Steele, ND

One of the loveliest places on the prairie lies just southeast of Steele on the Kidder and Stutsman County line.  In 1977  the Central Grasslands Research Extension Center (CGREC) was built 6 1/2 miles northwest of Streeter. It serves 18 counties in what is known as the Missouri Coteau region, an area bound by the Missouri River on the west and the James River on the east. This is a land of rolling hills and shallow wetlands.  Hence the name so familiar to birders “the Prairie Pothole region”.

 Although I was swamped with things to do last Thursday I decided to attended the Grasslands annual field tour and I came away with a much deeper appreciation for the land and it people.

I love the prairie with its changing seasons.  Spring always brings the birding migration of literally hundreds of birds.  When I tell you I need a check list to just to keep track of how many different species I see while birding I am not kidding.  Summer brings the smell of clover and alfalfa being made into hay under the blazing prairie sun and clear blue sky.  Sometimes the heat is so intense that just for a split second it takes your breath away. Then fall comes and trees shimmer with gold, red, and green leaves as the migrating birds say good by and make the long trek to warmer lands in the south.  And who can not love winter? The howling winds, the dark nights snuggled under a quilt drinking hot chocolate and watching all the movies you didn’t have time to catch in the summer. 

Perhaps living here I may miss out on some “cultural” opportunities that large cities offer but my life is rich and full. 

Bill Well from Medina summed up my feelings with this quote, “I came to Medina to teach Vocational Agriculture in 1956 and I’m still here.  The Coteau is where my wife Janet and I built our homestead and raised our family.  The Coteau offers such a variety of opportunities to raise crops and livestock that is almost unequaled.  The wildlife and migratory bird populations on the Coteau has been a definite influence on our family as they grew and started careers in agriculture and education here in North Dakota on the Coteau.  I wouldn’t have traded my life and my experiences on the Coteau for anything.”

Isn’t hard to believe that summer is flying by?  Next week will be the 4th of July already and then it will be time for busy Moms to think about school shopping.

Butthis week something special just for kids is happening at the Four Seasons Park next to the football field.  Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) will be holding a free day camp for kids in the park on Monday and Tuesday from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm.  The outdoor camp is geared for elementary kids.  Pre-schoolers are welcome too but they must be accompanied by an adult.  The only thing you will need to bring is a sack lunch.

It is a little late to wrap up, but better late than never.  this years  veterans thank you pic-nic  and BBQ was held at the Steele Vets Club with close to 300 attending. A display of over 100  kidder County veterans pictures were on display, with  other military things being shown throughout the hall.  A   Major  Hartter  was the speaker who thalked about his recent time in Iraq where he was wounded. A very good speaker who moved the crowd. A young singer/songwriter came and sang very moving songs about veterans.. the color guard  from  both Dawson and Tappen presented the colors and looked  great doing it. The food was super and the help was out of this world..Again they just showed up and went to work, I can’t thank them enough for all they do. Now I will start working on next years program and I am still looking for pictures of local vets still with us or passed on so I can frame them for next year..Again thanks to all who came ans a special thanks to all who helped..Skip  Thomas Veteran Service Officer  kidder County ND

The Steele Senior Center is in the process of getting an new coat of paint! Kathy Oster has been busy since last week scraping, priming and painting the outside of the senior center. A cool gray with dark gray accents give this building, that sees a lot of comings and goings, an updated look.

The center is owned by the Active Seniors Club and houses such businesses as Sandi’s Hair and Nail Salon, Kidder County Food Pantry and the Kidder Emmons Senior Services.

Sandi’s is open three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sandi also does hair at the Golden Manor on Monday mornings.

The Kidder County Food Pantry is open by appointment only. Appointments may be made by calling Brends Schultz, coordinator. They also organize and distribute senior commodities and regular commodities.

Kidder Emmons Senior Serivies (KESS) provides the aging population in the are with great hot meals five days a week and meals on wheels to homebound people. Frozen meals are available to out of towners and Outreach is a service that helps connect people to needed services, And last but certainly not least is the adult bus service. Going to Bismarck twice weekly and to Jamestown twice a month allows many to get to doctor appointments with very little effort. Cost for the bus is just $7.00 round trip. Consider the cost of a priovate vehicle. Lets say that your car gets 25 miles to the gallon. It is 84 miles round trip to Bismarck from Steele (this does not include any in town driving). The price of gas is $4.00 a gallon. So, roughly, it will cost you at least $13.00+ to drive to Bismarck. Add the price of the fuel to your grocery bill and see if you really have “saved” by driving to Bismarck. This is definetly a plus to shopping
at home! No only is it extremely economical it is a real treat to be dropped off and picked up at the door to the clinic or shoppiong mall. No looking for parking or braving the cold or wind to find your vehicle. Any one may ride the bus by making reservation at the senior center. Children that must be in car or booster seats must have seats provided by the parent.

During a recent visit to the Kidder County Community Health Clinic in Steele, I asked a waiting patient what it meant to her to have the clinic.  “I love it and I’m glad we have the clinic.  It is very much needed and it saves in time and travel,” said Dora.  Since I had heard the great story of how the community came together to open the clinic I wanted to see the clinic first-hand.  Both patients and clinic staff talk about the benefits of having the clinic.  According to Anna, the clinic receptionist, “The clinic offers a service that really benefits the community.  From our elderly population to our young families, the clinic provides access to basic health care.  It’s also about being convenient, keeping jobs in the community, and saving long distance travel expenses for our patients.”  The Clinic opened in December of 2006 and the people of Kidder County will tell you it was a true Christmas present.         

If you are looking for a fun family sport try disc golf.  I found a new twelve-hole disc golf course nestled in Steele’s Four Seasons Community Park.  The twelve hole disc golf course is designed for a novice beginner like me and the most avid Frisbee golfers.  Named after the heritage of many local area residents and funded in part by the Horizon Program, the ‘Norse Course Disc Golf Santuary’ is also becoming a popular spot for birding information.  I found information on 48 different birds that can be found and heard around the Steele area.  At first, the word ’sanctuary’ seemed a odd word for a place to throw a flying disc into a basket.  However, the more I tried to get the fewest number of disc throws into the baskets throughout the course, the more I was also learning about birds.  The combined challenges of improving my Frisbee skills and expanding my knowledge of birds brought about a new appreciation for the the word ’sanctuary.’   I could have spent the entire day in Steele at the Norse Course Disc Golf Sanctuary.  It’s free to the public.  Bring your own discs, family and friends and enjoy a great day of golfing and birding in Steele. 

Congratulations to the community of Steele on your recent selection as one of the top three finalist for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines’ Capital Community Award.  This award recongizes Steele’s strong commitment to economic development and their efforts to creating innovative solutions to small community challenges and building a lasting future for their residents.  It is exciting to hear that Steele was selected from a five state nomination list that included the states of Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota.  More details on the award are available at www.fhlbdm.com

The Kidder County Fair Days are just around the corner.  You don’t want to miss them, so mark your calendars right now for July 9-12. The fair is one of those family events that build memories.

But I want to focus on one event that ladies seem to particularly enjoy; the annual flower show sponsored by the Kidder County Historical Society.  It’s held in the basement of the Steele Community Center on Friday and Saturday of the fair and is “open class”, meaning anyone one can enter their flowers. You can pick up more information types of enteries  at the Kidder County Extension office.

Last year, Alva entered some of her yellow tiger lilies and won reserved grand champion.  She was thrilled because her theory of gardening is “I Plant you…give you water….and I hope you can grow because now you are on your own here.”  Plants must be tough to live in her garden.  No sissies there. (As you know, if you have been keeping up with the blog, she was recently charged with plant abuse.  She did plead innocent and I am happy to report that the plant lives and thrives again.)

I think the ladies enjoy this event so much because of the chance to share their beautiful flowers is so rewarding. Everyone gets a ribbon.  The men enjoy the show too.  But they tend to focus more on the great bars and cookies rather than the flowers. 

It take real commitment on the part of the Historical Society to sponsor this event each year so I hope you will take few minutes out of your busy days to stop in at the show. The museum will be open for tours on that days also.  If you would like to volunteer to help with the show or the tours call Verla DeKrey.

I have enjoyed the whole experience of the Horizons project.  It has not only challenged me to totally re-evaluate my thinking about the definition of poverty but it has challenged me to grow as a person.  So I must admit that at times I feel a bit dazed.

Think what this program has done for our community. 

Over 40 people, young and old, took part in a six week study circles.  27 people took the LeadershipPlenty Training.  Over 200 people took part in the community survey.  Our library is stocked with some of the best self help books in the country. These are marvelous resources. We have an extremely efficient, user friendly, digital camera to take pictures for the blog, which I plan on mastering in my life time.

The Kidder County Food Pantry stepped out from under the umbrella of the Ministerial Association to create their own board to better serve those in need.

Last fall we reached beyond our own comfort levels  nearly a hundred people listed to Carrie Gross describe her role in keeping homeless kids in school in Bismarck.

We have a gorgeous new disc golf course and the school will be helping us sell the Frisbees here in Steele.  This course is at one of our most beautiful parks.  What a great way to utilize the park!  What a great way to spend family time! 

The Ministerial Association is planning to start a SADD chapter to give kids the tools to make better life choices.

And the movie theatre project is slowly moving along in spite of various challenges.  We will be holding a town hall meeting in the near future to get volunteer input.  So watch for ads in the Ozone on times and dates.

Many thanks to all of you who have made Horizons happen.  July 9th will be the wrap up meeting in Bismarck at the Ramkota so please let me know if you would like to attend.  We can all be proud of the hard work that has taken place!

During a recent community rural forum, representatives from Steele discussed what it took to keep medical services available in the community.  The partnerships formed and the combined efforts of individuals and businesses to open a medical clinic to ensure access to basic medical care deserve applause.  Their story is an inspiration for those who want to learn what it takes to retain basic services in a rural community.

Hi Kathy,

Thanks for the post. 

We are very proud of our community clinic and we were one of the first cities in ND to earmark 1% of our city sales tax for health care.  I’m not sure if you are of aware of this but the repayment of medicare and medicaid to do not keep up with today’s cost of medical care.  Health care facilities are only reimbursed a percentage of the actual billing.  So having this little cushion of tax money every quarter is most helpful.  Plus being able to use our sales tax money like this lets everyone in the community support the clinic.  Each time we fill gas, buy groceries or eat at the cafe we can say we have “donated” to the clinic.

Alva