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The View from Chute #2

By Andrea Winkjer Collin, Editor, North Dakota Horizons

I've had a variety of experiences over past Memorial Day weekends.  Filling orange and yellow bags at a "Sandbag Central" site in the middle of Bismarck-Mandan's frantic flood fight, well, this was a first.

North Dakotans who live east of here have had had several years to hone their flood-fighting skills. Except for a scare in Bismarck two years during a Missouri River ice jam, we have been fairly immune from floods.  It is different this year, with the entire Missouri River Basin threatened with flooding of historic proportions.

For the past week, residents living near the Missouri River have scrambled to protect their homes and remove their possessions before scheduled water releases from Garrison Dam reach us by the weekend.  And, National Guard troops and construction crews have have been building dikes and levees throughout our towns to stop the water.

Grateful that our home is not in the threatened part of town, my husband, Rick, and I felt an obligation to respond to the calls for volunteers at one of Bismarck-Mandan's "sandbags central." Our community has a daunting task ahead of us -- fill 4 million more sandbags by Thursday. We drove to the shopping mall and a shuttle bus took us to where volunteers were needed.  There, we were directed to the Sandbag Spider, a 12-chute machine that is fed sand by an auger, which then distributes sand to the bags below each chute.

We took our place at Chute #2. I was one of two putting a bag under the chute which, when about half full, I passed down the assembly line to Rick.  He handed the bag off to another, who then passed it on to a row of volunteers grabbing the bags and stacking them on the waiting trucks or flatbeds.

I figure I filled about a bag a minute, and with two of us at the chute, that would be 120 or so in an hour.  Take that times the Spider's 12 chutes and extend over a 24-hour period, and the numbers are impressive.  All around us were other volunteers, who were tackling piles of sand with their shovels.

Three hours went by quickly, as we visited with those near us and watched in fascination as the big sand trucks dumped the sand on the ground, to be picked up by a front-end loader, dropped into the hoppers and moved to the auguers.  Unfortunately, the sand was wet, making it sluggish as it worked its way to us. This required two National Guardsmen perched at the top of the Spider to pound on the chutes to keep the sand moving.

It was easy to get distracted and forget the urgency of keeping a bag under the chute at all times. But, being part of a finely-tuned operation like this was something I will never forget. The attitude of the volunteers was memorable, with their good cheer and dedication, despite working in a wet drizzle. And, to honor the day that we were there, we observed a Memorial Day moment of silence at 3 p.m.

I hope we can get out again before Thursday to fill more bags. It's the least we can do.  And in the weeks ahead, as every sandbag will be put to the test to keep the flood waters at bay, I know I did a very small part at my position under Chute #2!    

 

  

2011 Fargo Marathon

By Alexis Brinkman, Staff Assistant

If you follow the news out of Fargo at all, you have probably heard of a little event they like to call the Fargo Marathon.  If you haven’t, well, here’s your chance!

The Fargo Marathon began in 2005 with just over 2,400 participants.  In the six years since, the event has quickly grown to include a marathon, half-marathon, marathon relay, 10k, 5k and youth run races with over 20,000 participants.  The Fargo Marathon was named the Runner’s World Reader’s Choice Award as the #1 Best Value Marathon in America and the 8^th Best Overall Marathon in America in January 2010.

This year, an organization that I am passionate about, North Dakota Leadership Seminar (you can read  my blog post about it here), was a marathon charity.  This means NDLS could recruit runners to raise money and run for our team.  Now, I’ve never been much of a runner, but as a NDLS board member, I figured I should at least attempt to run the 5k.  Somehow, I convinced my mom to do it with me.  

Our charity team included 50 runners competing in every event and raised over $9,100!  For a first year charity team, we were very excited about our results.

We all had a great time running our various races, and would recommend the Fargo Marathon to everyone, even if you don’t consider yourself a runner.  Or, if you’d like to experience the marathon without running, sign up to be a volunteer at the 2012 Fargo Marathon.  The event is a great example of that friendly, can-do spirit North Dakota Horizons readers love about North Dakota.

If you’d like to read more about the Fargo Marathon, you can visit the website here, or the Fargo Forum’s coverage of the event here.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, my mom kicked my butt.  Next year is going to be a different story!

Playing the Diamond in the Rough and Wonderful North Dakota Weather

By Kylie Blanchard, Staff Writer

 As a softball player myself, I can definitely say it isn't the weather that draws many North Dakotans to  the diamonds each spring. (That's me pictured at bat in Tuesday night's game...in sweatpants, sweatshirt and layers underneath.) With the fields scheduled to open for practice in mid-April, many times the piles of snow keep us waiting until mid-may to put on our cleats, hats, mittens and many layers to toss the ball around. Games start shortly after the first practice and we still often sport the warm weather gear, as well as the occasional rain jacket, as we play through early spring showers/late winter flurries. There are times when you truly don't know what your opponents jerseys look like buried under all the layers. 

But once spring lets go of its hold on North Dakota, there are few things many individuals would rather be doing then playing softball on a sunny, warm summer evening. The fun of the game and   camaraderie of teammates get you through the blustery, cool spring, but the wonderful summer softball days only add to the many reasons players keep coming back to the game year after year. 

I first started playing summer softball when I was in elementary school and continued through junior high school. I picked up the game again four years ago when I joined a women's recreation league and have played through snow flurries, pouring rain, gale force winds, but also some of the most beautiful summer evenings on record. It is truly a great game for all ages and abilities, but in North Dakota I think it takes a certain level of hardiness (or stubbornness) to see the summer evenings ahead as you sit shivering in the dugout in early May. 

However, it's a game that continues to grow in popularity across the state.  Currently, the Bismarck Women's Slowpitch Softball Association has eight leagues of various ages and abilities with 70 teams playing this summer. And almost every night from mid-May to mid-August the diamonds in Bismarck are full of players (both men and women) and fans taking in the game and atmosphere. Some diamonds even host two games a night! Girl's fastpitch is also experiencing a resurgence across the state, with high school sponsored teams practicing and playing in the spring and leagues taking off in the summer. 

Bismarck is also home to the Sam McQuade Sr./Budweiser Charity Softball Tournament, the largest non-profit, one-weekend slowpitch softball tournament in the nation. Founded in 1976, the tournament draws teams and spectators from across the U.S. and world. Last year the tournament hosted 472 teams and, since its beginning, has raised over $1 million dollars for a number of local charities. The 2011 tournament is scheduled for June 24-26 and, as always, will be a fun-filled experience for players and fans alike. (And to add an interesting weather fact: The McQuade tournament has only been rained out once, in 1986.) Softball tournaments are held throughout the state and really can be a great way to see North Dakota as both a player and spectator, and experience some great softball competition.

But regardless of the activity, when the weather gets nice (and it always does regardless of how much rain or snow falls) and the summer evenings set in, I hope you get outside to enjoy them. And for more information and ideas on the summer happenings in North Dakota, be watching for the summer issue of North Dakota Horizons which will hit newsstands in mid-June. 

I hope you find your "diamond in the rough" and get out and enjoy summer in North Dakota.

 

  

Speech Students Show Us a Bright Future

By Nicolette Borlaug, Staff Assistant, North Dakota Horizons

Every issue of North Dakota Horizons includes a calendar of events happening around the state.  Here is one event you won’t find there that I continue to be involved with.

Starting in the eighth grade, I participated in high school speech competition.  It was among the best experiences of my life, getting to meet students from all across the state, both Class A and B.  I was especially happy each year to make it to the State Finals as well as two national speech tournaments. I'm pictured at left at the 2004 national tournament in Salt Lake City, along with my humorous duo partner Justin Welton from Washburn.

This time of the year, Class A and B students gather at two separate tournaments to compete.  I am now among those who judge the students, which is a lot of fun, too.

The Class A State Speech tournament will be held this Saturday in Jamestown.  The public is welcome to come and listen to students compete in a variety of categories, including: humorous, serious, poetry and dramatic interpretations, duos, storytelling, extemporaneous speaking, inform and persuade, entertain, radio and more.

Each round lasts about an hour, with contestants speaking for 6-8 minutes depending on their event.  Some categories require original pieces the students wrote themselves, whereas others are the student's interpretation of a cutting from a book or play.

Anyone concerned about the future of our state and country, needs only to attend one of these meets.  You will find hundreds of students who are bright, well-informed and articulate.  You can feel good about our future, knowing that students are committed to being informed citizens, and know how to express themselves.