic and battle captain, recalled her response to the incident: “We fell back on our basic training. You run toward danger and move in a way that makes sense for the situation.”

According to Confer, the Guardsmen entered the hotel and immediately began securing the scene and ensured that the guests evacuated safely. At the direction of a federal agent, Confer began a rapid trauma assessment on the suspect which resulted in finding knives and ammunition on the shooter. Simultaneously, the Arkansas soldiers moved outside to provide crowd control at a pedestrian barricade outside the hotel.

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“From there, we assisted wherever we could,” said 2nd Lt. Caleb Hill, a National Guardsman from North Dakota who served as the officer in charge for the mission. “We were initially helping with crowd control. After that, we realized that the USSS had begun rerouting everyone in the hotel, so we moved to the doors. We were controlling entry into the venue, so we had moved a couple more people outside, so we had five inside, eight outside.” Both Arkansas and Nebraska worked well alongside one another and, alongside the federal agencies. Hill also noted that relying on his soldiers allowed him to move to different teams, which helped allow him to plan and coordinate with different agencies.

According to 1st Lt. Jonathan Goins, a platoon leader with the Arkansas National Guard, Arkansas soldiers also helped establish a security perimeter for the staging of the presidential motorcade. Later, the team assisted federal agencies and MPD with crowd control, which helped clear the way for the president and administration officials, he said.

“Guardsmen on this mission represent the very best of the nation,” said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Leland Blanchard II, the interim commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard. “The world got a brief glimpse, but I see them each day serving and doing amazing things across the District.”



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Stampede stay alive with 2-1 OT win in Fargo

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Stampede stay alive with 2-1 OT win in Fargo


FARGO, N.D. (KELO) — The Sioux Falls Stampede staved off elimination with a 2-1 overtime win over the Fargo Force in game four of the USHL Western Conference Finals Saturday night.

Thomas Zocco scored the game-winner 12 minutes into the extra period. Arseni Marchenko put Fargo on the board first in the first period. Noah Mannausau tied the game for the Herd in the second period.

Sioux Falls outshot Fargo 53-49, including 9-5 in overtime. Linards Feldbergs made 48 saves.

Three of the four games of the series have gone to overtime. The winner-take-all game five is Tuesday at the Premier Center.

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