GRAND FORKS — UND came back from a 24-7 halftime deficit to stun No. 4 Montana 27-24 on Saturday night at the Alerus Center.

Here are five things you might’ve missed during the game.

Montana wide receiver/returner Junior Bergen didn’t play against the Fighting Hawks.

The All-American, who didn’t play in Week 1 in a Montana win over Missouri State, dressed and made the trip.

Bergen warmed up on the field before the game but didn’t see any action.

UND’s passing game struggled to get off the ground against Montana, specifically an effort to involve All-American wide receiver Bo Belquist.

Belquist was targeted 10 times with four catches for 33 yards and a long of 17 yards.

All 33 of Belquist’s yards came in the first half.

Nate DeMontagnac came up with the clutch plays late for UND in the passing game.

UND picked up a third-and-11 on the drive that ended with Elrichs’ game-winning kick when Simon Romfo connected with the Canadian wide receiver on a 14-yard slant pass.

Early against Montana, Griz quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat was able to escape UND’s defensive pressure.

His ability to elude a cornerback blitz from Antonio Bluiett led to Ah Yat’s 37-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Harris to open the scoring in the first quarter.

But UND’s defensive pressure eventually got to Ah Yat and backup quarterback Logan Fife.

Ah Yat was sacked five times.

Craig Orlando, Josh Navratil and Wyatt Pedigo were each credited with two sacks.

For the first time in his two-game tenure as offensive coordinator, Isaac Fruechte turned to tight end Quincy Vaughn to handle a short-yardage situation.

After not using Vaughn on third-and-1 to start the fourth quarter, a play in which Gaven Ziebarth picked up 3 yards, Fruechte went to Vaughn, a former quarterback, in the next situation.

With the game tied at 24, UND faced a fourth-and-1 from the Griz 44.

Vaughn entered the game and easily picked up the needed yard on a plunge up the middle.

UND’s home crowd made a difference in the second half.

The announced attendance was 11,595 — the most for a home opener since 2017 against Missouri State.

The game was a 6 p.m. kickoff — the first Saturday night kick at UND in 10 years.

While some may assume the glitzy, high-end food and wine festivals most often take places in large, coastal cities like New York and Los Angeles, this isn’t always the case, as shown by one of the newest food and wine festivals, set to debut later this month. The Whitefish Food and Wine Festival is being led by Chef Todd English and aims to spotlight Whitefish, the Flathead Valley and the state of Montana on the whole — a state that isn’t often acknowledged enough for its myriad contributions to food, farming, waterways, fishery and more

English — a four-time James Beard award winner and one of the first “big-name” celebrity chefs — has helmed multiple restaurants, penned countless cookbooks and appeared on an endless amount of food television shows and specials.

Now, he’s a founding member of the Whitefish Food and Wine Festival team. 

The inaugural Festival, as per the website, “supports the local culinary scene in the Flathead Valley, from top local chefs to regional farms & ranches, to local culinary programs and beyond.” Salon Food had the opportunity to speak with English about the festival, Montana on the whole, his career, and what’s next for the decorated chef.

The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length. 

The event is meant to highlight the Flathead Valley and the greater Montana — what are some of the aspects of the food, the terroir and the other aspects of Montana fare that make it such a  unique place to spotlight? 

Yes, the event is meant to feature Flathead Valley in the greater Montana and celebrate all the great things that are going on there, which are all 100% unique.

Like many places in America, they are creating amazing food. From sushi, to BBQ to Italian, there is so much talent in the restaurant and chef scene. Between the location’s combination of natural beauty, outdoor recreation and its cozy, small-town feel, Whitefish is the ideal spot for a Wine and Food Festival.

As a hub for outdoor enthusiasts, Whitefish has a quaint, friendly vibe with a charming downtown area featuring boutique shops, local restaurants and art galleries. It’s the perfect place for an intimate gathering to celebrate the local wine and food scene.

For the uninitiated, what is Whitefish known for from a culinary perspective? 

Known as one of the top ski towns in the US, Whitefish’s culinary scene has a very diverse style with a variety of restaurants, so you can try a wide range of cuisines when you visit or stay in the area. However, high-quality restaurants and fine dining options are becoming more and more prevalent, so we want to put Whitefish on the map as a culinary hotspot with this festival by showcasing the local talent.

What is it about the Montana food scene that you think is most misunderstood and/or that most people wouldn’t be aware of? 

What I’ve seen is that there’s a crowd that really enjoys food and that people are enthusiastic about it. There’s great product in the area all the things that lead to a great culinary vibe. So really just trying to spread the word about that!

Your background is Italian-American, but your restaurants often veer outside of that theme. Is there a certain element, dish or ingredient within Italian or Italian-American fare that you’d say is your favorite?

That is really true, but an American chef showcases the melting pot that we live in. I lived in New York for some years and it is a culinary melting pot of every ethnic food that comes into the country.

I love working with the availability of ingredients and the fact that you can actually pull from many different styles. It’s a fusion in the sense that you understand the ingredients and how they work together in unique ways to create unique combinations and amazing flavor profiles.

Chef Todd English in Montana (Whitefish Food & Wine)

I’d love to hear a bit about the English hotel? What are the food offerings like there? 

I spend 200 to 220 days a year on the road and I spend a lot of time in hotels, so obviously I have my opinions about food in hotels. It should be a very comfortable place that has all the basic needs in hotel and some great food offerings are a big part of big driving force of our hotel. Pepper Club is a beautiful mix of Japanese Mediterranean fusion.

Do you have a number-one dish you think best encapsulates your career?  

As an Italian-American: Spaghetti Pomodoro!

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What are your top three favorite ingredients to work with?

High quality of the following: Olive oil, sea salt, grated black pepper 

How do you practice sustainability? 

Sustainability is very important to us – one of the ways we practice that is that we work with local farmers. We really try to be very inquisitive about how things are brought to market, how the farmer handles the food and how it gets to us. We try not to involve pesticides and  we also try to keep things in season — those are all things that lead to sustainability. 

What stands out for you as a formative moment that got you into cooking or food at large?

I was about eight years old and I said I was going to make peach ice cream. It was August in Georgia and my mother went out and bought a white ice cream maker and peaches from the local market. It was just spectacular.

In your career, is there a singular moment that stands out as something you’re most proudest of? 

Along with my beautiful children, I think being recognized by my colleagues. That’s how the James Beard award is judged and I think it’s a great, meaningful way to have colleagues judge each other.

I’ve been very very fortunate I got into the industry and was able to do a lot of things. I’m very ambitious and those are all things that kind of played into my amazing career.

What do you hope to see the Whitefish Food and Wine Festival accomplish for Montana? For the restaurant industry? For tourism?

I’ve visited Whitefish over many years and for me, I’m just so excited to be able to utilize the Whitefish Wine and Food festival as a way to really support and celebrate the local restaurant scene, as well as the local Chefs. They are doing an amazing job! I believe that a large part of tourism is where you eat and what kind of food there is. Whitefish, Montana is amazing place to visit, they’ve done a great job with tourism with all of the amazing nature, outdoor and activities to do and we’re using the festival as a way to shine a light on what else they have to offer in terms of their culinary and hospitality scene.

We also are using the festival as a way to bring it back to a little bit more grassroots and create an intimate setting within the food and wine scene. I want people to get to know the Chef so they can understand who is behind the scenes and what’s going on. I think that’s the really special thing that the festival is focused on — for Chefs, as well as the guests!

Whitefish, Montana in fall (Explore Whitefish)

You now have a host of restaurants throughout the world, which started all the way back in 1989 with Olives in Charlestown, MA. How have you seen the industry change since then? How does your most recently opened restaurant differ from Olives? 

I mean, there were no cell phones back then and there was no social media, so that alone changed everything.

With Charlestown, it was very much a grassroots and revolutionary way we brought food to the table. Today, I love the social media aspect of the industry, but I also realize that that’s not what it’s all about. We still have to deliver the incredible food, experience and atmosphere and it’s not just about Instagram moments.

Throughout your career, is there an opening — or a restaurant itself — that you have the most affinity for? 

I’d say that my first restaurant was the one that I loved most in the opening because it was my first foray into the industry.  I was really excited and really young. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into, but there was that innocence that I loved.  I was just working so hard and was so excited to be able to do my own restaurant.

During the last 36 years, the Montana Department of Revenue has helped the governors prepare a balanced budget before the Legislature arrives. Montana’s Govs. Marc Racicot,  Judy Martz, Brian Schweitzer and Steve Bullock knew that the Montana Constitution requires a balanced budget. The budget cannot spend more money than comes in from taxes and other sources.

In each of those years, the governor was given the most recent property appraisals to help calculate the property taxes that would be collected to balance the budget. In almost all of those years, the value of properties (including houses) had increased — sometimes by a little, sometimes by a lot.

Governors — Republican and Democrat — were formerly advised by Revenue Department experts that unless the property tax rate was adjusted downward by the Governor and Legislature, property taxes (residential taxes are 60 percent of the total) would increase. For 36 years, those governors listened to the recommendation and they adjusted — cut — the rate so homeowners would NOT get tax increases.

I know about these things, because as your governor for eight years, I did not raise one tax or fee on anything… property, income, booze,… nothing!

Gov. Greg Gianforte was advised by his Revenue Department in November 2022 that the rate for the coming two years would have to be cut from 1.35% to 0.94% to ensure that homeowners would not see huge tax increases. He chose, and the Legislature agreed, not to adjust the rate, and homeowners have had their taxes increase at the fastest rate in history. This new taxation increased revenue collected by the Montana state budget by more than $500 million during two years. Taxes increased for most homes in Montana.

Montana has never had more elected Republicans than we do today. Republicans control all the branches of government. These tax increases were placed on your shoulders without the help or consent of any Democrat. The Montana Republican Party is now the party of higher taxes and more government spending.

Housing costs will continue to increase across Montana because of the tax hike. Rents will increase for renters because property owners will pass the tax increases along to tenants.

Because of COVID concerns about a downturn in the economy, the Trump and Biden administrations poured money into all 50 state budgets. When Gianforte prepared the state budget, he had the largest budget surplus — $2.6 billion — in history. All 50 states also had historic surpluses.

So who got the money?

No funding increases for education or healthcare.  No help for working families, state employees or main street businesses.

Montana’s largest two property tax payers are NorthWestern Energy and BNSF Railroad . They each got millions of dollars in tax cuts. Northwestern sent the loot to corporate headquarters in South Dakota and then raised your electric rates. BNSF sent the stash to Fort Worth, Texas, and increased freight rates to ship Montana’s wheat crop to Portland. Refineries, pipelines, transmission lines and mines all got big tax breaks and did not invest more in Montana or hire more Montana workers. They just sent your money to their shareholders.

The governor and Republican legislators first claimed that they did not raise taxes, then falsely claimed that counties raised your property taxes. County Commissioners (most are Republicans) were disgusted by that accusation and unsuccessfully sued the governor to try to  cut your taxes, reminding the Helena crowd that state law only allows counties to increase spending by half the annual inflation rate (around 2%).

The embarrassed governor finally convened a “property tax task force.” The task force consisted of the governor’s staff, pals, legislators and lobbyists He even appointed some out of state “experts.” They prepared a 30-page document with all kinds of ideas, but still did not recommend the simple solution of cutting the tax rate from 1.35% to 0.94%. So, your home’s taxes are still increasing.

The 30-page document (smoke and mirrors) was prepared by the same governor’s staff, legislators and lobbyists that concocted and voted for your tax increases during the 2023 legislative session. Thirty pages of recommendations yet not a single vote was cast.

I guess they all agreed before they sat down that your taxes should go up and that out-of-state corporations get to keep your money.

Brian Schweitzer is a third generation Montana farmer, husband, father,  grandfather and served as Montana’s Governor from 2005 to 2013.