Luann Dart

That’s when Edgeley and Kulm shook hands to form the first of an ever-expanding sports co-op that eventually stretched to Montpelier for basketball and to Ellendale for football and wrestling.

“We had that relationship that started with basketball and it built its way into the other sports,” explains Adam Schlepp, Kulm High School principal and athletic director.

Across the state in western North Dakota, Grant County High School (GCHS) in Elgin was poised to floor only eight boys basketball players in eighth through 12th grade next season.

“It’s a niche market, but it’s getting more popular,” Jayden says. Restaurants and grocery stores on the coasts have a demand for bison meat, pushing the retail price about $1 a pound more than beef.

Jayden attended Canada’s National Meat Training Center in Alberta and graduated as a professional meat cutter after four months of full-time training. While he was training, he and Roy sent 25 or more sketches back and forth, detailing their dreams of a processing facility.

The plant opened in December 2019, on the cusp of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pointing out he had no prior ranching experience, John says a few area ranchers have take him under their wing, teaching him about the industry.

Today, they are fully invested, with not only a ranch, but a federally inspected processing facility as well.
 

The Pembina Gorge and surrounding areas in Cavalier, Walsh and Pembina counties make up the tourism region, where the forested terrain and river gorge offer plenty of opportunities for adventure seekers.

“It’s this wonderland that people aren’t even that aware of in North Dakota, so I think people are surprised. I call it a pleasant surprise,” Mandt says. “I describe the gorge as a bit soulful. It’s really untouched and most of the projects we work on keep that value, that it remains nature-centric.”

Then, customers began asking about the benefits of the ProBiotein product for human consumption.

“So, we got pulled into that different area of the market,” Jordan says. The Food First test kitchen began in a former Dairy Queen building in Walhalla. By 2017, Food First’s ProBiotein plant began operations as a food-grade facility in Walhalla, producing ProBiotein powder and MicroBiome Bars which use ProBiotein as an ingredient.

But she sees students struggling with coping with COVID-19, she says, and all it entails.

“We’ve definitely seen a rollercoaster of emotions. We’ve seen a lot of anxiety, some depression. They’re definitely needing mental health counseling,” she says.

Within the SVSEU, some students share their concerns with in-school counseling teams, while some need additional referral to community therapists. Some schools have even contracted with licensed counselors to come into the school, so families don’t have to take additional time away from work or school.

“Christine became seriously ill after inhaling strong fumes rising from a bag of decorative wood chips that she had opened to use in the Gillund’s yard. This poisoning resulted in severe and lasting health problems for Christine, which left her unable to use commercial products containing perfumes, solvents, pesticides and a bevy of other synthetic chemical ingredients. This poisoning also caused Christine to be unable to leave the family farm,” the company website says, sharing Christine’s story.

For the next three years, Christine described herself as being in a fog.

Fifty-two years later, in 2020, Norma will not be working at the polls. She is opting to cast her absentee ballot and stay home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Norma still encourages others to get involved – and stay involved – in the election process.

Just 17 years old, Gabe has also forged his own business, Cracked Anvil Blade Smithing, melding metal, muscle, fire and expertise to create hunting, utility and chef’s knives.
“I like swinging the hammer. The whole process is taking raw materials and making something unique out of it,” he says.