The Bismarck Tribune from Bismarck, North Dakota • 19

Bismarcktribune.com Bismarck Tribune Del kot cl Sunday, June 24, 2007 Page 3C Football player got a late start CURT ERIKSMOEN ft 9 The two brothers expanded their grain and cattle operation to 3,400 acres. It was reported that they had "one of the finest herds of shorthorn cattle in the state." Word got out about his successful agricultural enterprise and his former boss, Halas, came courting. He knew that soon NFL teams would be expanding to the West Coast and wondered if Steinbach would help him organize an NFL team in Los Angeles. Steinbach declined, preferring to stay on his farm. In 1946, the Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles.

Years later, a friend tried to persuade him to purchase his old team, the Chicago Cardinals. Again he declined, and in 1960 the Cardinals moved to St. Louis. Steinbach died in Jamestown on Jan. 29, 1967.

(Written by Curt Eriksmoen and edited by Jan Eriksmoen. Reach the Eriksmoens at cjeriksmoencableone.net.) Counties get federal funds North Dakota will receive $929,180 under the Payment in Lieu of Taxes Act to compensate county governments whose jurisdictions contain tax-exempt federal lands. "These important dollars help states offset the loss of tax revenues to counties that contain federal lands," Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said. The money distributed to North Dakota will go to 43 counties eligible under the PILT program for tax revenue lost because of the federal land in their jurisdiction. The counties receiving the largest payments are McLean, McKenzie and Mountrail.

St. Alexius seeks hospice volunteers The St. Alexius hospice program is looking for volunteers. Volunteers perform a number of activities, such as companionship, respite time for families, errands for the patient, flower delivery, clerical duties or bereavement support. Hospice is a comprehensive approach in caring for terminally ill patients and providing support to the patient's family in a home or a homelike setting.

The St. Alexius Home Care and Hospice program will be sponsoring training for new volunteers from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. July 17 and July 19. Anyone interested in becoming a hospice volunteer can contact Wendy at 701-530-4547. Southwest Water Authority to meet DICKINSON The Southwest Water Authority board of directors meeting will be held at 9 a.m.

MDT July 9 at the Elks Lodge, Dickinson. The board will discuss the Southwest Pipeline Project For more information, or to be placed on the agenda, contact Loren Myran, chairman of the board, 701-974-3644, or Southwest Water Authority toll-free, 888-425-0241. National Guard retirement briefings planned National Guard soldiers and their families need to plan their military season, finished 4-9, with two ties. With the addition of Steinbach, donning uniform No. 28, the Bears in 1930 improved to 9-4, with one tie.

At one point, he played four 60-minute games in nine days. Because the salaries for NFL players were low during the early years, good players were able to supplement their income by barnstorming" after the season was over. They would play college and regional all-star teams. Steinbach's teammate Nagurski convinced him to join his barnstorming team. The fullback was Ernie Nev-ers, a future member of the Hall of Fame, and the two developed a friendship.

Steinbach started the 1931 season with the Bears. Their cross-town rivals, the Chicago Cardinals, started out The first National Football League player born in North Dakota was later given offers to own two different NFL franchises. Larry Steinbach turned down those offers, preferring to operate his farm near New Rockford. Steinbach was born Dec. 23, 1900, on a farm near New Rockford to William and Mary Steinbach.

Larry Steinbach attended country school during the elementary years but, because of the distance to New Rockford, did not immediately attend high school. Because of his size, more than 200 pounds of pure muscle, he hoped to win a football scholarship to attend college. At 22, he enrolled in high school. After graduation, he attended St. Thomas College in St.

Paul, and tried out for the football team. Head coach Joe Boland had played football at Notre Dame under Knute Rockne. One of his assistants, Joe Brandy, also had been a pupil of Rockne. At the first practice session, where Steinbach dominated the field, Brandy pulled him aside and said, "Larry, I will make an AU-American out of you." To make ends meet, Steinbach worked odd jobs around the campus until he was given a scholarship. In his senior year, St.

Thomas won the Minnesota Conference Football Championship, and Steinbach was named to the All-State team. Largely because of his age, Steinbach was 29, he was not drafted by an NFL team. Boland knew that the Chicago Bears were in need of another good tackle to go along with future Hall of Famer, Roy "Link" Lyman. At team tryouts, Bears owner George Halas was impressed with Steinbach's hard tackles and signed him to a contract for the 1930 season at guard and tackle. The 1930 Chicago Bears were loaded with talent.

Besides Lyman, they had Red Grange, Bronko Nagurski and George Traifton, but, in the previous slow, and the head coach was fired. He was replaced by Nevers, Steinbach's friend. Through Nevers' insistence, the Cardinals acquired Steinbach in mid-season, and he helped Nevers produce a winning record. Steinbach played for the Cardinals in 1932 and began 1933 with them, only to be traded to the Philadelphia Eagles early in the season. After the 1933 season, Steinbach hung up his cleats.

Professional football in those days had no guarantees. He had suffered no major injuries during his four seasons in the NFL, and stated, "You just didn't dare get injured, because you'd be released from the team with no income." He decided to return to another occupation that offered no guarantees farming. Steinbach returned to his boyhood New Rockford farm that was now operated by his older brother, William Steinbach Jr. BASEMENTS TO LAKE Is. II it I I via -r PRIVATE LAKE LARGE LOTS OVER 3 12 MILES OF SHORELINE FISHING retirement long before the application for retirement is submitted, especially as it relates to medical benefits.

The North Dakota National Guard, along with TRICARE, has scheduled medical briefings for retired members and their families. The briefings are scheduled for Fargo, Dick WALKOUT PRIVATE PARKS UNIQUE LANDSCAPING LARGEST MAN-MADE PRIVATE LAKE IN ND v- JV I "r-J" iww' itSHi i. f'y'f Ttif xffx. inson and Bismarck. The briefing in Fargo will be held at the Fargo Armed Forces Reserve Center auditorium, 3920 31st St.

NW, at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The briefing in Dickinson will be held at the Dickinson Armory, 46 Museum Drive, at noon Wednesday. The briefing in Bismarck will be held at the Raymond J. Bohn Armory auditorium, 4200 E.

Divide at 6:30 p.m. CALL yrurivr -mm iv.r,r li i iu i LOT TODAY" ing the to Wednesday. Retired members will be able update DEERS information dur two hours prior to the start of "We searched from top to bottom of the pipes (connected with the screen) and the screen and found no holes or nothing." Diver Steve Heilman Divers sav outlet screen 1 -rwii REPRESENTS SOLD LOTS up no holes Manitoba government and other oudet opponents, e-mailed photos to state officials last week showing adult minnows in the open channel below the outlet. Canadian officials say the minnows are a violation of the outlet permit granted by the North Dakota Department of Health, and they have demanded that outlet operations cease. North Dakota officials have been skeptical that minnows could get through the filter, which would involve the fish going through an intake, a screen inside the intake, then pumps and a piping system.

They are investigating, but have not stopped outlet flows. Heilman said he and two other divers checked the pipes and the screen five times. The operation took about 30 minutes. "Now, it's up to the Health Department to decide what do next," said Bruce Engelhardt, a State Water Commission engineer. a the briefings.

All times are local. Fire destroys historic church EDINBURG (AP) Fire has destroyed a historic rural church in northeastern North Dakota. The Odalen Norwegian Lutheran Church west of Edin-burg burned to the ground Thursday night. The church was built in 1884. The last regular services were held in June 2000, though Memorial Day services have been held there since.

"The church is six miles out, so by the time we got there, the fire was already in the attic," said Edinburg Volunteer Fire Chief Chuck Kartes. "Then it got up into the steeple, and that's when we knew we lost it." The cause of the fire is not known. Kartes said it appears to be accidental and not vandalism. Cultural grants available The State Historical Society of North Dakota is accepting applications for Cultural Heritage Grants. There is $250,000 available for the matching grants.

A maximum of $10,000 and a minimum of $500 is available per grant, with an equal match requirement. All applications must be postmarked by July 31. Grants will be awarded by Aug. 31. Projects funded during this grant cycle must be completed by April 30, 2009.

Those interested in applying may use the Cultural Heritage Grant application, which is available on the SHSND's Web site at www.nd.govhist or by calling the SHSND at 701-328-2666. Chiropractic board to meet The semi-annual meeting of the North Dakota State Board of Chiropractic Examiners will be held Saturday. The meeting will start at 8 a.m. at the Chieftain Conference Center, Highway 281, Carrington. The agenda will cover general business of the board.

In addition, discussion will include proposed rule changes. Tractor accident kills Blendale man ELLENDALE (AP) A tractor accident has killed a man from this city. The Highway Patrol did not immediately identify the 60-year-old victim. The man was mowing a ditch on state Highway 1 1 three miles east of Ellendale around 8:30 p.m. Friday when the tractor rolled and pinned him beneath, the patrol said.

normal AP Search turns DEVILS LAKE (AP) Divers who examined the screen on the Devils Lake outlet filter say they found nothing out of order, and the screen about 12 feet below the surface of the water was in good shape. We searched from top to bottom of the pipes (connected with the screen) and the screen and found no noles or nothing," diver Steve Heilman, a member of the Lake Region Search and Rescue team, said after Friday night's dive. State officials are trying to find out how adult minnows got into the open channel below the outlet's rock-and-gravel filter system. The filter is supposed to prevent the transfer of adult fish and other smaller organisms that Manitoba officials worry will pollute their water systems. The outlet drains Devils Lake floodwater into the Sheyenne River and ultimately the north-flowing Red River.

Bill Delmore, a Mandan attorney representing the to Water Commission engineer Bruce Engelhardt, left, talks with diver Steve Heilman about what divers found while searching for damage of the Devils Lake outlet screen on Friday..