This morning’s Bismarck Tribune had a front page story about the Catholic bishop of Bismarck announcing that he would no longer allow Catholic churches in his diocese to sponsor Boy Scout troops. He said in the story that the Boy Scouts of America’s decision to allow gay Scout leaders “prompted him to decide that the diocese, its parishes and schools …
According to the man who says he killed Kristopher “K.C.” Clarke, the young oilfield worker who disappeared more than three years ago is buried in one of North Dakota’s Bad Lands parks — likely Little Missouri State Park or the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. That’s one of the apparent confessions made by Timothy Suckow of Spokane, Wash., …
Hand-me-down recipes are among the most treasured gifts our parents or grandparents can pass on to us. I’ve always had an affinity for them, no matter if they are mine or someone else’s. That is why I was intrigued when seeing Yvonne Wasvick-Kalka’s post on Facebook the other day. Yvonne, who teaches English and speech at Grand Forks Central and also coaches …
August is a wonderful time for gardeners. Much of the heavy lifting is done for another year, and we can claim our rewards. One of those rewards is the beautiful gladiolus we have in many of our gardens. Few flowers have so much to offer. Every garden should have glads! According to Steve Sagaser, Grand Forks County horticulturist, glads range from …
Elaine and I left Oman on June 20, 2012, after living there 9½ months. We had come to the country with five suitcases. We were leaving with nine. Everything was packed, we had wedged each last item into the bulging bags and were sitting in the flat until it was time to go to the airport. One of my students …
Chris Allen’s journal dispatches from the Middle East country of Oman are an unusual and very welcome addition to Unheralded.fish. Allen is a professor of journalism at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he has taught since August 1996. In addition to his teaching duties, he is the general manager of UNO Television and a board member and past-president …
I started my doctorate this summer (I know, I’m crazy, you may never hear from me again). One of the most memorable pieces of advice I received before I started this process was to be aware that I would be learning “increasingly more about increasingly less” (I don’t remember who said this — see, the memory loss has already begun). That …
I almost killed my class Thursday. Not in the way a teacher may say that after a difficult day. I really almost killed them. Understand that I really like students. I rely on a steady and abundant supply of them for my living, and I do truly like students. Have I mentioned how hot is here in Oman? I mean, …
Jeff Olson snapped these photos Saturday night at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Alexandria, Va., photographer and his wife, Joanne Plager Burke Olson, joined thousands of other people who also were enjoying the nice evening in our nation’s capital.
Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff captured these images Friday night (July 31) in our nation’s capital from the Netherlands Carillon. The blue moon in four of the photos was the first in about three years, and here it shows off a couple of different colors.
I feel at home. I’m 6,000 miles or more from my house, the town I live in, the university where I teach, and yet I feel at home. I’m in Oman, a country my wife, Elaine, and I came to love when we were here in 2011-2012 while I taught at Sultan Qaboos University on a Fulbright Award. I loved …
A lot of people are confused about the “blue moon.” The moon isn’t really blue, it is just named that because it is rare. It happens about every three years and is called that when there are two full moons in the same month. We had one July 2 and had another July 31. The official exact moment of the full moon was at 4:43 …
Country music star Lynn Anderson left us this week, much too soon. She died at the age of 67. “(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden” became a gigantic crossover hit in the early 1970s. In her career, she had a dozen No. 1 hits. She won a Grammy and seven Grammy nominations. Twice she was named the Country Music Association’s …
The hydrangeas are putting on a beautiful show this summer. The large white-flowering perennial thrives in cool, moist weather, which we have been enjoying for the most part this summer. Due to our cold winters, we can’t grow the “Endless Summer” hydrangeas, which come in green and blue shades. Instead, we have to make due with the white varieties, which do …
Here are some more images from photographer Russ Hons of Sunday’s Fargo Airsho, which featured many vintage aircraft as well as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, who were back after a 4-year hiatus. It was hot and sunny , but that didn’t stop thousands of fans of all ages from coming out. The show was nonstop for more than five hours …
Anyone who cans knows that smaller cucumbers make better pickles. It doesn’t matter if you’re making dills, bread and butters or chunky sweet ones. Large cucumbers often tend to be seedy, which makes them unsuitable for every kind of pickle. Sometimes, just a day or two can make the difference between perfect pickling cucumbers and those that are better off being de-seeded and used …
A great time was had by all who attended Saturday night’s Blues on the Red Concert in downtown Grand Forks. Sponsored by Grand Forks Downtown Development Association, performers were RB Stone and Reverend Raven & The Chain Smokin’ Altar Boys.
It was hot and sunny Sunday in Fargo, but that didn’t stop thousands of fans of all ages from coming out to see the Fargo AirSho and to welcome back the U.S. Navy Blue Angels after a 4-year hiatus. The show was nonstop for more than five hours and was thrilling. If you weren’t able to see the performance live, here …
I thought I knew everything. But until I read Mike Sacks’ terrific new book about comedy writing called “Poking a Dead Frog,” I had never heard the name Peg Lynch. Even though in her day she was a huge star. She was a comedy performer on radio and later television in the 1940 and 1950s. But her even larger talent was …
Kale has become pretty popular the past couple of years, no longer just a fad or something found strictly in vegan establishments. It’s making frequent appearance in many restaurants and is being found at more and dinner tables across America. In fact, in some circles, it enjoys celebrity status. And there is good reason. Not only is kale readily available and cheap, …
The Fargo mob panicked last week over a shooting. It didn’t involve guns and the Second Amendment, though. It was touched off by a camera and the First. By now the whole region knows about the furor generated by a would-be guardian of the peace who spotted a man taking photos above Island Park Pool. He became suspicious because he …
No one has done more to create the easy-care modern roses you now find in so many gardens than Canadians breeders. Unless gardeners were ready to battle subzero cold and hot and humid summers, they were just out of luck. A modern rose is any cultivar introduced since the advent of the hybrid tea in 1867. Only a few, however, combined hardy …
The summer of 2015 is going to be one to remember for gardeners and grillers alike. Abundant rain and sunshine have resulted in bumper crops for a lot of people in the Northland, many of whom are fond of cooking outdoors. While many associate grilling mainly with meat, there’s a growing number of food aficionados who know that the veggies …
Grand Forks does things a little differently sometimes. For example, instead of buildings, it names “lift stations” after people like Marilyn Hagerty and Dave Barry. A new tradition now, perhaps. Last night, the alley that runs behind Sanders 1907 restaurant was renamed “Kim Holmes Alley of Love.” To me, it seems like just yesterday that Kim rolled into town on …
As a college broadcasting instructor, it’s my responsibility to give each of my students an update on his or her performance about halfway through each semester. The report is designed to praise students for their positive achievements, offer suggestions on how they might improve in other areas and, maybe most importantly, catch any trouble spots before it’s too late. While …
Even if your green thumb is really the finger of death, don’t worry. If nothing else, you can grow daylillies that not only thrive but will be the talk of the neighborhood! Daylillies grow spectacularly even with neglect. They have few insect or disease problems. One of their only drawback is that they have to be divided often, which means you …
I got up early so I wouldn’t miss any of the commentary of “Breakfast at Wimbledon” in preparation for the matchup between the two greats, Novak Djokovic (No. 1 Seed) and Roger Federer (No. 2 Seed.) I have been cheering for Roger Federer throughout the tournament despite friends telling me “he’s over the hill,”, “past his prime” and “on his …
Some gardeners will tell you that the first picking of vegetables from their gardens is the best. I don’t really subscribe to that thought, though it’s hard to beat the initial home-grown radishes or tomatoes of the summer. But I can understand how people might feel that way. There is a certain amount of excitement associated with gathering garden bounty for the first …
CBS said it, so it must be true: Donald Trump now leads the rest of the dozen-odd Republicans who’ve announced their presidential ambitions. And I do mean “dozen-odd.” An implied horde of Americans on the political right are vigorously bobbing their heads as he expounds, pounding the bar and invoking the time-honored rebel blessing, “an honest man who really speaks …
Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons captured these closeup shots of the common loon Thursday night in northern Minnesota. The bird was adopted as the official state bird of Minnesota in 1961. They are known for their cries, wails and yodels — their eerie, echoing calls are a distinctive feature of Minnesota’s northern lakes.
Sadly, we have lost a longtime friend who resided in downtown Grand Forks – above my office. Many of you know him as Swanie — Steve Swanberg grew up in East Grand Forks, Minn., and was the last of seven children. Steve touched the lives of many people. He passed away on June 27. There will be a memorial gathering to honor the …
The last battle of World War II was fought 70 years ago next month, but for tens of thousands of American servicemen — and women — the battles continued at home. Only then, the soldiers didn’t have their buddies next to them in the foxhole. This war — waged with horrible memories, nightmares and survivor’s guilt — had to be fought …
Spectacular sunsets are the norm in the Northland, as evidenced by these stunning images captured Tuesday by Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons.
Like a couple of million other people who have preordered the “new” Harper Lee novel “Go Set A Watchman,” I’ve been eagerly awaiting the book’s publication date next week. A couple of million is no exaggeration, by the way. It is the biggest preorder ever for HarperCollins. It’s being hyped as the biggest publishing event in several years. “Go Set a …
There aren’t many places that have better fishing than Alaska. Anyone who lives there or has visited will tell you so. And if you have traveled there and been fortunate enough to experience casting a hook and line into either one of the state’s plentiful rivers or into the ocean, you’ve may have brought home a bounty of fish that would be …
It’s hard to beat the scenery this time of the year — or any time for that matter —in northern Minnesota. Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons proved that with these magnificent images he captured while on a family vacation over the Fourth of July week on Turtle Lake, north of Bemidji, Minn.
The name for the beloved iris is very fitting. In Greek mythology, Iris was the goddess of the rainbow. This is one perennial flower that comes in just about every color in the rainbow. No other flower can make that claim. The iris family is large. There are 11 different divisions of iris from the noble bearded to Siberian and water …
Think tanks and activists have been warning about rising tensions between our society’s “haves” and “have-nots” — the aristocratic 1 percent, with their glossy grasp on privilege, versus all the rest of us. But when the local populace finally rose up in revolt in the week before Independence Day, who could have dreamed what would spur Fargo’s downtrodden to threaten …
Here are a few spectacular photos from Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson’s recent trip home to North Dakota. They are a canola field near northeast of McKenzie,N.D., two of a Missouri River sunset through the smoky skies north of Double Ditch Indian Village, the result of Canadian forest fires, and a yellowheaded-blackbird in cattail slough northeast of McKenzie.
Anyone who lives in North Dakota and northern Minnesota — and even other parts of the U.S. — may have noticed a hazy sky the past few days? It’s been caused by smoke from dozens of large Canadian wildfires. It has produced some spectacularly colored sunrises and sunsets as well as some pretty moon shots. Photographer Russ captured these images over …
I’m going to Hettinger, N.D.,my hometown, today. Class reunion. A chance to see many old friends. But I’d rather be in Chicago. Let me tell you why. Just about exactly 20 years ago, on the morning of July 8, 1995, I was sitting under the Gateway Arch at the Jefferson National Memorial in St. Louis, reading the St, Louis Post-Dispatch and …
What food do you most associate with a Fourth of July celebration? If asked, many people probably would say burgers or hot dogs or something else that’s cooked on the grill. Or perhaps corn on the cob or watermelon. And don’t forget about potato salad. Me? It’s baked beans, baby! In my book, no Independence Day get-together would be complete without some …
Fair pay — what a concept President Obama launches his quest to make the case that the federal government should require employers to pay overtime to all salaried workers who earn less than $50,000 per year. http://www.startribune.com/obama-s-overtime-proposal-becomes-new-flashpoint-in-america-s-slow-wage-comeback/311352151/ Why we like Netflix is quite simple For better or worse, Americans love to zone out and watch TV. Working 60 hours a …
I have been quiet for quite a while. Online at least. Every once in a while, I like to pull back from posting or commenting on hot-button issues on the Internet just to watch people’s behavior. By doing this, I get a sense of what the most common arguments are, which of them seems to have the most staying power …