As Father’s Day approaches, it triggers a walk down memory lane. This is one of those times. Mom and Dad have both passed on, and the statute of limitations on some of my activities has tolled. My sisters all live out of town, so they won’t be bothered by what I’m about to relate. My family moved from Grand Forks …
I knew the times were changing when I heard about the bear. “The bear’s just great,” my daughter, Patti, texted me one afternoon last March. What bear? “Dad’s bear — the one for the baby’s room,” she explained. “We’ll have to move the furniture around some, but I think it’s going to fit just fine.” She attached a photo of …
Many years ago, my dad and I were driving through the little town in North Dakota where he grew up. I asked him how many times his parents had come to watch him play sports. Dad had been a star football and basketball player in that place. “Twice,” he answered without hesitation. “My mom came and watched me play basketball …
WTF? Nobody — not me, not you, not Doug Burgum — could have predicted that outcome. Some predicted a Burgum win. Not me, although I had this nagging feeling every time I saw Ed Schafer on TV that maybe, just maybe, it could happen. But too many times I have predicted an election outcome because I wanted that outcome, not because I …
How long does it take to get a black belt in karate? Do you think my kid has a chance to play ball in high school or college? These are questions I’ve been asked numerous times throughout my teaching and coaching career, and the answer is always the same: It depends. As our kids take their journey in sports, there’s …
I am a Lutheran, an ELCA Lutheran. I am an ELCA Lutheran of German heritage. I am also a first-generation American. My father immigrated to the United States from Canada, where German was his mother tongue, raised by parents who emigrated from Germany. My grandfather fought in the Boxer Rebellion for the Kaiser. Dylan Klebold, one of the two shooters …
Grand Forks photographer Mike Bogert took in Art Fest in downtown Grand Forks and East Grand Forks this past weekend. Here are some of the images that caught his eye.
It’s been said “you can’t go home again.” Thomas Wolfe wrote a novel with that title. Ernest Hemingway often returned to places that had been important in his life, such as the spot in Italy where he had been wounded in World War I. But invariably, he arrived at the same conclusion. My favorite French author, Marcel Proust (his novel …
Well, high praise from Pat Finken on Monday, in the form of an email from the Brighter Future Fund. Finken’s superpac, Brighter Future Fund (yeah, right) is a big supporter of Wayne Stenehjem. Finked created his superpac in 2012 with money from the North Dakota Republican Party and a bunch of big GOP donors like Jim Roers, Steve Scheel and Jim Arthaud …
A note to Fish readers: On Jan. 2, I began a nutrition plan complete with a certified nutritionist coach. After learning that I’m a journalist and blogger, she invited me to blog about my experiences. The following is the 13th of my weekly blogs. “No news is good news” we often say in my photojournalism profession. So I haven’t felt compelled …
Photographer Russ Hons made a trip to the Fargo Zoo on Saturday. It was pretty warm and most of the animals were resting and trying to keep cool, but here are a few that were out in the open that caught the eye of Russ. Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.
Perhaps it is a bit cheeky, but an unrepentant Marilyn Hagerty used her Grand Forks Herald column to write an open letter to Queen Elizabeth. Marilyn, who turned 90 on Memorial Day, has been a beloved figure to Herald readers for decades. But she burst onto the national scene in early 2012 when food bloggers ridiculed her for writing a …
It was late afternoon on an dreary late October day in 1990. I was stopped at the Fifth Street railroad crossing in downtown Bismarck, waiting for a train to go by on the tracks in front of me. I looked to my left and there, in the car beside me, was Ed Schafer. He spotted me about the same time. He …
Unheralded.fish welcomes two contributors aboard our ship. We believe you’ll enjoy reading blogs from Paula Mehmel and Martin Fredricks. Here’s some background on each from short bios they wrote for the Fish. Paula V. Mehmel Paula, who describes herself as a “radical, evangelical, Lutheran mystic,” is currently parish pastor at Elim Lutheran Church in Fargo. Based in Casselton, N.D., but …
I was 23 when I was raped in 1987. I was also serving as a hospital chaplain as part of my clinical pastoral education for seminary. I remember — as the police responded and as the hospital staff tended to my bruised and battered body — how everyone kept saying, “And she’s a chaplain,” as if there was a “type” to be raped …
Photographer Mike Bogert was born and raised in Grand Forks, N.D., at the bottom of the Red River Valley. The Red River was his backyard, and yes, he could see Minnesota from there. He was obsessed with photographing the mountains in and around Alamogordo, N.M., on a recent trip. Here is a small sampling of the multitude of pictures Mike took while there.
No one has called me “Pops” to my face yet, but it’s only a matter of time. A young colleague recently showed me a graphic meant to accompany a client’s social media post. It dealt with clean water in underdeveloped areas. Prominently featured was a blue bus. I shook my head. “Makes me think of Jim Morrison,” I said, assuming the underlying narcotic …
Here are a few wildlife sightings from Kelly Slough National Wildlife Refuge west of Grand Forks, N.D., taken by photographer Russ Hons. Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.
These scenic landscape and wildlife photos, taken recently by Dave Bruner of Grand Forks — on many early mornings and late evenings — show the beauty and majesty of the North Dakota Badlands.
It’s the beginning of June, and to a lot of people in the Northland, that means it’s the beginning of lake season. But for the folks at University Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, it’s time for rhubarb. More specifically, the church’s annual Rhubarb Festival. The church, located at 2122 University Ave., will be a beehive of activity from 10 a.m. …
Since I live in North Fargo, I have concerns about the upcoming city election. I’m not a financial guru, nor have I ever claimed expertise in finances. Like most common folks, however, I can observe some things. I’ve got to ask, “What the hell is happening with the checkbook available to the city of Fargo?” Let me make it clear …
If the sun wasn’t as bright Friday, if the moon seemed morose, if the stars seemed muted, it’s because the the world is less than it once was. That which is irreplaceable is gone. An expanse of soul, poetry, conscience, heart and humor have left us. I loved Muhammad Ali. I embraced him when I was in junior high, a …
I had just turned 26 when Muhammad Ali came to WFMC. World Famous Mayo Clinic. It was a deadline press conference held in a bland, beige conference room at the Kahler Hotel in Rochester, Minn. At any major press conference today, there is sponsorship signage in the background and lecterns adorned with expensively researched brand logos. “Tell the agency to …
Six years ago, my childhood home was bulldozed after the new owners had a fire and the city condemned it. When I learned that it took less than a half-hour to crush our huge old house into a pile of rubble and lay pavement in its place, I felt like my parents and seven sisters were also crushed into that pile. …
Photographer Dave Bruner last week took a trip down The Enchanted Highway, which begins begins at Exit 72 on Interstate 94 near Gladstone, N.D., and terminates 30 miles down the road in the small town of Regent, N.D. Along the way, he photographed each sculpture, which were built by Gary Greff of Regent, starting the project in 1990. Beginning with “Geese in Flight” at Exit 72, …
It would be tempting to say these are the worst of times for traditional media ― for the long-established newspapers and broadcasters who come to mind first when media fortunes are tossed about. Logical, but not quite certain: You never know what’s just around the corner. Nevertheless, the news grows ever more dismal for our mass media. While newspapers’ dwindling …
This will be the shortest blog post I’ve ever written. (Cheering, clapping of hands!) So short you can probably read it at a stoplight on your way to work (but don’t comment — that would be illegal). Today is Tuesday, June 7, 2016, the day North Dakota Democrats will hold their presidential preference caucuses. I’ve already written about that here, back …
Grand Forks photographer Dave Bruner spent a number of days last week in the North Dakota Badlands and took these images of some of the wild horses in the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
What started out as a trip to capture some images of the sunset Sunday night at Kelly Slough National Wildlife Refuge northwest of Grand Forks turned out to be much that than that for photographer Russ Hons. As Russ was photographing the sunset, he received an alert that the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) might be active after dark. Russ said, “As darkness descended, the northern lights …
Anyone looking for inspiration would have done well Saturday afternoon by heading out to Ulland Park Softball Complex in Grand Fork. After spending some time practicing with area youth, the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team and area Military and Law Enforcement combined to put on an exhibition game for the community. Players produced lots of score, smashed a ton of home …
A few weeks ago, I opened a drawer at home and there it was, my 40th birthday present from Fred Rogers. We had moved a couple of times, so it had been tucked away and I had not seen or thought of it for at least a couple of years. (My 40th was eighteen years ago.) It brought back the …
The hummingbirds were out in force recently and put on quite a display for photographer Mike Bogert at Fox Lake in northwestern Minnesota.
“Formatting complete. Sample interior pages to follow.” The email was concise and promises a finale to my literary adventure in writing a memoir. It all started while visiting daughter, Beth, and reviewing her father-in-law’s memoir about his life in Denmark as a child during the Nazi occupation during World War II, subsequent immigration to America and settling as a farmer …
Most people are suckers for baby ducks. The sight of ducklings can lift hearts and put smiles on faces. Grand Forks photographer Mike Bogert will do just that with this collection of images taken on the English Coulee near the University of North Dakota. Some of these ducklings may have been the ones rescued from a drain sewer recently by UND police.
On Sunday, the day before Memorial Day, Donald J. Trump sank even lower than anyone could expect. On a day when we pay homage to those veterans who gave their lives for their country, who paid the ultimate price to preserve our freedoms, that man turned it into a political Trump message He who did not serve his country and …
June, for me, marks the beginning of the end of “spring fishing season.” I’m mostly a Missouri River fisherman. My fishing buddy, Jeff, lives on the river just south of Bismarck and keeps his boat tied to the bank behind his house. It’s pretty easy to just jump in the boat and go, and we do — a lot. We’re going …
People who love hotdish or casserole usually have a preference if given a choice between rice and pasta. But there others like me who relish the taste of both. When it comes to the former, a combination of long grain and wild rice — Uncle Ben’s and Rice A Roni are two examples — is my favorite. However, when I have a recipe …
Memorial Day has long meant a day of reflection, a day of remembrance, a day for giving thanks to those who have defended our ideals and independence. I used the day as a rare opportunity to just see a bit more of our great land. A plan-less, meandering drive through the countryside. A respite at a remote lake to wet the toes, an …
Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson paid his respects Monday at Alexandria National Cemetery, where 45 percent of the graves mark the last resting place of unknown soldiers from the Civil War.
For most of the past couple of months of my life, much of my time and what little concentration I can muster has been taken up not with writing or speaking but rather with acting. Yup, acting. I had a small role in the Fire Hall Theatre’s “Arsenic & Old Lace,” a 70-year-old dark comedy about two little old ladies who, as …
The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks lost 14-4 to the Wichita Wings on Sunday at Newman Outdoor Field but still picked up their first series win of the season in American Association baseball play. The RedHawks defeated Wichita 13-3 on Friday and 7-3 on Saturday. They are now 5-5 on the season and are two games behind the 7-3 St. Paul Saints in …
Here is some of what you can expect at any of today’s Memorial Day services across this great country of ours, courtesy of Grand Forks photographer Russell Hons. Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.
Bloomington, Minn., photographer Dave Vorland snapped these shots this past month, including a shot of legendary Minnesota Vikings coach Bud Grant at his annual yard sale. You just never know what Dave will come up next.
“Well, we have to go to Mass SOMEWHERE,” I replied when Lillian suggested we drive 50 miles to participate in the annual Feast of Corpus Christi Mass at St. Clement’s Church in the rural community of Haymarsh, N.D. And so yesterday, we stepped back in time, to 1937, or maybe 1887, and drove west on Interstate 94, then north on …