Christmas Day dinner — with all its fixin’s — might be in rear-view mirror for another year, but that doesn’t mean the sampling of delicious holiday food is over, especially with New Year’s Eve and Day celebrations looming. And for those of you who did a lot of baking, that’s probably a good thing. If you are anything like my mom, you probably have a half-dozen to a dozen …
Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons took advantage of the nice weather the northern Plains and and forest areas have experienced thus far this winter to snap these images of some local wildlife. According to Minnesota and North Dakota wildlife officials, the mild winter has been quite beneficial to most area species. Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.
Call it our own private little Christmas miracle, if you will. It happened. After weeks and weeks of what I call a “white sky” over Bismarck every night — a function of city lights bouncing off a completely overcast sky — we had given up hope of seeing the expected nearly full moon on Christmas Eve. They say the real …
An old 15-by-30 inch three-paneled window, its white paint scared by years of beatings from the elements, is the first Christmas decoration that is hung in the kitchen when we arrive at La Farm, our family retreat between my childhood homes of Ashby and Battle Lake, Minn. It was the home of our grandparents, the late John and Mabel La …
Bloomington, Minn., photographer Dave Vorland shares these shots he took this month, our last of 2015.
I know at least one person who’s breathing a sigh of relief that the Christmas shopping season is finally over: Our mail carrier. The faithful Gilly tells us that our address gets more catalogs than any other home on his route. We don’t doubt him. Since the middle of last summer, we seem to have attracted the attention of every …
As the holidays and new year approach, I start thinking about how things have changed since my youth and some of the fun things that have occurred between now and then. My youth was spent in Grand Forks until Dad was appointed to the federal bench at the end of my sophomore year at St. James Academy. My earliest unusual …
Grand Forks Red River High School’s boys hockey team took a big step toward bringing the Gambucci Cup back to North Dakota on Tuesday night as the Roughriders edged East Grand Forks Senior High 4-3 in Purpur Arena in Grand Forks. After a win Saturday against Grand Forks Central, Red River (7-0) is now 2-0 in the cup race, while …
FROM 1996: One afternoon about a week before Christmas, my family of four piled into our minivan to run a short errand, and this question came from a small voice in the back seat: “Dad,” began my 5-year-old son, Patrick, “how come I’ve never seen you cry?” Just like that. No preamble. No warning. One minute it’s, “Mom, what’s for …
One-pot ― or one-pan ― meals are a boon to households where both parents work. And this time of the year, when a lot of time and energy goes into baking holiday goodies, even those who are retired can find them a nice time-saver. They take very little time to put together, cooking time is minimal, and one-pot meals require a lot less …
Well, every year about this time, in past years, Lillian and I would get together and draft a “Christmas Letter,” which we would then take to the print shop, have it printed on fancy paper, buy a bunch of colored envelopes and a whole lot of stamps, spend hours addressing each envelope by hand and writing personal notes on the …
It was 1957 ― the year I graduated from Fargo Shanley High School and turned my senior mantle over to my sister, Kate, who was a year behind me. Sister Jody was preparing for her wedding in the fall; brother Tim was in the Air Force and also preparing for his own fall wedding; and I had no idea where my …
Sebastian Fabian Hoffner, 91, Bismarck, died Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015, at St. Vincent’s Care Center in Bismarck. Mass of Christian burial will be said for him at 11 a.m. Tuesday (Dec. 22) in St. Boniface Church, Esmond, N.D. The praying of a rosary will begin at 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Nicknamed “Buckshot” from a young age, he was born …
Foley operator Dave Dauphinais and his assistant Serena Darland have their hands full this weekend at Fire Hall Theatre. The two are creating live sound effects for The Greater Grand Forks Community Theatre’s presentation of “It’s A Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play.” This adaptation by Joe Landry features condensed scenes from the Frank Capra classic starring Jimmy Stewart and …
You generally can tell how often cookbooks are used by their appearance. If they look as if they could be put on the shelf for sale in a bookstore, chances are you won’t find too many good recipes in it. However, if they are falling apart and have tattered or sauce-marked pages, that’s a different story. They probably contain a gold mine of recipes. My cookbook collection falls into those two …
Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson captured these images recently at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.Va., where he was taking some training classes. The NCTC offers a unique and diverse range of conservation training courses, designed by and for the conservation professional. Topics range from coldwater fish culture to habitat conservation planning, from environmental negotiation to building community support for natural …
The woman who was my mother would have celebrated her 100th birthday Tuesday. I wish I’d known her. I knew the mother, of course … but I wish I’d known the woman as well. Lots of us suffer from the same emotion, I think, looking back on the women whom we were closest to. I was fortunate to have Mom …
Time again, boys and girls, to have some fun with the scammers. You know, the ones who pretend to be one of your Facebook friends in an effort to separate you from your personal information and/or your money. What follows is my latest, actual conversation. Scammer: Hi how you doing? Me: Good. Scammer: I’m real great happy and excited Staying …
There’s no better reason to make a pot of soup than when you discover a new recipe that looks like a sure-fire winner. An even better one is when a winter storm is imminent. The newest recipe that I’ve added to my soup repertoire, Chicken, Bean and Spinach, comes from a Twitter contact, Coach Mindy (@mycoachmindy), who shares post after post of …
And so the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery will remain dark at night. North Dakota’s adjutant general, David Sprynczynatyk, whose command includes the cemetery, made his decision at the end of a week of input from the public on the efficacy of a well-intentioned but poorly thought-out proposal to light the cemetery at night. Thank you to those who called the …
Cam Johnson shut out the Bulldogs again Saturday night in Duluth. The sophomore UND goaltender earned his third straight shutout as the Fighting Hawks completed a National Collegiate Hockey Conference sweep of the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a 3-0 victory before 6,975 fans. Johnson won his sixth straight start since returning from an injury as league-leading UND heads into the Christmas …
The University of North Dakota’s men’s hockey team hasn’t been outshot many times this season, but that’s where the Fighting Hawks found themselves Friday night in a National Collegiate Hockey Conference game against the University of Minnesota-Duluth. But that didn’t matter. UND goalie Cam Johnson stopped all 40 shots he faced as the Fighting Hawks shut out the Bulldogs 3-0 …
After watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” for the umpteenth time (yes, I have my Christmas rituals), I had the urge to join Charlie Brown and visit Lucy’s Psychiatric Booth for some advice. After all, her advice was quite sound. At the start of the movie, Charlie Brown was feeling down as the holidays approached, much like 45 percent of the population at this time of year. He told …
December was so much sweeter before the militants weaponized “merry Christmas.” There was a time when greeting friends and neighbors was simple. Sharing warm good wishes required no more strategic thought than handing out candy canes or hanging the mistletoe. Whether we chose the long form ― explicitly citing the major holiday and its late December consort, as in “merry …
It has been 411 days since the cold-blooded execution of Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old black youngster, by a Chicago police officer. The facts are still coming out as I write this article. Here’s what we know so far … and no thanks to the Chicago Tribune, which by its inaction was complicit in the cover-up. None of these facts would …
The University of North Dakota women’s basketball team held Western Illinois University to less than 75 points for the first time this season en route to a 78-67 victory Tuesday night in the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. UND, 3-5 on the season, was paced by junior Makailah Dyer, who led all scorers with 21 points. Senior Mia Lloyd added 13 points and 11 rebounds …
Lillian had set the newspaper beside my coffee cup on the dining room table while I was at the Y the other morning. A big headline reading “Cemetery lighting project may seek $400,000” was circled, and she had written across it in big black letters: “This is a bad idea.” She was right. The story said local boosters were requesting …
OK, here’s a true story about the beauty of living long enough to be a part of the technological revolution of the 21st century. Read: Facebook. Last week, Lillian became Facebook Friends with a mutual friend of ours from our separate earlier lives, Rick Watson. In a note to her, he mentioned an old story I had recounted to him …
North Dakota State University took a big step toward another national championship with a 37-6 win over the University of Montana in the second round of the NCAA Division I FCS playoffs before 18,232 fans Saturday in the Fargodome. The Bison, 10-2, have won six consecutive games and advance to the FCS quarterfinals next weekend against Northern Iowa, which defeated …
Austin Poganski scored two goals — the first with less than one second left in the first period — and the “CBS” line of Drake Caggiula, Brock Boeser and Nick Schmaltz chipped in two more as the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team shut out Denver University 4-0 on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. Caggiula and Boeser each scored …
The No. 4-ranked University of North Dakota men’s hockey team, behind its high-flying first line of Drake Caggiula, Nick Schmaltz and Brock Boeser, took it to ninth-rated Denver University on Friday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena, scoring a 5-1 win before a sellout crowd of 11,768. The “CBS” line combined for six points as the Fighting Hawks upped its National Collegiate Hockey …
Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson offers a glimpse of our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., in the last month of the year.
Preface to reader: I originally planned to my make my second post one of the first ones I had made detailing my talks with my mom, who has primary progressive aphasia — a language disorder that involves changes in the ability to speak, read, write and understand what others are saying — and posts about them on social media. I found, …
Overripe bananas can be a problem for some people. Once the skin turns brown, there are many who just toss them, since they don’t care to eat discolored bananas. I’m one of those who doesn’t mind eating an overripe banana. In fact, I kind of like them. But if push came to shove, I’d rather use them in banana bread. Timing can be …
“When the stars make you drool just like pasta fazool, that’s amore.” I heard this Dean Martin lyric a little differently one day while preparing for a day at work. I asked myself “What is this dish he croons over?” After a little research, I stumbled upon a few recipes. My first reaction was not one of positive impression. My …
As is my customary practice, I mulled over a subject for this week’s column. Politics was an option, as were the recent shootings. I was browsing ideas when the date Nov. 22 caught my eye. Nov. 22 was my mother’s birthday and the date John F. Kennedy was assassinated 52 years ago. The Nov. 22 that caught my eye, though, …
Redshirt freshman Geno Crandall made University of North Dakota men’s basketball fans forget about this past weekend’s drubbing at the hands of Northern Iowa, scoring 11 of his team-high 17 points in the second half of a 78-58 win over Waldorf College of Iowa on Tuesday night in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The victory snapped a three-game Fighting Hawk losing streak and put …
Regular visitors may recall that here at the Dullum File we like to play with scammers from time to time. You know, the ones who rather than try to land actual jobs, pretend to be your Facebook friends. It’s their lame efforts to try to get us to send them money, supposedly to claim huge prizes or gifts. Here is …
On Sunday night, photographer Russ Hons took in the HollyDazzle Festival of Lights in downtown Grand Forks. Here are a few of his photos. The event, sponsored by Leighton Broadcasting and the Grand Forks Downtown Development Association, featured an array of events, including cookie and ornament decorating, horse-drawn wagon rides, singing and dancing presentations and a parade of about 30 floats. …
Bloomington, Minn., photographer Dave Vorland’s lens captured these scenes recently. Get Dave’s new book, “Paris in Monochrome,” here.
What is truth? Philosophers may have debated that since time began, but I’ll tell you how I define it: Truth is what I expect to read in my much-respected daily newspaper. Yet when we picked our paper off the doorstep this morning and shook it out of its little orange plastic sack, nearly the first thing we encountered was a …
Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. But don’t tell that to those who consider the leftovers from a big feast such as “Turkey Day” a mere extension of the holiday. Not only do you have plenty of meat, potatoes, stuffing and gravy in the refrigerator for a nice day-after meal or two, there is the traditional turkey soup. Making soup is what’s on my agenda today. I have a pot …
East Grand Forks Senior High opened its defense of the Minnesota Class A boys high school hockey title with a 5-1 Section 8 victory over Park Rapids on Tuesday night in the East Grand Forks Civic Center. Photographer Russ Hons captured the action. View more of his game photos at http://russellhonsphotography.shootproof.com/gallery/EGFHockey/
