A panel discussion, “Fargo Tornado Revisited,” is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 4 p.m. in the Weber Reading Room of the Main Library.

The discussion will focus on the deadly tornado that struck the north side of Fargo on June 20, 1957. The storm claimed 12 lives and destroyed more than 300 homes and 15 businesses.

Panel members are set to include Adnan Akyuz, state climatologist; Sarah Bundy, assistant professor of emergency management; Ross Collins, professor of communication; and Daryl Ritchison, assistant state climatologist. Moderator of the event is scheduled to be Catherine McMullen, daughter of Cal Olson, who photographed much of the destruction and recovery efforts for the Fargo Forum.

The NDSU Libraries was awarded a $5,000 grant, sponsored in part by the North Dakota Humanities Council, to create display panels celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prizes.

Three North Dakota newspapers have won Pulitzer Prizes in journalism for local reporting and public service. The Bismarck Tribune received the award in 1938 for its “self-help in the Dust Bowl” series. In 1958, the Fargo Forum’s swift reporting on the 1957 Fargo tornado earned the honor. The Grand Forks Herald was presented with the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for coverage of the 1997 flood. Each newspaper’s award winning reporting is represented on a two-sided panel.

Additional panels focus in-depth on the Fargo Forum’s reporting of the 1957 tornado, using images from the Cal Olson Photograph Collection at the NDSU Archives.

The displays and exhibit cases will be on available for viewing during and leading up to the panel discussion event.

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the exhibit do not necessarily reflect those of the North Dakota Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

As a student-focused, land grant, research institution, we serve our citizens.