Somebody asked in a comment on my blog last week for an update on the proposed Little Missouri Crossing north of Medora, N.D. Here’s some information stolen from an article I wrote for Dakota Country magazine’s May issue, which should be on the newsstands later this week, or in your mailbox if you subscribe, which you should do. Out in …
What can you buy with a trillion dollars, let alone four or five trillion? It’s not that government expenditure is a zero-sum game (guns or butter), and we all understand that national security and national defense are among the most essential expenditures of any sovereign nation. Still, had the United States not invaded Afghanistan and Iraq or prolonged our incursions …
A little more than eight years ago, in December 2012, I wrote one of the hardest obituaries I’ve ever had to write, and believe me, I’ve written a lot of them, as a former newspaper reporter and editor. The obituary was for Snaps®. Anyone who knows me well or remembers that blog post on December 8, 2012, knows that I …
I received a letter from my 22-year-old self this week. Well, sort of. It was a letter that I sent to the woman who was my camp counselor when I was 14, thanking her for the influence she had on my life. I sent it the week before I left for seminary, Aug. 31, 1986. She found it this week, …
Ernest Hemingway is one of our greatest writers, and Ken Burns is our greatest documentary filmmaker, so it is fitting that the latest film by Burns and his creative partner, Lynn Novick, is about the most influential American writer of the 20th century, who committed suicide on July 2, 1961. Hemingway wrote seven novels during his lifetime, six collections of short …
I never received the smallpox vaccine. But I thank God for everyone who did. My parents were not anti-vax. But back when everyone my age lined up to get the vaccine that would leave a unique scar on their upper arm, I couldn’t join them. I had severe eczema as a child and due to a reaction that the vaccine …
With the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020 now well behind us, so to speak, I have another concern. It also involves toilet paper. For months now, I’ve been semi-obsessed with something I’ve been seeing a lot of on television. That is the animated Charmin bears. The colorful toilet paper-pushers come on TV, often late at night for some reason, …
Author Thomas Frank is an unapologetic liberal and populist. Those characteristics shape his writing and worldview. He finds promise in the country’s original populists, who adopted the term in 1891 and who were protesting “unbearable debt, monopoly and corruption … forcing the country to acknowledge that ordinary Americans who were just as worthy as bankers or railroad barons were being …
Uncle Bert left Washington, D.C., each July, along with everyone else who worked for the federal government. The nation’s capital is built “on a tangle of woods and swamps.” It’s sweltering in the summer. Bert’s family of four drove to his childhood farm in Iowa, then up to my hometown, a small Minnesota river burg where his wife was born. …
Here in North Dakota in the spring of 2021, the headlines about the pandemic are being pushed aside by the daily news of the extreme drought and prairie fires. All of us search the forecast in hopes of rain, knowing the damage this is causing to the people, the critters and the landscape we love. All of us search for …
Michael Patrick F. Smith would not seem to fit the profile of an oil field worker. He’s an actor, a musician and a playwright who sublet his Brooklyn, N.Y., apartment to head out west to Williston, N.D., during the height of the Bakken Oil Boom in 2013. As he admits, “It’s a weird resume for a man applying to work …
When the price of a barrel of oil peaked at $145 amid the 2008 economic meltdown, thousands of unsettled men from all over the country descended on the fracking boomtown of Williston, N.D. Centered atop the estimated 7.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil contained within the Bakken Formation, Williston witnessed over the next six years what writer Michael Patrick F. …
Harriet Bristol didn’t have any immediate family. She didn’t have a host of friends left. She was a very private person. Come to find out, she had led quite an inspiring life. Somehow, I felt a connection, which is why I was one of four people who stood under a shelter that cold, rainy day to attend her funeral recently …
It was a record 90 degrees at Metropolitan Stadium when the Minnesota Twins opened their home baseball season April 22, 1980. The math should have been simple: 36,000 fans + 90 degrees = extra beer vendors. Also in the equation: Every college kid in the Twin Cities would skip class. The drinking age was 19. The Met was a frowzy …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team quest for a ninth national championship was cut short Saturday night in Fargo’s Scheels Arena as the Fighting Hawks were defeated 3-2 by the University of Minnesota-Duluth in a five-overtime game. North Dakota (22-6-1) trailed 2-0 late in the third period before pulling goalie Adam Scheel and tying it up on goals …
Most histories of the “Indian Wars” in the American West end with the Wounded Knee Massacre on Dec. 29, 1890, when U.S. troops of the Seventh Cavalry killed between 200 and 300 Lakota (Sioux) people, the majority of them women and children, most of whom had been disarmed, at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, just one year into its …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team used a four-goal first period outburst in the span of just over seven minutes en route to a 5-1 win over American International University on Friday night in Fargo’s Scheels Arena to advance to the NCAA Midwest Region championship tonight against National Collegiate Hockey Conference rival the University of Minnesota-Duluth. UMD gained the …
Most recipes usually serve four people at the minimum and often are meant for eight. So that means if you are cooking for two, be prepared for a lot of leftovers. That’s the case with preparing an entire chicken. Whether the bird is cut up for frying or left whole for roasting, if you’re only serving two, there is going …
Who knew I’d enjoy exercising so much? That was certainly a new experience. Sure, I enjoy water aerobics, especially since recovering from two knee surgeries in 2018. But walking has never been at the top of my list of exercising practices. Until this past January, when I discovered the joys of Nordic Walking. It was time to take off the …
Three groups have been cheering the appointment of Debra Haaland as President Biden’s Secretary of Interior. WOMEN. Although 21st century presidents have done better, over the years, probably only about 10 percent of all Cabinet secretaries have been women — I think I read somewhere the total is about 30 since we became a country — so when a woman gets …
The University of North Dakota’s No. 2 ranking didn’t seem to impress No. 4 North Dakota State University on Saturday in Gate City Bank Field in the FargoDome as the Bison defeated the Fighting Hawks 34-13 in Missouri Valley Football Conference play. The Bison (5-1 overall, 4-1 MVFC) won its 32nd straight home game in handing the Fighting Hawks (4-1 overall, 4-1 …
Nicholas Christakis’ “Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live“ is an outstanding book. I agree with the eminent historian of ideas Niall Ferguson, who called it “magisterial” in his review in the Times Literary Supplement. I could not recommend it more highly. It’s not only the most readable of the books published on …
Spring weather came to North Dakota early this year, the fifth-driest winter here on record. The sky has been filled with migrating Canada Geese, and some crazy fishermen have already had their boats on the nearby Missouri River, even though there is still ice on the banks. My first birding excursion of the year took place earlier this week with …
From time to time, I see Facebook friends who I know to be decent people post things about “cancel culture,” decrying what they see as an “attack” because someone found something offensive. It always makes me sad because I believe that a lot of this “forced” divide in our nation could be addressed if we opened our minds, heard the …
“Technically.” That’s all the Republicans were shooting for with HB 1298. As in, “No transgender girls are playing high school sports in North Dakota, but technically they can’t if we pass a law.” But there are big loopholes that won’t please the anti-transgender zealots. I especially worry about how Sen. David Clemens, R-West Fargo, is going to take it when …
A year into the modern pandemic era, it seems reasonable to ask, what have we learned? And what should we have learned? I found answers to those questions in a wide-ranging interview with Nicholas Christakis, the author of “Apollo’s Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live.” Christakis is the Sterling Professor of Social and …
There are a couple of new developments in the ongoing saga of the proposed Little Missouri River Crossing north of Medora, N.D. I’ve written about this extensively, most recently in December. Here’s what’s going on right now: There’s a new look to the Billings County Commission. Longtime Commission Chairman Jim Arthaud, the driving force behind the bridge proposal, was defeated …
In the end, the vote this past week to kick Luke Simons out of the North Dakota Legislature wasn’t about Luke Simons at all. It was about Chet Pollert showing Ricky Becker who’s in charge. Pollert’s the Majority Leader in the North Dakota House of Representatives. He introduced the resolution to kick one of his own caucus members out of …
This is a story about a REALLY GOOD FRIEND and a REALLY GOOD WIFE. It started about a year ago when my friend, Mike Jacobs, offered to place a bet on the 2020 June North Dakota primary election. It seems he had made a bet on a candidate in a contested primary race but was having second thoughts, so he …
The latest on House Bill 1298: In a 65-26 vote, representatives voted to ban transgender girls from high school sports and flash their bona fides because their “convictions” — Rep. Scott Louser’s word* — tell Republicans that the current number of zero transgender girls on a girls athletic team is still too many to bear. The North Dakota Republican Party is acting …
The University of North Dakota women’s volleyball team dropped a three-set Summit League match to the University of Denver on Saturday in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The Fighting Hawks (2-10 overall, 2-8 Summit) fell 20-25, 22-25, 21-25 to the Pioneers (9-1 overall, 9-1 Summit), one of the top teams in the Summit. Lexi Ahres paced the Hawks with nine kills and …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team was handed only its second home loss in 28 games, falling 3-2 in overtime to the University of Nebraska-Omaha in National Collegiate Hockey Conference play Friday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The loss spoiled Senior Night for eight UND players. The Fighting Hawks (18-5-1) battled back from a 2-0 deficit on goals …
I’ve been away. It’s been nearly two months since I took a punch to the gut, the likes of which I have never experienced. I lost a brother in the COVID pandemic. He was younger, just 66. Unknown to his family or friends, he suffered from severe depression, which engulfed him during the isolation of the last year, taking him …
March 1 signals the start of meteorological spring. One day, it might be record-breaking warmth; the next, a storm or blizzard strikes. Well this year, the former has been case, as unseasonably high temperatures in the Red River Valley of the North have been setting records. These Canada geese, as captured by Grand Forks photographer Michael Bogert, may or may not …
The University of North Dakota football team picked up its third straight Missouri Valley Conference win, a 21-10 decision over the University of South Dakota on Thursday afternoon in the Alerus Center. The No. 4-ranked Fighting Hawks (3-0, overall, 3-0 MVC) once again were led by running back Otis Weah, who rushed for two touchdowns and 163 yards. Quarterback Tommy …
We live in head-shaking times. In a congressional hearing Feb. 25, acting U.S. Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman reported that heightened security around the Capitol will continue at least through President Biden’s upcoming State of the Union appearance, the date for which has not been set in part to prevent domestic terrorists from being able to prepare a coordinated attack …
The faux rage about “canceling” Dr. Seuss because the corporation that preserves his legacy removed a small handful of his countless books because of content that clearly is not appropriate and is hurtful in 2021 is so off point. Much of what Theodor Geisel wrote was lovely or fun. That is not going anywhere. It is the process of separating …
This year, as my Lenten Discipline, I decided to devote 30 minutes a day to deep and intentional anti-racism reading and reflection. I selected a few books that have been on my “meaning to read” list and put them next to my recliner. Every evening after dinner, if I have time before a meeting, or before bed if I don’t, …
Fort Collins, Colo., photographer Jeff Olson took advantage of some nice weather this past weekend and visited nearby Rocky Mountain National Park, where he encountered some wildlife as well some stunning sights.
Nothing is better on a cold winter day than a big bowl of stew. And while most people think of beef at the mention of stew, chicken is a great substitute for those looking to cut back a little on their red meat consumption. The following recipe, which I came up with after contemplating what to do with leftovers from …
The University of North Dakota football team knocked off its second nationally ranked team in two weeks with a 28-17 win over No. 3 South Dakota State University on Saturday afternoon in the Alerus Center in Missouri Valley Conference play. Last week, the Fighting Hawks (2-0 overall, 2-0 MVFC) defeated No. 24-ranked Southern Illinois University in its first-ever MVFC contest. The …
For only the third time in history, there are a record six living presidents in the United States, including the current White House occupant Joseph R. Biden Jr., along with Barack Obama, who he served as vice president. The list also includes George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and now Donald J. Trump. All went into the White House …
“He makes hitting a ball look so easy.” “Her golf stroke seems effortless.” Is it just natural ability or are there other forces at work that separate successful athletes from others? It depends on the level of competition. In youth sports, natural ability alone can play a huge role. But to successfully compete with or against someone who has already …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team claimed its second straight National Collegiate Hockey Conference championship Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena, defeating the University of Nebraska-Omaha 7-1. The Fighting Hawks (17-4-1) received two goals from Collin Adams and single tallies from Brendan Budy, Tyler Kleven, Jordan Kawaguchi, Jasper Weather and Shane Pinto in securing the Penrose Cup for …