By Bill Anderson

Fifty-one degrees above Zero on Tuesday, April25, and we’re not done, yet. The weather gurus are predicting highs of 59 for both Wednesday & Thursday, April 26 & 27, this week. It will only take a little push to get into the 60’s, where the reality of spring can finally sink in. The possibility of snow is still in the forecast, though, but maybe, just maybe, we are done with that nonsense until November.

Local farmers are beginning to get a little tense, as potential planting dates are crossed off the calendar without a wheel having turned anywhere in the County. If the cool damp weather persists, it has been suggested that ice plant may become 2023’s primary cash crop.

Speaking of cash crops, Chuck Anderson reports that he has been hauling corn from the Anderson Farm in Weber Township to the Cargill Company’s storage and loading facility at Fairmount this week. The corn was harvested last fall, and was contracted for delivery to Cargill this spring. Road conditions have required Chuck to take a roundabout route to Fairmount, though. He has had to drive west from the farm on a Township road, then north on the next Township road to County Road #5, and then west on County #5 over to ND Highway #32, then north on #32 up to ND #11 and then east to Fairmount. Chuck says that he’s just happy to have a route that enables him to get the corn to where it’s supposed to go by the time it’s supposed to get there.

Chuck Anderson also reported that word was received on Tuesday, April 25, that an old neighbor, Virgil Hoistad, had passed away that day. Virgil was residing at a nursing home in Moorhead MN at the time of his death. Obituary and funeral information was not available as of this writing.

The Lariat Bar is becoming an increasingly popular venue for meetings of all kinds: professional; personal; and, partying. On Wednesday, April 19, three old friends: Steve Wyum of Rutland; Dr. Jerry Waswick of Gwinner; and, Bill Anderson of Rutland; gathered at The Lariat Bar to enjoy the Noon Special, a hot roast beef combo, and to catch up on where life has been taking them. The three men had become friends while serving together on the Sargent County Commission from 2004 to 2020. On the evening of Wednesday, April 19, Ambulance crews, Fire Departments & members of the Sargent County Sheriff’s Department met to discuss the new Statewide Interactive Radio Network (SIRN) that will allow emergency responders to communicate with each other during emergency response situations, when clear and unambiguous communication is needed. On Tuesday, April 18, the Sargent County Chapter of Pheasants Forever held its meeting in the Lariat’s dining room. Among those attending the Pheasants Forever meeting was Sargent County’s rhubarb King, Terry Dusek of Milnor. On Saturday, April 15, descendants of Dianna Anderson and the late Larry Anderson met in the Lariat’s dining room. Earlier that week, on Wednesday, April 12, the Wild Rice Antique Tractor & Plowing Association met at The Lariat in the afternoon, and the Sargent County Farmers’ Union executive committee held its organizational meeting in the dining room of The Lariat that evening. On Tuesday, April 25, members of Bergman-Evenson Post #215 of The American Legion met in The Lariat’s Dining Room to review the “Poppy Posters” created by members of the 1^st, 2nd & 3^rd Grade Classes at Sargent Central’s Elementary School. Twenty-five posters had been submitted, and all were well done. The Poppy Poster Contest is sponsored by the Rutland Unit of The American Legion Auxiliary, and was coordinated by Auxiliary member Diane Smith.

A second pool table was moved into the Lariat Bar on Thursday, April 20, in preparation for the First Annual Lariat Bar Pool Tournament that was held on Saturday, April 22. The tournament drew a large crowd of participants and observers, and the last ball was not dropped into a pocket until late in the evening. A report has been received indicating that Rob Roney of Rutland was the winner of the tournament and took home Grand Champion Honors.

Rutland native and District Court Judge Dan Narum placed a call to his old home town on Monday, April 24, to report some exciting family news. Judge Narum provided the information that his son, Asher, had been drawn for one of the once in a lifetime North Dakota elk hunting tags for the 2023 season. Asher will be 14 years old in June, and this was the first year he had applied for a tag. Judge Narum says that he has been entering the elk tag lottery for the past 30 years, and hasn’t hit the jackpot yet. Asher’s tag is for Area E1E in the northeastern corner of the State. The Pembina Gorge State Park is in that area, and the Judge says that he and Asher are planning to explore the area on horseback this summer, prior to the season opening in September. Asher’s elk tag is a “Golden Tag” that also includes a whitetail deer tag that is good statewide. Judge Narum grew up in Rutland, the son of the late Dennis Narum and the late Joyce (Colby-Butler) Narum. He is now the Presiding Judge of North Dakota’s Southeast Judicial District, which includes the counties of: Barnes; Dickey; Eddy; Foster; Lamoure; Ransom; Richland; Stutsman; Welles; McIntosh; Logan; Kidder; and, Sargent. Seven judges, including Judge Narum, provide judicial services to the 13 counties in the Southeast District. Judge Narum, his wife Caroline, and their 2 children, Asher, age 14, and Ellery, age 11, reside in the city of Lamoure, where, in addition to his judicial duties, the Judge also pursues his hobbies of horse training, hunting, fishing and wildlife conservation.

Shawn Klein, Manager of Stock Growers Bank’s Rutland Station, was on vacation from April 23 through April 30, taking a well-deserved break to visit old friends in the Spokane WA area. Julie Kudelka and Bailey Long, who normally work in the Bank’s Forman headquarters, took care of Shawn’s Rutland customers on alternate days during her week long absence.

The regular May meeting of the Rutland City Council is scheduled to convene at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 1, at the Rutland Town Hall. Among the items on the agenda as of Wednesday, April 26, are: Replacement of Rutland Town Hall Doors; Maintenance of Water Mains & Valves; Lead Water Service Line Inventory Assistance Application; Rehabilitation or Demolition of Former Laundromat and Post Office building on Main Street; Condition of Shed by City Hall; Set Date for City-wide Clean Up Day; City ACH Software for automated payment of utility bills; and Records Retention/Transfer to State Archives. Additional items may be added to the agenda prior to the meeting, or at the time the meeting convenes.

The Rutland Roosters Men’s Slowpitch Softball team now has its schedule set for the 2023 season. Rutland Community Club President Katie McLaen has supplied the following schedule: 5/16 Rutland @ Lidgerwood; 5/23 Rutland @ Wyndmere; 5/30 Rutland vs Lisbon, home game; 6/6 Rutland @Hankinson; 6/13 Rutland @ Oakes; 6/20 Rutland @ Enderlin; 6/27 Rutland vs Havana, home game; 7/11 Rutland vs Milnor, home game; 7/18 Rutland vs Riverside, home game; 7/25 Rutland @ Sheldon; 8/1 Rutland @McLeod; 8/8 Rutland vs Grand Rapids, home game; and, 8/15 Rutland vs Gwinner, home game. League games are scheduled to be played on Tuesday evenings throughout the summer. Home games will be played at Lou Sanderson Field, on the north side of town. The Rutland Park Board intends to have its concessions stand open for all home games, with soft drinks, hot dogs, popcorn and other good stuff available for ballpark gourmets. So, come on out to the ball game. The home opener is on Tuesday, May 30. All post-game analyses, discussions and recaps will be held at The Lariat Bar.

Rodney Erickson reports that he has been informed by the USPS that the site of his building on Main Street, across the Street from Stock Grower’s Bank’s Rutland Station, has been approved as the new location of the Rutland Post Office. Next step is for the USPS to design and approve a floor plan for the facility and get a contractor in to do the necessary construction work. The old Post Office, located in the Franzen Building just north of the old Rutland Café building, was closed “for a few days” by the USPS for health & safety reasons back on September 30, 2021. The old Post Office location has recently been occupied by a family of raccoons who have not made their future plans for the building known. Steps are being taken to evict the raccoons from their new abode.

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.