Port: Blaize Shiek is a North Dakotan we can be proud of

MINOT — Allow me to begin by saying something about cheer teams: They're quite a bit more than waving pom-poms and leading chants.

My oldest daughter was a member of multiple state champion cheer teams for Minot High School. I can tell you, from watching her, that it's a sport requiring diligence, athleticism and skill. Toughness, too. The injury rate among cheerleaders would give even the most rough-and-tumble football player pause.

Thus, it is no small feat that Blaize Shiek, a North Dakotan who danced for Fargo South High School Bruinkix and North Dakota State University dance teams, has been selected to cheer for the Minnesota Vikings. That's an impressive accomplishment in its own right (he joins Kiara Harper, another veteran NDSU dancer, on the team).

But Shiek is now facing