The newspapers that hot July summer of 1950 said a North Dakota man saw something in the sky that “puts observers of flying saucers to shame”. So what exactly did Charles Weekley of Grand Forks see…and why were “experts” from Washington D.C. called in to investigate? Here’s the strange story of a UFO Sighting in Grand Forks, North Dakota!
A note from Jack and Kitty…
Today on our travel blog we continue our “Weird Wednesdays” series called “Mystery in the North Dakota Skies”. In this weekly episodic blog series we explore UFO sightings, aliens and unusual extraterrestrial encounters in the Peace Garden State…and highlight the people and places where these strange events occurred. Visit us every Wednesday for a new chapter…to find out just what the heck is going on in the skies above North Dakota. Today we explore the case of a UFO Sighting in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Grand Forks is a Good Town
Grand Forks is a good town.
As you are driving north on Interstate 29 from Fargo…on your way towards Grand Forks…you’ll pass countless billboards.
Most are for local restaurants offering comfort foods, some are for Jesus, many are for Canadians. Those ones have cute sayings like, “Canadians put the ‘Grand’ in Grand Forks”. It’s all aimed at getting folks from Winnipeg to travel south two and a half hours to spend their hard-earned loonies here in good ol’ America.
At least that’s the Grand Forks I know, the one that Kitty and I had to drive through to get to our small North Dakota home which was located somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I like Grand Forks. Our little NoDak town had a population of 22 (we were two of those 22) and there was absolutely nothing to do there. So, whenever we’d make the trek from our town to Grand Forks, it felt like a breath of fresh air. A bustling metropolis. Heck, after spending weeks in our town of 22, Grand Forks felt like freakin’ Manhattan!
I imagine the Grand Forks we knew in 2021/2022 was similar in many ways to the Grand Forks of 1950. That’s when today’s mystery in the skies takes place, after all. Are you ready for one of the strangest reports of a UFO Sighting in Grand Forks, North Dakota? Could it even be considered a “UFO”?
Scroll to the bottom of this page or CLICK HERE to watch our travel video “The City in the Clouds”
He Puts Observers of Flying Saucers to Shame…
Grand Forks.
1950.
The newspapers that summer said a man saw something in the sky that “puts observers of flying saucers to shame”.
So what exactly did Charles Weekley of Grand Forks see on a hot summer day in July of 1950?
Not a flying saucer. Not an unidentified object. Not aliens.
Nope, Charles claims he saw a city.
An entire city!
“It was a whole city up in the clouds,” he explained in interviews. Adding, “and it was there for about fifteen minutes.”
From the Heart of the Heartland…a UFO Sighting in Grand Forks, North Dakota
Mr. Weekley was not drunk. Not on any drugs. Not prone to hallucinations. He was a hard-working guy from the heart of the Heartland. The kinda guy you simply must trust. For if you can’t trust the Charles Weekleys of the world, who can you trust?
Charles wasn’t joking around. He truly did see a “city in the sky”. Newspapers all told his story with a straight face.
The Steele County Press of Finley, North Dakota reported on the mirage adding to the mystery that “civil aeronautics officials” were brought in by Washington D.C. to investigate. They ruled Weekley’s sighting as “a mirage”.
No further details were ever provided. By the next week, the story disappeared from all area newspapers.
Who the “civil aeronautics officials” were, exactly, remains a mystery as well.
The Grand Forks Air Force Base was yet to be built. Who were these strange officials…and how did they come to their conclusion?
The “Grand” in Grand Forks…
For the rest of his life, Charles Weekley remained steadfast in his claims of seeing a “city in the clouds”. Why would anyone make that up…just to suffer from certain ridicule from friends, family and neighbors?
A mirage? Who knows. A mystery to this day? Absolutely!
Like Canadians, I’m going to have to say Charles Weekley (and his story) puts the ‘Grand’ in Grand Forks!
What did you think about our story of UFO Sighting in Grand Forks North Dakota? Let us know in the comments!
This article is an excerpt from the forthcoming book “Mystery in the North Dakota Skies: UFO Sightings, Aliens and Unusual Extraterrestrial Encounters in the Peace Garden State” by Jack Norton. This blog is reader supported. If you’d like to help us out, please consider becoming a Patreon or visit the “Support” section on our Contact page if you’d like to send a one-time gift. This article and all supporting images (unless otherwise noted) are copyright © 2023 by Jack Norton and Kitty Norton.
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About the Authors
Jack and Kitty Norton are Emmy Award winning travel experts. They have spent a lifetime on the road: as traveling musicians, documentary filmmakers and television producers. They now focus on writing for their travel blog (JackAndKitty.com) and making fun videos for their YouTube channel. Jack and Kitty offer travelers fun and quirky things to do in Minnesota, the Midwest and beyond. High school sweethearts turned married soulmates, the couple lives in the small college town of Winona, Minnesota and would love to have you over for some hotdish.