North Dakota
Veeder: 'All of western North Dakota is on fire'
WATFORD CITY, N.D. — I stand on my back deck and look up at the night sky. The air is still and cool, and the stars are twinkling among the shine of the Northern Lights. It’s a welcome sight, a sort of calm before the restless night of sleep I would experience when I lay down that night beside my exhausted husband.
Just two days before, white and gray smoke billowed and bubbled and raged ominously from that same horizon to the northeast of our house, the high winds pushing a
massive wildfire away
and in our favor and saving us from having to worry about evacuation or trenching around our home.
Our phones buzzed, warning us that everything between mile marker 138 and 148 on Highway 22, and one mile west and east on each side needed to be evacuated.
Our ranch is three miles west of mile marker 135.
Residents from Mandaree, the little town just seven or so miles northeast of us as the crow flies, were told to leave as rural firefighters and Black Hawk helicopters worked to save it. I could see them from my back deck, black specks moving across the sky, the thick gray plumes of smoke making those helicopters look like children’s toys. It seemed like an impossible task as the wind kicked up 70 mph gusts, snapping powerlines and wreaking havoc across the prairie.
Contributed / Jessie Veeder
Just an hour or so earlier that day, my friend 10 miles to the north of us looked out her kitchen window and saw smoke burning the corrals and old outbuildings of an abandoned homestead directly to the east of her. She called 911 in a panic.
All the rural firefighters she knew, including her husband, including mine, including dozens and dozens of other friends and community members, were fighting fires five or so miles to the north of her by our church on the other side of the Blue Buttes. She hung up with dispatch and called all the neighbors she could think of who could possibly be in its path and then loaded her kids in the car and sat helplessly watching the grass and trees catch fire.
The night before, around 2 a.m., all volunteer first responders who were available in our community were called to the scene of a fire that had erupted near the town of Arnegard. During the night, the winds had picked up to 50-60 mph, and it would take three days to get that fire contained while more and more resources were deployed and more fires sparked and spread.
That one fire was more than enough to handle, but in the next 24 hours, I heard my husband on the other end of the phone line say in his steady, stern voice: “All of western North Dakota is on fire.”
The Elkhorn fire, the Bear Den fire, the Charleson fire, the Arnegard fire, the Ray fire, the big ones … they all have names to us now, but in the heat of raging wind and black walls of smoke, to my husband and those on the front lines, it felt like everywhere they turned, there were more flames.
I looked to the north of the house, the east, the south, nearly every horizon was billowing smoke.
“It feels like we’re surrounded here, Chad,” I told him, hoping he had more information than I did that would reassure me that our place wasn’t in danger.
“Well, you are. You are surrounded,” he replied with a reality that many many more were facing, even more dangerously than us in that very moment.
Contributed / Jessie Veeder
I learned that sitting in our house with a direct line to social media reports from neighbors and emergency management offices, I might have had more information on the scope of the fires than the men and women focused on moving inch by inch in the black of the night and relentless howl of the wind, fighting for homes and land and the livelihoods that depend on it.
“I have never seen anything like this in my life,” my husband said as he drove his truck from one fire location to the next, trying to fill me in as best as he could when he could. “We can’t see anything out here, it’s like a black wall of smoke and dust. It’s absolutely out of control.”
I stood in the house, helpless and anxious. We had company from Bismarck. They had come to fill an Elk tag, but our fun weekend turned on a dime and we were left to distract one another, to feed one another, and to analyze and speculate and wait for the clock to hit 10 p.m. when the weather report promised a calmer wind.
My dad took to the hills to watch for any signs of new flames close to us. I watched my phone for any more updates. I called and texted neighbors. I worried about them. And then I worried about us. And then I worried about my husband and everyone out there in an unprecedented situation, doing the best they could against Mother Nature, who turns from companion to rival at the suck of a breath.
Contributed / Megan Pennington
The winds did die down around 10 p.m., and it was close to 1 in the morning when my husband called and said he was headed home for now. My dad came off the hilltop. We all looked at my soot-covered, exhausted husband and waited for what he wanted to tell us.
The next day and the day after that, he was out again, mopping up flare-ups, assessing the damage, fixing the trucks, checking in. Some men have barely left the fire sites, too nervous to look away as the repercussions of a wind shift could put their houses in danger.
As I write this, some big flames are still raging in the badlands at the Elkhorn fire, putting ranches at risk and the National Guard to work. The Bear Den fire is contained but still burning. The wind shifts and dry conditions keep the first responders and ranchers watching the hot spots and continuing to put out flames. The helicopters land and take off and scoop water from Lake Sakakawea. The planes dump.
All across western North Dakota, a person will tell you their own story about these fires for years to come. Two men who lost their lives won’t get the chance. At least four homes were lost. Livestock were lost and killed. Early law enforcement reports indicate
nearly 90,000 acres in Williams County were destroyed,
with more in the surrounding counties.
My husband comes home from the fire hall and steps out on the deck next to me to watch those Northern Lights. His hair and skin smell like smoke and ashes. The light of two helicopters moved across the sky, little beacons of hope among the stars.
Contributed / Jessie Veeder
READ MORE OF JESSIE’S COMING HOME COLUMNS
Greetings from the ranch in western North Dakota and thank you so much for reading. If you’re interested in more stories and reflections on rural living, its characters, heartbreaks, triumphs, absurdity and what it means to live, love and parent in the middle of nowhere, check out more of my Coming Home columns below. As always, I love to hear from you! Get in touch at jessieveeder@gmail.com.
Darlene Kay Struble was born April 11, 1946 in Valley City, ND to Frank and Ruby (Satreaas) Klima. She grew up in LaMoure, ND and graduated from LaMoure High School 1964. After graduation, Darlene continued her education at North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton before completing her LPN training in Grand Forks.
Darlene married the love of her life, Charles Struble, on October 25, 1969 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Together, they made their home in Jamestown where she began her career in the OB department at Jamestown Hospital. Her dedication to caring for others continued throughout her professional life, later leading her to Dakota Clinic in Jamestown. Her work was an extension of her compassionate spirit, and she touched many lives until her retirement in 2009.
She filled her days with many loves; her family above all, but also the quiet joys of gardening, flowers, sewing, crafts, and scrap booking. She had a special gift of preserving memories, and spent countless hours gathering family history. Darlene started her day at the Depot Cafe nearly every morning. It was a simple tradition, but one she shared with her children, friends, and eventually grandchildren. Not only were Depot mornings filled with love and laughter, but an abundance of Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes.
Darlene passed away peacefully on March 23rd 2026 at Eventide in Jamestown, surrounded by the love of her family. She leaves behind her husband Chuck, her sons; Cory (Deb) Struble and Dave (Leslie) Struble, two sisters; Linda (Gary) Kraft and Roberta (Karl) Wilhelm, six grandchildren; Jayden (Darsh), Allie, Jonah, Grace, Evyn, and Owen, and seven nieces and nephews. She has been reunited with her parents, her daughter, Tiffiney Dick, and her sister, Mary Lee Guffy.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Jamestown Regional Medical Center Foundations, specifically to the OB ward.
Memorial Service- 3:30 PM Saturday, March 28, 2026 at Haut Funeral Home in Jamestown, ND, with Pastor Kristi Weber, officiating.
Interment- Highland Home Cemetery, Jamestown, ND (at a later date).
I spent the first day of spring, last Friday, weeding my back yard flower beds. Let that sink in, because this is North Dakota. We have April showers in May, and May flowers in June. We sometimes have snow in June, too. Weeding my tulips in March is a first.
The tulips have been up for a couple of weeks in my south-facing gardens. The six inches of snow last weekend did not deter their enthusiasm. According to the South Dakota State University Extension Service, tulips close to our shared border usually begin to appear in late March and early April. Mine are early risers this year. I blame the switch to Daylight Saving Time.
My yarrow and hollyhocks have been green and growing for four weeks. The yarrow was a little miffed at the one subzero night a week or so ago, but the hollyhocks merely flattened out and took it in stride. Our friends at the South Dakota Extension Service assure me both of those plant varieties normally sprout in mid-May. Maybe the frequent solar storms and northern lights displays have affected them.
Shortly after that subzero stretch in February, which Katie the Wonder Puppy and I called The Degrees of Despair, the pussywillow began to bud. I cut my first bouquet this past Friday the 13th. And did you know the blossoms are called catkins?
That shrub is only a couple weeks early in blooming. Obviously, like all cats, my pussywillow is indifferent to solar storms, the northern lights, and Daylight Saving Time. When its feet get warm enough, it stretches out and basks in the sun. Wild catnip has, however, sprouted near the pussywillow’s trunk. I suspect some deep-rooted drug dependency at work there.
But, weeds? There is wild horseradish marching across my tastefully scattered scoria chips. There is quackgrass strangling daylilies and yarrow. There are weeds of unknown name towering over my tulips. Actually, I have a name for those weeds, but that name is best kept to myself.
I pulled out one quackgrass clump, and I am pretty sure its far end stretched all the way to Gladstone. It was like pulling one of those string strips from the top of a fifty-pound sack of sunflower seeds. Not that I regularly buy fifty-pound bags of sunflower seeds for the neighborhood birds, or anything.
I was feeling pretty smug last Saturday after I finished all my weeding. I figured I would need to start mowing in a few more days. I began looking at seed catalogs and dreaming of Big Boy tomato plants.
Late Saturday evening Katie and I went outside to take in the fresh air. It was snowing. Gotta love North Dakota.
Jackie Hope is the longest running Dickinson Press contributor and columnist. Hope’s Corner is a weekly humorous column with a message of hope.
KILLDEER, N.D. — A former fire hall in the heart of Killdeer is being transformed into something entirely new for western North Dakota: an upscale golf simulator facility designed to serve youth athletes, recreational players and the broader community.
Known simply as The Foundation, the new facility is scheduled to open May 1 and will feature multiple state-of-the-art golf simulators, lounge seating, food and beverage options and space for community events. The project is led by the Cowboy Golf Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding opportunities for young golfers in
Killdeer
and surrounding communities.
While the organization has spent more than a decade supporting youth golf programs, the new facility represents its most ambitious project yet — one that leaders hope will benefit residents of all ages.
Contributed / Clayton Johnsen
“This ultimately comes down to supporting the youth,” said Clayton Johnsen, president of the Cowboy Golf Foundation and sixth-grade math teacher and varsity golf coach at
Killdeer Public School
. “The youth ultimately support the community and the businesses around it. We’re trying to keep people here rather than have them go outside the community.”
A vision more than a decade in the making
For Johnsen, the idea behind The Foundation has been ten years in the making.
As a golf coach, he said one of the biggest challenges student athletes face in western North Dakota is the long winter season and lack of indoor practice facilities. In many cases, teams must share limited gym space with other sports, making meaningful golf practice difficult.
“One thing we struggled with as a golf coach is when the weather is inclement — and the winters are long here,” Johnsen said. “We struggle trying to find space, so we pretty much share the gyms at Killdeer Public School. Hitting indoors like that just isn’t conducive to real-life golf.”
Kelly Harju / The Dickinson Press
For years, the team had few options for indoor training besides traveling to Dickinson. The need for a dedicated space for golf practice remained a constant topic of conversation among local supporters of the sport.
The opportunity to make that vision a reality came when city officials approached the foundation about an unused building in town — the former Killdeer
fire hall
.
“The city reached out and said the building was available and asked if we wanted to take a look at it,” Johnsen said. “The board met and everyone loved it. It’s got good bones, tall ceilings, big doors and a great location in the middle of the city.”
Rather than allowing the structure to sit idle, the foundation saw an opportunity to repurpose the space into a modern recreation facility.
Repurposing a community building
The former fire hall offered the ideal footprint for a simulator facility, according to project organizers.
Because the building already includes open floor space and high ceilings, the renovation process has focused primarily on upgrades such as lighting, flooring, technology installation and interior finishes.
Kelly Harju / The Dickinson Press
“The building has strong bones and solid infrastructure,” Johnsen mentioned in a city commission meeting. “Rather than letting it sit idle or drain resources, we have an opportunity to reimagine it into a space that brings people in and supports local activity.”
Renovating an existing structure has also proven to be significantly more cost-effective than constructing a new recreation center.
Upgrades including LED lighting, modern sound systems and epoxy flooring are helping transform the space into a premium facility without the price tag of a full rebuild.
Johnsen said the visual impact will be noticeable the moment visitors walk through the doors.
Kelly Harju / The Dickinson Press
“They’re going to epoxy the whole floor, so that’ll be a big wow factor,” he said. “There will be LED lighting inside and out, and almost 20 TVs throughout the building.”
The facility will also include sliding barn doors and private areas that can be used for corporate gatherings, holiday parties or community events.
A new kind of recreation in western North Dakota
Once completed, The Foundation will feature four golf simulator bays and multiple large projection screens capable of creating immersive golf experiences.
Two of the simulator screens will measure approximately 25 feet wide and curve around the hitting area, creating a 180-degree field of view. Two additional simulators will measure about 18 feet wide.
Kelly Harju / The Dickinson Press
But golf will only be part of the experience.
The simulator technology will also allow visitors to play virtual versions of other sports and games, including football, soccer, trapshooting and kickball.
The goal, according to facility manager Billie-Jo Stahl, is to create a welcoming space where people of all ages want to spend time.
“We want to wow people,” Stahl said. “And we want it to become a place for kids to come and hang out.”
In addition to simulator bays, the facility will include lounge seating areas where visitors can relax, socialize and watch television while others play.
Food and beverages will also be available, adding to the social atmosphere.
Contributed / Clayton Johnsen
“Food and drink will be here, and we have sitting areas,” Stahl said. “We also have plans for an outdoor patio where people can relax and enjoy events,” Johansen added.
Community partners are also helping bring unique touches to the facility. For example, Cowboy Golf Foundation board member Jeremy Bird plans to provide smoked meats that can be served during events or gatherings.
Supporting student athletes
Although The Foundation is designed to serve the entire community, youth athletes remain at the heart of the project.
The Cowboy Golf Foundation has spent more than a decade supporting local students who participate in golf.
According to Johnsen, the organization pays for golf course memberships for every student golfer at Killdeer Public School and provides equipment such as clubs and push carts when needed.
“We started this over 10 years ago to give youth opportunities they normally wouldn’t have,” Johnsen said. “We pay for their memberships at Medicine Hole Golf Course, and we provide anything they need on or off the golf course.”
The foundation also awards scholarships to graduating seniors who participate in the golf program.
The new facility will take that support a step further by providing year-round training opportunities.
Kelly Harju / The Dickinson Press
With advanced simulator technology, players will be able to analyze swing data, ball flight, club speed and accuracy — tools typically available only at high-end training facilities.
This kind of data-driven practice environment can help student athletes refine their technique and remain competitive even during the winter months.
The facility is also expected to attract visiting teams from across the region.
Because the building is large enough to accommodate an entire team at once, organizers say it could become a training destination for school programs within a 100-mile radius.
“No other town within 100 miles of Killdeer can do the same,” Johnsen said in a commission meeting. “We want this to be the premier golf facility in western North Dakota.”
A gathering place for the community
Beyond athletics, The Foundation is also designed to become a social hub for Killdeer residents.
Organizers envision the facility hosting birthday parties, leagues, tournaments and corporate gatherings throughout the year.
The building’s flexible layout will allow groups to rent space for events ranging from holiday parties to community celebrations.
Kelly Harju / The Dickinson Press
Plans also include an outdoor patio area where seasonal events and gatherings can take place.
For many residents, the facility will offer a new form of recreation that isn’t dependent on weather conditions — a particularly valuable feature in North Dakota.
Weather and daylight hours often limit outdoor activities for much of the year. Indoor simulators allow people to enjoy golf and other sports regardless of the season.
Families, students, seniors and visitors will all be able to participate.
A nonprofit mission focused on community
Despite the scale of the project, Johnsen emphasizes that the foundation itself is nonprofit and community-driven.
“Our foundation is nonprofit, so everything we do comes back to the kids and the community,” he said. “We’re not benefiting off this. It’s about giving people opportunities.”
Looking ahead, the foundation hopes the success of the facility could lead to future expansion.
Contributed / Clayton Johnsen
One long-term vision is the possibility of adding additional space dedicated specifically to youth programming.
If that happens, the public portion of the facility could eventually operate around the clock through a membership system that allows users to reserve simulator time online and access the building through secure entry.
“It’s all about building something that the community can be proud of,” Johnsen said. “We want people from Dunn County and beyond to see this and feel like it’s something special.”
As the finishing touches are completed — from flooring and paint to lighting and sound systems — anticipation continues to build for the facility’s grand opening.
For many in Killdeer, The Foundation represents more than just a golf simulator.
It is a project rooted in community pride, youth development and the belief that even a small town can create something truly unique.
And if organizers have their way, the former fire hall will soon become one of the most popular gathering places in western North Dakota.
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