After a 35-year career in broadcasting, Tom Coyne admits he’s getting old. Coyne is a former North Dakota TV sportscaster who worked in Williston, Bismarck and Fargo for the KX Network from 1980 to 1991. His last 23 years have been spent as a broadcasting instructor at Sanford-Brown College (formerly Brown Institute) in Mendota Heights, Minn. Born in south Minneapolis …
It was the morning after Labor Day, 1962. I was a shy, nervous fourth-grader, attempting to fit in with my classmates on the first day of school. Having moved from southeast Minneapolis to suburban Golden Valley, Minn., just a year before, I was slowly building friendships but still a little gunshy. Mrs. Larson, who eventually would become one of my all-time …
Here are some photos taken Thursday morning at the Alexandria City Marina By Old Town of the French frigate Hermoine, a replica of the tall ship that brought Gen. Marquis de Lafayette from France to America in 1780. The stop is part of a 12-city tour along the East Coast that includes public tours of the ship and traveling exhibit.
If you head for the Bad Lands this summer, be prepared for some new scenery. All along I-94 from Dickinson to Medora, N.D., you’re going to see the latest abomination brought to us by the oil industry: “repurposed” semi-trailers painted up with advertising messages parked along the ditches beside the freeway. It’s what happens when greedy, tasteless money-grubbers stretch the …
Variety is said to be the spice of life, no matter what context. So, it’s not surprising that variety also can pertain to gardening. Years ago, Gurney’s a nursery then out of Yankton, S.D., offered a pack of seed for a penny to children. You never knew what you would end up in your packet to plant. What fun! Now that we are …
On Friday night, the 1970s rock band The Eagles came to town. I remember a comment someone made on Facebook when the announcement was made: “But they’re so old!” From my seat in Section 213 at the Alerus Center, the age of the Eagles did not show at all. Of course, they aren’t in their 20s, but if I were …
It was a rainy, soggy Saturday afternoon in Grand Forks. What better time for the Tri-City Northstars to take on the North Shore Grizzlies in Midwest Premier Football League action at Cushman Field. The Northstars remain undefeated after the 48-6 victory. Their next home game is at 4 p.m. June 27 at at Cushman Field. For more information, go to …
With all the attention being heaped on the now infamous Duggar clan and their “19 Kids and Counting” television series these days, it’s interesting to recall that large families were not always as uncommon as they are now. Above is a picture of my father’s family that hangs on our wall at home. I’ll save you the trouble of counting. …
Cooks who are worth their salt know there are some recipes that just can’t be beaten. A lot of those recipes are ones that are passed down generation to generation. I have some of those recipes. For example, I still make stuffing the way my mom and grandma used make it. The baked oyster dressing I fix during the holidays is one that …
It’s hard to beat a bowl of beef stew on a cool, windy spring day, especially when it’s homemade. I remember as a kid the wonderful stew we used to have for school hot lunch and also the kind my mom used to make for us at home. After I moved away from home after college, about the closest my …
The planes that circle over cities for hours? Don’t worry, it’s just the FBI The Associated Press has discovered the FBI has an air force with planes that have spied on 30 cities including Minneapolis and St. Paul since 2003. Fictitious companies that are government fronts camouflage the planes and their purpose, which, of course, has nothing to do with …
California’s drought hits rock bottom Snow in California’s Sierra mountains usually lasts all summer, which means surface runoff sustains cities and farms. Not this year. The snow is all but gone sending the state’s fragile water supply has entered into worst-case scenario territory. Last year was California’s hottest in history; 2015 will be hotter. Some relief could arrive come fall with …
Nothing says summer better than tomatoes. Those orbs of summer are what get us through the cold and snow of a long Minnesota winter. Growing tomatoes is not difficult. You can either begin with started plants from a nursery or you can grow you own using milk cartons, peat pots or other kinds of containers and, of course, a sunny …
If ever there was a dish that hunters should embrace, it’s cacciatore. It means hunter’s style in Italian. (The French call it chasseur, the Spanish cazadores.) The stew, which is usually made with chicken, also includes mushrooms, onions, sometimes sweet bell peppers and an assortment of spices. It is fairly low-cal and quite tasty. Apparently, the dish originated during the …
When I got my fateful call to work at the Grand Forks Herald, I was a cub reporter down U.S. Highway 2 a bit, in the Magic City of Minot, N.D. If you counted my internship the previous summer, I had been at the Daily News a year. I had covered tornadoes, fires, strikes and the perplexing issue of Western …
Lori Nitschke covered City Hall at the Grand Forks Herald doors from 1992 and 1994. A native of Ashley in southeast North Dakota, Lori is a 1991 University of North Dakota journalism/political science graduate who also has a master’s degree in journalism (2002) and an MBA (2003) from Columbia University. She got her start in journalism at the Minot (N.D.) Daily …
I was in Las Vegas last week. When I told friends and family I was going, I got similar reactions from everyone: “You?” “Why?” “Are you serious?” Some were speechless. When I told them I was going for a nutrition conference, that helped ease the mystery. They all know it’s not my “kind of city.” How did it go? Let’s …
There’s been a lot of joy in Mudville this past week. Let me clarify that. Minnesota Twins fans like me have a lot to be happy about these days. Our “Boys of Summer” share first place with the Kansas City Royals in the American League’s Central Division with a 28-18 record. They also are tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for …
This has been a terribly sad week in Grand Forks, made all the sadder by the passing of Jim Bollman. If you never got to hear Jim’s morning program on KNOX radio, I feel badly for you. You missed something. I know I’m dating myself when I say Jim’s work always reminded me of the legendary broadcaster and entertainer Arthur …
Ah, spring — when a young man’s fancy turns to … cruising. Roll the windows down, turn the tunes up and step on the gas. Or a young woman’s, for that matter. It’s the “young” part that counts. Whether that’s true for you in real time or merely a distant memory, there’s something about driving on these long early summer …
A few scenes on Memorial Day from New York City.
Dry rubs can greatly enhance the flavor of meats such as beef and pork with very little effort. Combine that method with a nice sauce, and you’ve got something that would bring a smile to the face of any Kansas City barbecuer. That’s just what I did today to celebrate Memorial Day. I chose to accompany my applewood-rubbed baby back pork ribs with baked …
A month or so ago, in an article I first wrote for Dakota Country magazine and posted later here on my blog, I talked a bit about my father and his love of North Dakota’s outdoors. If you missed that, you can read it here. I need to share a few more words about my father — and growing up in …
My buddy Rose Brunsvold and I once agreed that for us going to prison wouldn’t be the worst thing. At least we’d be able to catch up on our reading. In that regard, it seems to me that summer is the next best thing to prison, a good time to read. With the unofficial, official start of summer this weekend, …
Herbs have been used for cooking, medicine and pest control since pre-bibical times. And while not food, they do bring bring simple enjoyment to our lives in so many other ways. According to information provided by the North Dakota State University Extension Service, anyone can grow herbs. From a windowsill to a garden plot, you can grow many herbs in …
Perennial flowers have become the backbone of many yards today. Instead of fussing with annual seed and bedding plants, flowers such as peonies keep on giving each year with little or no effort. This switch to perennials from annual flowers doesn’t mean they are better but rather they require less work by the homeowner. Both should be included in any …
Rhubarb recipes are a dime a dozen, especially if you live in North Dakota or Minnesota, where this perennial vegetable is abundant and church funeral and wedding luncheons are never lacking for desserts made with it. Yes, rhubarb is a vegetable, which doesn’t seem right, since it’s mostly associated with sweet things. (If you’ve ever been to the annual spring Rhubarb …
The beauty of the Black Hills of South Dakota includes tons of wildlife, Crazy Horse and, of course, Mount Rushmore.
Day 6 of our recent travels took us back through the northern part of Yellowstone National Park, and after a family lunch in the old gold mining town of Cooke City, Mont., we said our goodbyes and headed to Cody, Wyo., and across northern Wyoming to Buffalo. More beautiful landscapes, and lots of wildlife, including elk right in town at …
We told our brown bear story matter of factly to Ken and Neil Marlow. Their reaction confirmed what we had suspected. In their words, we had a very dangerous experience with an Alaskan brown bear despite not having seen nor heard the bruin. But the odor of the bear itself, or the carcass of its main course, probably a moose, …
Sometimes it’s hard to get kids to eat vegetables. But potatoes generally aren’t one of them. Show me a kid who doesn’t like almost any kind of spuds, and I’ll show you one who is fussy about just about everything. One of our favorite ways to prepare potatoes are roasted, coated with a bit of butter and olive oil and seasoned …
Day 2 was another amazing day in Yellowstone National Park. More beautiful scenery and beautiful animals.
Day 1 at Yellowstone was amazing. Beautiful scenery, beautiful animals (even if they are shedding their winter coats and just starting to regrow antlers).
Too much — way too much — ink and airwaves have lately been consumed with salacious stories involving teachers and teenagers in the most unseemly situations. Consider two highly charged dramas unfolding before us. The first involves North Dakota’s Teacher of the Year, the West Fargo High School English instructor accused of an extended affair with a 17-year-old student five …
I like to play with scammers. You know, the ones who use Facebook messaging to do their “business.” I find their story lines to be fascinating, even if their command of the English language leaves something to be desired. Below is an actual scammer conversation I had today. Enjoy. Scammer: Hello, how are you doing? I am doing good and …
The beauty of annual flowers can last a lifetime in our memory. And there are lots of reasons to be enchanted with annuals. Annuals don’t do anything just halfway. They are easy to grow, can turn a bare patch of yard into a mass of flowers in just a short time and bloom their hearts out until Jack Frost comes in late …
Fred Rogers was fond of saying that the most profound and meaningful moments in life rarely happen in the spotlight, that they tended to occur off stage, in quiet moments between people. In 2002, in an elaborate ceremony in the White House, President George Bush hung the Presidential Medal of Freedom around Fred’s neck, but Mister Rogers later told me that his favorite …
One of the harbingers of summer is the blooming apple trees of spring. The sight of a fully blossomed-out apple tree with the morning sun shining upon it is one of the more spectacular and pleasant views in nature. I’ve been enjoying this experience daily on my two to three neighborhood walks with my dog, Sweetie, all the while wishing it …
I lied when I said my next blog would be On to The Daily News of Wahpeton-Breckenridge. Life happens. Like this past week spent in bed, not by choice mind you, with a wicked bacterial infection. Not functioning, I turned on the TV in a useless attempt to not feel sorry for myself in my pain and misery. I’ve missed my …
The beautiful scenery and the wildlife of the North Dakota Badlands around Medora and Theodore Roosevelt National Park make for some spectacular viewing.
My brother and I were waiting for a sign from God or someone to help us make one of the most important decisions of the year, not to mention our lives: to fish or not to fish Saturday’s May Opening Day in Minnesota. The five-day forecast for northeastern Minnesota where we fish calls for you name it: rain, maybe snow, …
B-17 bombers, Stearman biplanes, Hellcats, B-24s and many more vintage aircraft took part Friday in the Arsenal of Democracy flyover of Washington, D.C., which marked the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Up to 5,000 people watched from on or near the National Mall, with thousands more on downtown rooftops.
Are you one of those people who finds it hard to resist making soup on a cold spring day? I am. And throwing together a pot of delicious vegetables with a little pasta is a great way to spend an early afternoon when the temperatures are on a slow descent to reach 50 and the wind is blowing a bit. …
A Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad train went off the tracks near the small village of Heimdal, N.D., just east of Harvey, N.D., about 7:30 this morning. That’s not news any more, since the train was pulling 109 tank cars of oil, and when six of them caught on fire, it made national news pretty quickly because it’s just the …