Cemeteries document slow decline of rural North Dakota

Cemeteries document slow decline of rural North Dakota

MCCLEAN COUNTY, N.D. — Murray Sagsveen estimates there are nearly 1,000 registered cemeteries in western North Dakota. Most of those in rural farming communities are small, maybe 10 to 20 burial plots, sometimes just a handful. “Every cemetery has a story, and it’s often about the settlers there,” Sagsveen said. Each story is also about the people who remain in the area with relatives buried near once vibrant communities. Sagsveen is a volunteer…