Kyser returns from Iraq

On Saturday, Jan. 17, Cole Kyser returned to North Dakota after a four-month voluntary mobilization in Iraq. He served with the Air National Guard as a firefighter stationed at the Baghdad International Airport. Friends and family gathered to welcome him at Hector International Airport.

“I thought the deployment was a good learning experience. I was reminded that there are other places in the world besides my local area. Some of the challenges included the responsibility of being the driver of a fire truck at a very busy airbase, and the communication barrier of training with the local Iraqi’s. For me it’s been a great decision. I’ve received great job training and the opportunity to serve my country. It’s definitely something a young person should consider doing,” Kyser said.

Kyser is a student at N.D.S.U. and plans to pursue more training in the fire and medical services of the Air National Guard. He is the son of Deb and Kenneth Kyser, Erie.

Food pantry seeks to spread word

By Amanda Gades

 

In an effort to reach more families throughout the county, the Cass County Rural Community Emergency Food Pantry aims to spread their word to targeted locations.

We want to try and get the word out that we serve all of rural Cass County and not only Casselton, said Becky Jahnke, during the annual board meeting of the rural Cass County food pantry on Jan. 26 at St. Leo’s Catholic Church.  

Local attends presidential inauguration

By Amanda Gades 

 

Washington D.C. grew by two million people on Jan. 20 for the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama. 

Amidst the large crowd on the mall and capitol grounds was West Fargo native Dana Halvorson.

     “I was fortunate that I was able to get in and watch it right there,” she said. 

But for Halvorson, preparation for the festivities began before Jan. 20. 

A legislative assistant in U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad’s office, she helped the senator’s chief of staff and executive assistant with the distribution of tickets for the national event. 

“I wanted to be part of the process since it was truly history in the making,” Halvorson said. 

Requests for tickets came in immediately after Obama was elected. 

Ruth Kringler

Ruth A. Kringler, 89, Fargo, N.D., formerly Buffalo, N.D., died on Friday, January 23, 2009 at the Elim Care Center, Fargo.  

Ruth Antje Margaret Stensgaard was born April 25, 1919 in Craik, Saskatchewan, Canada to Alfred and Harmka (Raveling) Stensgaard. She immigrated with her parents and sister, Alice, from Canada to Buffalo, N.D. in 1936. She graduated from Buffalo High School. After graduation, she attended Valley City Teacher’s College and earned a Standard degree. Following her education, she taught at Moore Consolidated, Wimbledon and Buffalo Public Schools.

Ruth married Robert Houston Kringler on June 4, 1946 in Buffalo, N.D. The union was blessed with five children: Roberta (Curtiss) Mundahl, Cando, N.D., Jennifer (Gary) Gillis, Storden, Minn., John (Jan) Kringler, Fargo, N.D., Mary (Keith) Gohdes, Mapleton, N.D., Ruth E. (Mike) Fuller, Maricopa, Ariz. Grandchildren: Carrin (Jeff) Thorpe, Carolyn (Layton) Reynolds, Courtney Mundahl; Heather (Ken) Thiesen, Janelle Gillis, Mandey Gillis and fiancé, Mark Fabian; Laura Kringler, Robert Kringler; Janessa (Tim) Smith, Brianna Gohdes and Alyssa Gohdes; Mariah, Brandon and Andrew Fuller. Great-grandchildren: Hunter and Riley Thorpe; Mauren, Maesyn and Macoy Thiesen; Logan Smith.

Gordon Gunderson

 

Gordon (Gordy) Oscar Gunderson, age 82, Casselton, N.D. passed away on January 23, 2009 at Bethany Homes, Fargo, N.D.

Gordy was born January 31, 1926 in Cooperstown, N.D. He was the son of Oscar and Emma (Larson) Gunderson. He grew up by Aneta, N.D. and attended school in Romness Township.

Gordy married Constance (Connie) Hanson January 9, 1949 at Sundahl Lutheran Church in Aneta, N.D. They farmed in Romness Township (Griggs County), Cooperstown, N.D. until 1966 when they moved to Lake Park, Minn. to operate a farm. In 1968 they moved to Casselton, N.D. and began leasing a DX gas station, which they later purchased. The Casselton gas station has been called “Gordy’s” for over 40 years. Gordy and Connie ran the business from 1968 to 1988 and then their sons took over the business operation. In honor of their dad the business was formally incorporated in 1988 and called “Gordy’s, Inc.” Gordy continued to help with the family business until 1996 when he entered a nursing home. The business that Gordy and Connie started in 1968 to this day is still widely known as “GORDY’S” and it continues to be a reference/gathering point in the community. In addition to operating Gordy’s, Gordy in the late 60’s and early 70’s worked for NDSU doing milk testing for a number of dairy farms.

Dale McDougall

Dale L. McDougall, age 53, of Hitterdal, Minn., passed away on Wednesday, January 21, 2009, at Innovis Health Systems, Fargo, N.D. Dale was born August 26, 1955, to Stanley and Ethel (Lloyd) McDougall in Detroit Lakes, Minn. He grew up in Wheatland, N.D., and attended school in Casselton, graduating from Central Cass High School. After high school he attended North Dakota State College of Science before moving to the Twin Cities. While living in the cities, he met Linda Passa. They were married on June 16, 1979, in Drayton, N.D. Together they lived in the cities for a brief time before moving to Hitterdal, where they lived and raised their children. Dale worked for Western States Life Insurance, now known as Midland Financial, for over 28 years. 

Dale enjoyed spending time outdoors, hunting, fishing, camping, riding his motorcycle and photography. He was a fun person to be around and loved spending time with his friends and family, he was especially proud of his three wonderful children.  He will be greatly missed by everyone that he touched. 

Tharaldson Ethanol Plant makes its official debut

 

The ethanol plant uses the same amount of electricity as a town the size of Jamestown. The lights of the impressive facility can be seen from miles away in neighboring towns.

By Sarah Sorvaag

After months of planning, construction, and anticipation, the Tharaldson Ethanol Plant has officially opened and begun processing ethanol.

In May 2007, construction began on the nation’s fifth largest ethanol plant. The 19-month endeavor completed in December of 2008. According to Russ Newman, Vice President of Tharaldson Ethanol, most ethanol plants take over two years to build. The plant will likely host a grand opening ceremony in June.

“It’s kind of funny how we picked this site. We began by looking for where there was corn, then examined a railroad map to see intersections and highways, natural gas, and water resources,” Newman said.

A revolutionary objective was used in the efforts to have water conservation as a major priority in the ethanol process.

“We decided to take Fargo’s waste water. We will consume seven percent  waste water and receive 900,000 gallons per day of the 12 million gallons per day that is currently treated at the Fargo Treatment facility. We got creative on this and it is the only plant in the country that reuses waste water,” Newman said.

  “We installed a 12-inch tube and an eight-inch tube. We over-designed it in case we ever want to expand. We could double our capacity,” Newman said.

The newly finished ethanol plant is on the outskirts of Casselton and features a variety of high-tech gadgets and machinery, as well as a large storage capacity.

Part time middle school principal requests full time hours

By Amanda Gades 

 

Sometimes, there aren’t enough hours in the day to complete all your tasks. 

That’s what Middle School Principal Pete Pogatshnik told the school board during his presentation at the Jan. 19 Central Cass School Board meeting. 

“I think I can do a better job if I were doing one job instead of three,” said Pogatshnik, who has served as middle school prinicipal for two and a half years. 

Mapleton City Council hears parking concerns and discusses snow removal

By Sarah Sorvaag

On Monday, Jan. 12, the Mapleton City Council discussed a variety of topics ranging from computers for City Hall to no parking signs, to snow removal. About 15 people were in attendance at the meeting.

Early on, the council members examined their options for new computers and listened to Brian Litton from the Network Center describe the best options and choices for the council. He described the prices, hard drive memory, operating systems, help services available, screen size, firewall network, and processors. The council members decided to purchase a reasonable amount of technology that would also fit well into the budget.

Elaine Mahowald

Elaine Mahowald, 68, Gardener, died Sunday, January 11, 2009 in Hillsboro Medical Center. The funeral was held Friday, January 16 in the Gardner Congregational Church.