Fargo

The First Presbyterian Church in Fargo is remarkable for its Scottish Gothic Revival architecture. Lining the sanctuary are numerous stained-glass windows depicting Biblical figures and scenes. The first window, installed in the chancel in 1939, is a bit different from the others. Its symbolic design and personal motifs are in memory of Helen Huntoon and her newborn son.

In 1984, Law enforcement searches of illegal gambling operations led to the first statewide grand jury in North Dakota history. The Legislature had passed a law allowing for statewide grand juries in 1977. Six years later, in December 1983, law enforcement officers searched bookmaking operations in Fargo, Grand Forks and Mayville, the culmination of a yearlong investigation.

Monuments and tributes to the past are sprinkled throughout North Dakota towns and parks. Many towns have veteran and war memorials. Mandan, Minot and Medora have a statue of President Theodore Roosevelt. Grand Forks has a sculpture commemorating the 1997 Red River Flood. Some towns pay tribute with a local symbol, like Salem Sue in New Salem and Tommy the snowmobiling turtle in Bottineau.

On this date in 1925, the Bismarck Tribune reported that a committee examining possible sites for hospitals in the tenth district, which included North Dakota, recommended building a 200-bed facility on Fargo’s north side. The site was intended to care for tuberculosis-infected veterans.

In 1938, Dr. George Foster and his wife Irene founded the Fargo Winter Club to boost interest in winter sports and athletics. That year, the group partnered with the WPA to build the Fargo Arena, an arena for local residents to participate in skating and other winter sports in more sheltered conditions.

North Dakota is definitely not in the mainstream of pop culture. Most people’s only reference point to the state is the film “Fargo.” But North Dakota is found in other stories too.

The Fargo coffee shop and arts space is looking for a new location after their home of 11 years was leased to a new tenant.

Bluegrass finds a North Dakota home in a Norwegian troll-themed bar.

The exhibit will be displayed in City Hall's main hallway for the rest of the summer.

People all over North Dakota turned out for two former presidential rivals on separate speaking tours in 1920. Republican William Howard Taft had defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the 1908 presidential election, serving as president from 1909 to 1913. It’s unclear why the two came to North Dakota, but their speeches drew thousands of people.