North Dakota to Get Update on Welk Home

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota State Historical Society is slated to get an update on its purchase of the boyhood home of famous band leader Lawrence Welk.

The body is meeting Friday in Bismarck. The group voted 6-5 in January to buy the Strasburg homestead from Welk's nieces. But a final sale price was not negotiated.

The purchase agreement also was contingent on negotiated repairs being made to the property, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Legislature last year allocated $100,000 for the society's purchase of the 6-acre homestead, but lawmakers stipulated that repairs must be made first.

Welk's musical career took him from dance halls in the Dakotas to national television. He became known as the "King of Champagne Music" for his bubbly dance tunes.