Saturday I planted the zinnia seeds, pushing each tiny seed into a peat pellet. The seedlings had already begun to emerge Monday, and I can almost watch ’em grow. In the dining room, Jim’s tomatoes are thriving. He says these are the best he’s ever had. Outside there is almost a foot of new snow and a big dump in …
Longing for spring — REALLY? Nothing brightens up your day quite like a trip to Bachman’s Spring is in The Air flower show at the Galleria. The Galleria welcomed tens of thousands of visitors since the beginning of Galleria Spring is in the Air — Bachman’s Flower Show (formerly at the downtown Minneapolis Macy’s) late last month. According to Wendy …
I can’t resist a used bookstore. On Saturday, I picked up a volume that tells the story of the cruiser U.S.S. Indiana, sunk by the Japanese in World War II after delivering the atomic bomb that would end the conflict. The book, “In Harm’s Way,” reminded me of the description of the disaster that the character “Quint” (Robert Shaw) provided …
The University of Minnesota-Duluth won its second NCAA title Saturday by defeating the University of Notre Dame 2-1 in the championship game of the 2018 Frozen Four in St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center. Karson Kuhlman and Jared Thomas scored goals for the Bulldogs (25-16-3), who won all four NCAA tournament games by one goal and became the third at-large team …
Spring is a great time of the year to view wildlife, whether it’s migrating waterfowl or year-round resident bald eagles, and Grand Forks photographer Michael Bogert knows just where to look.
Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff stopped over at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday evening, joining many others commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the civil rights leader April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn.
In the era of Trump, you don’t have to wonder about racial discrimination and profiling. It’s out of the closet and on full display. Native Americans (you know, the real Americans we somehow called Indians) were denigrated and their lands and culture stolen and just about destroyed by the Palefaces — the good old white guys! The racists are back …
I was the new kid in September 1970, attending public school for the first time after years of being taught by Catholic nuns. I walked toward the front door on that first day, passing clusters of unfamiliar junior high students gathered in the morning sun, waiting for the first bell. I imagined whispers about this scrawny, shy newcomer. Then one …
Winter is hanging on here, with a vengeance. We have about a foot of snow on the Red Oak House gardens. Although we are weary of winter, we do view this as critical moisture — moisture that we were lacking last summer and fall. This is what the first day of spring looked like out our windows. Tuesday, there was …
Did you see that big old moon setting in the southwest this morning? Me, too. And then I thought, this is really cool, a full moon, Easter and April Fool’s Day, all at once. Except that’s not possible. It’s not possible to have a full moon Easter Sunday. Because the rule is, Easter is celebrated the first Sunday AFTER the …
The University of North Dakota women’s softball team shut out the University of Montana 4-0 on Saturday in the Alerus Center to complete a Big Sky Conference weekend sweep of the Grizzlies. The Fighting Hawks (19-18 overall, 5-1 Big Sky) defeated the Grizzlies (15-19 overall, 3-3 Big Sky ) 3-0 and 3-1 in a Friday doubleheader. The Fighting Hawks took …
Do you know what is the most popular seafood in America? If you guessed salmon or halibut, two of the most delicious and nutritious fish around, you would be wrong. Ditto with crab and lobster. Shrimp is the most popular seafood in America. In fact, it represents more than a quarter of the annual per capita seafood consumption in the United States. While …
North Dakota has more than a million acres of public land, most of it in western North Dakota, our Little Missouri National Grasslands, managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Most of it is grazing land, although it’s grazed by more than cattle and sheep. Pretty much every creature that lives in North Dakota has a presence there. For some — …
With the arrival of spring, there are a lot of birds beginning to start their migration north, including bald eagles, which also happen to live year-round in parts of the Northland, including the Red River Valley. Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons was fortunate on a couple of occasions recently to come across a few of these majestic birds …
Mop a mile in my skilled shoes. I’ve wet mopped (soaked and soapy) a distance equal to the miles between Regina, Sask., and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, 14 miles wide, and then went back over it with a dry mop to remove the soapy dirty water and leave the floor free of footprints. It could take two passes. Craftsmanship …
Five years ago came the news that my memoir, “I’m Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers,” was going to be a major motion picture. Two young screenwriters, Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue, had developed a beautiful script. The directors of the movie “Little Miss Sunshine” had signed on. There was significant buzz in Hollywood and in the Madigan household. …
Dunno why, but for the past half-century, Major League Baseball has missed the fun-filled opportunity to have Don Demeter throw out the first pitch of each season. The lanky, giraffe-necked Oklahoman will be 83 this year and retired from baseball for 50 years. It’s not as if he couldn’t have been capably handling this chore. If you’re not starting to …
I was all set to hang Rick Santorum out to dry this week when, as usual, someone derailed my chain of thought and sent me in a new direction. This morning, it was Fargo Police Chief David Todd speaking on KFGO Radio. He expressed a concern that took courage to say out loud. And he is spot on. The state …
AIR FORCE ONE ANNOUNCEMENT — “Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing some … uh … turbulence. As we continue our steep descent into anarchy, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position and that your seat belt is securely fastened. Before we crash, we’d like you all to fill out this brief questionnaire, …
For over 37 years, the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus has built a large following, this past year attracting over 12,000 fans, to its concerts. Attendees have come to expect “adventuresome programming” (as their playbill promises) from this award-winning group of 150 singers. The spring concert was no exception as evidenced by rousing standing ovations. No one left disappointed Saturday …
Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson joined an estimated crowd of more than 800,00 at the March For Our Life rally Saturday in Washington, D.C., as students gathered in the nation’s capital and at sister marches all across the United States to deliver a powerful, unified message: Enough is enough. The rally, organized by students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site …
“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 to compose himself, taking a breath to relax his mind …
SOMEWHERE IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE — White House Press Secretary Oprah Huckabee-Winfrey said today that President Barack Obama had won an arbitration case against porn star Stormy Daniels, who is suing the president to release her from a gag order. Her attorney said a gag order wasn’t really necessary. “She gagged throughout the entire affair.” Daniels plans to return $130,000 …
“I want to be a Major League Baseball player.” “I want to play in the NBA.” “I want to make it to the NFL.” — Anonymous kids When one of my young students tells me his goal is to be a professional baseball player, my response is always the same: “Let’s get to work.” Instead of squashing a kid’s dream, …
Friends know I enjoy used bookstores. There are many within easy driving distance of our place in Bloomington, Minn. I recently purchased the above book for $1.50 at a Salvation Army resale outlet near the place that sells me Starbucks Italian Bold coffee. “What Did You Do In the War, Daddy?” was self-published by Gordon C. Krantz, who like Dorette …
Jim and I attended the 49th Annual UND Writers Conference this week, where he was a presenter on a panel entitled “What’s News? The State of Journalism in North Dakota and Beyond,” convened by Chuck Haga of Grand Forks. I seized the opportunity to do some research at UND’s Chester Fritz Library, reading from dozens of reels of microfilm on …
We should all be very proud of the youth across this nation, including but not limited to the Fargo-Moorhead area schools. Moorhead, Fargo and West Fargo public high school students joined the national movement to stop the murder in our nation’s schools. They also plan to join the national movement that plans a march in Washington on Saturday (March 24). …
We’re not really the adventure-travel type. That’s why, when planning our spring break trip to Puerto Vallarta, Russ and I snubbed the jungle canopy zip-line option, the deep-sea dolphin swim and even the VIP nightclub crawl (“Party like a professional!”). Instead, we went with the all-inclusive family resort with five fabulous restaurants. We’re boring that way. But given how slowly …
Recently, I listened to a professional webinar by a registered dietitian with a master’s degree. There was a recurring theme in the message, and it had nothing to do with the theme of the webinar. It was a bad habit that distracted me so much that I couldn’t tell you what the webinar was about. The presenter could not stop …
I was listening to the radio recently when I heard a breakthrough news flash. It was so earth-shattering, I almost had to stop to reset my breathing. The radio announcer reported that “new research” is out there that implies that fruits and vegetables are healthy for you and can help prevent disease. Furthermore, if you can manage eating 10 servings a …
When winter was packing a punch, the man would be outside Thielman’s Barber Shop sitting in a car, motor idling. On summer mornings, he’d likely be in a suit standing by the door, probably smoking a heater. Dad arrived, either in cold darkness or dewy early dawn, unlocked the door, flicked on the lights and knew what to do on …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey defeated the University of Minnesota-Duluth 4-1 in the third-place game of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff on Saturday night in St. Paul’s Excel Energy Center, but it wasn’t enough to extend the Fighting Hawks’ run to 16 consecutive national tournament berths. Boston University’s victory over Providence in the Hockey East championship …
We’re not certain what constitutes sufficient numbers to be able to call a gathering such as the one I attended this past weekend a “bee,” but I was invited by my older sister to a “quilting bee,” so by gosh I’m going to call it a “bee.” I was a member of this bee, held in the Bad Lands south …
Friday I attended the funeral for one of the greatest men I have ever known — George Sinner, governor of the state of North Dakota from 1985 to 1993. I worked for him those years and came to know him and love him, much like a son might love his father. He was just 20 years older than me, so not …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team’s quest for landing a spot in the NCAA tournament field took a hit Friday with a 3-2 overtime loss to St. Cloud State University in St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center in the semifinals of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff. Nick Poehling’s goal 1:47 into overtime gave the Huskies, who already …
When Dorette and I visited New Zealand a while ago, we heard a Maori proverb. “Walk backwards toward the future.” I thought of it when this picture of me as a kid (above) surfaced recently from my archive (that is to say, from my boxes of clutter). It was taken by my father decades ago on the family farm in …
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired this week. Being fired in the Trump administration has become commonplace, but the means by which Tillerson was “let go” was new. Secretary Tillerson learned of his dismissal by reading a @realDonaldTrump Tweet. Seems a little distance for someone whose television catch phrase was “You’re Fired!” I was fired only once, from a …
I was watching a Facebook video showing a young man walking into a street pole; a young man falling into a pool; a young lady smashing into a glass door; a young man stepping in front of a moving car; and a young lady falling flat on her face after missing a step. These people all had one thing in …
March 15 is “plant the tiny tomato seeds” day at Red Oak House. When I wandered into the kitchen this morning, Jim asked me, with great delight in his voice, if I knew what the significance of this day was. I had not yet had coffee and was stumped (I’ll admit that I didn’t try very hard). This project is …
The Colorado Avalanche moved to within three points of the Minnesota Wild in the National Hockey League’s Central Division of the Western Conference with a 5-1 win over the Wild on Tuesday night in St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota’s Mikku Koivu and Colorado’s Nikita Zadorov traded second-period goals before J.T. Compeer scored two goals and Nathan McKinnon and Tyson …
North Dakota’s Democrats will hold their state convention in Grand Forks later this week, and the highlight, if there’s to be one, will be choosing a candidate to run for North Dakota’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. So I’ve been thinking a bit about politics and conventions, especially past ones, similar to what we might see this …
A goal by Nick Jones — his second of the game — just 53 seconds into overtime gave the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team a 4-3 win over the University of Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena and a trip to the National College Hockey Conference’s Frozen Faceoff next weekend in St. Paul. The Fighting Hawks (16-12-10 overall) …
Calm was the day in late July And bright was the sun across the sky But inside his chest the calm had broken Governor Sinner had started croakin’. I laughed the first time I read that, and I’m still laughing every time I think about it. It’s a poem written by a sixth-grader from Turtle Lake, N.D., about Gov. George …
We finally did it — we cut the cord. After a lifetime of landline telephony, we pulled the anchor and sailed away from Ma Bell. No wonder, then, why I’m feeling just a bit adrift. We’d been thinking about doing it for a long, long time … every winter when new directories are dropped off on our front step, and …