Most of us who grew up in small towns in North Dakota didn’t believe at the time that we had much of a chance to become famous. The routine was the routine and for all we knew, we would grow up just like our parents and do the same thing they did, live and work in a small farming community.
There were certainly exceptions to that like Lawrence Welk, growing up in Strasburg, Angie Dickinson growing up in Kulm, Peggy Lee, who lived part of her life in Wimbledon and Dave Osborn from Cando.
The larger cities have and still do have numerous famous people. They include Carson Wentz, Josh Duhamel, Roger Maris, Virgil Hill and Phil Jackson.
But this is about kids from small towns who grew up to become famous. Although most of them are in the sporting world, there are more than you might think.
Les Jepson, Bowbells population 285: He went from playing on a basketball team that is now a co-op to playing professional basketball with the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, following a stellar college career in Iowa.
Travis Hafner, Sykeston population 99: He attended a high school that didn’t have a baseball program, but nearby Carrington did. And after playing baseball at Cowley County Community College in Kansas, he went on to play for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees.
Jim Buchli, New Rockford population 1,310: Starting out in the Eddy County community, Buchli graduated from Fargo Central High School before going on to the United States Naval Academy. After spending one tour of duty in Vietnam, he returned to the U.S., and throughout his career flew 4,200 hours including the Phantom F-4. But Buchli is most famous for being an astronaut, going into space four times from 1985 to 1991.
Jim Kleinsasser, Carrington, population 2,009: He was a three-sport standout at Carrington High School in basketball, football and track. He played college football at the University of North Dakota and was later drafted into the NFL and played 13 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.
Phil Hansen, Oakes, population 1,764: He was born in Ellendale and grew up in Oakes. Hansen played his college football at North Dakota State University and went on to a successful career with the Buffalo Bills. He later became a play-by-play announcer for NDSU football games and later entered politics, running for the Minnesota Senate in the Detroit Lakes District where he lives.
Cody Mauch, Hankinson population 918: If you are a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, you may have seen Mauch on Sunday afternoons. Mauch has now played guard for two seasons with the Buccaneers. He grew up in Hankinson, playing basketball, baseball and football there and later played college football at NDSU, winning three national championships.
Kendra and Krista Slaubaugh, Hazen population 2,281: The sisters formed a singing duo in 2014, rapidly gaining success on You Tube and Tik Tok. Their group, Tigerlily, morphed into a popular country music duo that later moved to Nashville and became known as Tigerlily Gold. In 2024, they won new Duo Group of the Year at the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards.
Bubbba Schweigert, Zeeland population 82: Having grown up in a baseball community, he went on to a successful career coaching college football that spanned 20 years. He was head coach for the University of Minnesota-Duluth, became a defensive coordinator at Southern Illinois University and served as head coach for UND from 2014 to 2024. He also coached football at the University of Jamestown and was its head baseball coach.
Dale Lennon, Knox population 25: Like Schweigert, Lennon, who attended Rugby High School, went on to a successful football coaching career. Teams included the University of Mary, Southern Illinois University and UND where he led the team to the NCAA Division II championship in 2001. For a time he was an offensive coach with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and most recently was inducted into the UND Hall of Fame.
Gwen Sebastion, Hebron population 788: After high school, Sebastian attended nursing school but dropped out to start a singing career in Nashville. Her first single “Hard Rain” was released to country music radio stations in 2009. By 2010 she was singing the National Anthem for the New York Yankees spring training games in Tampa. She was also a contestant on The Voice and later toured with country star Blake Shelton.
