MARILYN HAGERTY'S THAT REMINDS ME: A quiet Halloween in Grand Forks 25 years ago

• Marilyn Hagerty

Marilyn Hagerty

Talk about it

Halloween was fairly quiet in Grand Forks 25 years ago. The police ejected a few rowdy fans from the University of North Dakota hockey game, according to the Herald. Sgt. Eggebraaten said police were relieved the calls were of a relatively peaceful nature.

The Andrews-Conrad contest, along with the issue of Sunday shopping, was in the limelight 25 years ago. In the November election, Kent Conrad defeated the incumbent Mark Andrews for the U.S. Senate seat. This contributed to the Democratic majority in the Senate. Andrews had been elected to the Senate in 1980 after 17 years in the House of Representatives. Conrad’s victory gave the Democrats their first sweep of the North Dakota delegation in history.

In the election 25 years ago, North Dakotans also rejected two historic changes to keep stores closed on Sundays and to keep the state out of the lottery business.

On the local scene, Frank Kosanda held off a challenge from Grand Forks State Attorney A. Fred Arnason.

Greg Turosek of the Herald wrote, “The GOP is in a tailspin, but Earl Strinden of Grand Forks is flying higher than ever in the party.” Turosek said neither the Democrats nor Republicans had enough identified votes in North Dakota to control an election.

Gordon Taylor was described as classy in defeat, congratulating John Schroeder on his win for the Grand Forks County Sheriff post. The feisty former sheriff had been removed from office in the spring of 1986. Interim Sheriff Bob Rost, 37, returned to his former role in the department.

Other happenings in Grand Forks 25 years ago in November:

_ Norby’s downtown Grand Forks department store had been closed for a year. But John Norby was carrying on the name with Norby’s Bridal and Formal Wear. He was looking for a new career and eventually became a Lutheran minister.

_ A storm brought the region to a standstill on Nov. 8, 1986.

_ Charlie Bremseth, director of the LISTEN Drop-In Center, said, “Sometimes I wonder how we are going to make a go of it — but it works.”

The recreation and learning center for developmentally disabled was holding Sunday afternoon recreation programs. The group had bounced around before its move to 624 N. Washington St. Bremseth told the Herald, “Our aim is to integrate, not segregate.”

_ An early morning fire on Nov. 13 leveled Club 81 on U.S. Highway 81 north of Grand Forks. The popular night spot featured strippers.

_ Tom Clifford emerged as the leader for test burning of PCBs at the Energy Research Center. The Herald said, “His actions mean someone locally has taken accountability for the decision. Clifford said he would ask three independent experts to evaluate and decide whether the test burnings could be done safely. Clifford’s intervention is bold. It saves the ERC from its own community debate.”

_ The sports scene was grim on what some called “Black Sunday” on Nov. 18. The headlines told of the Sioux losing 62-13 to the Bison of North Dakota State. And the Minnesota Gophers bounced back and beat the Sioux 4-1 in men’s hockey in Minneapolis.

_ The YMCA celebrated a century of service in Grand Forks.

_ UND men’s basketball coach Dave Gunther reached his 300th career victory. He was beginning his 17th season as basketball coach at UND with a game against Wisconsin-LaCrosse.

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