CARDS
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The official newspaper of Cavalier County Theborderlandpress.com
In this issue:
Friday, December 26, 2025
Volume 4, Number 51
Poll: A majority of North Dakotans are givers Giving important, despite some limitations By Michael Standaert/The North Dakota News Cooperative Despite stubborn inflation, higher daily costs and a dip in holiday spending, most North Dakotans are as committed to charitable giving, according to the latest North Dakota Poll, commissioned by the North Dakota News Cooperative.
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A total of 78% of North Dakota residents say charitable giving is important to them personally, with 31% indicating it is very important and 47% somewhat important. Damon Gleave, interim executive director of the Dakota Medical Foundation, which spearheads the 24-hour charity event Giving Hearts Day each year, said the results of the poll were consistent with what the foundation has seen with the success of the event.
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“Regardless of age or gender or what part of the state people are from, North Dakotans are givers,” Gleave said. Looking further at the data, however, shows a split in how much people feel they can afford to give.
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Asked to describe how much they give each year, 58% gave between $100-$999 annually, while 32% gave between $1,000-$5,000 or more per year. Another 10% declined to answer. “The fact that folks are still interested in supporting charitable organizations during these interesting financial times is certainly encouraging,” said Shawn McKenna, executive director of the North Dakota Association of Nonprofit Organizations.
McKenna said some of the rhetoric coming out of the Trump administration has impacted nonprofits and NGOs, though that includes increased giving to some and less to others. Smaller nonprofits that have seen grant funding dry up because of government efficiency efforts are often having a harder time since they lack the staff to solicit contributions, McKenna said. In another data point from the poll,
nearly half of respondents said that generosity should be “homegrown” with 46% saying support for local organizations is their top reason to give. “It does look like folks are really interested in helping out in their own backyard versus sending it off to whatever the big national type organization is,” McKenna said. Among the other factors considered most important, 16% said support for faith-based groups was highest on their list of reasons, while 16% more
said giving to causes they have a personal connection to was most important. A total of 60% of respondents said they give throughout the year, while 23% said they usually give at the end of the year. “There’s a preference to support local organizations – whose work tends to more directly impact people in a given community — as well as a shift tocont’d. on page B5
The latest December storm shuts down the region Icy roads lead to several accidents, rescues By Mike Alan Steinfeldt
The blizzard on Thursday, Dec. 19, is shaping up to be one for the ages. Iced over roads, snow, wind, and zero visibility combined to shut the region down last week. It was the latest clipper-type weather system to hit the region since Thanksgiving.
went into the ditch at the 10-mile curves,” he said. “It slopes there – those curves are on a grade, and everyone just slipped down into the ditch on the south side of that curve, so it became a rescue mission at that point.”
As a result of blizzard conditions that raged for hours, county offices, schools, and businesses all closed for the day. No-travel advisories were issued for Cavalier, Pembina and Walsh counties and much of northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota.
Jurgens said they had to call on a county sand truck for help.
Although snow totals were minimal, with up to five inches falling, sustained winds of 35-40 miles per hour raged from early morning into the early afternoon on Thursday. I-29 from the Canadian border to the South Dakota border was closed for several hours due to zero visibility and drifting, not reopening until late in the evening. What made conditions even more treacherous was the rain that fell on Wednesday evening before the full-blizzard conditions struck. Precipitation in the form of rain began to fall around 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17. Roads quickly glazed over with more than a quarter inch of glare ice on area roads. That made steering near impossible in some cases, and cars glided into ditches all around the region. By 11 p.m., no-travel advisories had been issued for Cavalier, Pembina and Walsh counties. According to Walsh County Sheriff Ron Jurgens, several vehicles slid off the elevated curves on North Dakota Highway 17 about 10 miles west of Grafton. “After 8 p.m., after the rain hit us, we had approximately 20 vehicles that
“Thankfully, we were able to get a truck out there with some salt and sand and were able to get about half of the vehicles removed from the ditch,” he said. Then there was the matter of getting everyone home. “We didn’t pull any of them out, but with the salt and the sand, many were able to drive out,” Jurgens said. “Many who got out gave the others a ride home. We (the Walsh County Sheriff's office) also gave several people rides home.” When asked to share their storm experiences online for Valley News and Views, several people posted pictures showing the terrible conditions from zero visibility to giant snow drifts. Many people commented that they spent the day Thursday shoveling snowdrifts that had built up around their homes and driveways, catching up on Christmas baking and online shopping and making sure their pets were safe while going outdoors. Local law enforcement had their hands full taking care of travelers who chose not to heed the no-travel advisories and, as a result, got stuck and had to be rescued. Law enforcement and the National Weather Service office in Grand Forks
reminded those who were stuck to remain in their vehicles and not go outside into the life-threatening conditions. The blizzard-force winds and single-digit temperatures resulted in wind chills as cold as 35 degrees below zero, where frostbite can occur in 10 minutes or less. Sheriff Jurgens said that by the time the weather began to calm down in Walsh County, they had received between 15 and 20 calls for service to assist drivers who had gotten stuck.
Drifting of snow remains a big issue in the region. While some areas were blown clear of snow, other areas drifted in. The Drayton Volunteer Fire Department is reminding residents that if you have a fire hydrant near your home, it’s important to keep it clear so firefighters can access it in the case of a fire emergency. They say to clear away an area about three feet in every direction, making a wide enough clear-away zone around the hydrant so firefighters can access it if the need should arise.
Conditions improved, but still were tricky on Friday as ice conditions hadn’t improved much since the previous day and a cold weather advisory persisted for most of the day. All area schools delayed opening to 10 a.m., allowing county snowplows to clear roads and spread sand and salt. Snow squalls later in the day on Friday brought back drifting and whiteout conditions in some areas, prompting schools to call off a wide range of activities and sporting events for the third time in four days.