Hunting is a popular pastime across North America. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) reports there were 14.4 million hunters across the United States in 2022, noting those hunters spent a total of $42.5 billion. According to Statistics Canada, Canadians spent $678.6 million in the second quarter of 2023 on hunting, fishing and camping equipment. The B.C. Wildlife Federation found there were 1.27 million hunters in Canada in 2019.

A lot of hype had been building for the Langdon-Munich Cardinals latest football game at the Park River Area Aggies on Oct. 10. Both teams came into the game unbeaten with records of 7-0; the Cards were ranked first and the Aggies fourth. The Cards pulled away after a close first half and won 42-22. The win, combined with a Grafton loss, clinched the Region 2A title for the Cardinals once again this season and also got them the top conference seed for the upcoming Class A 11-man playoffs, which begin on Oct. 25. Langdon-Munich had one more regular season game, which was played at home versus Grafton on Senior Night, on Oct. 16.

The North Border Eagles girls volleyball team was still in search of their first District 3 win when they played at Drayton-Valley-Edinburg in Crystal on Oct. 13. They lost a very close match to the Titans in five sets 3-2. Set scores were also very tight and back and forth.

The Langdon-Munich Cardinals girls volleyball team hit their busiest stretch of the season when they played at North Prairie in Rolla on Oct. 9, hosted the 41st Langdon Invitational Volleyball Tournament Oct. 11, then played at home against the Nelson County Chargers on Oct. 13. The Lady Cards swept the Cougars 3-0 in set scores of 25-11, 25-9 and 25-5; took second to a very good May-Port-C-G team for the LIT title; and beat NC 255, 25-6 and 25-11. After all was said and done, the Cardinals now have a record of 28-5 and will have their last home match on Oct. 21 versus North Star, where it will be Senior Night for their only senior player, Raeleigh Ratzlaff, along with her parents.

You never know when you get to meet a 1977 Epping Eagle, but one was in Langdon Let’s start this week with a crazy story about how I met a member of the 1977 Epping Eagles boys basketball team recently, which was ironically at the Langdon Eagles Club. After a recent Langdon-Munich volleyball match, I was at the Eagles when a tall man with a cowboy hat and a cinch western coat walked in with a longtime friend of mine, Mark Romfo. Well, wouldn’t you know - it was Bob Allard, who was the star the Epping team that came one win away from winning the 1977 State B Boys Basketball Tournament. Now that might not sound like a big deal to younger generations, but back in the day, the Epping Eagles captured the hearts and minds of the entire state of North Dakota in their run towards a state title.

As has been tradition the last several years, the East Region Cross Country Meet was held on Oct. 11 at the Cooperstown Country Club.

Berg runs for career-high 210 yards; Eagles defense has not allowed a point in 10 straight quarters There was a lot on the line when the North Border Eagles met the Nelson County Chargers in McVille on Oct. 10.

Pictured is Mitchell Wirth of Munich, who recently shot a bull moose - in a once in a lifetime opportunity after getting a moose license. Wirth took down the moose just 200 miles from the Canadian border north of Sarles. When asked about the hunt, Wirth said, 'Derek Roder and I got stopped for running a stop sign right out of the gate at 6:00am on our way to the Samuelson farm. Brady Samuelson and Alex Reslock said they had seen a nice sized moose around the farm, but we didn't see anything and had to get back to finish up harvest. Right when we were about to leave, Lynn Samuelson said he spotted a moose about a mile behind him. We walked out, and there he was. I shot it at about 9:00am - took one shot and it dropped.'

Week seven of the Friday Night Lights of high school football saw top-ranked Langdon-Munich play at Carrington in a battle of the Cardinals on Oct. 4. After falling behind for the first time this season, Langdon-Munich scored 33 unanswered points to win the game 33-7. L-M is now 7-0 on the season and 5-0 in Region 2A conference games. They have their biggest game of the season thus far at 7-0 Park River Area on Oct.11 then will have their final regular season home game on Oct. 17 versus Grafton on what will be Senior Night. Langdon-Munich and Park River Area are the last two unbeaten teams in North Dakota Class A 11-man football.

The Langdon-Munich Cardinals volleyball team found out they are now #1 in the state in latest Class B volleyball poll just before they hosted #4 Benson County in a District 4 showdown on Oct. 7 at the Langdon Area High School gym. The Lady Cards earned that top ranking with a win by a 3-0 sweep in set scores of 25-21, 25-15, and 25-21. Langdon-Munich also finished third at a tournament in Des Lacs-Burlington, so their record is now 21-4 on the season. They played in Rolla versus North Prairie on Oct. 9 then will compete in the 41st Annu-al Langdon Invitational Tournament on Oct. 11. The Cardinals are also scheduled to entertain Nelson County in another District 4 match on Oct. 14. In their match with Benson County, each set was competitive with the Lady Cards finding a way each time. Hilary Haaven had 10 kills in the first set, in which Langdon-Munich came back from an early deficit. In set two, the Cards were down 3-0 right away then took off on a 20-6 run to lead the match, 2-0. The Wildcats played very tough in set three, but the Lady Cards fought through it, going on a key 9-2 run late and winning the match. Haaven had 19 kills to lead the Cards on the night, and she was just nine away from 1,000 kills in her career after the match with BC. This is unprecedented for a freshman. For whatever the reason, the Wildcats were trying to serve right at freshman Mya Swanson all night, who was up for the challenge with 26 digs, a ridiculous number for a three-set match. Swanson earned player of the game honors by also leading the team with four service aces. Sophomore Lacie Fautch had nine kills to lead the Wildcats.