Firefighters were able to contain a large blaze near the American Crystal Sugar Plant in East Grand Forks 25 years ago.
It was one of dozens of fires in the spring of 1988 that were whipped up by gusting winds, high temperatures and low humidity. The fires blackened thousands of acres of farmland and wildlife areas of northwestern Minnesota.
The whipping winds also hit areas in North Dakota that already were parched. Winds gusting up to 59 miles an hour tore out trees and ripped the roof off a trailer.
The savage winds on May 1-2, 1988, blasted moisture-starved soil across fields and imperiled newly planted crops in the Red River Valley.
Visibility was reduced to a half mile in some areas, the Herald reported. Since the sugar beets are planted at shallow depths, they are more susceptible to wind damage than other crops.
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The winds continued in early May 1988. "Restless wind saps soil," a Herald headline declared
On May 7, the area finally got some rain. And on May 8, there was a good, general rain.
Even so, it was reported in the middle of May that half of the beet crop was facing reseeding in the valley. An estimated 100,000 to 150,000 acres of fragile sugar beet seedlings had been killed, and there was need for reseeding. And starting over again in mid-May was considered serious.
Although the drought pattern was broken in mid-May, North Dakota Gov. George Sinner was gearing up with a drought plan to help farmers.
East Grand Forks at first considered volunteer water conservation, but there was more rain at the end of May. Also at the end of May, the Herald featured a picture of Arne Tollefson among the steers he had brought into a cattle sale at Rugby, N.D.
Tollefson was there because of the dry conditions. He said he never had seen it so dry in 47 years.
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Come drought or high water years, life goes on in the Red River Valley. In May 1988:
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• Lee Bohnet was preparing after 35 years on the job to give up as information director for UND sports. He took with him memories of 330 Sioux football games, 600 hockey games and 450 basketball games.
When he started work in 1958, there were no records. He worked seven days a week between September and April each year. He wrote tons of news releases for area media.
• "It will be later than they would have liked, but St. Cloud State Huskies are coming into the Western Collegiate Hockey Association," Herald sportswriter Virg Foss reported.
"The announcement was made at a WCHA meeting in Madison, Wis."
• Community National Bank celebrated its 25th anniversary with Donald C. Miller as chairman.
• Goodman's was planning a major remodeling. Dan Goodman said the store was hoping to give a new look and appeal to family business on South Washington Street with the institution of a furniture gallery.
• A $1.5 million renovation was approved for the North Dakota State Mill in Grand Forks by the state Industrial Commission.
• Workmen were transforming the downtown Windmill Restaurant into a dinner theater to be located above the restaurant.
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• Col. Robert Muldrow, 44, became 319th Bomb Wing commander at Grand Forks Air Force Base. He replaced Col. Jerry Allen.
• Grand Forks' oldest resident, Maude Adams, died at the age of 107 on May 21, 1988. She was the youngest of 10 children. She worked as clerk in the Register of Deeds office and became Register of Deeds in Grand Forks County. Later, she bought the Merchants Credit Bureau. She retired in 1954.
• Jay Leno, who was filling in regularly on the Johnny Carson Show, played at the Chester Fritz on May 9. It was reported that he kept the full house laughing, and that he borrowed a vintage Thunderbird to drive around Grand Forks.
