A full slate of events awaited Belfield residents and visitors on Saturday, Aug. 22, for the 2026 installment of the annual Harvest Hoedown, and the event didn’t disappoint. A short “Kiddie …

In the aftermath of subpar results for business owners disappointed by revenues generated from visitors who attended Independence Day festivities in lower-than-expected numbers, rather than the …

Wednesday, Aug. 19, might have come a little too quickly for teachers, administrators and paraprofessionals — and not a moment too soon for some parents — but the 2026 school year got off to a …

The parking spaces in town were hard to come by, and the Medora Musical was nearly sold out for the Aug. 15 “Back-to-School & Celebrate History Night,” which also featured live music …

The first day of school can be either scary or exciting, but for the students and parents – not to mention teachers, administrators and staff – the most common word on everybody’s lips was …

In Belfield, the name “Buckman” is nearly synonymous with “athletics,” so it should surprise nobody that somebody with that surname would be leading a team onto the court. In this case, that …

North Dakotans love their state, and people from Billings and Stark counties appreciate staying close to home, so it’s rarely surprising when they decide to raise a family in the area and find a …

Southwest North Dakota has a way of keeping its natives close to home, and Dickinson High School graduate – not to mention current South Heart teacher – Cora Hayter fits the bill. Her family …

It’s that time of year again, and the Billings County Commission is performing that unenviable task of crafting a budget, and the initial stages have raised some eyebrows. While it appears that …

With a five-person committee officially in place, the Billings County redistricting process – which was necessitated by a June 9 ballot measure to expand the county commission from the …

Officials with local and state authorities found the body of a missing New Town man on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026 in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Unit. That discovery followed a missing …

Everybody loves a “local-artist-done-good” story, and it’s tough to find a more well supported pair of musicians than Hazen’s Tigirlily Gold. The sister duo comprised of Kendra and Krista …

One of the most-historical towns in North Dakota will be celebrating and hosting a back-to-school event that will simultaneously honor teachers and their students here on Saturday, Aug. 15. The …

Fundraising for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library has eclipsed $500 million, exceeding the $450 million goal of the project that opened its doors July 4. The library marks the …

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Monday declared a public health emergency banning all kratom products and called a special session of the Legislature for September to cement a prohibition into …

The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame had a hankering for a summertime event and might have found just the right flavor with the recent “Chuckwagon Experience” on Saturday, July 25, which featured …

Officials with local and state authorities have been searching for a missing New Town man since a missing-person report was filed by his family on Monday, July 20. During the last several days, the North Dakota Highway Patrol has used K9 ...

There’s nothing quite like sprucing up facilities as students prepare to return to school after their summer vacations, and with a newly resurfaced gymnasium floor at South Heart Public School, …

With new Belfield Mayor Matthew Furlani on board and city councilwoman Gabrielle Schneider joined by new councilman James Baughman after both were sworn in during mid-July, the three new leaders have …

With a first-responder escort out of town, Belfield High School graduates Rubi Johnson and Shane Stroh rolled out of town on Friday, July 17 as they were headed towards the 2026 installment of the National High School Rodeo Finals in Lincoln, Neb. It was the first such trip for Stroh – whose family members have appeared in the event more than 20 total times – and the second for Johnson, who last earned a spot at Nationals during her sophomore year. “I mean, it feels good, I’m really excited to get down there and start the week,” Johnson said. “I went when I was a sophomore, so It’s my last one and I feel more confident.” Stroh expressed similar sentiments, and while his Dad, Shaun Stroh, went to the national finals on five different occasions he also had numerous family and friends travel to Lincoln to watch him ride bucking horses on the national stage for the first time in his career. “I’m pretty excited, and I think the atmosphere is going to set me up good for college,” Shane said. “There’s a lot of people that go to every single performance, so just seeing the atmosphere and all the other good bronc riders back there, I’m pretty excited to just engage myself in that situation. “It’s just the atmosphere, and I’m pretty excited to see it. I’ve never had anything like this before, although I rode one time down in Cody, Wyo. with a good atmosphere, but nothing’s going to beat this.” In the meantime, Mrs. Stroh is excited for her son and watching him compete on a larger stage and in a bigger arena. “It’s his first finals, and it’s his last finals, so we’re going to make the best of it, and tomorrow (Sat. July 18) is his birthday, so I’m going to just celebrate – I thought, ‘They had it just the right time, didn’t they?’” Mrs. Stroh said. “This is our 17th trip to national finals for the kids, in both junior high and high school, and Shaun went five times to the national finals, so the tradition is strong in our family.” Rubi’s Mom, Amanda Johnson, said she was anticipating her daughter’s second trip to Nationals as a sendoff to Rubi’s future position on the rodeo team at South Dakota State University in Brookings. “It’s fun, and it’s probably a little more fun this time because my sister and her family will be there, and they rodeoed in North Dakota this year; they’re from South Dakota, but they rodeoed up here,” Mrs. Johnson said. “So, it’s just always a lot of fun because a lot of the parents are old friends, and it feels like a little bit of a reunion for us and a lot of people we’ve rodeoed with in college and high school. We get to spend the week with them, and it’s fun to see their kids and get to know them again.” The two 2026 graduates were among more than 1,700 competitors fighting not only for world championship titles but also college scholarships across a wide range of events, including bull riding, saddle-bronc riding, barrel racing, team roping, and cutting. The Stroh family has a strong rodeo tradition in general, and with Shane headed to compete for the Dickinson State University rodeo team starting in the autumn, he’s also looking forward to one final go-round with his longtime friends. “I’m pretty excited to see all my buddies ride, and that’s going to be cool for me; I’m excited to see Chase Kling, Bleu Wanner and Cooper Martin, because all three of those guys have a really good shot at winning the world, so I’m really excited for them,” Shane said. “I mean, I could go out there and do whatever I do, but I’m just more excited for them because those are some good bronc-riders, so I’m excited to see all my friends succeed too.” The event got under way on Sunday, July 19 and lasts through July 25, so the Billings County Pioneer will have all the local results for area athletes in the July 30, 2026 edition of the paper. For more information about Belfield Public School and South Heart Public School, and all their activities, please keep reading the Billings County Pioneer and/or visit their websites at www.belfield.k12.nd.us or www.southheart.k12.nd.us. Please see the Billings County Pioneer’s Facebook page for more photo-galleries and videos.