Carrington Cemetery Walk with Michele Seil

Hello, Everyone! I think you would have enjoyed the Cemetery Walk last week with Michele Seil, our city librarian.

It was a beautiful evening, around 50 degrees... just right for a nice walk through the area... stopping to listen to stories of the past.

Story Time

Michele did an excellent job of telling stories and giving interesting information about persons buried in the cemetery and their connection to our community.

I took pictures as we walked along and tried to get shots of the tombstones of the people she talked about.

Overall, there was too much information for me to report here, so I hope you'll visit the library and talk to Michele about her research.

The walk ended with a visit to the grave of Harry Hayashi and his family members. His story is always a poignant one... of a local man of Japanese descent, an important well-liked member of our community, who was taken away and placed in an internment camp during World War II. His creation, the Rainbow Gardens (a motel, music pavilion and restaurant) was known throughout the country... drawing such popular entertainers as Duke Ellington, Jimmy Dorsey and Louie Armstrong. With all his assets being seized by the government, Hayashi's Rainbow Gardens was never the same after he was released from the camp and returned to Carrington. However, he went on to own/run the Miami Grill, and he and his family remained substantial, supportive members of the Carrington community... and always respected by them.

Michele Seil - Harry Hayashi Family Grave

There is another Cemetery Walk scheduled for October 17th at 2 p.m.... with a variety of different stories to be told.

Thank you, Everyone, for dropping by Carrington News today. Hope you enjoy the pictures.... and have a great day! #carringtonndnews #carringtonnd #cemeterywalk #micheleseil

Frontpage News - Carrington, ND

Chieftain Conference Center, Carrington ND

Good morning, Everyone! It's rather overcast this morning in Carrington. In fact, there were a few snowflakes falling while I had coffee at the Chieftain this morning.

Our high today is predicted to be a cold 33 degrees, but thankfully our winds are blowing gently at around 5mph.

I picked up a copy of the Foster County Independent (which comes out once a week) and read the following frontpage news:

1) A new meat-processing plant is being built by Tom Solwey in Carrington;

2) A mask mandate is being enforced at Carrington High School for staff and students;

3) There is a big spike in COVID-19 cases in Foster County... active cases 34, 111 total;

4) City Hall and the Armory are closed to the public due to increase in COVID-19 cases

5) The City Council agreed to pay $125,000 of our tax money toward demolishing the downtown, falling-apart elevator owned by Donnie Theis;

6) Headlocks and the Garden Gate are each being granted $25,000 to improve their buildings on Main Street.

Wherever you live, I hope your news is good news! Thanks for dropping by! #carringtonndnews #carringtonnd

Inside the Foster County Courthouse - Carrington, ND

Hello Everyone -- Hope your Friday is treating you well! Here in Carrington, our temperature is all the way up to 24 degrees with 21mph winds. 

Thought I'd show you some pictures of the inside of the Foster County Courthouse where it's warm and cozy. Have you seen the murals there? 

 Here are a few pictures of the ones located on the main floor of the building.

 I'm having a hard time trying to get good photos of the murals high up by the stained glass in the dome. I'll keep trying! 

Are there any other buildings you'd like me to feature on Carringonton News? I really enjoy taking pictures of the old buildings in this area! 

As always, thanks for dropping by Carrington News... and have a great day! #carringtonndnews #carringtonnd #fostercountynd

Roger Lauckner Benefit

What a wonderful benefit for Roger Lauckner on Tuesday night, January 21st, at CBS' here in Carrington!

A Baked Potato and Chili Supper sponsored by the American Legion/VFW and their Auxiliaries had an amazing community turnout! The lines of people were constant from 5:30 p.m. all the way till the abundance of chili ran out and the last two potatoes were served around 7 o'clock.

 Folks completely filled the dining area throughout the evening, visiting and showing support to a well-loved community member who needed a helping hand.

Roger's wife Linda addressed the crowd, ending with tears of appreciation for the thoughtfulness and generosity of the community.

Still recuperating from his 6 month stay at the VA Hospital in Fargo, Roger moved around slowly with help from his walking aides and even managed to take his place on stage and strum some tunes while people were dining and participating in the silent auction.

 Roger's well-wishers outdid themselves in providing items for the silent auction... so by the end of the evening, along with donations from the freewill supper, the fundraiser accumulated around $6,700. Quite an incredible show of love and support from the community!

(Kudos to everyone who participated in making this benefit possible, to the American Legion and VFW and their auxiliary ladies who prepared and served the supper, to the folks who donated items for the silent auction, to Barton Meats who donated 20 pounds of hamburger for the chili, to the folks who donated money for the freewill supper, to the people who bid very generously at the auction, to people who donated in other ways... You are simply AWESOME!) #carringtonndnews

2020 Census Presentation at Carrington Senior Citizens Center

Brad Solberg, Foster County Auditor, and Jennifer Gast, Carrington City Auditor, spoke at the Carrington Senior Citizens Center today about the coming 2020 Census. 

They presented details about the census form and emphasized how important it is to fill out the form and turn it in. 

Do you realize how important it is to get a complete census count for Carrington and Foster County?  Of course, you realize that the census count determines how many representatives each state gets in Congress, and it is used to draw district boundaries. 

What is not so well known is how the census count affects us locally.   For instance, our community relies on accurate census data to plan such things as new roads, schools, emergency services and more.  

What's more, our census count determines the amount of money/grants that are given to us from the state/federal government.  In other words, the more population we have, the more money will be allocated to us for important local services.

Without an accurate count of the residents of Carrington and Foster County, the city and county could lose out on substantial state and federal funding. #2020census
#carringtonndnews

January Frost in Carrington, North Dakota

Hi Everyone! So sorry I haven't been very good about keeping up with this site.  I put most of my blogging energy into my CarringtonNews.com Facebook site.  So, I think I'll start putting some of my Facebook posts on this site for those of you who don't have Facebook.

I thought I'd better get out today and take some pictures of our frosty landscape before it starts to melt off.

 Our trees here in Carrington and the local area have been covered in frost for the last week... quite beautiful actually!

 Our high temperature today was 26 degree, but it's expected to be up to 41 degrees on Saturday.

 Wherever you live, I hope you are looking forward to a great weekend. 

 Are you doing anything special for Superbowl Sunday?  It's going to be grilled ribs and football at our house... with way too many snacks, of course! 

Thanks for dropping by Carrington News today!  I always appreciate your visits and comments!

What Is the Foster County/Carrington Complete Count Committee?

Do you realize how important it is to get a complete census count for Carrington and Foster County?  Of course, you realize that the census count determines how many representatives each state gets in Congress, and it is used to draw district boundaries. What is not so well known is how the census count affects us locally.   For instance, our community relies on accurate census data to plan such things as new roads, schools, emergency services and more.  What's more, our census count determines the amount of money/grants that are given to us from the state/federal government.  In other words, the more population we have, the more money will be allocated to us for important local services.

On Tuesday, October 22, the Foster County/Carrington Complete Count Committee met at Carrington City Hall to plan ways to raise community awareness of the coming census.  Their main focus is to figure out ways to reach every resident in our area and convince them how important it is to complete and turn in a census form.

If we don't reach a certain population count, we are in jeopardy of losing millions of dollars in support from the federal government. So, if you have ideas about how to increase public awareness of how important the 2020 census is... and if you are interested in joining this committee, please contact either Jennifer Gast at 652-2911 or Brad Solberg at 653-2441.  We all need to work together to get an accurate 2020 count.

Getting Tired of Roadwork in Carrington & North Dakota

Any roadwork going on in your part of the country? Kudos to the person who created this poster... wish I could give him/her credit! 

Here in Carrington we've had to figure out new ways to get places all summer long... and the roadwork still continues. If you have an appointment somewhere, be sure to leave early because there's no telling what road will be closed from one day to the next. 

Example: I had an appointment in New Rockford yesterday and spent about 10 minutes figuring out how to get out of my neighborhood and across the railroad tracks because the overpass was suddenly closed. I got to 2nd Ave. North and, of course, a train decided to slow down and stop just when I needed to get across. 

Thank goodness for a friend who drove by and said ,"Follow me." We drove back across Carrington and came out on Hwy 52 going toward Sykeston. I turned east, and even though it was out of the way, it saved me time because the train was still sitting still when I got back to Hwy 281 and headed north!

 Anyone else running around in circles because of roadwork? #roadworkblues #carringtonnd

2020 Census Count Coming to Carrington

On Tuesday evening, September 10, 2019, Erin Musland, a specialist from the U.S. Census Bureau, presented important information regarding the 2020 Census to members of the Foster County community. The focus of the meeting was to emphasize how important it is to obtain a complete count of persons living in our state.  That count determines how many representatives our state gets in Congress and is used to determine legislative district boundaries.  On our local level, the census count affects the boundaries of our Foster County commission districts.  As well, the census count determines the amount of federal funds that our community will receive to implement many of the programs and services that are so valuable to us... things such as new roads, schools, emergency services and more.

A few important changes for the 2020 census show that the Census Bureau is trying to make it easier for residents to report their census data.  For instance, this will be the first time people will be able to report online or by phone, as well as by mail.  Also, the questionnaire, itself, is much shorter... only eleven basic questions.

Erin Musland emphasized the need to assure everyone that the information collected is confidential.  Personal responses cannot be used in any way to identify a person.  Furthermore, information cannot be shared with immigration enforcement agencies, such as ICE, or law enforcement agencies such as the FBI or police.  The information is used only to produce statistics.

At the end of the meeting, it was determined that Brad Solberg, Foster County auditor, and Jennifer Gast, Carrington City auditor, would chair a local "Complete Count Committee" of community volunteers endeavoring to get an accurate count of people in our local area.