Today, for the 44th or 45th time (you do the math — I was an English major), Americans woke up with a different president than the one they awakened with the day before. I’ve lived during the terms of 13 of them, about a third, depending on who’s counting. I can actually remember 12 of them; I was 5 when Gen. …
The University of Minnesota-Duluth men’s hockey team continued its mastery over the University of North Dakota this season, posting a 5-3 National Collegiate Hockey Conference win over the Fighting Hawks on Friday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The Bulldogs beat the Hawks twice in Duluth earlier this season. After Tyson Jost gave UND (13-8-3 overall, 6-6-1-1 NCHC) a 1-0 lead in …
The University of North Dakota men’s basketball team, behind strong performances from Gino Crandall and Quinton Hooker, scored a come-from-behind 83-77 win over Weber State University on Thursday night in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Crandall scored career-high 33 points and Hooker added 22 to lead the Fighting Hawks to the Big Sky Conference victory over the the Wildcats (9-7, 4-1 BSC), …
And so the Illegitimate One has taken the oath and in so doing has vomited even more lies with the world as a witness. Meanwhile, “Hairman Mao’s” Cabinet of criminals awaits approval from his fellow congressional conspirators. Never has a man so unpopular and so divisive taken the oath of office as the president of the U.S.A. As the world …
We’ve all been there. You’ve bought something — an appliance, tool, toy, DIY furniture, whatever — and the time arrives to use the thing. But first, decision-making time arrives. You see, humans divide themselves into those who read instructions before use, and those who don’t. Many, many men (mostly) I know believe they are born with that special intuitive skill — you know, …
There’s been an argument simmering over the years about whether chili should contain beans. To make a long story short, it depends on who you ask. In Texas, there’s a saying, “If you know beans about chili, it’s that there’s no beans in chili.” In other parts of the country, particularly in the North, beans are a staple. And, of …
Chopin’s “Waltz In C-Sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2” was etched into Eric Bergeson’s subconscious by his father, who learned it when Eric was 3 years old. Eric recalls his dD put masking tape on the keys to learn the last run.
One who writes for the Fargo newspaper (not to be confused with Moorhead’s No. 1 publication, The Extra) had some sharp advice to citizens who have issues with laws being proposed in North Dakota. Apparently, he believes those who oppose some legislation coming before the North Dakota Legislature as a “waste of time” are typical groaners and usually “lightly informed.” His advice: …
Back in simpler times, when I worked with Tourism Director Joe Satrom in Bismarck, one of our main objectives for bringing tourist dollars into North Dakota was to persuade the media to write about North Dakota, that “large, rectangular blank spot in the nation’s mind,” as native Eric Sevareid memorably put it. To write about North Dakota, that is, without …
“Orv, are you still fuming about not being invited to perform at the inauguration?” asks Stan. “You can still do that thing, right? Very entertaining, as I don’t recall. Was it a card trick? Was it an egg yoke? Hee hee.”” “I told you to shut up,” grouses Orville. “I’m busy drinking and thinking.” “That was three minutes ago, if …
Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons recently stopped by the Red River Zoo in Fargo and snapped these photos at the gray wolf compound. (Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.)
Sabino Canyon, located north of Tucson, Ariz., in the Santa Catalina Mountains, is a favorite walking, hiking and riding recreation area for residents and visitors to southern Arizona. Just minutes away from the desert, the canyon features large waterfalls along Sabino Creek with minor bridges constructed over them. Wildlife also is abundant in the canyon, including deer, javelina, skunks, tortoises, rattlesnakes and mountain lions. Stonework …
I knew nothing about Ernest Hemingway in the fall of 1961. He had recently committed suicide in Idaho at age 60. My freshman English class at the University of North Dakota was assigned to read his short story, “A Clean Well-Lighted Place.” Impressed with Hemingway’s writing, I dashed off a story in his “style” and submitted it to “Tyro,” the campus …
Grand Forks KnightRiders and East Grand Forks Senior High skated to a 3-3 tie in girls high school hockey Tuesday night in Eagles Arena in Grand Forks. Kathleen Petersen scored two goals and Katie Rodningen scored one for Grand Forks (4-7-1), while Tyre Chupka, Kylie Stauss and Madison McDonald scored for the Green Wave (7-4-2). KnightRiders goalie Quinn Kuntz …
Samantha Roscoe’s first-career double-double — 12 points, 12 rebounds — were not enough for the University of North Dakota women’s basketball team as the Fighting Hawks dropped a 74-71 overtime decision to Big Sky Conference foe Montana State University on Thursday night in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. UND (9-7, 4-1 BSC), which had rallied from a 12-point deficit, missed a chance to send …
After several years of watching British cops shows on Netflix, something finally dawned on me. Years is generally the time it takes for me to have a good dawn. Anyway, like American cop shows, a detective is running down a suspect, and he — or she — has the criminal, punter or wanker basically cornered, but they have to go …
Jan. 11 — Today my mother (85), my daughter (22) and I drove down to the encampment on the north bank of the Cannonball River. It was an astonishingly beautiful day on the northern Great Plains: cold, but clear, with an azure sky that contrasted perfectly with the snow. We took the long way around thanks to the road closure. What …
Many people don’t know that POTUS is short for President of the United States. Well, it is … and for the current president-elect, we can shorten it even better: POS. (Since this is a family newspaper, use your imagination about what that’s short for.) After the election was over, I waited for Diaper Donnie to enter the world of adults. …
I have a conundrum. Everyone who knows me is aware that I am a dyed-in-the-wool progressive. I wrote my first political letter in 1969. I was 5. It was to Richard Nixon, suggesting that the Vietnam War was not a good idea and perhaps we should get out of it. A self-starting child, I addressed it on my own, to …
It’s listed on my Facebook and Twitter pages. “Long-suffering Gopher fan. Hopeless Gopher fan…” I admit to owning worn-out maroon slippers with the gold Minnesota logo. They’re so old, the stitching has come loose. Minnesota merchandise is everywhere. My fading gold T-shirt. The heavy Gopher jacket for cold weather games. The lighter, maroon version for early fall. Even the snazzy head gear that makes me look like I’m …
The University of North Dakota men’s basketball team won its third straight game with a 95-65 Big Sky Conference victory over Southern Utah University on Saturday in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Quinton Hooker led the Fighting Hawks (8-6, 3-1 BSC) with 23 points. Josh Collins, filling in as a starter for injured Drick Bernstine added 11 points and 7 rebounds. Also scoring in double …
Watch history come alive when scholar Clay Jenkinson appears in costume and character as President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt served seven years, 171 days as the 26th president of the United States. He was an accidental president, “kicked upstairs” into the vice presidency in 1900, ascending to the presidency on Sept. 14, 1901, after President William McKinley died of gunshot …
Winter in Minnesota is not my favorite season. But there IS one benefit to lousy weather. It provides time to a catch up on the reading you’ve deferred in order to enjoy being outdoors in the spring, summer and fall. My winter goal is to dip into the literature created by the Irish novelist and poet James Joyce, 1882-1941. He …
Fargo Force dropped a 3-1 United States Hockey League game to the Sioux City Musketeers on Friday night in Schools Arena in Fargo. Hank Crone scored the lone goal for the Force, who dropped to 16-11-2. Carson Vance, Solag Bakich and Brian Rigali (empty net) scored for Sioux City (19-6-3). Matt Murray had 23 saves in goal for Fargo, while Sioux …
Chris Allen took in some sights while in New Delhi, India, to attend USAID-supported workshops for Afghan professors from Kabul University and Balkh University in communication studies and Kabul Polytechnic University in hydro-engineering. Among the places he visited were the India Gate, a war memorial located astride the Rajpath, on the eastern edge of the “ceremonial axis” of New Delhi; Connaught …
Quinton Hooker scored a game-high 20 points to lead the University of North Dakota men’s basketball team to a 68-63 win over Northern Arizona University in its Big Sky home opener Thursday in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Conner Avants added 17 points and equaled his career-high with nine rebounds to pace the Fighting Hawks (7-6, 2-1 BSC). Also in double-figure scoring for UND was …
Stan shuffles up to the bar and bellows, “Merry Christmas, Orv?” No answer. Stan looks closer at the man sitting on the stool. “Wait a goddam minute, here. You’re not Orville. Who the hell are you, and why are you sitting in Orv’s spot?” “Mark. I don’t know any Orv.” Stanley is flummoxed, until Orv barks, “I’m over her, you …
Note: This post has been updated from its original version because of some additional information provided to me by the North Dakota Health Department. Thanks to Inspector Bill Suess for that. Out in the Oil Patch, when a pipeline leaks, or a tank overflows, or a valve is accidentally left open, and something (mostly oil and toxic salt water) spills …
When the U.S. Supreme Court, on a 5-4 decision, ruled to basically eliminate caps on political spending through its decision on Citizens United — We the People lost. My comments apply to our political system and what has been happening in recent years, regardless of your political persuasion. Money has come to dominate our elections. Here are just a few examples …
Twelve and a half minutes and two screws. That’s what two of the first bills submitted to North Dakota’s 65th Legislative Assembly address. This is the kind of stuff guys love. No wonder, then, that the whole state is talking about two proposals submitted by Grand Forks legislators. One would raise the speed limit on North Dakota’s interstates and divided …
The Los Angeles Times has named a work by North Dakota native and UND graduate Sam Anderson one of the Top Ten L.A. Theatre Productions of 2016. Edward Albee’s “The Play about the Baby” was produced by the Road Theatre Company last year. Sam is the company’s artistic director. Edward Albee died last year. The Times says of “The Play About …
Homemade soups are awfully hard to beat. And when eating out, there’s something soothing about knowing that a restaurant’s soup is made from scratch. Maybe the reason is that you are a soup maker yourself or your mom or dad was accomplished at that, too. Both are true in my case. I usually make a pot of soup at least three …
This is my Norwegian immigrant grandmother, Anna Vorland (above), photographed by my father on the family farm northeast of Harvey, N.D., in the late 1940s. She’s been on my mind lately. A few years ago at New York’s Ellis Island, Dorette Kerian and I saw the official record of Anna’s entry into the U.S. with her new husband, Hans. He …
Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons braved the snow and wind Monday night to capture these lovely scenes in downtown Grand Forks and Lincoln Park. (Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.)
For one reason or another, not everyone gets to enjoy the beauty of nature in the wintertime. All some people have left is their imagination. Grand Forks photographer Michael Bogert isn’t one of them, as evidenced by these images he caught during some recent outings in northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.
It’s been a year today that I started on my Metabolic Balance® journey. Back then, I figured I’d reach my 88-pound weight loss goal by the end of 2016. That didn’t happen. But you know what? I’m OK with that. I’m very proud of my accomplishment of loosing 54 pounds — and I’m over 61 percent of the way there. I’m proud …
You’d never guess it now, but at one time I had bright red hair. Until I started school, my parents called me “Punkie” (i.e., pumpkin head). Thank god the nickname didn’t stick. The red color was passed down by my maternal grandfather, and I was the only one of my siblings or cousins on that side of the family to …
New Delhi is in trouble. It is desperately trying to reduce pollution, and some of the steps it’s taking are admirable. But they don’t seem to be making a difference. One can see the pollution hanging in the air. Worse, though, one can taste it. It’s grit on the tongue. It’s a scratch in the throat. It’s a tickle-cough. It’s …
Some chefs have those “hanging out in the kitchen” moments with a grandparent or a mother. I did not. The style of food I grew up with was a budgeted one. The house bank account was structured that X amount of money went here or there, and that was that. So, when it came time for a purchase at the grocery …
Here are some of the images caught the eye of Bloomington, Minn., photographer Dave Vorland in the last month of 2016.
As I write this, today is my last day of cooking in 2016. Soon after I type these words, I am off to the store to pick out flowers and some last-minute items to prepare a four-course meal for members of the Grand Forks Country Club. While many others will be celebrating the old and thinking of what needs to change …
On this New Year’s Eve, I’m thinking of all the people who paid me for doing a job. Here (above) I’m pictured with my favorite boss, Thomas J. Clifford. I was his director of public relations and executive assistant for 19 of the 21 years he was president of the University of North Dakota. It’s impossible to overstate the influence …
Grand Forks Red River’s boys hockey team stayed perfect against Bismarck this holiday season, defeating Century 9-1 on Friday afternoon in Eagles Arena in Grand Forks. On Thursday, the Roughriders (7-1) defeated Bismarck High 7-1. Braden Costello led Red River against the Patriots, scoring three goals and adding two assists. Also scoring for the Riders were Luke LaMoine with two …
2016 is a year a lot of people will be happy to have in the rear-view mirror. With so many glad to see this year end, it seems a fitting time to quit looking back and start looking forward, and one of the ways I do that every year is through New Year’s resolutions. I am a big believer in …