Burgers, beers, bags, bidding: benefit

Main Street was closed off in Ekalaka Saturday night as Carter County flashed its green, corned some holes and danced until closing time, all while raising $8,600 during the Nies benefit.

Auctioneer Les Kreitel enthusiastically took bids with the help of Josh Rokke and Ches Meyer while Abbey Bruski displayed items that included a $250 gift certificate to Long Pines Vet, a railroad-spike cross and carved emu eggs.

Children took advantage of the street closure and rode scooters and bikes around and around, surprisingly not leaving behind any ruts. A Crayola bounce house rattled and rolled, constantly shaking and shimmying until, at one point, the roof began to droop. As soon as it was re-inflated, the kids ran back in just as fast as they'd ran out.

Bean bags flew in corn hole alley; 24 teams traded bag volleys in the adult tournament, and five teams tossed in the kids' division. Micheal Ashbrook and Dusty Fix corned the most holes and won the adult tournament over Chris Flot and Trish Bishop. The winners were each awarded a cooler, and the runners-up received T-shirts. Both teams decided to put their prizes up for auction, raising over $500.

The kids tournament featured a long, drawn out finals match. After another wash on the board, Seth Kennedy exclaimed he'd been playing for five hours. Eventually, Heidi LaBree and Turner Tooke closed out the game and took home T-shirts. Runners-up Chace Loehding and Kennedy each pocketed $20 for their efforts.

Burgers, brats and beers fueled the party organized by Dawg House Pub.

As night deepened, the band Trubail, from Tioga, North Dakota, asked Carter County to stand up and kick up some dust. The wind obliged and brought up a veil of grit, but the dancers weren't put off and kept their feet moving until 2 a.m.