Tag: hettinger county

Pheasant outlook optimistic: Hunters flock to Regent as season begins

Lee Donner, right, a Regent native who now lives near Waco, Texas, chats Friday with his friends Jim Stipcich, middle, of Helena, Mont., and John Gerbino, left, of Short Hills, N.J., at a campground off Main Street, Regent.

REGENT — This small southwest North Dakota town typically has two busy seasons: harvest and hunting.

The latter kicks off this morning with the opening of the state’s pheasant hunting season — and Regent is one of the places to be.

Like many rural North Dakota towns this weekend, Regent’s population of about 170 more than doubles, and bars and the little lodging it has fi ll up as hunters from around the state and nation flock to the outdoorsman’s paradise.

“It gets crazy,” said Karen Kouba, co-owner of the Cannonball Saloon and the city’s auditor. “It’s hard to find help just for this period of time. But I think we’re staffed OK this year.”

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Drowning in Spring: Large swatch of southwest cropland left unseeded due to wet season

A farmer sprays a field south of Dickinson on Thursday. Some fields in southwest North Dakota are in the stage where farmers can spray them. Other potential cropland is still waiting to be planted — as much as 25 percent in Hettinger County.

MOTT — As much as 25 percent of cropland in parts of southwest North Dakota remains unseeded due to wet conditions that have lingered since late May.

Duaine Marxen, the North Dakota State University extension agent for Hettinger County, said Wednesday the cropland that is seeded is doing well, but unplanted ground will be difficult for farmers to even access without a significant drying-out period.

“In order to get that last 25 percent done, we’re going to need a week, a week and a half, and it’s gotta be warm and dry in order to get it in,” Marxen said.

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Despite being away from Bakken, New England is experiencing a resurgence

Hundreds gather at New England’s Lions Park on July 30 for Burgers in the Park. New England, which was down to an estimated 460 residents not long ago but now believes it is closer to 700, has received many positive effects of North Dakota’s Bakken oil boom. Though it does not having a producing well within 15 miles of its city limits, as oil development continues its slow march south, New England officials are preparing for the possibilities that come with increased activity.

NEW ENGLAND — There isn’t a producing oil well within 15 miles of New England.
But just like many other western North Dakota communities, the small town in northwestern Hettinger County is seeing a revitalization thanks in large part to the economic impact of the Bakken oil boom.

Several new homes are being built, and the city’s population has increased from 460 a few years ago to an estimated 700.

Business isn’t exactly booming, but it has seen a noticeable uptick with more sales tax dollars being generated, longtime community businesses building new facilities and new businesses opening along a once-decaying Main Street.

All are great signs for a small town that only a few years ago seemed relegated to watching businesses close as its population grew older and dwindled.

“Main Street in New England hasn’t probably looked this good in 30 years,” New England Mayor Marty Opdahl said.

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Farm accident claims the life of 19-year-old Mott man

A 19-year-old Mott man beloved by the community he grew up in died Monday while doing what he loved, family and friends said.

Mike Wehri was attempting to spray a field for an area farmer he worked for when the machine he was driving “hit something electrical,” Hettinger County Sheriff Sarah Warner said.

Wehri was a 2012 Mott-Regent High School graduate and recently completed his freshman year at North Dakota State University, where he was majoring in agronomy.
“All he wanted to do all his life was be a farmer,” said Judy Martin, Wehri’s grandmother who lives in Dickinson.

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