They’d heard reports of a massive ram — a potential state record — living somewhere out there in the rugged terrain of the Little Missouri National Grasslands in western North Dakota, but they didn’t see it until late that afternoon.

Days later, Nick Schmitz says he gets goosebumps just thinking about the encounter.

It was Friday, Oct. 31, the opening day of North Dakota’s bighorn sheep season, and Schmitz, of Grand Forks, had been lucky enough to draw one of the eight tags available in 2025 for the once-in-a-lifetime hunt.

Nick Schmitz of Grand Forks, N.D., holds up the head of the massive bighorn sheep ram he shot Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, in the Little Missouri National Grasslands of western North Dakota. The ram, which had a green score of 197 6/8 inches, is the unofficial new North Dakota state record ram. (David Suda via Brett Wiedmann / North Dakota Game and Fish Department)

Joining him was his dad, Jeff Schmitz, of Mekinock, N.D.; brother-in-law Tim Spicer, of Cavalier; and buddy David Suda, of Fargo.

Suda, who drew a bighorn tag in 2020, shot a 7-year-old ram with horns that measured 186 3/8 inches, setting a record as the highest-scoring ram ever taken in North Dakota.

Until Oct. 31, that is. Schmitz shot the unofficial new record, a massive ram with horns that green-scored 197 6/8 inches, a measurement that won’t be official until after the mandatory 60-day drying period.

“He’ll shatter (Suda’s) state record — probably by about 10 inches,” said Brett Wiedmann, big game biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in Dickinson. A certified measurer for Boone and Crockett, Wiedmann scored the ram.

Any ram measuring 190 inches or more is something really special, he said.

“I told (Nick), I said, ‘You arguably just shot the greatest hunting trophy in North Dakota’s history,’ ” Wiedmann said. “That ram is that special; I mean, he’s at the top — just an amazing animal.”

Snow and sleet

The weather on opening day morning “wasn’t that great,” Schmitz said — a mix of wind, snow and sleet — when they set out across the Badlands to see what they could see.

“Visibility wasn’t that good,” he said. “You couldn’t see over half a mile.”

A civil engineer for Blattner Co., Schmitz was hunting in Unit B4 — North Dakota’s northernmost bighorn hunting unit — west of Grassy Butte. They’d barely gotten out of the truck, he recalls, when Spicer spotted a nice ram about 300 yards away.

Unfortunately, the ram saw them, too.

“It was a pretty decent-sized ram,” Schmitz said. “We figured that it would have been a ‘shooter.’ It had a big body — really dark — I just saw really wide, massive horns. He kind of went and ran over the top of a hill and we lost him.”

Traipsing through the snow and sleet, they spent the rest of the morning trying to spot the ram with no luck. It was nearly noon when they decided to head back to the trucks and regroup.

“We ate some lunch, drank some water and refueled,” Schmitz said. “We were pretty wet from all the snow. We were a little tired, and our boots and feet were wet — we’d climbed quite a bit.”

They decided to take a midday drive closer to the Little Missouri River, spotting three or four rams with ewes, Schmitz recalls.

“It was pretty cool just to see their behavior,” he said. “And, of course, where they’re located, they’re on the side of a straight up-and-down cliff. It’s always fun just watching them.”

Since the weather had improved, they decided to spend the afternoon walking the ridges in search of a ram.

Excitement builds

About 4 p.m., they spotted the massive ram they’d heard about, near the bottom of a draw more than 300 yards away; the ram was with 11 ewes.

“I get down and I look through my binoculars and I can see the ram, and Dave (Suda) broke out his spotting scope so he sees the ram,” Schmitz said. “And I’ll never forget — this is when he just kind of looks back at me, real slowly — and he just says, ‘Nick, this is him. This is a shooter.’”

Related Articles

With one touch, they vanish. Meet the delicate, icy wonders called frost flowers

Skywatch: Holiday telescope shopping guide

Bill would allow roads, vehicles in Boundary Waters for border enforcement

Nature walks are good for you, but can a city stroll be just as good?

Skywatch: Long starry nights are back

By this time, Schmitz says he was “bent over, just like wheezing.”

“I just about had a panic attack … it’s all kind of coming together really fast,” he said.

Schmitz figures it took “probably 10-15 minutes” to get into a comfortable prone position. The rangefinder put the ram and ewes at 347 yards away.

“I’m just like, I need to settle down, calm down,” Schmitz said. “The sheep weren’t going anywhere, so I could take my time. The sheep had spotted us, but they were just like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on over there.’ They didn’t seem concerned at all.”

Schmitz took a “dry fire” without a bullet in the chamber of his .270 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight rifle. He had the time and wanted to do it right.

Even so, he missed on the first shot. The ram ran about 100 feet up the hill after the second shot hit and “maybe 10-15” yards more after the third before tumbling, Schmitz says.

“I was at the top of a ridge, they were on another ridge next to us, probably three-quarters of the way to the bottom initially,” Schmitz said. “They were down toward the bottom where I initially shot, and then they probably got halfway up (the ridge) to where he ended up dying.”

The excitement of what had just happened kicked into high gear after that, Schmitz recalls.

“It was just unbelievable,” he said. “It all happened so fast.”

The work begins

By the time they got to the ram in the rugged terrain, it was completely dark, Schmitz says.

Seeing the ram up close, he said, it looked “way bigger” than it had through the scope.

“Just the mass of his horns literally blew my mind,” Schmitz said. “Even in the dark, I couldn’t believe just how thick and massive each horn was.”

Then came the hard work — skinning and quartering the ram and packing everything out in the dark across the rugged terrain. It was nearly 10:30 p.m. when they got back to the truck, Schmitz says.

Finding an area with spotty cell service, Schmitz had contacted Wiedmann, the Game and Fish biologist, who met them in Grassy Butte after midnight. Wiedmann works closely with sheep license recipients both before and after the hunt, meeting them in the field to register the sheep and collect biological samples, age the animal, score the horns and insert a plug in the horn to certify it was taken legally.

It was nearly midnight, Wiedmann says, when he met Schmitz and his hunting partners in Grassy Butte. He knew the ram was big, but like Schmitz, he said it was even bigger up close than it had appeared through a spotting scope during annual sheep surveys.

“I’ve been following this ram around for about four or five years,” Wiedmann said. “When he was young, it was like, ‘Wow, that ram’s going to be something special.’ ”

The ram was 10 years old and weighed 264 pounds “on the hoof” on the scale Wiedmann had given Schmitz to carry along on the hunt.

“They worked their tails off to get him. I mean, they were hypothermic and wet and muddy,” Wiedmann said. “Where they got this ram, it’s the big nasty. I mean, it’s big, steep ridges. You can’t get around very easily back there.

“Most hunters aren’t even going to get to that ram, to be honest with you. You’ve got to really want it to get that ram, and they did.”

Exhilaration replaced exhaustion when Wiedmann measured the horns and tallied the score.

“This is Grassy Butte, 12:30 at night, the town’s shut down and we’re the only people there,” Wiedmann said. “I say, ‘Look guys, I’m just going to lay the score sheet down and then you guys can take a look at the score.’

“I laid it down and, of course, they’re all screaming and jumping. I’m surprised no one called the sheriff,” he added with a laugh.

There’s a good chance Schmitz’s ram will be among the top 10 rams taken anywhere in North America this year, Wiedmann says. The fact that Suda was along to watch his buddy break his bighorn record adds an even more amazing twist to the story.

“Just knowing somebody else that would even draw this tag is pretty rare in itself,” Schmitz said. “And then, asking them to come along and him being a part of the hunt, that is just over once in a million lifetimes, really.”

It’s hard to put into words, Suda says.

“I’m just happy I got to be a part of the record shattering my own record,” Suda said. “I wish I could put it all into words, but I can’t. To get to experience that type of hunt more than once in your life, it’s truly amazing. I feel very blessed.”

Suda says two of his buddies who live and work out west, Jens Johnson and Ryan Seil, deserve a lot of credit for the knowledge they’ve shared about the area and its rams, including the trophy Schmitz ultimately shot. They’ve taught him everything he knows about bighorn sheep, Suda says.

Related Articles

Hunting camp tradition is a rite of fall at its finest

Minnesota Dream Hunt offers ‘heartwarming’ experiences

Afton, Wild River, William O’Brien state parks to close for weekend deer hunts

Grouse hunt, dedication of new WMA offer celebration of public lands

Minnesota artist James Hautman wins 2025 Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest

“Shout out to those two guys,” he said — and Wiedmann.

“Without Brett Wiedmann’s work in North Dakota, we wouldn’t even have these animals to chase,” Suda said.

Schmitz is getting a full body mount of the record sheep. That presents another challenge, he says.

“I don’t know where to put it. My house isn’t big enough, so I’ve got to find a new house,” he said with a laugh. “We’ve got to figure that out, but man, am I pumped to get that back.”

The final day of the state semifinals are Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium, with five more spots to fill in next week’s Prep Bowl lineup.

A: Minneota vs. Mahnomen/Waubun, 9 a.m.

Minneota has won 44 straight football games, and all but one this season by 26-plus points. The lone exception: A seven-point victory over Eden Valley-Watkins, a Class 2A state semifinalist this season.

Our pick: Minneota 28, Mahnomen/Waubun 10

A: Murray County Central vs. Breckenridge, 11:30 a.m.

Teague Meyer ran for 200 yards and two scores for Murray County Central in its quarterfinal win. Similar success against a suffocating Breckenridge defense could be hard to come by.

Our pick: Breckenridge 24, Murray County Central 14

3A: Waseca vs. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, 2 p.m.

Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton has corrected course after a couple of early season losses amid a difficult schedule. But this special Waseca defense shut out Holy Family last week, and hasn’t allowed more than 14 points in a game all fall.

Our pick: Waseca 17, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 13

3A: Minneapolis North vs. Annandale, 4:30 p.m.

The Polars’ passing connection between Logan Lachermeier and J’Marion Sanders should be fun to watch indoors, but Annandale has the offensive firepower to potentially keep pace.

Our pick: Minneapolis North 45, Annandale 40

5A: Chanhassen vs. Elk River, 7 p.m.

A rematch of last year’s state semifinal, won 21-19 by Elk River en route to the state title. This version of Chanhassen is a lot better than that one.

Our pick: Chanhassen 35, Elk River 21

Related Articles

High School Football: Moorhead tops Lakeville South for spot in Prep Bowl

Girls swimming: Mounds View’s Ellie Bina crushes Class 2A state 500 free prelim

High school football: Kingston Allen adds to Wisconsin record as River Falls’ season ends in state semis

High School Football: Spring Lake Park beats St. Thomas Academy in Class 5A state semifinal

Girls state swimming: Como Park’s Aleia Lueck has top 50 free prelim

Minnesota beverage manufacturers and retailers are sounding the alarm over legislation passed by Congress this week that they say would effectively shut down the state’s thriving THC beverage and edible market.

A provision tucked into the bill that ended the lengthy federal government shutdown would ban products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of hemp-derived THC, significantly lower than the 5 milligrams per serving currently authorized under Minnesota state law.

The ban is set to take effect in one year, which beverage producers say sets up a life-or-death countdown for their businesses.

“If this goes through as it’s currently worded, there’s no chance we stay in business past that one-year mark,” said Drew Hurst, president and chief operating officer of Bauhaus Brew Labs in Minneapolis. “(THC beverages) have been both a point of innovation and fun and creativity, but also something that we’ve absolutely needed to be able to continue existing and thriving as a business. If it goes away, we don’t really see a path forward beyond that.”

A ban on THC products would also significantly impact other businesses in the beverage supply chain too, from can manufacturers to distributors to liquor stores, said Matt Kenevan, owner of Dabbler Depot on West Seventh Street in St. Paul.

A variety of hemp-based-THC-infused beverages are sold at Dabbler Depot in St. Paul. Most are made in Minnesota. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

“All we can do is hope there’s going to be a change that will allow us to do business as usual,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you freak out if someone said you’ve got 12 months to live? That’s what this is.”

While cannabis itself is not federally legal, hemp — a low-THC variety of the plant that’s generally used for industrial purposes — was legalized nationwide by the 2018 Farm Bill, providing a workaround for companies to extract THC from federally legal hemp and make products with effects similar to traditional cannabis.

Minnesota began authorizing the production and sale of THC drinks in 2022 and was among the first states to do so, making the state a pioneer in what’s now a multibillion-dollar nationwide industry. Minnesota has also recently begun licensing cannabis dispensaries through the Office of Cannabis Management.

And as local breweries see beer sales continue to decline in the years since Covid-19, industry leaders say, producing THC beverages has been a vital lifeline for them to remain operational.

“For a lot of us, these are the things we’re filling our tanks with; these are the things we’re keeping people employed with,” said Surly Brewing founder Omar Ansari. “We’ve put millions of dollars into an original facility that probably would’ve closed if not for THC beverages. We used to have 8 people employed there — we have 30 now, and those are all people that have homes, have kids, are paying taxes.”

But in the meantime, until the ban is set to be implemented in late 2026, consumers should know that there’s no change to the existing legal status of producing or purchasing hemp-derived THC beverages, said Christopher Lackner, president and CEO of the national Hemp Beverage Alliance.

The state Office of Cannabis Management also plans to continue licensing businesses, verifying safety and overseeing all THC products including beverages in this interim period, spokesperson Josh Collins said.

“The short term is that it’s business as usual,” Lackner said. “The beverages that are on the shelves today are the beverages that’ll be on the shelf tomorrow and next week and next month and next year.”

Regulations vs. bans

The restriction on hemp-derived THC was a last-minute addition to the federal shutdown bill by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who claimed that unregulated THC products put children at risk.

Hemp industry leaders agree that unregulated THC products are indeed not desirable and argue that a comprehensive regulatory structure, like the one that exists in Minnesota, is a more effective solution than wholesale bans, which might ultimately push customers into black markets.

“Minnesota has shown that with a proper regulatory scheme in place, hemp businesses can operate responsibly and keep products manufactured by bad actors out of the marketplace,” said Matt Schwandt, an attorney focusing on regulatory compliance at Maslon LLP in Minneapolis who previously co-founded and led Bauhaus.

A proposal in the Senate to remove the hemp provision from the shutdown deal, written by Sen. Rand Paul, also a Kentucky Republican, was supported by both Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, but it ultimately did not succeed.

“Minnesota has one of the strongest, most carefully regulated systems in the country to allow the sale of hemp products, and the Republican bill that just passed screws all of that up,” Smith said via email Thursday afternoon.

A spokesperson for Klobuchar expressed the lawmaker’s support for federal hemp regulations that account for existing successful THC regulatory systems like the one in Minnesota.

Cole Huschied hoists another case of Bauhaus Brew Labs’ tetra, a hemp-based-THC-infused sparkling water, onto a pallet at the company’s Minneapolis brewhouse on Thursday, July 27, 2023. (Pioneer Press)

This is what brewery leaders, like Hurst at Bauhaus, want to see, too.

“With where we’re at economically, to massively and catastrophically impact an industry that employs hundreds of thousands of people and generates billions of dollars of revenue does not seem like the wisest choice right now,” Hurst said. “We’re all in favor of regulation and legislation around this. We want it legalized at the federal level so we can keep doing what we’ve already proved we can do safely and well.”

Next steps

Following the ban, which appeared to come as a surprise to many in the industry, producers and retailers are rallying to build public awareness and push for hemp-derived THC products to be re-legalized before the provision takes effect in a year.

Related Articles

Disney reaches new deal with YouTube TV, ending a blackout that lasted over two weeks

Government will release September jobs report next week, ending data drought from federal shutdown

Preliminary findings show a fatigue crack caused a Keystone Pipeline oil spill in North Dakota

Bouldering Project opens in St. Paul after Minneapolis success

Wall Street scrambles back from a big morning loss as Nvidia and bitcoin swing

“That came out of nowhere,” said Bob Galligan, director of government and industry relations at the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild. “But I think we’re feeling more hopeful than we were even a couple days ago, just from seeing some of the outrage and seeing how impactful people are realizing this really is.”

At this point, to allow hemp-derived THC beverages to remain legal in the long-term, federal legislation would be necessary to undo the ban, Schwandt said.

“At the end of the day, if people want these beverages to stay available and accessible, it takes the emails and calls to representatives,” Hurst said. “As doom and gloom as a lot of this is, there’s still a lot that can happen within the next year to change course.”

Property taxes across Minnesota could increase by a total of up to $1 billion next year under approved levy increases from counties, cities and school boards and other taxing districts adopted in 2025.

The increases, payable in 2026 and reported by the state Department of Revenue this week, continue a trend in the 2020s as inflation continues to drive up operational costs, according to groups representing local governments.

Statewide, levies could reach up to $14.6 billion next year, an increase of 6.9% from 2025. The final number is typically lower than the maximum set in preliminary numbers and is used as a starting point for governments as they set final levies.

Final property taxes are set by the end of the year, after local governments calculate estimates for individual parcels and send property owners truth-in-taxation notices sometime in November. Taxing authorities must hold public input meetings before they set final levies on Dec. 29. To find out about truth-in-taxation hearings in your county, check their website.

Minnesota property taxes totaled around $13.7 billion in 2025. In 2020, around $10.9 billion was collected statewide, according to data from the Department of Revenue.

Year-by-year

Final statewide increases in recent years were as follows, state data shows:

• 2025 — 5.6% or $718.6 million.

• 2024 — 6.4% or $775 million.

• 2023 — 5.4% or $626 million.

• 2022 — 3.9% or $431 million.

• 2021 — 2.1% or $226 million.

• 2020 — 4.6% or $501 million.

Federal challenges

Changes at the federal level under the administration of President Donald Trump add another potential cost driver with new eligibility requirements for assistance programs like Medicaid, according to the Association of Minnesota Counties.

“Nuts and bolts” costs like staffing, employee benefits, capital costs and even gas prices are all up, said Matt Hilgart, a lobbyist with the group. But unpredictability and new rules from higher levels of government mean new staffing needs and expenses for counties.

“New mandates coupled with reductions in reimbursements to local governments — particularly counties — are creating this situation where we’re levying now to either hire people to fulfill a mandate that we’ve been told to do by the state or federal government,” he said. “It feels like we’re handcuffed.”

As Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress passed the tax package dubbed the “big beautiful bill” this summer, counties were concerned that they could face financial strain from new administrative requirements on Medicaid and SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Supporters of the bill touted its tax breaks for individuals.

Ramsey County levy

In Ramsey County, which approved a levy hike of 9.75%, or $38.6 million, the biggest drivers of expenses were unfunded mandates from the state of Minnesota, employee compensation and “directing resources to our core services and improving our organizational performance,” County Manager Ling Becker said in September.

About 46% of Ramsey County’s upcoming budget is funded through property taxes. The rest comes from the state, federal and other local governments, plus service fees and other sources. The county raised its levy by 4.75% in 2025, 6.8% in 2024 and 4.5% in 2023.

Statewide, counties raised their levies by an average maximum of 8.1%, up from previous years, when it was around 5% to 6%. Cities raised levies by a projected average maximum of 8.7%, roughly in line with recent trends. Schools raised levies by a projected average maximum of 5.8%.

A levy increase is not a property tax increase. If a person owns property in a community that has seen new development, like businesses or homes, it can offset the levy’s effect on the actual tax bill.

It would be hard for that to happen in Ramsey County since it has limited opportunities for property tax base growth, particularly as the state’s smallest county, Hilgart said. The county also has high social services costs, posing another challenge.

The expected maximum statewide increase in 2026 would be the highest of the 2020s if it holds, but the final increase typically falls anywhere between 8% and 15%.

Last year, the revenue department projected a maximum total increase of $781.6 million for 2025 — 6.1% higher than 2024. It ended up being $63 million lower — a 5.6% increase.

The change was supposed to be even greater between 2023 and 2024, when state officials predicted a maximum levy increase of 7.3% or $882.1 million statewide. It ended up being $104.4 million lower — a 6% increase.

School districts

School districts are concerned about uncertainty with federal funding, according to Kirk Schneidawind, executive director of the Minnesota School Boards Association, though inflation and a growing reliance on local levies for funding play a more significant role.

“Increases from the state have not kept up with inflation,” he said. “To continue programs and opportunities … we’ve got to find ways to generate revenue.”

Minnesota’s 2023 education bill included funding increases of up to 3% to address inflation, but two years is not enough time to fix a long-term problem, Schneidawind explained.

St. Paul Public Schools was one of many districts where voters approved a levy referendum in the Nov. 4 general election. Starting in 2026, the district’s general revenue will increase by $1,037 per pupil for 10 years. It’s expected to raise around $37.2 million for the district.

More information on preliminary property tax levies can be found on the revenue department’s website at revenue.state.mn.us/preliminary-property-tax-levies.

Related Articles

Senate takes first step toward ending the government shutdown

Two more special elections coming to Minnesota Capitol

Government shutdown could become longest ever as Trump says he ‘won’t be extorted’ by Democrats

Better parks? Safer streets? Greener neighborhoods? Students asked to enter “Mayor For a Day” essay contest

Minnesota’s federal workers plead for resolution of government shutdown