The History:
The Coyote Inn sits on the Southwestern edge of 556 acres of land that borders 83rd Ave SE to the West, and the Jamestown Reservoir to the East. The land was purchased in 1936 by Frank and Mary Sova, and it is where they built a home and started their farm. In 1963, Jerry, Frank and Mary's only child, purchased and took over management of the farm and ranch until 1998. A portion of the farmland, and all the pastureland, was purchased by Paul's brother, John. The remaining farmland was rented out.
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In the 62 years from 1936 to 1998 the homestead saw many changes. Starting off as a farm, Frank and Mary added a milk cow operation that ran for several years. The addition of a small cow/calf ranch was added later on. In the early 90's, Jerry switched from farming full time to a full time ranch, boasting several hundred cow/calf pairs. One thing that remained true from 1936 through 1998 though, was that long hours and hard work were a standard. There was never a span of time in which that was more apparent than the winter of 1996/1997. North Dakota suffered one of it's hardest winters on record, and worst of all, our ranch suffered a devastating snowstorm in April of 1997. What started off as heavy rain on Friday night into Saturday, quickly turned to heavy snowfall and zero visibility by Saturday afternoon. Paul ended up stranded in town for a week, while the remaining family fought the elements trying to protect the herd. With plummeting temperatures, literal zero visibility for days, all that could be done was pray that the cattle were able to use the structures in place for shelters. By the time the storm passed, and power restored, the losses were devastating. Over 100 cattle were lost, Paul alone lost 75% of his small herd, and the wheels of change had been put in motion. The following spring, we were out of the cattle business entirely.
The Future:
With the cattle business in the past, Paul went off to college, received a degree, and moved away. In 2008, Paul met Kari by random chance in Jamestown, at this time Paul was living in Langdon, and Kari in Grand Forks, and they immediately hit it off. In 2010, the two were wed, and by 2012, had made the decision to move back to Jamestown. In 2014, the couple became a family with the birth of their first son, Jensen. Following quickly were Xander (2016), Dominic (2017), and Deacon (2019).
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In 2018 the entirety of the family was met with yet another battle to be fought. This time it wasn't the weather, or markets, but an enemy that attacks from within, as Paul's sister, Nanette, was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of cancer. After a promising start, and being declared cancer free in May of 2019, Nanette's cancer returned. A courageous battle was fought, but was lost on January 1st, 2020.
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Paul knew deep in his soul that something had to change. He was watching his boys grow up in city limits, with neighbors that didn't like them playing outside. Paul had grown up outside, under little supervision besides the faithful family dog, and wanted something more for his boys. The decision was made by Paul and Kari in April of 2020 that they would return to Paul's roots, and move to the farm, to not only be closer to family, but to give the boys a chance at a childhood that simply wasn't able to be had living in close proximity to neighbors. A fixer house was purchased and moved out to the farm, arriving mid-August, and after a lot of long days and hard work, the family was moving in by Christmas of 2020.
Kari grew up in Grand Forks, had lived there, or an even larger city her entire life, and moving to the country was an adjustment for her, with the inability to just quickly run to the store being one of the largest. By the end of summer of 2021, the adjustment had taken place, and what was lost with accessibility was quickly replaced with the peacefulness and tranquility of living in rural America.
Kari quickly fell in love with that tranquility, with one of her favorite things to do being taking an evening walk, especially in the summer.
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We've talked for years of offering that same ability to experience the tranquility of North Dakota's countryside to others. In November of 2023, Paul showed Kari a lodge of similar design to what he thought would be appropriate. Kari loved it, and with some personal touches and ideas to the design of that lodge, we're proud to offer to you, the traveler, the vacationer, the hunter, the fisherman that needs just something a little bit more, a little bit more comfortable, a little bit more entertaining, and little bit more designed with your needs in mind........ The Coyote Inn!