By Bill Anderson

The evening of Wednesday, June 7, was the time, and Rutland, North Dakota, was the place for a thunderstorm to deliver another timely .6 of an inch of rain. Crops are growing fast, and some cornfields are already past the knee high stage. Wheat fields are green and growing fast, but some local experts are concerned that the excessive heat of the last week in May and the first week in June may have caused some damage to the plants’ ability to produce seeds. Well, we have to worry about something. Might as well be wheat!

Kelly Hawkinson of Dillon MT arrived in Rutland on the evening of Sunday, June 11, for a visit with her uncles, Bill Anderson and Paul Anderson. Kelly drove in from Deadwood SD, where she had served as secretary/statistician for a Professional Bull Riders (PBR) event on Saturday evening. Rodeo, like everything else in the world these days, is changing its ways to cope with the demands of the modern world. It used to be that rodeo participants were all on their own, paying their own way and having no obligation to share a winner’s cash prize with anyone. Those old boys also had the opportunity to pay all of their own medical bills and buy all of their own gear. The new breed are now organized into teams, with owners and sponsors on hand to pick up the expenses and share in any winnings. The new arrangement affords rodeo participants more security, but, if rodeo participants were interested in security, would they have chosen to be cowboys and rodeo performers in the first place? Kelly plans to be heading back to her home base at Dillon MT on Saturday, June 17, with a stop at Bismarck for another PBR event. Kelly is a granddaughter of the late Earl & Irene Anderson of this community, and the daughter of Rutland native, the late Harvey O. “Andy” Anderson.

Mark & Kathy Wyum departed Rutland on Monday, June 12, bound for Rochester MN, a checkup and a crop tour of southern Minnesota. Southern Minnesota is classified as a “drought” zone right now, while Sargent County is classified as having sufficient moisture to support the growth of a grain crop. Even so, what is a drought in southern Minnesota would normally be classified as ample moisture in southeastern North Dakota. Well, we’ll have Mark explain it to us when he gets back.

The management of The Lariat Bar in Rutland reminds all that the Rutland Rib Fest is once again on the calendar, scheduled for Saturday, August 5, 2023. For information about entering the competition for the title of “Best Ribs In Rutland!” take a look at the Lariat’s Facebook page, or give the Lariat a call at 724.6239. Community wide rummage and yard sales are also scheduled to be held all over Rutland on Saturday, August 5. .

Sargent County Public Health is planning to distribute another round of Covid-19 Vaccine Booster Shots this Summer and early Fall. According to Shay Lynn, the shots will be available to anyone who is over the age of 65 and had their last booster shot more than 4 months previously. The County Public Health Footcare crew that is scheduled to be in Rutland on Thursday, June 15, will also have some of the new vaccine available at that time. The Covid-19 pandemic is officially over, but no one told the covid-19 virus that it had to pack up and go home. The virus is still with us, and anyone interested in avoiding it should call Sargent County Public Health at 701.724.3725. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure, the old-timers used to say.

Continue reading “The Rooster Crows – June 16, 2023” →