Compiled by LAUREN DONOVAN

Bismarck Tribune

Gail and Allan Lynch live on one of North Dakota's most historically important pieces of property.

Recently, they were honored for all their work to preserve it.

The North Dakota Association of Soil Conservation Districts awarded them the Layperson Award for conserving the Knife River Flint Quarry, a pockmarked series of hills adjacent to their farm buildings.

The quarry is the largest source of flint in North America, and it's estimated that 1 million cubic feet of flint were removed from their land by Plains Indians over an 11,000-year period of history.

To preserve the site, they converted all their land into hay and pasture land and have conducted extensive research into the quarry's history and the artifacts they and other family members have collected over the years.

They have also preserved their land for wildlife and installed goose nesting structures.

A NRCS national civil rights committee toured the quarries during their national meeting last summer.

The Lynches welcome individuals and tour groups to the quarry.

- Dunn County Herald

Coal country sniffs gas

Hazen and Beulah are a step closer to being among towns with natural gas.

Until now, residents depend on propane, electricity or, in some cases, coal, for home heating.

Both towns have mailed out surveys to their residents to gauge interest in switching over to natural gas if the company brings a pipeline to town.

Hazen's surveys went out in February. Beulah's went out just last week.

Major Pipeline would like start the project in 2010, tapping off the Northern Border Pipeline and then construct a distribution system in the cities.

Beulah and Hazen officials did sign exclusivity agreements with Major Pipeline, agreeing they won't negotiate with any other gas pipeline company until 2013.

If the surveys indicate enough people are interested, the next step would be an election to decide if the towns should form a municipal utility, like Stanton is with its electrical service.

Beulah Mayor Darrell Bjerke said that's a slight sticking point for now.

"We're struggling with what is a municipal utility," he said. "We don't want any responsibility; we would want to contract everything with them."

Jerry Rushmore, president of Major Pipeline, said his company is excited about the project.

"We'll be in both cities in the next few weeks talking to groups and organizations," he said. "We'll be explaining the benefits and lower costs that people will realize using gas over other types of energy."

Rushmore said the company won't decide the project based solely on survey response, but it will figure in.

"We'd like to see about 60 percent of the survey come back positive," he said.

- Beulah Beacon

No more milk, honey

Center is no longer the land of the Milk n' Honey Market.

Owners turned the key for good Feb. 27 and are planning to sell the grocery store building, its remaining contents, fixtures and meat department equipment at auction Saturday.

Owners Rick and Lisa Reichenberg started scaling back in the fall, but didn't confirm their plans until they closed the doors.

Customers had noticed shelves becoming more and more bare of goods.

Rick Reichenberg says they were the seventh owners and their 15 years were the longest of any run.

They had many employees, especially teenagers, and enjoyed giving them work experience and a reference later.

It took a lot of family time, though, and when their daughter said being hospitalized felt like a vacation, they decided it was time to look at other options to making a living.

"Owning the store was a positive experience. We're just moving on," said Rick Reichenberg. "Now our hours are our own."

Mayor Richard Zarr said a grocery store is a bad thing to lose in a town.

"I wish it could recover," he said. He said the town's development group stands ready to help a new owner.

The Reichenbergs plan to stay in Center. It's their hometown and they like sending their kids to the school there and their relationships in the community.

- Center Republican