By Bill Anderson

The old saying that, “No news is good news,” does not apply when it comes to rain. As of Tuesday, August 16, there was no news about rain, and that was not good news. Well, the old timers always used to tell us that, “It always rains after a long dry spell,” and once again, the old timers were right! The dry spell had lasted about long enough, and accompanied by just enough thunder and lightning to awaken a person, but not enough to get them out of bed, a little rain was provided early on Wednesday morning. It wasn’t much, Chuck Anderson measured .07 of an inch at his Weber Township farm, and Mike Banish’s rain gauge held .08 of an inch on Wednesday morning, but it was enough to wash off some dust and put a sparkle on the lawn. Surprisingly, the corn and soybean crops still look pretty good, and the 2022 spring wheat crop, although there aren’t many acres, looks pretty good, too. Perhaps Mother Nature is just showing us, once again, that she can be generous or miserly, and there just isn’t one darned thing that we can do about it. Our only choice is whether we complain about what isn’t there, or express our gratitude for what is. We can think about that while we’re vacationing in Florida, Arizona or Mexico this coming Winter.

Capt. & Mrs. Mike Harris departed Rutland on the morning of Monday, August 8, bound for their home at San Diego CA. They planned to make the trip slow and easy but drove as far as North Platte NE on Monday evening. Their second stop was at Colorado Springs CO on Tuesday evening. They arrived safely in San Diego by the weekend. They plan to be back in Rutland after the Captain has been officially debriefed and detached from the U. S. Navy, sometime around the 1^st of November.

The steering committee composed of : Katie McLaen; Mike Wyum; and, Paul Anderson; appointed by investors to complete the purchase of the Lariat Bar and get organized to get the business back in business reports that progress is being made on all fronts. To date, approximately $220,000.00 has been invested in Rutland Improvement LLC d/b/a The Lariat Bar, and it is expected that there are still a few more investors who will be chipping in on the project in the next few days. Committee member Katie McLaen recently sent out a press release to local news outlets and web sites informing qualified persons that those interested in a management position with the enterprise should contact: Paul Anderson @ 701.261.4638; Mike Wyum @ 701.678.3634; or, Katie McLaen @ 701.680.9354. The plan is to be up and running as soon as possible, with a target date of October 1, 2022, or earlier.

Rutland City Council member Delores Lysne and City Maintenance worker Scott Haan have been planting replacement trees around town during the past week. According to Council Member Lysne, 9 new trees were planted at Lou Sanderson Field, on the north side of town, and 6 more new trees are slated to be planted on street boulevards at various locations within the city. The new trees are replacements for those dead and dying trees that have been removed over the past few years. The new trees planted at Lou Sanderson Field were silver maple; apple; and, plum. The whitetail deer that hang out at the ball diamond will appreciate those trees when they begin to bear fruit. Scott Haan reports that the crabapple trees in the tree belt west of the ball diamond are full of crabapples that appear to be ready to pick. This is an opportunity for makers of crab apple jelly to stock their shelves, and maybe share a few jars with the neighbors.

Although there has been some wheat harvested around Rutland, the big wheat growing area in North Dakota has moved west. Pherson Custom Combining of Rutland currently has all 4 of its Gleaners cutting wheat in the area around Regent ND, and Cameron Gulleson has the Gulleson Brothers combine and trucks in action on the Kerry Swindler farm near Mott ND. Cutters and producers report that excellent yields, outstanding quality and big prices are also yielding big smiles on farmers’ faces.

Bill Anderson, Steve & Sheila Wyum and Pam Gulleson of Rutland were guests at the Heitkamp Family Compound at Lake Elsie, near Hankinson, on the evening of Monday, August 15. They joined a large crowd of enthusiastic supporters of 25^th District candidates for election and re-election to the State Legislature, Jim Dotzenrod of Wyndmere and Dr. Elisa Mitskog of Wahpeton. Jim Dotzenrod had represented Sargent County as part of District #26 in the State Senate from 2008 to 2020, and he had represented District #27 in the State Senate from 1978 to 1994. The recent redistricting put Jim into District #25, which is comprised of Richland County, including the City of Wahpeton. In addition to Dotzenrod and Mitskog, several statewide candidates, including Katrina Christianson for U. S. Senate, Trygve Hammer for Public Service Commission and Jeffrey Powell for Secretary of State, were also present. Richland County Commissioner Perry Miller of Wahpeton was M.C. for the evening, and former U. S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp was the main speaker at the event. Also present were Rutland natives Sonja (Anderson) Christensen and Corrine (Narum) Romereim of Wahpeton. As usual at a gathering with the Heitkamps, a good time was had by all.

A caravan of 12 antique and classic farm tractors headed east out of Rutland at 10:30 on the morning of Tuesday, August 16. The tractors were owned and operated by members of the Wild Rice Antique Tractor & Plowing Association, and Tuesday’s expedition was organized and led by WRAT&PA member Mark Wyum of this community. Their route took them east on County #3 to the Lyle & Ann Erickson farm (formerly the Strand farm), then south to Jake Erickson’s corner. From there, they drove east 2 miles to the Marcuson corner, and then south, past Glarums’, the Shane & Carla Breker farm and the Doug & Cher Spieker farm to County #5. The caravan then went west and south to “The Million Dollar Hill” road, and a side trip over to the Kenny & Tanya Hamilton farmyard, where they paused for lunch. After that, it was up The Million Dollar Hill, past Jesse Maly’s, Runyan’s and up to Jim Huckell’s, where they turned east, taking a back trail through The Gulch, emerging south of the Coteau des Prairies Lodge. They drove up to the Lodge where a Soil Conservation group from Minnesota was meeting and stopped to show off their tractors to the gathering of farmers and agricultural academics. From the Lodge the group drove north and west, arriving back in Rutland at about 3:30 p.m. According to Mark, none of the tractors broke down during the tour, and all arrived safely back in Rutland with both men and machines intact. Mark stated that Tuesday’s ride was one of a series of activities the group is conducting during the Summer and early Fall of 2022. They will be putting on a plowing exhibition at the Kurt Breker farm, on a date to be determined after Kurt gets his wheat harvested, and there will be another tractor drive in September, this one starting on the grounds of the North Dakota Veterans’ Home in Lisbon and taking the River Road, along the Sheyenne River, to Fort Ransom. There 2022 organized rides are expected to conclude with the group’s annual participation in Rutland’s Uff-Da Day Parade on Sunday, October 2, and their raffle of a pedal tractor to a lucky winner on that day. Congratulations to the members of the Wild Rice Antique Tractor & Plowing Association, and thanks for showing off the tractors that used to be big power when Grandpa and Great-grandpa were on the farm.

A sub-contractor working for Knife River Construction Co. of St. Cloud MN was in town last week, applying the center line and side striping paint job to the new asphalt pavement on County Road #10/First Street and County Road #3/Cooper Street. This completes work on the project for 2022. The chip seal coat will be applied to the road surface sometime in the future. The new paving was primarily paid for with Federal funds from the Biden Administration’s American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) which was proposed by the President and approved by the Congress in early 2021. A smaller percentage of the funding came from the State of North Dakota and from Sargent County’s Federal Aid Road Fund mill levy. Since the ARPA was approved over a year ago, the President and the Congress, under the leadership of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer, have succeeded in passing several major pieces of legislation, including: a bipartisan infrastructure construction, repair and replacement bill; a bipartisan gun safety bill; a bipartisan bill to jump start the computer chip industry in the U. S.; The PACT Act to provide healthcare to veterans injured by exposure to toxic substances in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq; and, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was originally part of the infrastructure bill before it was divided into 2 parts. In terms of major pieces of legislation approved by the Congress and signed by the President, the current session of the Congress has been one of the most productive in the past half century. If that’s what it takes to get a good road through Rutland, we’ll take it. Next up, Rutland’s new Post Office!

Norbert & Beverly Kulzer departed Rutland on the morning of Wednesday, August 17, bound for Medora ND to take in the Medora Musical at The Burning Hills Amphitheater, and to get a patriotic boost from Teddy Roosevelt. Norbert said that they will be back when they get back.

Members of the faculty and staff of the Sargent Central School System were back on the job on the morning of Wednesday, August 17, preparing classrooms and lesson plans for the commencement of the school year next week. Students will be back in the classroom on Wednesday, August 24.

The Rutland Sportsmen’s Club’s Annual Youth Day is scheduled to be held at the Club’s John Narum Memorial Trap & Rifle Range on Sunday, August 21. The site is 3 miles west and 1½ miles south of Rutland, just north of Silver Lake. Youngsters and parents are invited to come on out to get acquainted with the operation and safe handling of firearms, and to get some experience with archery and other outdoor skills, as well. Don’t miss it. The instruction is excellent; the ammunition is free; the lunch is delicious; the prizes are numerous; and, the experience is priceless.

Meanwhile, out in Wyoming, voters in that State’s August 16 Primary Election have shown the nation that it takes more than a hat, a big belt buckle and a pair of boots to make a cowboy. Character, it seems, is not to be purchased in a western wear shop. Wyoming voters rejected conservative Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney’s bid for re-election because she committed the crimes of refusing to abandon her own conscience and violate her oath of allegiance to the U. S. Constitution. She refused to buy the Big Lie of the stolen election, and she dared to oppose former President Trump’s attempt to overthrow the Constitution and overturn the election of 2020. Well, as she said a while back, “…to those of my fellow Republicans who defend the indefensible, the day will come when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.” If the country is lucky, the memory of her courageous stand will last a little longer.

Well, that’s the news from Rutland for this week. For additional information about what’s going on in the little city that can, check out the community’s internet web site at www.rutlandnd.com, and take a look at the Rutland Facebook page while you’re at it, too. Don’t forget to patronize your local Post Office and remember to keep the pressure on the U. S. Postal Service and the North Dakota Congressional delegation to SAVE OUR POST OFFICE! Later.