JACK DURATue, June 3, 2025 at 4:02 AM UTC2 min readHistoric Site Toilets North Dakota1 of 3Workers install a restroom at the Welk Homestead State Historic Site near Strasburg, North Dakota, on Friday, May 23, 2025. (Photo by Rob Hanna via AP)ASSOCIATED PRESSBISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Lawrence Welk didn't have a flush toilet where he grew up, but visitors to his childhood home in rural North Dakota now do.The bandleader’s childhood family home marks the latest step in the State Historical Society of North Dakota’s nearly completed goal of installing flush toilets at its dozen most popular, staffed sites. The most recent success, with the final three planned to be completed soon, came before the unveiling of a statue of Welk at a site that draws fans who recall “The Lawrence Welk Show,” which ran on TV for decades starting in the 1950s.The North Dakota group's goal of replacing pit toilets with flush units may seem like a humble aspiration to some, but it's an important milestone, said Chris Dorfschmidt, a historic sites manager.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“A lot of our sites are kind of in the middle of nowhere. As I like to put it, history didn't happen where it's convenient,” he said. “Because of that, if you've driven all the way out there, and that's the best we can do to kind of accommodate you, it's not the most pleasant experience.”North Dakota has 60 state historic sites — everything from museums and an underground nuclear launch facility to plaques mounted on boulders in fields.“All of our sites, they really do help share a story of us as a state,” Dorfschmidt said.Two other facilities are slated to be finished by June 30: at Whitestone Hill, the site of a deadly 1863 attack by U.S. troops against Native Americans; and Fort Buford, a military fort near the Missouri-Yellowstone river confluence.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Historical Society also is eyeing the Chateau de Mores for flush toilets. The wealthy Marquis de Mores built the 26-room home in 1883 near Medora, a present-day tourist town in the state's scenic Badlands where a young President Theodore Roosevelt once roamed.Less-visited sites that aren't staffed likely won't receive a restroom upgrade, which costs about $150,000 each.At the Welk Homestead, about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) southeast of Bismarck, workers matched the color scheme of the restroom to the house and farm buildings, including interior colors.“We made it to fit into the site and harmonize with the site and just be a pleasant part of the experience,” Historic Sites Manager Rob Hanna said.AdvertisementSolve the daily Crossword28,921 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others?28,921 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others?CrosswordPlay on YahooAdvertisementAdvertisement