Stutsman County 4-H Members Showcase Skills at Annual Communication Arts Expo

Oliver Hofmann didn't just compete at the Stutsman County 4-H Communication Arts & Project Expo on March 22; he swept it. The junior-division competitor claimed Grand placings in four separate categories, Demonstration, Dramatic Presentation, Speech, and Impromptu, then took home the High Point Junior award, which is tallied from a participant's top three speech scores.

The annual expo, held at the NDSU Extension Office in Jamestown, drew competitors across three age groups and eight divisions. Judges evaluated presentation setup, content knowledge, and Q&A performance. On the Senior side, Emmi Odenbach and Chloe Smith finished in a dead tie for High Point Senior, with the award going to both. Odenbach also claimed the Grand placing in the Senior Project Expo, where participants present a completed project on a display table and field judges' questions. Kylee Hofmann earned Reserve in that same division.

In the Junior Project Expo, William Metz took Grand. On the Cloverbud side, Ava Hofmann and Iylee Reimers both earned recognition. Mabelyn and William Metz earned a Grand placing as a Senior team, and Leo Krapp was among other Grand placers across specialty divisions including Electronic Presentation and Illustrated Talk.

The four Communication Arts judges were Teresa Olson, Kathryn Hetletvedt, Warren Abrahamson, and Brenda Jarski-Weber, the NDSU Extension family community wellness agent who coordinates the county's 4-H Communication Arts programming. Project Expo judges were Knoah Weber and Riley Widman, a Valley City State University student from Buchanan and a former 4-H member who founded the Stutsman County Fair Royalty Pageant in 2022. Weber previously volunteered at the 2025 Engineering and Design Challenge at the same Extension office. Sandy Sodawasser and Martha Bjorgaard served as room helpers.

Shirts, medals, and awards were provided by Dale and Ann Marks, Dakota Valley Electric Cooperative, and Northern Plains Electric Cooperative, both of which serve rural southeast North Dakota and maintain standing community investment programs in youth and education.

Stutsman County's 4-H program enrolls 206 members across 12 clubs, with one club meeting in Jamestown and the rest based in communities such as Medina, Gackle, Edgeley, and Woodworth. The program has run continuously in the county since 1928. Across 2,298 square miles of largely rural terrain, the expo serves as one of the few formal public-speaking venues available to youth outside of school.

County winners now advance along a county-to-district qualification ladder toward the North Dakota State Fair in Minot, where the Communication Arts Contest is held at the State Fair Center each July, with the top finishers receiving Awards of Excellence.