Hammersmith
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Posts posted by Hammersmith
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On 3/23/2022 at 11:48 AM, sioux rube said:
Just going to point out that only restaurants that use Open Table to manage their online reservation system are on that list. There are at least a handful of Fargo restaurants absent from that list that are every bit as good or better than the ones that are on it. Luna and Mezzaluna are at the top of that missing list as far as I'm concerned. Maybe GF is the same with missing restaurants.
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40 minutes ago, UND1983 said:
This narrative always slays me. Do you think by chance he has better facilities, training table, more money, and wait for it.....better players than everyone else to work with?
During the run of the last decade. NDSU has had something like three head coaches, four starting quarterbacks, more than half a dozen coordinators, three presidents(counting an interim), two athletic directors, and a complete turnover of the booster organization leadership, but they've only had one head S&C coach. That's the first clue.
Second, probably no football coach has as much one on one time with the players than the S&C coach. The players are in the weight room most every day of the week, and most are there 10-12 months a year. That is a HUGE amount of one on one time. This is even more true of the first and second year players. Kramer is the one they spend most of their time with during their redshirt year.
Third, Kramer keeps up on modern S&C techniques better than the average S&C coach. He was at the US Olympic Training Center when they completely revamped their training program. He works with Sanford Sports Medicine to bring in new techniques. Kramer, Sanford and science are the reason why NDSU players don't cramp up late in the game, even down south. NDSU is also on the cutting edge of using technology to reduce injuries and fatigue. Many/most NDSU players now have GPS/RFID sensors in their practice uniforms so that their speed and agility can be tracked in real-time. When players start to slow down in a practice(even just 5%-10%), they are pulled and rested. Practice injuries are far more likely to happen when the body begins to get tired. That little drop off in speed is the first indicator. Those are just a couple of the many things NDSU/Kramer/Sanford do behind the scenes to stay at the cutting edge.
Fourth, culture. Whenever NDSU football is talked about, the word that almost always gets brought up is culture. Guess where that culture gets instilled? It's in the weight room every morning and afternoon. Sure, the older players pass it on to the younger players, but it's drilled in and reinforced in the weight room. That's Kramer's doing.
Finally, there's his personality. Kramer pushes the players to push through the pain. To realize they can do more than they think they are capable of. That the pain doesn't have to stop them. NDSU lines play hard. They know they can take the pain because they've done it many times before in the weight room and in practice. When you see opponent's D-lines start to break down against the Bison O-line in the third and fourth quarters, it's not just because of fatigue. It's because the Bison are still willing to hit at 100% power late in the game, while the opponents start to get afraid of the pain and psychologically aren't able to play at 100%. They start to flinch at contact. It's the cause of the "Bison hangover" many teams have the week after playing NDSU. Stig has been pretty open about it. This isn't quite as true as it was in the early part of the run because Bohl, Klieman and Entz all have slightly different styles, but a lot of it is still there.
The amazing thing is that Kramer can do all this without doing it in a mentally/emotionally damaging way. There have been lots of coaches of all types that use unhealthy methods to push their players. Thus far, Kramer appears to understand the line and pushes them in a healthy way. I don't know if I've ever heard a former player bad mouth Kramer. With the unhealthy coaches, you normally get a group that hates them and a group that defends them to the death. I haven't heard about groups of former players that hate Kramer, only those that like and respect him.
Notice that with the exception of the GPS sensors, none of the above is about facilities, money, or the quality of incoming players? I fear the Bison dynasty will end shortly after Kramer's daughters are about to graduate high school and he accepts an FBS job for a lot more money(he's had multiple offers, but his family status has kept him here - divorced with younger daughters living in town with their mother). I have no doubts NDSU will be able to find a replacement that uses cutting edge techniques, or can instill a program culture, or can get the total respect of the players, or can push the players beyond their limits, or can do it in a healthy way, but I don't know if NDSU will be able to find a replacement that can do ALL those things. The third and fourth years after Kramer leaves are going to be very interesting.
Of course this is all my opinion, and it's as an observer to the program not an insider, but I think I'm hitting pretty close to the mark. And I think the NDSU athletic department and coaches must agree since Kramer's salary is right in line with the coordinators, and both Bohl and Klieman asked Kramer to come with them when they left(Bohl reeeeaaaly wanted him).
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10 minutes ago, UNDBIZ said:
I won't deny that UND needs to improve its coaching salaries, but it is difficult when the comparison is always to the school in Fargo. I'm not saying it shouldn't be, as we want to compete with them, but it's difficult. For example, Montana's head coach makes less than Bubba, but you'd think we're severely underpaying everybody because the comparison is always to ndsu.
Not really true. Including incentives, Bubba makes around $250k. Bobby Hauck made about $300k back in 2019. If Bubba made more than Hauck in 2020, it was only because of the Big Sky cancelling the 2020 season and Montana only scheduling two games in the spring. By my quick look at Hauck's contract, he should have made something in the neighborhood of $330k-$340k this season.
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7 minutes ago, NDRA said:
According to that chart it appears to me that they're doing quite a bit better than 50K. Pretty much doubling that.
After a quick glance, it looks like:
Football support(director of football ops, etc.) - NDSU is paying around 10%-20% more than UND.
Coaches(position, coords, head) - NDSU is paying 50%-70% more than UND.
Head S&C - NDSU is paying a little over 100% more than UND. (Jim Kramer is the real reason for NDSU's FB success.)
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17 minutes ago, jdub27 said:
When?
That was the message a few weeks ago and now everyone finds out there is nothing even close to an agreement?
And when it does, multiple G 5 teams still aren't going to get in.
When the current contract expires. All the talk recently was about modifying the current contract before it expires. Which was always ridiculous because modifying a current contract requires unanimous agreement of all parties. No way that was going to happen. But creating a new contract is about balance of power and it looks like the power brokers want a playoff expansion. They'll just have to wait until after 2025.
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21 hours ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:
is it western leaving or fenton saying get out now....
Neither. It's old and out of date news being regurgitated.
A couple months back, WIU's president was looking at other options. The OVC seemed attractive at the time and early talks started. What the WIU president wasn't aware of, however, was the exodus of OVC schools that was about to happen. Once he was made aware of the fact, the talks quickly ground to a halt and nothing new has happened since. That DU fan article and others like it are using sources from that period before the OVC defections.
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3 hours ago, jdub27 said:
This is a league created issue, not a UND created issue.
Probably half and half. Generally the conference sets the date and the home team sets the time. It would have been better for the games to be on different dates, but it's likely UND chose to start the game at 7 instead of 6(and then NDSU could have shifted the MBB game to 8). UND may have had very good reasons for doing so(and maybe unavoidable reasons for doing so), but it was almost certainly their call.
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On 12/14/2021 at 11:10 PM, gfNDfan said:
Forgive the witness your honor you should make some accomodation for where he was apparently educated. I submit the following evidence...
https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/1994/frozen-french-fries-fuel-red-river-valley-economy
No further questions your honor!
PS - There's a reason UND has the law school:-)
Reds are fine for fry potatoes(bigger slices or cubes pan fried in oil), but they're not great for french fries. They work, but you get a denser texture and not the crispy exterior/fluffy interior that you get from russets. But if you're going for steak fries/frites, reds can work, but I prefer Yukon golds for that application. I think the best mashed potatoes are a blend of russets and reds. Higher proportion of russets if you're looking for a more sophisticated texture(whipped Thanksgiving style), higher proportion of reds if you're going for a more rustic style(peel the russets, don't peel the reds).
Keys to french fries: Use russets; soak in water, then rinse to get rid of the excess starch; fry twice - fry at a lower temp for a longer time to cook the interior, let them rest, fry at a higher temp for a shorter time to crisp and brown the exterior; don't overload your fryer or you'll get soggy, oily fries; reuse your oil(filter it between uses) as long as you never let it get too hot - throw it out if that happens; season the fries while hot.
And Five Guys fries suck. Limp, soggy crap. Because they don't soak them and they only fry them once. McD's are good because they fry them twice: once at the factory before they're flash frozen, then again at the resturant.
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2 hours ago, Siouxperman8 said:
Kinnesaw St up 14 on ETSU with under 2 minutes left.
ETSU scored TD, got onside kick, scored TD and got 2 pt conversion to take 32-31 lead with :35 left.
This would be a bad loss
SHSU/UIW was another game that had a great ending. UIW came up 1 yard short of tying the game on their final play.
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8 hours ago, SiouxFan100 said:
Montana scores 57 points with only 13 first downs. Trying to make sense of that.
Great special teams plays by Montana and special teams blunders by EWU. Plus EWU turnovers. Lot of Montana points were scored on very short fields. Don't need many 1st downs when you take over possession on your opponent's 30.
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4 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:
Did someone miss a couple Federal court stays on the vaccine mandates?
The stays that have been granted are not for the same mandate that applies to NDSU & UND. And the current SCOTUS has had the opportunity to rule against multiple vaccine requirements and has chosen to tacitly approve all of them. Don't expect that circuit court decision to survive.
My guess is that both university presidents know that guidance from the General Services Administration is coming that will make the decision for them. DB knows he's got nothing to lose, so he's going to go ahead and get it out of the way. The next NDSU pres. is free to throw DB under the bus and the leg. already hates him. AA knows he has to deal with the legislature in the future, so it wouldn't look good for him to announce full compliance with the mandate the same month that the state government joins the lawsuit against the mandates.
The whole situation reminds me of another instance of a state government taking the power away from a university president and not letting the president do what everyone (sane) knew needed to be done.
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48 minutes ago, The Sicatoka said:
Thanks for the info @Hammersmith ... but it's still gross and seems horribly unjust.
And I'm still interested in the 2021 FCS SRS numbers.
Using (Massey/Sagarin) Ratings this week:
Holy Cross (31/151) v. Sacred Heart (84/202)
Northern Iowa (6/99) v. EWU (4/94)For reference UND is (14/122).
Note: Sagarin ratings are all DI, not just FCS.The SRS may or may not be eventually released, but it had absolutely no bearing on pairings. SRS is one of the tools used to help select the 13 at-large bids and to help select and arrange the 8 seeds, but it is not used after that at all. Geography and avoiding conference rematches in the first round are the only things that matter during the pairings.
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1 hour ago, The Sicatoka said:
Can anyone find the 2021 FCS SRS (simple ratings system) results?
The NCAA site gives me 2019 information.
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/simple-ratings-systemI really want to hear justification for Sacred Heart vs Holy Cross.
Massey has those two as the two lowest four rated in the field, yet they go head to head.Pretty simple:
https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/championships/sports/football/d1/2021-22D1MFB_PreChampManual.pdf
Page 17:
QuoteBracket Pairings:
2. The remaining 16 teams will play first-round games and will be paired according to geographic proximity and then placed in the bracket according to geographic proximity of the top eight seeds previously placed in the bracket;
3. The NCAA mileage threshold for mandatory team travel via ground is 400 miles (one way);
Worcester, MA(Holy Cross) to Fairfield, CT(Sacred Heart) = 115 miles.
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2 hours ago, NoiseInsideMyHead said:
Considering the other sites under consideration (including the old med school) were within a stone's throw of the Memorial Union and/or walkable (in nice weather, at least) to full-service dining in Wilkerson, and the letter to the editor is about food service availability on campus, I'd say that the Gateway location is indeed remote.
The two Johns (i.e., Jimmy and Taco), though each within walking distance, aren't exactly going to be much more than occasional stops. Unless people really, really like Oles.
Related but unrelated...the persistent lack of campus-adjacent dining, shopping, and entertainment options at UND is remarkable. Two strips at REA that I would call moderately useful, at best (I'm guessing MidcoSports doesn't get much walk-up traffic), and Suite 49 has been shuttered over the years more than it has not. Basically forces students to get in their cars and drive (or rely on buses/Ubers) for even the most mundane of tasks. Maybe it's time to kick BNSF out of town, do some intense surface remediation, and develop some of that land to benefit campus. And that would immediately save the tens of millions of $$$ slated for the 42nd St underpass.
The way the blocks are laid out makes it really tough, but the best answer would be for the UND Foundation to buy out all the houses in the blocks north of Greek row. Try to get everything from Columbia to 26th and from 3rd & 1/2 to 5th or 6th. It would take decades to get enough properties to make it work, but that would create enough space for some nice mixed use buildings similar to the Memorial Stadium project. Also build one on the west portion of Lot ASH and integrate the parking ramp tower into it. All those projects would make a nice Columbia corridor from the tracks to the soccer field.
The NDSU Development Foundation did pretty much the same thing along University from 13th to 17th. They started during the 80s or even earlier, but they finally got enough properties purchased to start doing projects like The Bridges. Eventually University will look like 12th with continuous mixed use structures.
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3 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:
@nodak651gives a tease; here's the whole cheese.
https://www.iconarchitects.com/athletics/und-high-performance-phase2.html
Almost all of that page is from 2019 and is a earlier version of the plan. The pictures of the weight room, academic area, and the video are all from the 2019 version. I think the photo shows they've downgraded plans again by a bit. The two story portion of the building keeps getting smaller.
2013 Version:
2018 Version: https://campus.und.edu/facilities-management/_files/docs/und-athletics-masterplan-0823.pdf (pgs 14-18)
2019 Version:
2021 Version:
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2 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:
This extra (Covid) year thing has messed up my crystal ball (pipeline projections).
My question for someone in the know is this:
Does the 2020-21 season just not exist for anyone's "five academic years to complete four seasons" clocks?
@jdub27 @Hammersmith any insights?
For example, Frisch, he played 19-20 and 20-21. They intro him as a "junior from Moorhead". But if 20-21 doesn't count, isn't he "ah soff-oh-moore" (c) Darrin Looker.
Agree with AJS. The 20-21 season doesn't count against the running clock, but how schools choose to report players' classes is up to them. But it's safe to say almost all schools will deal with it on the back end.
You're probably not going to see a FR, RS-FR SO, SO(20-21), JR, SR.
Instead, you're going to see a FR, RS-FR, SO, JR(20-21), SR, SR(or GS if the player has graduated)
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58 minutes ago, northernraider said:
Interesting start to Jacksonville State transition. Successful coach with two games left in the season leaves the program. I wonder what happened behind the scenes.
Early word is that he had enough years in to fully max his retirement. He also likely wasn't interested in dealing with the FBS move(similar to the Gene Roebuck situation). Finally, the guess behind the timing is that it's because of the new early signing period. By formally resigning now and allowing a new coach to be hired by early December, Jax St doesn't get hurt as bad on the recruiting trail as if he resigned just a week or two before the signing period opened and the team hits the date without a permanent head coach.
But those are all theories, not hard facts.
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Rather than everyone having to wade through that thing, here's how most of the money goes:
- Sept 1 - REA cuts UND a check for $1M as an advance on ticket sales
- During the entire year, REA takes 100% of ticket sales for MIH, MBB, WBB, VB & FB - this is called the Facility Usage Fee (UND is on the hook for credit card processing fees)
- During the entire year, REA collects 100% of MIH advertising money in the REA and 100% of permanent advertising for MBB, WBB, VB(UND keeps temporary/movable ad money)
- REA keeps 100% of concessions
- REA keeps 100% of suites revenue(1,328 seats, which is 11.4% of the REA capacity)
- UND pays for all marketing of UND athletics
- REA deposits $500,000 or thereabouts into a reserve account
- June 30 - REA gives UND 48% of the ticket revenue collected throughout the year, minus the $1M advance
- June 30 - REA gives UND 36% of the net advertising money collected(this means REA gets to subtract the costs of printing the ads, etc. before giving UND its cut)
- Aug 29 - REA cuts UND a check for whatever it wants to, though there's an unofficial agreement that this will be between $500k and $1M.
If/when UND takes over management of the arena, UND gets the money in the reserve account
Looking at this, I think the USA Today report is accurate. UND "takes in" $4.9M in ticket revenue. The REA then keeps $2.55M of that, which is included in the $3.68M 'Facilities/Overhead' column. The REA then gives back something between $500k-$1M, which is either included in the 'Contributions' or 'Other' columns(probably Contributions).
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3 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:
I'm a tad confused ...
NDSU plays say 8 home FB game at 20k tix per --> 160k
UND plays say 20 home MIH game at 12k tix per --> 240kWith that UND lead in primary gate sports, how is NDSU claiming more tix sold? Is NDSU really selling that many more hoop stubs? Really?
Two possibilities I can see. But you also need to understand that the ranking is by money, not numbers of tickets sold. The ticket sales number also only counts the face value of the ticket, not any seat fees(Champions Club dues or Ticketmaster fees) or resale upcharges. So...
1. The higher face value prices of NDSU football and basketball tickets is enough to overcome the larger overall quantity of UND tickets. Also factor in the large number of season tickets in both venues. Those tickets are effectively only sold once no matter how many games they cover. I don't know the breakdown of UND MIH ticket prices, season ticket breakdowns, or student section policies well enough to come up with a number to compare to NDSU FB.*
2. The number UND is reporting for ticket sales is after the REA takes its cut.
Again, those are possibilities. I don't know if they're true or not, just that, if they were, they might explain the discrepancy you perceive there to be.
2019: NDSU - $6,379,573; UND - $4,994,577
2020: NDSU - $6,281,604; UND - $4,919,814
*NDSU FB 2020: 6 home games; Realistic stadium capacity: 18,450; sideline capacity: 12.1k; endzone capacity: 6.3k; season ticket price: $307 sidelines, $237 endzones; number of season tickets: ~13k; student section size: ~3k(split between sideline & endzone), single game tickets available: ~3k; single game ticket price avg: $57 sidelines, $47 endzone.
Using these numbers, a realistic max for NDSU FB would be in the neighborhood of $4.5M/year, maybe up to $4.75M. Plus NDSU makes about $350k per playoff home game, so that normally adds another $1M to the total.
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5 hours ago, nodak651 said:
I'd be curious as to what UND ranks for ticket sales. Id guess it's pretty close to 50th
Last year's data: NDSU at 60, UND at 68 among public schools. Full DI, probably around 70 and 80, respectively.
The following site uses the same data(though it hasn't been updated for 2020). But the site does allow you to sort and create reports that the USA Today website makes very difficult.
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2 minutes ago, TBR said:Otis is following the path blazed by Grady. Hopefully I. Smith is healthy enough to pick up the pieces.
Assuming what Bubba said in his press conference today is true, the blame for this rests equally between Bubba and Otis. It's an example of poor communication at work.
What Bubba said today: Otis was ill for the first half of the week and wasn't able to practice with the team. The coaches chose to bring the players that had practiced and were prepared for the game(remember that there are practical roster limits on away games - bring the players that give you the best chance to win). This is a perfectly legitimate reason to leave Otis at home. And if Otis's illness was gastro-intestinal or anything else that can pass quickly, it would make sense that he would be feeling good enough to watch his brother's game on Friday night and that it wouldn't hurt his recovery for him to be there.
Bubba's mistake came Friday or Saturday when he announced Otis wasn't going to play due to illness. The inference of his statement was that Otis was currently ill at the time. Maybe it was an attempt at gamesmanship or something, but Bubba could have easily said instead that Otis had been ill and unable to practice during the week. If Bubba had said that, this would never have been a story.
Otis's mistake came when he went into the broadcast booth at the Moorhead HS game on Friday and didn't use the opportunity to explain why he was there and not with the team. He could have found a way to insert that he had been sick most of the week and unable to practice and prepare. He then could have said that space on the bus/plane/traveling roster is limited and the coaches felt that it was better for the team that his usual spot go to someone that had been able to practice for this game and that he(Otis) completely agreed with that decision. That he really wished that he could be there, but that it was best for the team and at least seeing his brother's senior day game was a consolation. He could have squeezed that in in 15 seconds or less during a pause in the action and this would never have been a story.
Again, this all assumes that what Bubba said today is the truth and that the illness was earlier in the week.
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1 hour ago, BarnWinterSportsEngelstad said:
Judge tosses death sentence in slaying of N. Dakota student
Judge tosses death sentence in slaying of N. Dakota student (msn.com)Interesting; it's been the same judge throughout. Judge Erickson is judge that sentenced Rodriguez to death, denied his first appeal, and ordered the new sentencing hearing after this appeal. I understand it's typical to do this(the same judge that ruled on the original NFL anti-trust case is the same one that's handled all subsequent NFL cases), but I sometimes forget.
If you don't want to read the article, it boils down to questionable testimony from the medical examiner about cause of death, plus a possible mistake by Rodriguez's attorney in limiting a mental health evaluation that could have helped an insanity plea.
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20 hours ago, Cratter said:
Happy Labor Day Weekend.
If you haven't tried the "reverse sear" method of grilling your steaks.
This weekend is the perfect chance.
It'll change the way you grill forever.
It's one thing the gas grill with temp control and different height racks does better.
Try this:
Salt the steak heavily and give it at least a 24hr dry age in the fridge(up to 72hr), then sous vide for a couple hours at 120-130, finally finish on a grill or a cast iron/carbon steel pan with lots of butter. The sous vide can be done the day before. Just let the cooked steaks come up to room temperature before finishing them on the grill/in the pan.
The method is basically reverse sear on steroids. My god it's good.
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49 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:
oops meant clay....but boy i had no idea about the e/w 30-50 miles!
why is the columbia towers so tall then? and the us bank building right by the building site? and there both kinda old too?
You can always do it, but the economics have to make sense. Occasionally a bit of ego, too. I'm sure in this case, the economics said three shorter buildings were cheaper than two taller buildings. Now if they needed the same amount of square footage but had a smaller lot to work with, maybe they would have gone up. But they had the space to build three, so that made sense to them.
It's really the RRV city sprawl debate in miniature. Because it's expensive to build up, and land is basically flat for a 25 mile radius, it's always cheaper for businesses to expand the footprint of the city instead of increasing the density. But increasing the density is cheaper for the city in the long run because it means less infrastructure and fewer police and fire stations. It's why property tax incentives for downtown redevelopment make financial sense for cities like GF or Fargo. Every business that relocates to an area that has preexisting infrastructure, instead of building on a site that forces the city to extend the infrastructure, saves the city money.
As for the width of the clay section, I believe around GF it runs from Red Lake Falls, MN to Turtle River State Park(just beyond the AFB). About 55 miles.
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New Hospital Facility in GF
in Community
Posted
Fell through when Krabbenhoft got fired over the refusal to wear a mask back in Nov of 2020. He was the lead Sanford person behind the merger, and Sanford decided that trying to do a leadership change and a merger at the same time was a bad idea. There was talk about the same time about Sanford acquiring some local CHI assets like the hospital in Breckenridge/Wahpeton, but that also faded away in December 2020/January 2021. All of this was about a year(Nov 2019) after another big merger failed when UnityPoint Health of Iowa backed out after months of talks.