FARGO — A move to take a youth initiative out of the purview of the city of Fargo is expected to expand student civic engagement, the city said.

The City Commission voted Monday, Dec. 22, to give Fargo Public Schools oversight of the Fargo Youth Initiative, an advisory body made up of local high school students.

Commissioners have been discussing over recent weeks whether certain boards are effective or viable. The city’s Planning Department previously coordinated Fargo Youth Initiative events.

“It really did take a village to find a new home for this, but I think it’s the next iteration of greatness,” Commissioner Denise Kolpack said at the meeting.

Isabella Meyer, chair of FYI and a senior at Fargo North High School, told commissioners many decisions are made for youth without involving them.

“The Fargo Youth Initiative has been a great way for us to be able to share our voice and our opinions on what actually works and what we actually need,” Meyer said.

The youth advisory group will now be housed within Fargo Public Schools and will include liaison representatives from the Fargo City Commission, the FPS Board of Education and the Fargo Park Board, with potential for expansion.

The group will meet at and receive administrative support from the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Red River Valley.

Chris Flynn / The Forum

Robin Nelson, Boys & Girls Clubs CEO and Fargo School Board vice president, became involved in the Fargo Youth Initiative as it was created in 2013.

She said connecting the high school students with School Board, Park Board and city representatives will provide for even better opportunities.

“Now that they’ve got some more direction, it’s really ignited their excitement,” Nelson said.

Liaisons are expected to be Kolpack from the City Commission, Kristin Nelson from the Fargo School Board and Zoë Absey from the Park Board.

Proposed areas of focus for the Fargo Youth Initiative include education relating to North Dakota Century Code, open meeting regulations and local governance and policies.

Advocacy opportunities include raising the profile of youth public health issues and youth homelessness and speaking out on city, parks and school policies and initiatives.

Community impact ideas could include organizing student-led events or service projects, and regularly attending and participating in local government meetings.

“Youth are a big percentage of our population, so the more they can learn about how our city governments work and serve as a conduit and voice for youth so they are heard at those elected levels, is beneficial,” Robin Nelson said.

A goal is to achieve a total of 15 members on the Fargo Youth Initiative, which plans to continue to meet monthly.

Huebner is a 35+ year veteran of broadcast and print journalism in Fargo-Moorhead.

LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — Young athletes showed they could perform under pressure as they competed in the Elks Hoop Shoot competition.

The Northwest Ohio District brought winners from 10 different Elks lodge Hoop Shoot competitions to Ohio State Lima for the next step in the national contest.

The Elks have hosted the Hoop Shoot program for 52 years. Boys and girls ages 8 through 13 were divided into three age groups to see who could sink the most baskets.

While organizers hope the event is fun for the participants, they also emphasize the importance of developing skills through practice.

“They’re our future, and you don’t know who’s going to be able to benefit from all the practice that they put in, and further their careers in basketball, not only in the high school level, but in college and perhaps the professionals. We want them to increase their skill level and also show the sportsmanship and the camaraderie with the other shooters and enjoy the time that they have with this program,” says Jean Zink, Northwest Ohio District Elks Hoop Shoot Competition.

The top boys and girls from each age group in the Northwest Ohio District will advance to the state competition in February.

Copyright 2025 by Lima Communications Corporation. All rights reserved.

The organization that governs Nordic ski events in New England said it is seeing considerable growth in interest in the sport. The executive director of NENSA, the New England Nordic Ski Association, was a guest on this week’s episode of NBC5 In Depth.

“The sport of cross-country skiing is much younger than alpine skiing in America, I think it’s fair to say,” said Heidi Lange of NENSA. “But we are seeing incredible growth and success at all levels.”

On the Jan. 4 episode of NBC5 In Depth, Lange said the fame and success of Jessie Diggins, who won three Olympic medals in cross-country skiing and an array of other championships, has helped attract young athletes to the sport.

“We see a lot of glitter at our races,” Lange said, referring to how Diggins popularized wearing glitter on her face during competitions. “We see kids embracing that joy and the sportsmanship that she emulates. And it goes deeper than that, of course. Jessie is an incredible mentor and role model in so many ways. She’s so willing to be open and vulnerable and very transparent about her journey, not just celebrating the successes, but sharing what she’s experiencing through challenges and struggles. And I think that has had a very powerful influence on skiers as they’re developing and navigating what are hopefully long journeys in the sport.”

Lange told NBC5 In Depth that over the past two Olympic cycles, 50% of U.S. Olympic team members in Nordic skiing had an affiliation with a New England program. She went on to say that a closer examination of the numbers revealed that 30% of that population grew up in NENSA’s youth and junior programming in New England.

“We’re incredibly proud of that,” Lange said. “It’s early to say yet for this year, but trends are tracking in a similar fashion.”

Lange provided other encouraging signs for the future of the sport in the NBC5 In Depth interview. She also discussed advancements in snowmaking technology for Nordic ski areas, and offered recommendations of what fans of the Olympics should watch for in the Nordic competitions at the upcoming Winter Games.

The video atop this article has the full interview with NENSA’s Heidi Lange that aired on the Jan. 4 episode of NBC5 In Depth.

Previous coverage: Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins discusses climate activism

By Rick Assad

Employing a smothering defense and a smoldering shooting display proved a perfect recipe for the Burbank High boys’ basketball team on Saturday night.

Facing a good Upland team that had height and length but was short on shooting played into the hosts’ favor as the Bulldogs routed the Highlanders 73-33 in a nonleague game.

Burbank scored 20 points or more in the second and third periods and nailed 19 of 28 shots for 67.8 percent in those two frames.

Burbank drained 10 three-pointers with six treys coming in the second half.

Three players scored in double figures and were paced by junior shooting guard Avo Papikyan with a game-high 20 points and was followed by senior point guard Cris Ong with 13 points and junior point guard Jon Ong with 12.

Burbank sank 29 of 52 from the field for 55.2 percent during the game while holding Upland to 11 of 61 for 18 percent.

The Bulldogs made 14 of 28 for 50 percent in the first half and led 36-17 and the Highlanders shot 25 percent after converting six of 24.

Burbank dashed in front 16-9 after the first period and then were off to the races.

Steve Eshleman is Burbank’s head coach and believes this was his team’s finest hour to date.

“That might be our best offensive game that we have had all year and we shot the ball really well, but really what spurred us was our defensive strength that we had throughout the game,” he said.

Eshleman also liked another important aspect of the game.

“We rebounded and got the ball out and when we ran, and then created offense to our defense and getting the ball out and going tonight was probably our best 32 minutes that we put together and that’s great for the kids,” he stated.

The Bulldogs (10-4) outrebounded Upland (8-9) 44-33 including 19-13 in the second half.

Imani Smith-Young, a junior small forward, scored all of his seven points in the opening period.

Papikyan tallied 12 points in the second quarter and that included three of his four from three-point range.

Cris Ong, after scoring five points that included a trey in the opening frame, added six points in the second period as the Bulldogs converted eight of 14 for 57.1 percent from the floor.

Ong’s basket with 5:15 remaining in the second period made it 22-9, Papikyan’s three-pointer increased the cushion to 25-9 with 4:52 on the clock and Ong’s bucket saw the Bulldogs pull ahead 29-9 with 3:25 left.

Senior small forward Anthony Jawiche found his range in the third quarter with nine points and also drilled a three-pointer as Burbank dashed ahead 62-29 heading to the fourth period.

Jon Ong dropped eight points in the same quarter, Papikyan added five points and Ong’s hoop with 6:35 left saw the Bulldogs march ahead 43-17.

In the fourth period, Blake Finnigan, a senior wing, scored five of his seven points and added a three-pointer.

Junior wing Jason Campos canned a three-pointer in the fourth quarter and senior small forward Giordan Lewis dropped two points in the second period for the Bulldogs.

Senior wing Collin Heard paced the Highlanders with nine points and they all came on three-pointers and Cooper Omness, a senior wing for Upland scored five points.

Assistant coach Tighe Eshelman is in agreement with his father’s assessment of the team.

“We’ve been lacking a full 32-minute effort so far this year. We’ve had good wins by getting ahead of people and holding on for dear life,” he said. “Tonight, we really executed the game plan throughout four quarters, which is a great step for us leading back into [Pacific] League play.”

Sunday, January 4, 2026 | 2 p.m. ET | Place Bell

WATCH LIVE: Sportsnet East/Ontario/Pacific, FanDuel Sports Network North, FOX 9+, ICI TÉLÉ & ICI TOU.TV, PWHL YouTube & thepwhl.com(U.S. / International), More
EN: Daniella Ponticelli (Play-by-Play), Ann-Sophie Bettez (Analyst), Julia Tocheri (Reporter);
FR: Michael Roy (Play-by-Play), Isabelle Leclaire (Analyst), Christine Roger (Reporter), Roseline Filion (Studio Host), Stéphanie Poirier (Studio Analyst)

MINNESOTA FROST     
4-1-1-3 | 15 PTS | 2^ND PLACE (TIED)
Top Scorer: Britta Curl-Salemme – 9 GP, 4-7-11 PTS
Last Game: 5-2 L at OTT on Jan. 3

MONTRÉAL VICTOIRE                                              
3-1-0-4 | 11 PTS | 8^TH PLACE
Top Scorer: Marie-Philip Poulin & Abby Roque, 3-5-8 PTS
Last Game: 4-3 L at NY on Jan. 2

2024-25 SEASON SERIES: MONTRÉAL WON 11-7 IN POINTS (MTL WON 10-5 IN 2024)
Dec. 28 at MIN: 3-2 MTL | Jan. 12 at MIN (DENVER): 4-2 MIN | Jan. 17 at MTL: 4-2 MTL | Feb. 18 at MTL: 4-0 MIN | Mar. 4 at MTL: 2-1 MTL (SO) | Mar. 26 at MIN: 4-1 MTL

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Montréal has six regulation wins in its 11 all-time games against Minnesota (one SO win, one SO loss & three regulation losses) including a 4-1 win in the last meeting. That’s the most regulation victories by any PWHL team against the Frost. This is the first time the season series opens in Montréal with split decisions in each of the first two opening games in Minnesota.

Saturday’s 5-2 loss was just the fourth regular-season game in which the Frost have allowed at least five goals – and two of them have been at TD Place in Ottawa (lost 8-3 on Feb. 13, 2025). Minnesota had allowed a combined six goals across its first four non-Takeover Tour road games this season.

Both Mae Batherson and Kendall Cooper assisted on Minnesota’s first goal on Saturday, each skater’s fifth straight game with an assist. That ties them for the longest assist streak in the regular season in PWHL history (done six other times). Cooper’s six assists are tied for the lead among rookies.

Britta Curl-Salemme extended her point streak to five games and her goal streak to two games after scoring on Saturday. The league’s points leader scored in her first two games against Montréal last season and finished with four points against the Victoire (2G, 2A) in six games.

Kelly Pannek leads the PWHL with four multi-point games this season after scoring a goal and an assist on Saturday. The first time she produced two points in her career was against Montréal (2A) in her second game back on Jan. 6, 2024.

This is the third time the Frost are playing games on consecutive days, with both other instances occurring in the league’s inaugural season and both with split results. Minnesota had an OT loss against Boston and an OT win over New York on Jan. 27-28, 2024, and a 2-1 win in Ottawa and a 2-1 loss against Montréal on Feb. 17-18, 2024.

Minnesota wraps up its longest road trip of the season and busiest stretch in the schedule with four games in nine days. They enter Sunday’s action with two wins on the trip, having earned five of a possible nine points.

Montréal fired off 45 shots on goal in its 4-3 loss at New York on Friday. It was the most shots on goal the Victoire have attempted in a non-overtime game in team history (including playoffs), and the most by any PWHL team this season.

The Victoire have lost three straight games in regulation, all by one-goal decisions. The longest losing streak in team history is four games back in March 2024. Their only two-game losing streak at home in Montréal was last season with a pair of one-goal defeats at Place Bell on Mar. 23 and Apr. 1, 2025.

Laura Stacey attempted a game-high eight shots on goal Friday, the most by a Montréal player this season. It was Stacey’s third regular-season game with eight or more SOG while all other players in Montréal history have one such game combined (Marie-Philip Poulin). Stacey currently ranks third with 36 shots and led the league last season with 112.

Poulin is riding the longest point streak of her PWHL career at four games (2G, 3A). Before Friday, the Victoire captain had amassed five different three-game streaks in two seasons. Abby Roque also has a four-game point streak of her own with five points (2G, 3A) since Dec. 20. Both goals have been assisted by Poulin, and two of her three assists have set up goals scored by the captain.

Nicole Gosling, Montréal’s first-round pick in June, registered her first PWHL point with an assist on Friday. All four Victoire draft picks who have appeared in games this season have at least one point. Only defender Tamara Giaquinto, chosen in the sixth-round, has yet to play a game for the team.

Jade Downie-Landry, who hails from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu on the South Shore of Montréal, will get to play on home ice in front of her friends and family for the first time on Sunday. She made her long-awaited season debut on Friday against her former Sirens teammates following activation from LTIR.

Hayley Scamurra was named to Team USA on Friday and will compete in her second Olympics. There are also six members of the Frost on the American squad, most in the PWHL.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

“Excited to finish off our road trip on a good note. We have played some really good games and have also learned from some times where we can be better. This is a huge opportunity to get three big points.” – Frost forward Taylor Heise

“We are looking forward to returning to Place Bell in front of our fans for the first time in the New Year. The team has been creating many opportunities and will continue to do so and hopefully take full advantage of them as we move forward.” – Victoire Head Coach Kori Cheverie

SUNDAY’S GAME: The Victoire return to Place Bell for the first time since Dec. 7 and take on the Frost for the first of four meetings this season. Today’s game is a Black History Celebration, part of the PWHL’s Unity Game series, honouring the legacy, impact, and ongoing contributions of Black leaders, athletes, artists, and community-builders within hockey and across Montréal. Through music, dance, community storytelling, and in-arena recognition, the game creates space for celebration, education, and meaningful connection with local Black communities. Fans in attendance will enjoy an immersive experience throughout the day as Black culture and creativity take center stage, including a performance of the national anthem by Montréal singer Jennifer Lee-Dupuy and music curated by DJ Nelles during intermissions. Jennifer Mathurin of the Mathurin Family Foundation will perform the ceremonial puck drop. Her leadership and community advocacy reflect the Foundation’s commitment to empowering Black youth and families through education, sport, and mentorship. Moments of recognition and community storytelling will also spotlight local Black organizations making a lasting impact in Montréal. Among the community partners honoured during the game are the Mathurin Family Foundation and the Montréal Steppers, whose work supports youth empowerment, inclusion, and cultural expression. The Montréal Steppers will also host an activation on the concourse, inviting fans to connect and experience cultural expression beyond the ice. Jayne-Laure Dumerjean will be recognized as the Warrior of the Game for her leadership and impact within Montreal’s youth sports community. She is the founder of Empowering Her Sports, an initiative dedicated to supporting young athletes on and off the court through mentorship and education. Click here to learn more about this season’s Black History Celebrations around the PWHL.