Why Not Minot rodeo bull selected for NDCHF inductee | News, sports, jobs

Submitted photo Brian Herman riding Why Not Minot during Cheyenne Frontier Days in 1999. The bull, named to promote the Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo, the city of Minot and North Dakota, will be inducted into the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame this year .

Why Not Minot, a North Dakota-born bucking bull charged with promoting the Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo, the city of Minot and the state, is one of the 2024 North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees into the organization’s Hall of Honorees.

The 2024 inductees were announced on May 4.

Why Not Minot will be inducted into the Rodeo Livestock category of the ND Cowboy Hall of Fame.

According to information from the ND Cowboy Hall of Fame, the bull was raised by Wayne Eckroth of Flasher and was originally named #311Paranoid. Harry Vold of the Vold Rodeo Company purchased the bull.

Ken Anderson of the Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo came up with the idea of ​​naming a bull Why Not Minot in the early ’90s when the Minot Y’s Men were looking for a way to promote Minot nationally, as many Minot companies have long were in favor of the rodeo. He approached Vold with his idea. Vold liked the idea. The Minot Y’s Men’s organization personally or through their companies raised $5,000 toward the price of a quality bull and contributed the money to Vold. Vold renamed #311 Why not Minot.

Why Not Minot went all over the US and Canada, each time promoting Minot and the state of North Dakota. The bull was a national qualifier for the National Finals Rodeo in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. Vold said Why Not Minot was possibly the best bull he had ever trailed. Why Not Minot boxed for the last time at the Minot Y’s Men’s Rodeo in 2002 and died in 2003.

Other 2024 ND Cowboy Hall of Fame inductees and their categories include:

– Bonita Bohnsack Laske, Ransom County: Leaders of Ranching & Rodeo.

– Lawrence Hopkins, Burleigh County: Ranching before the 1940s.

– Arnold Bendish, Morton County: Ranching in the Modern Age.

– Froelich Ranch, Sioux County: ranches.

– Ken Neuens, Dunn County: 1970s Rodeo.

– Shaun Stroh, Stark County: Modern Era Rodeo.

– Stuart Ternes, Morton County: Modern Era Rodeo.

– Jim Thompson, Bowman County: Rodeo Arena.

Fred Sorenson, a longtime rancher in the White Earth Valley, was posthumously honored with a Legacy Award. At the discretion of the NDCHF Board of Directors, Sorenson was recognized for his generous contributions of time, talent and financial support to not only the NDCHF but to the Western community as a whole.

The formal public recognition of this year’s nominees will take place on Friday, June 14, with a dinner at the NDCHF in Medora. The introductory awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 15 at Tjaden Terrace, Medora, and is open to the public.