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Work on the Theodore Roosevelt National Park loop has stopped for the winter, but the finish line is in sight

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Work on the Theodore Roosevelt National Park loop has stopped for the winter, but the finish line is in sight


MEDORA, N.D. — Theodore Roosevelt National Park visitors will have to wait a few more months to enjoy the south unit’s full loop, as construction on a stretch of roadway that collapsed five years ago has halted for the winter.

Winter has brought a drop in temperature, which has halted the Scenic Loop Drive reconstruction project for the season, said Maureen McGee-Ballinger, deputy superintendent and chief for interpretation and education at the park. Park officials had hoped that the weather would have cooperated and allowed construction crews to finish work on the nearly six-mile stretch of road by November.

“We anticipate, because it is pretty close to being done, that it’s going to be done by this coming summer,” she said Thursday. “We’ll let everyone know. We’ll have a nice, big celebration.”

It’s unclear how much the construction project will cost, though U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, two Republicans from North Dakota, helped secure more than $47 million in federal funding for road repairs on the scenic loop.

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A series of landslides, poor road subgrade material and ineffective drainage have plagued the Scenic Loop Drive for years, the park said. A four-mile stretch of the road slid down a hill in 2019.

Though some parts of the road didn’t fully collapse, pictures show deep fissures in the asphalt.

The park closed its south unit loop between mile marker 22 and 28, preventing visitors from driving the full 36-mile loop for five years. The closed portion has several popular attractions in the south-central part of the park, including the Ridgeline Trail, the Badlands Outlook and Scoria Point.

Construction began in 2022.

The project is the first major rehabilitation job done to the drive in 20 years, according to the park. The goal is to stabilize the road to make it more sustainable, according to project documents.

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The construction also gave the park an opportunity to expand parking at several outlook and trail locations, McGee-Ballinger said.

That will include Scoria Point, which only had a few parking spots before the collapse. The parking area there will be widened so more people can stop to enjoy the outlook, McGee-Ballinger said.

“It’s actually going to make it more accessible than before it was closed,” she said.

The Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit is accessible through Medora, which is about 35 miles west of Dickinson. Its north unit is about 70 miles northwest of Dickinson.

The park also has the Elkhorn Ranch Unit between the south and north units. That’s where President Theodore Roosevelt, the park’s namesake, built a ranch for himself after his wife and mother died. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the only one named after a president.

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Between 750,000 and 800,000 people visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park each year.

April Baumgarten has been a journalist in North Dakota since 2011. She joined The Forum in February 2019 as an investigative reporter. Readers can reach her at 701-241-5417 or abaumgarten@forumcomm.com.





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Jelly Roll to headline 2025 North Dakota State Fair

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Jelly Roll to headline 2025 North Dakota State Fair


MINOT, N.D. (KFYR) – A big North Dakota State Fair announcement. We now know who will headline the fair this year.

Jelly Roll is set to take the main stage in Minot on Sunday, July 20.

The Grammy-nominated artist also played at the state fair in 2023.

He just finished his sold-out arena tour, “Beautifully Broken” making 2024 his most successful year.

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Single tickets for Jelly Roll will be 80 dollars, it’s the same price for reserved seating or standing-room spots.

Tickets go on sale on March 3.

You can get them online, in person, or at one of seven kiosks throughoUt the state.

The North Dakota State Fair will soon release the other artists joining the line-up with Jelly Roll and Bailey Zimmerman.

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South Dakota State soars past North Dakota

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South Dakota State soars past North Dakota


BROOKINGS — The Jackrabbits had their shootin’ boots on Thursday night against North Dakota, blowing past the Fighting Hawks 109-73 before a First Bank & Trust Arena crowd of 3,261 in one of the most impressive offensive performances in recent memory by South Dakota State.

The win marked the second most points they’ve ever scored against a Division I opponent (fans may remember the 139 they dropped on Savannah State in 2018), and their .656 field goal percentage is the fourth-best of the D1 era.

Joe Sayler had 25 points for the Jacks — all of them coming in the first half — while Isaac Lindsey had 13, Oscar Cluff and Kalen Garry 12 and Jaden Jackson 11, as all 11 active players on the roster scored.

But hot shooting and scoring exploits aside, the Jacks needed this win. An 0-2 road trip last week dropped them to 1-2 in league play, and while it’s far too early to really be worrying about the standings, SDSU wanted to end the losing streak before it became an actual streak.

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“It was an important win, especially back on our home court,” said Lindsey, who was 5-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. “We knew this week in practice that this was a big game after a tough road trip and the coaches were on us but they stayed super positive with us. That helped us come to work with a good attitude, so we were gonna get back on track at home.”

Both teams started out hot, with SDSU leading 32-28 at the midpoint of a fast-paced first half. But the Hawks started to gradually cool off (or the Jacks played better defense), while SDSU just kept on ripping the nets.

The Jacks connected on 71 percent of their shots from the field before the break, and actually kept pushing that shooting percentage higher in the early stages of the second half before finally cooling off.

“We started off a little slow on the defensive end but we picked it up late in the half and when we play good defense our offense comes along,” said Sayler, who was 10-of-13 from the floor and hit 4-of-7 3-pointers. “We just trust each other to make the right play, shots went in tonight and that’s what we needed on our home floor.”

Matthew Mors had nine points, four rebounds and four assists, Owen Larson had six points, six rebounds and four assists and Damon Wilkinson had eight points and four rebounds.

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Amar Kuljuhovic had 14 points to lead the Fighting Hawks (7-13, 1-4), while SDSU held UND’s leading scorer, Treysen Eaglestaff, to 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting. Mier Panoam had 10 points, six rebounds and three assists. The Hawks shot 47 percent in the first half but a dreadful 21 percent (7-of-32) in the second.

It’s almost become a running gag how Jacks coach Eric Henderson always focuses on and talks about his team’s defense no matter how well they play on offense, but this game figured to put that to the test. One of the most efficient and entertaining offensive performances the Jacks have put together in Henderson’s tenure — would he still credit the defense first in his postgame remarks? Of course he did, and when teased about it, the coach offered no apologies.

“You know me,” Henderson said with a laugh. “Joe’s performance was pretty special. The pace that we played with and how we shared the basketball is as good as we’ve done all year.”

Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at mzimmer@siouxfallslive.com.

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North Dakota Forest Service leads group to fight California wildfires

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North Dakota Forest Service leads group to fight California wildfires


BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Since the Palisades wildfire began in California on Jan. 7, firefighting crews have been working to contain them.

Many western states have sent equipment and firefighters to help. Now, Hunter Noor of the North Dakota Forest Service is leading a task force of South Dakota firefighters to manage the Eden fires outside of Pasadena.

“It’s just a chunk of ground that starts going up into those high mountains they have there right outside of Pasadena. And we’re just patrolling fire lines, putting out hot spots and just making sure that the lines that are there hold,” said Noor.

Noor and his group plan to be in California for at least another week and a half.

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