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.

A Republican senator from North Dakota has pleaded guilty to having sex with minors after flying to Europe using taxpayer money on several occasions.

Ray Holmberg, 80, of Grand Forks admitted in court on August 8 that he had sexual contact with young male masseuses during his multiple visits to the Czech Republic. 

The disgraced public official added that while the victims had been paid by him at  the time of the abuse, he did not know for certain how old they were.

Holmberg initially pleaded not guilty and was indicted in October 2023 for travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity between June 2011 to November 2016. 

He was also accused of receiving or attempting to receive child porn between the dates of November 2012 and March 2013.

But in a plea agreement that was signed in June, Holmberg agreed to admit guilt to the former charge.

In return, prosecutors consented to dismiss charges of receipt and attempted receipt of child sexual abuse material as well recommend a sentence at the low end of the guideline range.  

The travel charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervised release. 

The disgraced public official added that while the victims had been paid by him at the time of the abuse, he did not know for certain how old they were

He was also accused of receiving or attempting to receive child porn between the dates of November 2012 and March 2013 but that charge was dropped as result of the agreement 

Assistant US Attorney Jennifer Puhl said Holmberg had made 14 trips to Prague between 2011 to 2021 and went into detail about his emails that described his encounters in Prague in court. 

Puhl noted that the grandfather-of-five frequented a villa which was described as a brothel that housed teenage male masseuses by one his travel companions. 

Another travel companion told investigators that he paid for the nights at the villa because Holmberg did not want his name on the register, Puhl said.

A previous report had revealed that Holberg had exchanged approximately 72 texts in August 2021 with Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier, who was in prison on child pornography and sex abuse crimes, The Forum of Fargo-Moorehead said.

Assistant US Attorney Jennifer Puhl noted that the grandfather of five frequented a villa which was described as a brothel that housed teenage male masseuses by one his travel companions

Holmberg also told the court that the Czech Republic has a younger age of consent than the US does and said he didn’t recall traveling to other countries for the same purpose

The attorney further told the court that when investigators interviewed an 18-year-old former employee of Morgan-Derosier’s, the teenager said he had sex with Holmberg in exchange for a condo association landscaping contract. 

The teen also said that he had seen Morgan-Derosier and Holmberg view child sexual abuse material at Holmberg’s house. 

In May, Morgan-Derosier was sentenced to 40 years in prison in US District Court in Fargo in connection with child sexual abuse images.

When asked how he got ‘caught up in this lifestyle’, the retired high school counselor said: ‘It was just something – I don’t want to say fell into, that I did.’

Apart from this, he also told the court that the Czech Republic has a younger age of consent than the US does and said he didn’t recall traveling to other countries for the same purpose.

‘I’ve been in a number of countries and the only one that sticks out is the Czech Republic,’ he said.

Nicholas James Morgan-Derosier pleaded guilty in federal court to six counts of possessing images depicting child sexual abuse and one count of receiving and distributing such images. In May, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison 

The Republican served more than 45 years in the North Dakota Senate before resigning in 2022

The Republican served more than 45 years in the North Dakota Senate before resigning in 2022. 

Furthermore, travel records from the North Dakota School Boards Association show Holmberg used public funding for trips in 2011, 2018 and 2019 to Prague in the Czech Republic and to other cities, including Amsterdam and Berlin. 

The trips were arranged through the Germany-based Global Bridges teacher exchange program, which received funding from the North Dakota Legislature. 

The North Dakota Legislature gave money to the state Department of Public Instruction, which essentially passed it along to Global Bridges to pay for trips for teachers and legislators.

State Rep. Bob Martinson said he picked the legislators who went on the trips, usually a combination of men and women, House and Senate, Democratic and Republican for ‘a balanced group of people who were interested in learning and would all get along together so it would not be a political trip’. 

Holmberg does not have a wife and has long been described as a ‘single day of two’

Holmberg ‘established a really good rapport with Global Bridges, and they liked him, and they requested that he go to those meetings. They wanted him involved,’ Martinson said.

Earlier this year, the North Dakota School Boards Association returned about $142,000 to the state and ended its role in the Global Bridges teacher exchange program months after releasing travel records. 

In a statement, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley called Holmberg’s guilty plea ‘an important milestone in North Dakota´s battle against child sex trafficking. Former State Senator Ray Holmberg has admitted his heinous crimes and now stands convicted of conduct that fuels the domestic and global sexual exploitation of children’.

Holmberg does not have a wife and has long been described as a ‘single day of two’.

VIENNA, Austria — A rural Cass County teenager who’s waited more than a year to see Taylor Swift in a concert overseas has had her hopes dashed, along with hundreds of thousands of others after shows there were canceled over a terror threat.

Nora Severance, 17, a senior this fall at Northern Cass High School, secured tickets for her family to the Eras Tour stop in Vienna, Austria, back in June 2023.

She, her mother and 19-year-old brother arrived there Tuesday night in advance of the show set for Thursday, Aug. 8, while her father stayed back to work on the farm.

The family learned late Wednesday night that the Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows at Ernst Happel Stadium would not go on because of an alleged plot to carry out a suicide attack outside of the concert venue.

Nora Severance woke up the next morning to a flurry of texts from her friends, wondering what was going on.

“I think it was the right call,” she said of the cancellation in a Thursday night phone call from Vienna.

Nicole Severance was asked how she conversed with her children about the terror threat.

“Sadly, it’s something that they’ve grown up with their whole life, and so it’s just kind of a daily thing,” she said.

There was also a feeling of resignation about the concert cancellation.

“We can’t control everything,” she said.

A 19-year old man from Austria was arrested over the alleged plot to strike the Swift concert and made a full confession in custody,

Reuters reported.

The man swore allegiance to the Islamic State on the internet and had chemicals, technical devices and machetes at his home, said Franz Ruf, Austria’s general director for public security.

Two other Austrian youths aged 17 and 15 were also detained over the reported plot.

The 17-year-old had recently been hired at a company providing services at the stadium, according to security officials.

The three shows in Vienna were expected to draw 65,000 concertgoers each day, with an additional 10,000 to 15,000 fans gathering outside of the area, police said.

Coincidentally, the family toured Schönbrunn Palace on Wednesday, a former royal residence visited by thousands of people daily.

Nora Severance said it was weird that there were no metal detectors and their bags were not searched.

“We had that conversation yesterday, right prior to this being canceled,” her mother said.

Nora Severance said she was looking forward to arriving at the stadium early Thursday night in order to trade the friendship bracelets she had made and to meet new people.

The first and last time she saw Taylor Swift in concert,

she was just eight years old.

Her mother had entered a sweepstakes and won free tickets and meet-and-greet access to the superstar on her

“1989” world tour stop at the Fargodome in October 2015.

Calling it a “really good experience,” the teenager said, “that’s kind of what made me start to listen to her music more and want to see her again.”

Her mom said she doesn’t consider herself a “Swiftie” but appreciates the positive messages that Swift brings to young girls through her music.

The family originally sought Swift concert tickets in the U.S., for Minneapolis or Kansas City, but they sold out quickly and resale ticket prices were far too expensive.

“It just financially made more sense to fly to Europe and make a trip out of it,” Nora Severance said.

They went for the Austria tour stop because it was one of the first European dates to go on sale.

The family secured standing tickets on the floor at the Vienna stadium for the original asking price of $100 apiece.

By comparison, the cheapest resale ticket prices for upcoming U.S. dates are going for around $2,500 a piece for “nosebleed” seats, Nora Severance said.

Swift’s next stop is Thursday, Aug. 15, at Wembley Stadium in London, where she has five shows scheduled.

People with tickets to the Vienna shows will be refunded within 10 business days, according to Swift’s website.

Nora Severance said her family will be in Europe for another 10 days, traveling to Hungary and Switzerland.

“We had things planned, thankfully, so we’ll make the best of it,” she said.