Compiled by LAUREN DONOVAN, Bismarck Tribune

A company in Crosby - SEO Precision- is working on a bubble light that people will love to see.

The light will sit atop farm equipment - really any kind of equipment - and broadcast an intense circle of light 100 feet simultaneously in all directions.

The product is called "Tractor Beam," and it really depends on the concept that light can move faster than the human eye.

SEO Precision's concept model uses pieces of a hand-held lantern. Inside the globe, a small motor powers a shaft with a tilted mirror. The mirror rotates faster than the eye, giving the appearance of constant light thrown 360 degrees.

Eventually, a prototype will be developed using light emitting diodes that give off more light than traditional bulbs and remain cool to the touch.

Light emitting diodes come in a variety of colors and the company figures it will be able to use a light color that cuts down on chaff interference in the same way fog lamps cut through fog.

Company owners Shawn and Esther Oehlke say even at $1,000, the Tractor Beam can potentially light up a farmer's field at a fraction of the cost and power demand of other products.

Farmers get a lot of help in their fields from global position units, but that doesn't help them see a rock, or even a telephone pole where they're working at night.

The Oehlkes say the Tractor Beam marries agriculture and high tech, and could also replace tail and headlights on vehicles, which have remained basically the same since horse and buggy days.

"Instead of seeing headlights coming at you, you'll see a whole car coming at you," Shawn Oehlke said.

The concept doesn't use new technology, just a new way of putting it to work.

"There's absolutely nothing out there like it at this point," Oehlke said.

The Tractor Beam has an expected life expectancy of 30,000 hours. The tractor will be replaced long before that.

- Journal

So long, Pirates

If North Dakotans have a sentimental favorite, it would have to be their boy's basketball teams.

Girls have a place, too, but the tradition of boy's basketball teams in schools and towns generally goes back to grandpa's day and maybe a generation more.

It's hard when that tradition comes to an end.

Next year Rhame will send its boys down the road and over the hills to Bowman to play ball as Bulldogs.

The Rhame boys Pirates had their last home game Feb. 18. The 11 members on the squad played valiantly, bringing the hometown crowd to its feet on several occasions.

The Solen Eagles seemed a little rattled at first and their coach was overheard to tell his players, "It doesn't matter if the gym's small. We're still not making our lay-ups."

Still, the final game went down as a defeat, 57-75.

For some in Rhame, the experience for the kids couldn't be tallied in the win-loss column.

There weren't many kids - the reason why the merger had to happen - but they all got plenty of time on the court.

Laurie Braaten watched her son, Brady, play and said the game had an emotional component.

She and her husband, Robin Braaten, both attended school at Rhame and her dad was superintendent there for 27 years.

The cooperative was no surprise.

"We knew it was going to happen," she said.

Rhame coach Chad Njos said it was inevitable.

"It was going to happen sooner or later, but I don't think there's ever a good time," Njos said.

- Bowman County Pioneer

Really too far?

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but managing the New England Cenex from Bismarck proved to be inefficient.

Cy Fix, manager of the Bismarck-Mandan Cenex, said that's why after a year of ownership, his directors decided to sell the New England business to a Regent and Hettinger cooperative.

The Bismarck Cenex also owns Cenex stores in Dickinson and Sterling. and Fix said the straight shots up and down I-94 make that doable.

However, the Bismarck Cenex also owns the Lemmon, S.D., store that's nowhere near I-94 and has no plans to sell that location.

Brian Kouba, chairman of the Regent-Hettinger Alliance Ag Cooperative, said farmers wanted the New England store back in local ownership, anyway.

"A lot of patrons haven't been happy in the last few years," he said. "The price was right, too."

Under Bismarck's ownership, the New England Cenex operation was revamped into a C-store operation, with expanded food selection targeted at the teen fast-food market.

The hardware inventory was dropped, so the Cenex store wouldn't compete with A&K Hardware in New England.

The new owners say they're not planning any new changes for now.

- Herald