“Flyover Country”? Walmart Buys Remote North Dakota Acreage!

Attention Kmart Shoppers!  For the next ten minutes underneath the flashing Blue Light, premium North Dakota acres that nobody used to care about, are sale priced for a limited time.

Please make sure you have your land purchases reticketed before leaving the blue light area.  And, as always, thank you for shopping at Kmart.

That's how I started my illustrative broadcast career, announcing the flashing blue light at Kmart.

Just know that Walmart is prowling the North Dakota Badlands and scooping up "prime" territory outside the new  Roosevelt Library near Medora, North Dakota.  So, it may not be now "prime", nor is it Walmart out surveying another store location to super-serve the 134 people that live year-round in Medora, North Dakota.

No, could just be a straight-up land grab by a former Midwestern lass who has made her way into serious Walmart purchasing power.

Melani Walton was born in Williston and raised on a ranch near Sidney, Mont. She has a long familiarity with Medora and the Little Missouri Badlands, which drew Roosevelt in 1883 to hunt buffalo. Starting in 1884, he spent parts of three years ranching and hunting in the Badlands, where he cultivated an interest in conservation.

She's married to Rob Walton, son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, so they have the type of walking-around money that allows you to purchase the ranch adjoining the Presidential Library for a cool $3.8 million and just let cattle continue to graze.

Truly fundamental to the entire creation of the Roosevelt Presidential Library, Rob and Melani Walker decided to make a 2,000-acre purchase to make their movement that much more personal.

It is odd to make a Presidential Library in an area that is nearly inaccessible for at least 4 months, but maybe, the Walton's can open up an airstrip and we can establish wintertime "Camp David" for world leaders to meet in the quiet comfort of a North Dakota January.

Seriously, nice work here Melani.  You've got the North Dakota/Dickinson roots and y'all are putting the region on display.

Thanks, much appreciated.

Oh, and now you get this statue too! Thanks, New York!