The Extra Newspaper

06/04/2026

Evergreen Memories

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Moorhead was just over a decade old when the congregation now known as Bethesda Lutheran Church looked for a spot to bury a member “in poor circumstances.” Without their intervention, the man (whose name is lost to history) would otherwise have been laid to rest in the so-called “potter’s field” – a public place where impoverished, unclaimed or unidentified individuals were interred.

“They wanted a more dignified place to bury him,” board chair Larry Carlson recounts. “So they purchased a parcel of land a couple miles south of town and dedicated it as a church cemetery.”

Today that once-distant plot, Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, is surrounded by homes and businesses. One of Moorhead’s oldest cemeteries, its located west of Eighth Street South between 32nd and 34th Avenues. From that first early grave, it has grown to encompass some 1,400. Described from its first days 141 years ago as “open to all,” Evergreen memorializes men, women and children of all faiths, races, colors and creeds.

The Carlson family has been associated with the cemetery for a century. In 1926, Larry’s grandfather Claus Peter Carlson, freshly arrived from Sweden, purchased four grave sites from what was then Moorhead’s Swedish Lutheran Church for $25. Eleven years later, the board chair’s father bought more lots for another $17.50. He displays the century-old documents, still part of their legacy.

Larry has chaired the cemetery board since 1995. That’s when the Moorhead native moved back to his home town to continue his calling in the sugar beet industry. He spent his career in charge of laboratory testing and other technical services for American Crystal Sugar, working in its plants in East Grand Forks and Crookston as well as participating in national projects.

Read more about Evergreen Memorial Cemetery: https://www.thefmextra.com/evergreen-memories/

06/04/2026

Former Mayor To Seek Second Term

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

The first woman to be elected Moorhead mayor has announced she’s running again … in a field that, so far, is all female.

Del Rae Williams served the city from 2014 to 2018. In addition to being the first of her gender, the accountant and active volunteer broke new ground as the initial candidate without previously serving as a member of the council she led.

Her announcement Tuesday coincided with another. Former Clay County attorney and Seventh District judge Lisa Borgen, now representing Ward 3 on the city board, also declared her candidacy. Social worker Kassi Sofferman previously announced that she’d run for the position last December; she ran unsuccessfully for one of Ward 2’s council seats in 2024.

Williams said Tuesday that she has been actively considering opportunities for reprising her active role in public service in recent months. “When I ran for office the first time, I was clear that it was for one term only,” she says. “But retirement isn’t all it’s supposed to be. After we took a few trips, I realized I wanted to do more.”

After completing that single term in 2018, Williams continued her civic activism. But her participation was derailed in 2022 when she suffered a stroke, followed by years-long efforts to regain her physical independence.

Today the 67-year-old is back on the move in her motorized wheelchair. The co-founder of the Clay County Awesome Foundation and the local Indivisible group (with Lyn Dockter-Pinnick) is involved again with all kinds of civic organizations and causes. But she realized, she says, that elected office is a stronger platform for getting things done.

Read more about former mayor Williams' decision to run again: https://www.thefmextra.com/former-mayor-to-seek-a-second-term/

06/04/2026

From the Kitchens of Amy and JJ --
Viral Boat Dip

A few years ago, this was a viral recipe online! Now that we are in boat season, it seems like the right time to bring it back.

The Viral Boat Dip

Ingredients –
1 (16 oz) container of sour cream
1 (8 oz) block of cream cheese
1 (10 oz) can of Rotel tomatoes + green chilies
2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
1 packet ranch seasoning mix
1 packet taco seasoning mix
(can add corn, too!)

Instructions –
1. Whip cream cheese. I find this is easiest done with a hand mixer, but a whisk will work just as well.
2. Combine. Add all the rest of the dip ingredients and stir well.
3. Cover and chill. Chill for 2-3 hours, then enjoy!
Serve chilled, with tortilla or pita chips as dippers.

Listen to "It Takes Two" on KFGO 790 AM -- 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.

06/04/2026

Clay Sheriff Empting Honored for 25 Years of Service

Dan Haglund

Clay County Sheriff Mark Empting was among several county employees honored for their service and dedication on Tuesday by the Clay County Board of Commissioners in their regular meeting in Moorhead.

Clay County Administrator Stephen Larson stepped up to say a few words about Empting and his 25 years with the county.

“Throughout his career, Sheriff Empting has exemplified servant leadership, professionalism and an unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of Clay County residents,” Larson said. “His career reflects a steady progression of earned trust, increasing responsibility and dedication to serving both the department and the community.”

“Over the course of his service, Sheriff Empting has advanced through the ranks of the Sheriff’s Department, serving as a deputy, sergeant, lieutenant and assuming additional responsibilities in leadership roles and ultimately led him to the election of sheriff in 2018.”

Read more about Sheriff Empting in the June 4 edition of the FM Extra, on newsstands now, or read it online at https://www.thefmextra.com/sheriff-empting-honored-for-25-years-of-county-service/

06/04/2026

Moorhead Schools Gear Up for Summer of Learning

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

The 2025-2026 school year may have ended last Friday, but – for thousands of Moorhead youngsters, from kindergarten age through high school – the learning goes on.

The Summer Academy launches four weeks for students completing kindergarten through grade 8 who need to brush up their reading and math skills. Meanwhile, Community Education offers a robust array of what the district terms “enrichment opportunities” – camps and classes ranging from a day or two to weeks-long instruction in favored disciplines, from nearly every category of sports to music, art, cooking, reading and STEAM, the hot category of subjects that include science, technology, engineering, architecture and math.

Read more about the Summer Academy and all kinds of summer enrichment classes, camps and courses in the June 4 edition of the FM Extra. It's on newsstands now, as well as online: https://www.thefmextra.com/moorhead-schools-gear-up-for-summer-of-learning/

06/04/2026

Matson Field Project Scores a Home Runnings StoresNancy Edmonds Hanson

When American Legion baseball fans gather for the Blues’ home opener on Wednesday, June 10, they’ll witness a home run before the game even starts.

That’s marked by the ribbon-cutting for the newly improved Matson Field. The ball park on 11th Street and 15th Avenue North is sporting new facilities that fans have longed for – the first of a $2 million two-phase renovation plan that offers a better view of the field, much-improved seating, and a sound system worthy of the quality of play that the local field has long hosted.

“It’s an exciting time for baseball in Moorhead,” city recreation director Sean Brandenburg guaranteed. “Now Matson Field is something we can honestly be proud of. Before, the old field no longer lived up to the kind of baseball that’s been played here.”

The game hasn’t changed, but the stadium has. Fans of Moorhead High School baseball have already experienced what Legion fans are going to see after the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:30 p.m. At the end of the Legion season, Moorhead Babe Ruth teams will take the field there.

Read more about Phase I of the Matson Field renovaiton project in the May 28 edition of the FM Extra, https://www.thefmextra.com/matson-field-project-scores-a-home-run/

06/04/2026

Churches United for the Homeless --
Dreaming Up an Enterprise

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Churches United is inviting the community to dream up a social enterprise to stabilize its finances.

Executive director Devlyn Brooks, who took the reins of Moorhead’s emergency housing shelter two years ago, reports that the future looks bright with possibilities. After reorganizing the nonprofit’s operations and leadership, he says the time is right for considering a new way to augment its budget, now based on a matrix of federal and state grants, foundation and corporate support, and gifts from faith organizations and individuals throughout the community and beyond.

“We’re looking for our neighbors’ ideas of a need in our community that we can fill,” he said Friday. “We need to find a way to spend more of our energy on meeting the needs of the people we serve, and less on generating the dollars we need to operate.”

Brooks and his recently reorganized board of directors are looking to develop an enterprise that will generate at least a portion of the funds needed to support their emergency shelter, Micah’s Mission, as well as the Dorothy Day Food Pantry and two transitional housing facilities, Bright Skies and Silver Linings apartments in north Moorhead.

What’s a “social enterprise”? He cites two successful operations familiar to local residents. One is the New Life Center’s thrift stores. The other: Fix It Forward, the auto service company that repairs cars on a regular retail basis by day, but earmarks profits to support volunteers who repaid donated vehicles that are ultimately presented to women and men in need of transportation.

Read more about the community need survey in the June 4 edition of the FM Extra -- on newsstands now, or online at https://www.thefmextra.com/churches-united-for-the-homeless/

06/04/2026

Retired Judge & Crystal Exec Announces Mayoral Bid

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Lisa Borgen, a retired judge and American Crystal executive, has announced her bid to become the mayor of Moorhead.

In a widely anticipated move, Borgen – elected to the City Council in 2024 to represent Ward 3 – formally stepped forward May 26, joining former mayor Del Rae Williams and political newcomer Kassi Stofferman. The three are running to replace Mayor Shelly Aasen Carlson, who is not seeking reelection; instead, she is running in the the Democratic primary as a candidate for District 4A state representative.

Borgen retired from American Crystal Sugar in 2024 as vice president of administration, a position she’d held for 10 years. It was only the latest stop on a career that started with Dayton’s at West Acres and several years as an LPN, recalibrated as an attorney, led to election as the Clay County state’s attorney and, after six years, culminated with her appointed to the District 7 bench as a judge serving Clay and Becker counties. She spent seven years in that position.

A lifelong Moorhead resident, she graduated from Moorhead High School in 1980, the North Dakota State College of Science in 1982, Minnesota State University Moorhead in 1993, and the University of North Dakota School of Law in 1996.

Read more about Borgen's decision to run for mayor in the June 4 edition of the FM Extra, on newsstands now, or online at https://www.thefmextra.com/retired-judge-crystal-executive-announces-mayoral-bid/

06/04/2026