FEMA approves nearly $400,000 for University of Jamestown storm repairs

Federal disaster aid is now headed to the University of Jamestown for repairs to its sports complex, giving the campus nearly $400,000 to help absorb storm damage from last June’s severe weather. For Jamestown and Stutsman County, the award is a concrete sign that the recovery costs from the June 2025 storms are still being sorted out, and that some of the bill will be covered by federal money rather than left entirely to the university.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved more than $800,000 in Public Assistance funding for North Dakota on June 11, with nearly $400,000 set aside for the University of Jamestown and more than $422,000 for Minnkota Power Cooperative. FEMA said the money was tied to severe storms, tornadoes and straight-line winds that struck North Dakota on June 20 and 21, 2025, and the aid is meant to help pay for repairs to critical infrastructure, public buildings, road work and public-health-and-safety response costs.

For the university, the funding is aimed at repairs to the sports complex, a piece of campus infrastructure that supports athletics, student life and community use in Jamestown. The school has already described the June 2025 storm as a major blow to the Nelson Family Bubble, its athletic dome, saying the storm caused significant damage and deflated the structure. Restoring that part of campus matters well beyond one building, because athletic schedules, recruiting, staff planning and public events can all be affected when those facilities are out of service.

The money arrives more than a year after the storm system rolled through the state, underscoring how long disaster recovery can take once damage assessments, state requests and federal approvals are complete. North Dakota officials said the June 20-21 storms spawned more than 20 tornadoes, left four people dead and caused more than $11 million in damage to public infrastructure. Gov. Kelly Armstrong requested a presidential major disaster declaration on July 21, 2025, and President Donald Trump approved it on September 11, 2025, opening FEMA public assistance to 19 counties, including Stutsman County.

For Jamestown, the latest award means a local institution can push forward with repairs without carrying the full cost alone. It also shows that the storm’s financial impact has not faded just because the headlines did.