Unheralded

RUSS HONS: Photo Gallery — Faces Of The Game, University of North Dakota Vs. Montana State, October 31, 2015

Here are some Faces of the Game from photographer Russ Hons from Saturday’s Big Sky Conference football game vs. Montana State in the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. UND won the game 44-38.


Unheralded

ERIC BERGESON: The Country Scribe — Golfing With Grandpa

Late each summer while he was able, my grandpa would take me on our annual golf outing. It was always an odd experience. Grandpa considered himself to be exempt from green fees. In lieu of payment, he would bring along his clippers and trim the trees on the fairways as we golfed. This slowed us down quite a bit. It also …


RUSS HONS: Photo Gallery — University of North Dakota 44, Montana State 38, October 31, 2015

True freshmen running backs John Santiago (230 yards, three touchdowns) and Brady Oliveira (167 yards, one touchdown) combined for 397 rushing yards to lead the University of North Dakota to a 44-38 Big Sky Conference win over Montana State on Saturday in the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. It was the sixth-straight 100-yard rushing game for Santiago, whose new season-total of …

RUSS HONS: Photo Gallery — Women’s Hockey, University of North Dakota 4, University of Minnesota 3, October 30, 2015

Amy Menke and Meghan Dufault each scored two goals as the University of North Dakota women’s hockey teamed defeated previously unbeaten and No.1-ranked University of Minnesota 4-3 on Friday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The top line of Menke, Dufault and Becca Kohler finished the night with six points as UND upped its Western Collegiate Hockey Association record to 4-2-2-1 and 6-2-2 overall. Minnesota …

RUSS HONS: Photo Gallery — Women’s Hockey, University of Minnesota 5, University of North Dakota 1, October 29, 2015

No. 1-ranked University of Minnesota women’s hockey team was too much for the University of North Dakota on Thursday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The Gophers scored three unanswered goals in the first period to hand North Dakota a 5-1 loss before more than 4,000 fans. UND fell to 5-2-2 overall and 3-2-2-1 in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play. Undefeated …

TIM MADIGAN: Anything Mentionable — Another Mr. Rogers Moment

My first experience with Jennifer Roberts’ students was three years ago, a day I will never forget, and one that has become a big part of the talks I give about my friendship with Fred Rogers. (The young man I refer to as Mr. Attitude was in that class.) Those kids, part of a class for students who need an …

JEFF OLSON: Photo Gallery — Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Travel to Great Smoky Mountains National Park with photographer Jeff Olson. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between North Carolina and Tennessee runs northeast to southwest through the centerline of the park. It is the most visited national park in …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Hunter’s Hamburger Stew

Anyone who has enjoyed a day in the field in pursuit of ringneck pheasants knows how nice it is to return to hunting camp for a tasty home-cooked meal. I recently returned from my third trip to western North Dakota, where wily roosters did their best to outsmart me. Luckily, I was in pretty good company, so  a few birds …

JEFF OLSON: Photo Gallery — Biltmore Estate And Gardens

Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson recently had the opportunity to visit one of the top tourist attractions in Ashville, N.C., the Biltmore Estate. Biltmore House, the main house on the estate, is a Chateauesque-styled mansion built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895. It is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 square feet of floor space …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Boone, Crockett, Roosevelt And A New National Monument For North Dakota

“Any discussion of proposed actions on the Elkhorn Ranchlands should harken back to a conversation held over pizza in the small community of Medora, ND, in 2000. Ranchers Ken and Norma Eberts carried a vision of theirs to then-Theodore Roosevelt National Park Superintendent Noel Poe for what is now the Elkhorn Ranchlands. That meeting pivoted on expanded protection for the …

RUSS HONS: Photo Gallery — Cushman Classic, October 24, 2015

Quarterback Derek Murph threw four touchdown passes to lead Grand Forks Red River to a 48-6 victory over crosstown rival Grand Forks Central in the Cushman Classic XIX on Saturday night at Cushman Field. Red River was led on the ground by Zach Kuntz, who rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Casey Schumacher tacked on 123 yards rushing. Central …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — A Collaborative Approach To Regulating The Oil Industry — Yeah, Right

In North Dakota, if you’re an oil field company and you violate laws or regulations, you sometimes get fined for your misdeeds. Sometimes, the fines are as much as $200,000. Sometimes, they’re only $50,000 or $10,000. No matter. No one ever pays them. Because the philosophy of the North Dakota Industrial Commission, and its chairman, Jack Dalrymple, our state’s governor, is …

ERIC BERGESON: The Country Scribe — Rachmaninoff’s No. 2

The Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 is one of the chestnuts of classical music, so much so that pop musicians have been stealing melodies from it for decades. Eric Carmen, Celine Dion, on and on. The concerto is so popular that many classical music fans tire of its constant repetition in concert halls across the country. Well, it is tiring to hear mediocre …

MIKE BRUE: In honor of fallen peace officers past and future

When approached several months ago to speak Oct. 10 at Minnesota’s memorial site for fallen law enforcement officers, I accepted — with some hesitancy. The public event in St. Paul was the Blue Light Service, held annually each October to honor peace officers who have died in Minnesota. The nonprofit Minnesota Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) sponsors the program and …

JEFF OLSON: Photo Gallery — Chimney Rock State Park

Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson captured these scenic shots at Chimney Rock State Park, which is located in Chimney Rock Village near Lake Lure in the North Carolina mountains. Privately owned by the Morse family for more than 100 years, Chimney Rock was acquired by the state of North Carolina in 2007 to become part of the greater Chimney Rock State …

DAVE VORLAND: Photo Gallery — Northeastern Minnesota, October 2015

Bloomington, Minn., photographer Dave Vorland captured these images on a recent trip to northeastern Minnesota: Split Rock Lighthouse, north of Duluth on Lake Superior, from one of the many hiking trails in the area; Lake Superior sunset; Little Angie’s Cantina and Grill, Duluth; Aerial Lift Bridge, Duluth; “Luna,” a resident of the International Wolf Center at Ely.

LA VALLEUR COMMUNICATES: Musings By Barbara La Valleur — What Matters In The End?

Every two weeks since June, someone in my family, someone I went to grade school or high school with or — as happened this week — a friend I respected, has died. It’s almost enough to get depressed about. Thankfully, that hasn’t happened. But it has given me considerable pause to think about death and dying. What really DOES matter …

TOM COYNE: Back in Circulation — Baseball Can Be Worth The Wait

The major league baseball playoffs are in full swing and if this year’s early games are any indication, we could be in for a memorable fall.  There have already been masterful pitching performances, monstrous home runs, odd plays and plenty of drama.  Toss in the fact that the four teams still alive haven’t won a World Series in at least 22 years …

JEFF OLSON: Photo Gallery — C&O Canal And The Paw Paw Tunnel

A hike along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and to the Paw Paw Tunnel near Oldtown, Maryland was on the agenda recently for Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson and his wife, Joanne Plager Burke Olson. The C&O Canal, occasionally called the “Grand Old Ditch,”operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Md. The canal’s principal cargo …

ERIC BERGESON: The Country Scribe — A Slam-Dunk Funeral

When my Grandmother Olga Bergeson passed away in 1995, her funeral was held on a perfect September day at the little country church where she had been comfirmed nearly 80 years before. After the graveside service, neighbor Paul Ofstedal pulled my aunt aside and said, “Now, that was a slam-dunk funeral.” Yesterday came Paul’s turn for a slam-dunk funeral. Paul was a citizen of …

LA VALLEUR COMMUNICATES: Musings By Barbara La Valleur — The Spook House

As Halloween approaches, I remember one year as a young girl growing up on a farm outside of Ashby, Minn., when we decided to create a “Spook House” in an old abandoned house on our farm. And charge admission. My two older sisters joined in. We were about 5, 7 and 9. We had different “spooky” experiences set up in different …

RUSS HONS: Photo Gallery — Women’s Volleyball, University of North Dakota 3, North Dakota State University 0

If you are a University of North Dakota women’s volleyball fan and attended Tuesday night’s match with North Dakota State University in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, you didn’t go home disappointed. A near-capacity crowd (2,232) saw UND hand the Bison a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-19) loss to up its record to 4-2 against NDSU in the Division I era. With …

JEFF OLSON: Photo Gallery — Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine

Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olsons shares these shots of Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine, located in Baltimore. The coastal star-shaped fort is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British Navy in Chesapeake Bay in 1814. During the Civil War, the area where Fort McHenry sits served as a military prison, …

NICK HENNEN: Now I See — Seventeen Minutes With Mom Tonight

Preface: My mother has a rare brain disorder called primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a language disorder that involves changes in the ability to speak, read, write and understand what others are saying. It is often associated with memory loss and dementia, and though mom has only rarely not known who I was for a short time, she does have …

TERRY DULLUM: The Dullum File — The Man Who Made Album Covers Sing

John Berg has died.  You may not know his name, but you know his work. I guarantee it. Berg was Columbia Records’ Grammy-winning art director, the man responsible for some of the most iconic album covers of all time. The New York Times calls him the man who made album covers sing. His work includes the famous backlit image of …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — What Color Is A Pheasant?

Editor’s note: Jim Fuglie wrote this before this past weekend’s pheasant hunting opener in North Dakota. Tomorrow, I’ll join about 90,000 or so of my best friends on one of North Dakota’s favorite days, hunting pheasants on the opening day of pheasant season. I thought I might share here, for those of you who don’t read a magazine called Dakota Country, an article …

DAVE VORLAND: Photo Gallery — Greek Life, Fall 2015

Here are a few more images of Greek life from Bloomington, Minn., photographer Dave Vorland who recently returned from a visit there. Among them is a night view of the Acropolis, which shows scaffolding that is being used by experts carrying out ever more sophisticated preservation of this icon of Western culture; sculpted lions, weathered by centuries of exposure to the elements, …

CHEF JEFF: One Byte At A Time — Chicken Pot Pie

TV dinners have been around for quite some time, probably almost as long as televisions, so we’re talking the late 1940s or early 1950s. As a kid, I remember chowing down on TV dinners before going away to college. And being a typical college kid ― with very little extra money ― I ate quite a few of them when living off-campus. Some of my …

CHUCK SCHUMACHER: Coach Chuck — When Kids Pay The Price For Cheating Parents

Any parent involved in the youth sports world has probably witnessed cheating — by adults. It usually begins with parents and coaches stacking teams, even at the youngest age levels. Although it may not be illegal, when adults successfully stack teams, kids are cheated out of an honest, competitive experience where good effort and teamwork are emphasized and instead have one where adults …

NANCY EDMONDS HANSON: After Thought — Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

As the shots rang out just after noon last week, I was in a college classroom with my writing students, discussing the art of the interview. Some few might have wondered from time to time whether they’d survive Media Writing 210, but none of us had ever, ever doubted that we’d live past Thursday. Ten people died, including the teacher, …

LA VALLEUR COMMUNICATES: Musings By Barbara La Valleur — Public Art: The Importance Of Conservation

For nearly three years, I’ve been involved with a group that meets quarterly called the Forecast Public Art Breakfast Scrambler. About 40 artists, public art administrators, art supporters, educators and Twin Cities area planners gather to share information, learn from each other and network. Started by Jack Becker 37 years ago, Forecast Public Art is one of the nation’s first …

JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Who’s Looking Out For North Dakota? Surprise, It’s The U.S. Government. Good For Them. Good For Us.

We return now to an old, familiar story, a story of some really bad guys doing some really bad things to the North Dakota environment (or enviornment, as the Bismarck Tribune spells it in really big headlines on the front page today — have you ever seen a worse newspaper?), getting caught by state “regulators,” then given a slap on …

ABOUT US: Welcome To The Fish, Chuck Schumacher

We at the Fish would like to extend a big welcome to Chuck Schumacher. Chuck is an American karate and baseball instructor who originally hails from northwestern Minnesota, Oklee and Crookston, to be specific. Chuck has traveled many paths in his life: professional musician, woodworker, baseball coach, certified personal trainer, martial artist and baseball instructor. He and Lynn, his wife of 32 years, have …

CHUCK SCHUMACHER: Coach Chuck — Pressure In Youth Sports: Protect Kids Or Teach Them To Deal With It?

“C’mon, Mason, you can do it! One more strike, put him in the books!” As these encouraging words resonate from the crowd, Mason receives the ball back from the catcher after throwing one in the dirt, allowing the runner to score from third — one ball, two strikes. He pauses for a second to compose himself, taking a breath to …

LA VALLEUR COMMUNICATES: Musings By Barbara La Valleur — Mississippi River Ride

What a perfectly glorious autumn day for a ride on the Mississippi River! Saturday, my husband Arnie and I, enjoyed a three-hour tour from River Heights Marina at Inver Grove Heights north past downtown St. Paul. Our river tour was compliments of Winston Kettle. Thanks, Winston! He and his crew totally remodeled our home, La Condo, this past year. Winston’s …

DARREL KOEHLER: The Prairie Gardener — New Apples

Regional apple growers are excited to face an avalanche of fruit this fall as the late apples are harvested. However, some trees didn’t bloom last spring, or the rains were a problem that cut the blooms and the yield. Many of the apples we enjoyed either fresh or in apple treats were developed right here in Minnesota. Peter Gideon is …