North Dakota
Tombstone of North Dakota toddler who fell into a well in 1903 finally finds home with her family
WALCOTT, N.D. — Just outside Walcott, North Dakota, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, was the beginning of what will soon be a family reunion 120 years in the making.
A headstone for toddler Ella Paulhus, who died in a well back in 1903, is finally headed west.
It was a perfect summer day for the historic morning at the Walcott Cemetery in Richland County.
“It is really emotional to see that this is still here, in such good shape, after 120 years,” said Brett Tangedal, whose grandmother was Ella’s sister.
On Tuesday, the relatives of Ella arrived from North Carolina.
“Ella was my grandmother’s younger sister,” Tangedal said.
They came to move the toddler’s cemetery marker to the Oslo Cemetery near Fortuna, North Dakota.
“That Norwegian line means ‘An early death means holy peace,’” Tangedal said, translating the Norwegian writing on the gravestone.
It was 120 years ago and Paulhus was with her mother at a church picnic at a neighbor’s farm. That is when she fell into a well and died. She was about to turn 2.
“Poor little Ella. She was left here buried by herself and the family never came back,” Tangedal said.
After her tragic death in 1903, her parents and siblings headed west. Since then, her stone and her remains have been kept at Walcott.
“Everybody else is buried in Fortuna, and she has been here all these years, forgotten,” Tangedal said.
But Tuesday, cemetery caretakers helped the family of Ella Paulhus load the stone for the trip to Fortuna, near the Canadian border, to be with her family at a cemetery there.
“It is just amazing, it makes me feel so warm, my heart is pounding,” said Cheryl Anderson, Walcott Cemetery sexton.
Even the people of Walcott who care for this cemetery were so moved by the gesture to have this reunion of sorts. Even Darlan Fatland, who retired after acting as sexton at the cemetery for 45 years, helped load the monument.
“Granting a long-standing wish of 120 years. Amazing,” Anderson said.
Because she was likely buried in a wooden box in 1903, Paulhus’ remains stay in Walcott. As a way to stay connected, her family collected soil in Walcott to bring to the new spot in western North Dakota.
It was an emotion-filled morning for all. The little girl who fell in a well 120 years ago, loved so much by family, that today, no one can forget her.
North Dakota
Hoeven, Armstrong, Traynor speak on OBBB Rural Health Transformation Fund updates in ND
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – On Friday, North Dakota U.S. Senator John Hoeven, Governor Kelly Armstrong and Health and Human Services Commissioner Pat Traynor explained how the state plans to use millions of dollars from the Big Beautiful Bill’s Rural Health Transformation Fund to transform healthcare across the state.
They spoke extensively about the special session to allocate the funds, and confirmed that it is still tentatively set for Jan. 21.
The Big Beautiful Bill allocated $25 billion for rural healthcare nationwide. North Dakota received $500 million for five years and $200 million for the first year. There is still another $25 billion left to be spent, and North Dakota is hoping to receive an extra $500 million.
“I truly believe that with the plan we’re putting in place and the things we built that line up with that, we’ll get a billion dollars over five years,” said Hoeven.
Federal rules require the state to lock in contracts for the money by October first— a deadline officials say is driving the need for a special session.
In the first year, North Dakota will focus on retention grants to keep existing staff, technical assistance and consultants for rural hospitals, as well as telehealth equipment and home patient monitoring.
Governor Armstrong says the special session will include policy bills tied to how much federal rural health funding the state can earn.
“We’re going to have a physical fitness test for physical education courses, nutrition education, continuing education requirement for physicians, physician assistant licensure compact—which North Dakota has been doing, dealing with that since the heart of the oil boom and moving forward—and then an expanded scope of practice for pharmacists,” said Armstrong.
Hundreds of millions of dollars could reshape healthcare in rural North Dakota, and state leaders say the next few weeks are key to receiving and spending that money wisely.
The governor says he only wants to focus on bills related to the Rural Health Transformation Program during the special session and doesn’t intend to deal with other state issues during that time.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
North Dakota officials celebrate being among big winners in federal rural health funding
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tony Osburn scored 27 points as Omaha beat North Dakota 90-79 on Thursday.
Osburn shot 8 of 12 from the field, including 5 for 8 from 3-point range, and went 6 for 9 from the line for the Mavericks (8-10, 1-2 Summit League). Paul Djobet scored 18 points and added 12 rebounds. Ja’Sean Glover finished with 10 points.
The Fightin’ Hawks (8-11, 2-1) were led by Eli King, who posted 21 points and two steals. Greyson Uelmen added 19 points for North Dakota. Garrett Anderson had 15 points and two steals.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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