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Mar. 29—Editor's note: This story and accompanying photo are advertorial content in the 2025 "Moving the Community Forward" special section of The Jamestown Sun.
JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown Civic Center is home to multiple athletic hall of fames, but the one displayed most prominently around the building is the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.
According to its website, the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1989 and inducted its first class in 1992.
The organization's purpose is "to honor and recognize those individuals who have played a major role in the growth and development of sports in the state of North Dakota and to further promote sports and sportsmanship to the public of North Dakota ... ," according to its website.
The inductees are decided by the 12 committee members, including Gavin Kutz. Kutz said anybody can fill out a form in person or on the website at
ndsportshalloffame.com
to nominate somebody for the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.
Kutz said four candidates are inducted every two years during a banquet at the Jamestown Civic Center. Kutz said the committee members vote on who they think should be inducted from the nomination applications and the top four people with the most votes get inducted.
Since 1992, the hall of fame has inducted 51 people and one team.
"I think all of them are quality people, you look at all of our inductions through the years, they're just awesome," Kutz said. "How they represented North Dakota was amazing and of course they had the God-given talent to excel in whatever athletic or sporting event they were partaking in."
Kutz said every inductee is awarded a plaque and a medal signifying he or she has won the Cliff Cushman award, which is named after the former Olympics silver medal winning runner from North Dakota who lost his life serving in the Vietnam War. Every year Cushman's widow, Carolyn, presents inductees with the medal honoring her late husband, Kutz said.
"He was a wonderful person, just a bright, shining star for the state of North Dakota and has left quite a legacy and each one of the inductees will get the Cliff Cushman award," Kutz said. "... Some of them get pretty teared up about it, realizing what this award means, what it means going into the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, what this guy went through in the prime of his life, and lost his life serving in Vietnam."
The 2025 Hall of Fame Class includes former NFL quarterbacks Randy Hedberg and Greg Eslinger, former MLB infielder Tim Olson and former University of North Dakota basketball player Sheri Kleinsasser. Kutz said the group will be inducted on Saturday, June 21.
Kutz said the committee hopes the event will be attended by 100 to 150 people.
"The money all goes toward awards, everybody that's inducted gets their own locker, you can walk in the Civic Center and see all the past inductees," Kutz said.
Continue reading...
JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown Civic Center is home to multiple athletic hall of fames, but the one displayed most prominently around the building is the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.
According to its website, the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1989 and inducted its first class in 1992.
The organization's purpose is "to honor and recognize those individuals who have played a major role in the growth and development of sports in the state of North Dakota and to further promote sports and sportsmanship to the public of North Dakota ... ," according to its website.
The inductees are decided by the 12 committee members, including Gavin Kutz. Kutz said anybody can fill out a form in person or on the website at
ndsportshalloffame.com
to nominate somebody for the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.
Kutz said four candidates are inducted every two years during a banquet at the Jamestown Civic Center. Kutz said the committee members vote on who they think should be inducted from the nomination applications and the top four people with the most votes get inducted.
Since 1992, the hall of fame has inducted 51 people and one team.
"I think all of them are quality people, you look at all of our inductions through the years, they're just awesome," Kutz said. "How they represented North Dakota was amazing and of course they had the God-given talent to excel in whatever athletic or sporting event they were partaking in."
Kutz said every inductee is awarded a plaque and a medal signifying he or she has won the Cliff Cushman award, which is named after the former Olympics silver medal winning runner from North Dakota who lost his life serving in the Vietnam War. Every year Cushman's widow, Carolyn, presents inductees with the medal honoring her late husband, Kutz said.
"He was a wonderful person, just a bright, shining star for the state of North Dakota and has left quite a legacy and each one of the inductees will get the Cliff Cushman award," Kutz said. "... Some of them get pretty teared up about it, realizing what this award means, what it means going into the North Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, what this guy went through in the prime of his life, and lost his life serving in Vietnam."
The 2025 Hall of Fame Class includes former NFL quarterbacks Randy Hedberg and Greg Eslinger, former MLB infielder Tim Olson and former University of North Dakota basketball player Sheri Kleinsasser. Kutz said the group will be inducted on Saturday, June 21.
Kutz said the committee hopes the event will be attended by 100 to 150 people.
"The money all goes toward awards, everybody that's inducted gets their own locker, you can walk in the Civic Center and see all the past inductees," Kutz said.
Continue reading...
