Andrea Johnson/MDN The Ward County Historical Society’s Pioneer Village Museum is pictured on the North Dakota State Fairgrounds on Thursday.

A long running dispute over whether Ward County Historical Society’s Pioneer Village Museum will be permitted to remain on the North Dakota State Fairgrounds is set for trial Jan. 30, 2018, before Southwest District Court Judge Rhonda Ehlis.

Ehlis, who was appointed to the case after Judge Todd Cresap recused himself last January, has set a pre-trial conference for Jan. 18 to determine where the two sides are at in the case.

The State Fair Association wants to evict the museum from the fairgrounds so it can use the property for other purposes. The Ward County Historical Society contends that it has the right to remain under the terms of a 1966 agreement between the North Dakota State Fair Association and the Northwest Agricultural Livestock and Fair Association that states “the North Dakota State Fair Association will allow the Northwest North Dakota Historical Society to maintain and operate its building located on the fair grounds.”

In a ruling on Sept. 29, Ehlis denied separate motions from the State Fair Association and the Ward County Historical Society, each asking her to rule immediately in their favor. Ehlis said there are material facts under dispute on each side that should be decided at a trial.

However, she disagreed with a decision Cresap had made to hear all of the arguments at a single trial, as the Ward County Historical Society had wanted. Instead, she will try the State Fair’s motion for a declaratory judgment that will decide the rights of the State Fair Association and the Ward County Historical Society regarding the property. She ruled that the Ward County Historical Society’s arguments should be heard at a later date by a jury, depending on the outcome of the Jan. 30 civil trial. The historical society is also seeking damages in an amount to be decided by a jury.

Ehlis also said she will hear the case herself rather than having it tried to an advisory jury, as Cresap had decided. She believes it would be best to render a judgment herself “due to the complexity of the issues and what seems to be an emotionally charged case.”

The drama between the State Fair Association and the historical society began in December 2013, when the State Fair Association served the historical society with an eviction notice. The two sides had held talks for months without any resolution being reached. The case then went to district court for the first time in February 2014. Judge William McLees stayed an eviction action in March 2014. He ruled that more court hearings were necessary to clarify the rights of the State Fair Association and the historical society. The State Legislature refused to get involved during the 2015 session. They rejected a bill that would have given the historical society the right to maintain its museum on the fairgrounds. The dispute returned to the district court, this time before Cresap, in 2015. Cresap refused in May 2016 to immediately rule in favor of the State Fair Association. He decided at that time that the issues raised by the historical society should be decided at trial. Cresap had set the case for trial early this year but then recused himself on Dec. 23, 2016.