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In this Issue:
Letter from the Publisher Page 4 Letter from the Editor Page 4 “New Year, New You” with Sara Goodman in The Morning Run Page 4 A Miracle Named Moose Page 5 Donors ‘Take’ All Seats at the Walla Theatre Page 5 High School Students Compete in Drone Challenges Page 6 Jake’s Take On Sports Page 7
Index:
News Page 2 Agriculture Page 3 Opinion Page 4 Community Page 5 Education Page 6 Jake’s Take On Sports Pages 7 Sports Pages 7-11 Obituaries Page 12 Meeting Minutes Pages 12-13
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FOR A LAUGH:
What is it called when a snowman has a temper tantrum? A meltdown. What falls in the winter but never gets hurt? Snow. What do you call a fake noodle? An im-pasta. What time is it when you have to go to the dentist? Tooth hurty.
Friday, January 14, 2022
Volume 1, Number 1
New Political Boundaries Affect Cavalier, Pembina Counties
By Shanda Christianson In November, the North Dakota State Legislature held a special session to finalize the redistricting lines for the state. The previous District 10 has been split into District 19 and District 9. State Senator Janne Myrdal, who is serving in the legislature and was
elected in the previous District 10, said new lines are drawn after the census every 10 years, and the population determines how the political districts are reorganized. There are 47 districts in North Da-
kota. The new District 19 includes all of Pembina County, the easternmost part of Cavalier County, and the northern part of Walsh County. The new District 9 is divided into two sections: 9B, which includes the majority of Cavalier County, the majority
of Towner County, and part of northern Rolette County and 9A, which includes the southern part of Rolette County. Myrdal said the redistricting happens cont’d. on page 2
Teen Musher Takes on the Jr. Iditarod by Sarah Hinnenkamp
In the Robinson house, the Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska is their Big Game. They watch the ceremonial start and they cheer for their favorite mushers – they even have a fantasy team.
gear, and her trip to Alaska – meeting an overall goal of $8,000. Eva grew up on a sled; when she was 2 and her twin sisters were 7 months old, her parents owned a team of Alaskan Malamutes.
“That’s just my race,” said 15-year-old Eva Robinson from Cavalier. Now the teen is looking forward to competing in her own Big Game dream: the Jr. Iditarod in Alaska. The Jr. Iditarod is designed as a long-distance dog sled race, instead of a sprint or a speed race. It prepares seasoned mushers under the age of 18 for the much longer Iditarod race.
Musher Eva Robinson with Dream, one of the pups born into Eva’s kennel. Dream’s parents are Cocoa and Jayce, an Iditarod veteran. Submitted photo.
Sixteen mushers will compete in the Jr. Iditarod starting Feb. 26. All but two hail from Alaska – a competitor from Wisconsin and Robinson, who has had this race in her sights since she was 5. Eva is used to carrying the state. North Dakota has recreational mushers, but Eva’s is the only competitive racing kennel currently listed in the state. “It’s lonely but actually really fun. Not many people know my name; they say ‘Hey, North Dakota’s here!” Eva said. “It’s a huge honor to be able to represent our state in Wisconsin and Minnesota – definitely a lot of North Dakota pride there.” To fund her Jr. Iditarod dream, Eva launched Eva Diva Puppy Snacks at age 8. She and her family traveled to trade shows around the region, including shows in Langdon, selling her homemade dog treats. Some buyers said they were impressed she was still at it years later, and at every show, she sold out of product. She raised more than $1,000 per year to fund her dogs, her
Her dad trained them to pull a sled by starting on a bicycle. “We look back and think, ‘Oh goodness, what were we thinking?’ We were just so new at this,” said Katt Robinson, Eva’s mom. Recreational mushing became a family activity. They mushed, made a camp, drank hot chocolate, played in the snow, and went home. Those experiences planted a dream that didn’t take long to sprout. Within a few years, Eva had 16 sled dogs – all Alaskan husky mutts, which are hard-pulling, strong and fast dogs. All except three came from the same bloodline, with most coming from Alaska with the bloodlines of sled
Robinson with Corgi. Photo by Larry Stokke
dogs going back generations. Some have run the Iditarod. “Racing is a chance to bond with the dogs and test our abilities,” Eva said. “This is a chance to connect with my community. There aren’t a lot of mushers out there anymore and a little competition is a little fun.” Eva started her trek to Alaska at the beginning of January, traveling with her dad and all 16 dogs. The race starts Feb. 26, but this time allows Eva and the dogs to acclimate to Alaskan conditions. The race is 150 miles. Mushers will travel 75 miles to Yentna Station Roadhouse, complete a mandatory 10-hour layover for rest, and then
race 75 miles back to the finish line. Katt Robinson said the race starts at 10 a.m., and usually competitors will start crossing the finish line by 5 p.m. the next day, though it depends on weather and trail conditions. During the layover, Eva will feed the dogs, massage them, change their booties, and allow them to rest. “I’ll get about an hour of sleep and maybe a granola bar,” Eva said. Eva has looked forward to being in the mushing capital of the U.S., but she thinks it will be a bit of a culture shock for her and her dog team to be around that kind of community. The Robinsons have made connections in Alaska, and the mushing community is excited to host the North Dakota guests. “It’s competition, but it’s friendly competition – everyone cheers for everyone,” Katt said. Eva said it’s often the musher that gets the attention, but there’s a lot cont’d. on page 14
Brown Leads Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area The new leader of the Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area accepted the job from his home in Indiana before he had ever set foot on North Dakota soil. It all started with seeing the job listing online. “It jumped off the page at me just because of the amount of potential in the area,” said Rocky Brown, park
manager for the Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area. “There are so many opportunities to kind of be able to develop such a cool place – figuratively and literally. There’s so much here to turn this into a world class destination for people, and people don’t even know that.” Starting his job on December 1,
Brown says this position is tailor-made for his skill set. He worked for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources for 15 years in several different professional capacities, all in the area of land recreation and stewardship management. Now he’s tasked with leading the Pembina Gorge into the future.
Rocky Brown, Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area park manager. Photo by Larry Stokke.
Brown moved here with his wife, Jenah; sons Will, age 4, and Garret, age 3, and the family’s dog, Sadie. They had moved around southern Indiana for jobs within the park service with the idea of finding a place to settle down.
Brown’s duties include day-to-day operations of the recreation area, trail maintenance, general state park upkeep, some enforcement, education, and overseeing possible development that may happen in the future. Brown is looking forward to putting his stamp on the property and continuing to share it with local families but also expanding its reach beyond the state of North Dakota.
“It’s really exciting to see a place like the Pembina Gorge State Recreational Area because potential is the key word. It has the potential to be the linchpin of the community,” Brown said. “Just having someone there to champion the place and to go to meetings and to build that sense of teamwork and pride in the area are things I’m really looking forward to
doing.”
Rocky, Jenah, Garret, and Will Brown. Submitted photo.
Brown hopes to start getting around to local communities to visit with stakeholders and business owners. He has experience in building community and has witnessed how teamwork within a community is vital. He wants people to know he’s ready to visit. “Literally everyone here is going to know more about the area than I do,” Brown said. “Tell me about the history of your family and why you like or don’t like the idea of economic development, or if you like what we’re doing in the Gorge. I’m very happy to hear all sides of everything.”
“I can personally see a career’s worth of work to do here. I want to stay,” Brown said. “We’re kind of sick of moving, and we want a place to call home. It is weird to be the guy with the accent.” The Pembina Gorge reminds Brown quite a bit of his former home area in Indiana. He says it feels like home. “Well, the temperature doesn’t, but I’m already starting to learn to embrace that,” Brown said. Brown’s office is located at 101 5th Street in Walhalla. He shares office space with North Dakota Game and Fish and the North Dakota Forest Service. He plans to keep office hours from Noon – 4 p.m., Monday-Friday from now until March 1. The rest of his schedule will be filled with working in the field.