Maybe We Shouldn’t Construct Government Buildings on Burial Grounds

1 min readNorth Dakota governor Kelly Armstrong would like to speak to the manager, please. He was the victim of a serious real estate scam. From KFYR:The search of the grounds at the North Dakota Governor’s Residence is over, and the state says archaeologists located seven coffins holding human remains, plus another wooden box. OMB Facilities Management Director Brandon Solberg said crews looked into more than 80 spots flagged during the investigation before concluding fieldwork on September 14.Archaeologists will review and catalog all remains and recovered items, a process expected to run into early 2027. OMB has contracted with a local funeral home, with Crisis Care Chaplaincy volunteering to help ensure the relocation is handled with care and reverence. Reburial is expected in spring 2027 at a local cemetery.Apparently, this was the location of the first cemetery in Bismarck. The graves were supposed to be moved to other local cemeteries back in the 1880s. Except ...Most graves were thought to have been moved to St. Mary’s and Fairview cemeteries in the 1880s, but past projects, including 13 burials found in 1903 and five more in 1959, showed others were left behind.Did the crew that was supposed to move the bodies just take the afternoon off? Did they go home early every day? As Digger O’Dell used to say, I’ll be shoveling off now.