Growing up in Minot, one of the first true places for preteens to teens to mingle was a place called The Skatium.  Jerry and Dee Fuchs opened The Skatium in 1977 and it stayed open all the way to 2006.  It was always a place where young folks of all skill sets could get together and awkwardly practice our social skills.

I understand Bismarck had a similar roller skating rink called Wheel-A-While.  It was opened in 1974 by one of the co-founders of A&B Pizza.  It had a short but fun run closing in 1987.  My girl Brenda has lots of fond memories doing the limbo at the Wheel-A-While.

With young folks now glued to their phones and their games, it doesn't seem feasible to invest in developing a full fledged roller rink.  But regional roller derby warriors, The Bisman Bombshellz, have come up with a plan to get young and old back out on skates.

Brendon Thorne
Brendon Thorne
loading...

No, not like that.  I imagine it to be more like this...

partial view of parents and kids skating on roller rink together
LightFieldStudios
loading...

The return of the "conga line"!  Just fun, fall on your butt, rollerskating.  But instead of just having in-line skaters zipping around, The Bisman Bombshellz have teamed with Bismarck Parks and Rec to provide 4 wheeled rentals that, like bowling shoes, ya just rent for the day.

They teamed up last summer for two Roller Skate Rink Nights which was a great idea but limited to those that already own a pair of skates.  Now in 2021, roller skate rentals are about to become a real thing!

KXNET reports this...

The plan is to purchase 50 nylon quad skates with the help of a matching grant from Bismarck Parks and Rec. With additional funding, they hope to have more skates for folks by the summer.

Check the Bombshellz Facebook page for more details about how their bringing  fantastic four wheelin' fun back to Bismarck.

Even better- you can be a part of the progress by making a donation here.

Get out the limbo pole and for goodness sake- someone find one of these!

Sparkling disco ball. Concept of night party.
DmitriMaruta
loading...

CHECK IT OUT: See the 100 most popular brands in America

More From US 103-3