The search for a new Univ. of North Dakota nickname "hit a potential stumbling block on Monday," as former Bismarck Mayor Marlan Haakenson "registered trade names for several of the Fighting Sioux replacement options under consideration," according to Andrew Sheeler of the BISMARCK TRIBUNE. Haakenson said that he "registered the trade names in an attempt to interfere with the nickname selection process." However, a UND official said that such an attempt was "unlikely to succeed." A UND committee in July "settled on five replacement options: Fighting Hawks, Nodaks, North Stars, Roughriders and Sundogs." UND stakeholders "will be given the chance to vote on the replacement at a later date." Haakenson, who attended North Dakota State Univ. but claims that he is a "supporter of the Fighting Sioux nickname, said he registered the trade names Fighting Hawks, Nodaks and North Stars with the North Dakota secretary of state in order to prevent UND from using them." Haakenson was "prevented from registering a fourth name, Roughriders, because Secretary of State Al Jaeger said that it was "too similar to an existing registered trade name in the state" (BISMARCK TRIBUNE, 9/15). UND Exec Associate VP/University Relations Peter Johnson said that the school will "continue doing business as the University of North Dakota, not its nickname, and therefore it doesn't need the trade name registration." Johnson: "A nickname is not a trade name, unless the nickname serves as the identity of the individual or organization. This will not be the case for us. We do business under the 'University of North Dakota'" (GRAND FORKS HERALD, 9/16).
