John Kempenich and his daughter, Lexi, of Dickinson, check to see if the Christmas tree they picked out at the Dickinson State University Rodeo Club’s sale on Wednesday evening at the DSU Ag Building is the one they want.
For John Kempenich, it’s about tradition, family and, of course, the smell.
Kempenich spent several minutes Wednesday night at the Dickinson State University Agriculture Building carefully examining the fir trees lining the walls until he found one that caught his eye.
He fluffed the tree and inspected it some more. After seeking the advice of his daughters, who each performed the same meticulous study of the tree, the decision was made. The Kempenich family had found their Christmas tree.
They have been coming to DSU to pick out a Christmas tree sold as a fundraiser by the university’s rodeo club since before their 18-year-old daughter Lexi was born.
Rachelle Bliss, left, helps customer Janel Ladbury of Dickinson on Friday afternoon at Ace Hardware at the T-Rex Plaza.
Stores take ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach anticipating deal hunters
Customers flooded Dickinson stores Thursday night and throughout the day Friday, hunting for deals and officially kicking off the holiday shopping season. Yet, store managers in a city known for having employee shortcomings said they were able to keep pace well, despite hectic instances. “This is our all-hands-on-deck thing,” Herbergers store manager Sarah Molnar said. “This is our year right here. So basically, we’re all here.”
Herbergers was the first retail store other than Walmart to open on Thanksgiving Day, starting its deals at 6 p.m. It stayed open through the night and, by 3 p.m. Friday, still had customers waiting in long lines at service counters waiting to pay for the deals they’d discovered.
Sears Manager Kyle Gengler, left, and his sister-in-law and employee Tanya Jo Keck discuss appliances with a customer at Sears in Dickinson on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Gengler took over management of Sears, which is owned by his stepfather. On the cover, Gengler stands in front of the Sears sign on the T-Rex Plaza off Third Avenue West. The store relocated after spending several years in a stand-alone store west of the Prairie Hills Mall.
Kyle Gengler knows he is starting his job at a busy time.
Not only is the Dickinson retail business booming, the holidays just happen to be right around the corner.
Last Tuesday morning, shortly after opening at 9 a.m., customers and looky loos started trickling in to the new Sears location in the T-Rex Plaza. Some shopped for tools — the people who knew exactly what they needed — while others browsed appliances and sale items.
“I’m already sitting here and gearing up for next week,” Gengler said as he sat behind the store’s computer, taking a break in between customer questions and shoring up his delivery driver’s morning itinerary.
Dickinson Police officers investigate the scene of a shooting death at Century Apartments in north Dickinson at about 5:15 p.m. Sunday.
A man who was shot multiple times after a verbal altercation Sunday evening at a Dickinson apartment complex has died, the Dickinson Police Department said.
Police Chief Dustin Dassinger identified the man killed as 37-year-old David Porter in a statement Monday afternoon.
In the statement, Dassinger said Porter was shot “multiple times after a verbal confrontation with the suspect(s).” The incident remains under investigation. Porter died at St. Joseph’s Hospital on Sunday night.
The statement did not say if arrests had been made. Porter is not a Dickinson resident.
Police responded to Century Apartments on the 2100 block of 21st Street West at about 4:24 p.m. Sunday after a report of an African-American male being shot, according to statements released by the department Sunday and Monday. The shooting happened on the south side of the apartment complex, not far from the street.
Authorities are looking for a vehicle possibly involved in the shooting. It is described as a dark-colored Chrysler 300 with a model year range from 2005 to 2010. The car has out-of-state license plates and tinted windows. Anyone with information regarding the vehicle is asked to contact the Dickinson Police Department at 701-456-7759. A police officer at the scene Sunday night said that the public is not believed to be in danger.
Access to the apartment complex on 21st Street West — a well-traveled road on the north side of the city — was blocked off at Prairie Oak Drive and 10th Street West late Sunday night.
The North Dakota Highway Patrol and the police department investigated scene late into the night. A Dickinson Fire Department truck was parked along 21st Street West and used a light tower to illuminate the crime scene for investigators.
Dave Bauer of Bauer Property Management, which manages Century Apartments and has its office on the complex’s grounds, said Sunday that authorities informed him about the shooting but he didn’t have enough information to comment further.
A glitch in North Dakota’s polling system prevented a former Dickinson resident from voting Tuesday in the general election, the Secretary of State’s office said Wednesday.
Kyle Thiel moved from Dickinson to Bismarck in August. When he did so, he updated his address on the state Department of Transportation website. However, Thiel did not change his driver’s license, which still says he lives in Dickinson. His change of address online should have been enough to allow him to vote, said Lee Ann Oliver, an election specialist with the Secretary of State’s office.
Dustin Monke 