I was in Minot for the funeral of MSU Professor and fellow Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch Board member Dr. Brent Askvig on Thursday, May 14th. We’d taken a break from Quarterly meetings in Bismarck to attend.

If I heard correctly, for the first time ever the NWS issued a Blowing Dust Warning for that day. As we departed Minot, southbound Highway 83 was a nightmare, a topsoil blizzard. Visibility was near zero at times. Traffic in front of us came to a complete stop. The truck from the concrete company behind me pulling a heavy load could not stop or see much and slammed into us, totaling our car.

A different accident had occurred a few miles behind us so the State Patrol and Sheriff’s Department were very busy. That was the bad stuff.

The people of Minot really shined after that. Joseph, the guy driving the concrete truck, was such a good man. He felt so bad, was very kind and easy to deal with. The N.D. State Patrol guys were incredible, especially Lt. Matt Johnson. They were kind, understanding, got us taken care of and off the road as soon as they could. Lt. Johnson took my wife and I back into Minot. My wife had enough of the conditions that day and wanted to wait out the storm. He checked on hotels and dropped us at Enterprise Car Rental to find a vehicle. Although I’m quite sure he had other demands on him with the weather he remained with us until we could figure out what we were going to do.

Turns out there wasn’t a car or truck available anywhere that day in Minot. However, the team at Enterprise let us camp out there working on the problem. Staff at Enterprise told Lt. Johnson they’d take us anywhere we wanted to go so that he could be freed up to return to work. Thank you again, Matt! Thank you Enterprise!

Joseph, the guy driving the truck, called me just then to make sure I was OK and all was well. My team at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch were very concerned for our safety and loaned us a Ranch vehicle to use.

We got a hotel and enjoyed dinner in town. We must have had a harried look about us as folks went out of their way to take care of us. With what’s happening in the world today, everyone seemingly at each other’s throats, our experience after the accident was refreshing and comforting. Everyone we dealt with in Minot was so accommodating, welcoming and kind.

It was a frustrating, frightening experience and my beautiful car I babied for 20 years is in a junk yard today. But the Magic City shined brightly and lit our way on a day you couldn’t see the sun. Thank you Minot!