Around the State: June 26, 2023

The counties and cities within the state of North Dakota hold many interesting news stories.

Here are just a few of the feature stories that others are reading in communities around the state.

Burgum launches campaign for President

Doug Burgum’s presidential campaign is off and running. Or more correctly, off and flying. Burgum went straight from a campaign kickoff announcement in Fargo directly to campaign stops in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states in the Republican primary process.

Burgum will maintain full control of his governorship during the campaign, which could take him all the way to November of 2024, but first he must navigate a daunting primary process to best former president Donald Trump, party darling Ron DeSantis and at least 10 other candidates.

The campaign to beat Donald Trump will be difficult for all primary challengers.

Some have surmised that Burgum may entertain the consolation prize of a cabinet position if a Republican wins the White House. Burgum himself shot down that theory, telling the Daily Caller, “We’re in it to win it, and that’s what we’re shooting for. If for some reason that’s not in the plans, I think you’d see me as running for a third term as governor of North Dakota as opposed to running for a cabinet position.”

(Story by Steve Hallstrom, the McKenzie County Farmer)

Future of critical minerals in North Dakota

The next geological gift to North Dakota’s economy, and the nation’s, could be right around the corner.

North Dakota and the Bakken are best known for crude oil. But, if the North Dakota Geological Survey’s ongoing work continues, that oil could eventually be joined by the production of critical minerals and rare earth elements.

That’s a catch-all term for essential materials like lithium, cobalt, germanium and gallium. These minerals, and others, are essential to a wide range of modern technology products like computers. They are also rare and normally hard to extract.

A study released by the geological survey this year makes clear these minerals can be found in North Dakota in incredibly high amounts: Samples have tested as high as 2,500 parts per million at some sampling sites.

“We have not seen anyone report concentrations as high as this,” said Levi Moxness, one of the state geologists involved in the ongoing study of these critical mineral deposits and a co-author of a report released earlier this year. “That’s why we’re a little bit excited about this.”

The geology and concentrations have been so promising thus far that a team at the University of North Dakota is working with the federal Department of Energy to design an entirely new extraction method for the critical minerals. That’s because there’s a catch: unlike critical minerals and rare earths currently produced in places like China, North Dakota’s supply is bonded to the organic underground coal seams.

Those challenges haven’t dimmed the geological survey’s excitement. In fact, the progress made in the field, statewide and nationally since they began this project in 2015 leads them to believe this will have a practical impact in the foreseeable future.

(Story by Jacob Orledge, the Tioga Tribune)

New stages, expanding horizons

New opportunities continue to come knocking at the door of Kendra and Krista Slaubaugh, the Hazen sister duet now making a name for themselves in Nashville.

Recently, the Slaubaughs officially changed their music name to “Tigirlily Gold,” in order to distinguish themselves from other possible “Tigirlilys” (such as a DJ in Australia). But the name also hearkens back to the sisters’ roots.

“Gold reflects back to North Dakota, the sunrises, sunsets; the hair color; all of that,” Kendra said.

And Tigirlily has had some golden opportunities coming their way in recent months, from new music to new venues. Some of these venues have fulfilled life-long dreams, others have brought the sisters and their music across state lines and oceans.

On May 13, Tigirlily took the stage at the Grand Ole Opry for the first time. The performance marked a pinnacle for their musical career to date and a long-time dream reached.

Besides being on the stage, the sisters also got to meet some of the other performers of the evening, including Carrie Underwood.

“I think playing the Grand Ole Opry, and we’ve been invited back to play it again in July: it’s that validation, coming from a small town in North Dakota to a really big stage like that, that has given so many people before us so much opportunity. We hope to make a legacy that lasts,” Kendra said.

“The same week as the Grand Ole Opry, we got to perform at the American Country Music Awards in Texas,” Krista said.

“We went on right before the show and played “Shoot Tequila”, and we got to watch the show.”

Their performances have not just been limited to the U.S., however. In mid-March, Tigirlily Gold took part in the C@C Country to Country festival in London in the UK, marking their first international performance.

(Story by Daniel Arens, the Hazen Star)

Harvey bow-hunter’s trophy listed in record book

Tom Miller got his trophy deer on the first day of the 2005 bow-hunting season.

Miller’s tree stand was set up on his grandfather’s land southeast of Harvey.

Tom Finley, Oberon, scored the Harvey bow-hunter’s buck at 28 points. Finley said the velvet rack was “special,” but Miller knew the second he let the arrow fly it was “something special.”

Once calmed and composed and both feet on the ground, he speculated where Pope & Young might score the deer.

Eighteen years later, Pope & Young has ranked the 228-inch rack No. 4 in the nontypical velvet rack category for North American archers. The 28 points gives it the nontypical velvet ranking, meaning many of the antlers were outside the customary curvature of the rack.

Pope & Young, in 2005, were registering but not ranking nonvelvet racks in a world-class category. But the recognized bow-hunter record-keeper was aware of Miller’s harvest.-

When they opened the category in their archery record books in 2018, Miller was invited to send his mounted deer head to the Reno, Nevada, judging panel, where the rack would be officially scored and ranked, following the esteemed Pope & Young scoring system.

Miller’s trophy deer rack, No.4 in North America, was measured 228 and 2/8th inches.

(Story by Neil O. Nelson, the Herald-Press, Harvey)