Sometimes good energy pays off and the beginning of my journey to Antarctica illustrates that. I’m a pastor and my trip to Antarctica was originally part of a Lily Sabbatical grant that I lost after leaving the congregation I was serving. I was called to move the church from a charity model to one focused on systemic racism. However, the …
Sunday night (New Year’s Eve) over supper with family and friends (Lillian’s extraordinary Swedish Meatballs with her secret ******berry ingredient and homemade egg noodles), we had one of those end-of-the-year conversations about the state of things. We decided things are not so good. Oh, our personal lives are pretty much OK, considering those around the table had survived car crashes, …
Lillian and I have cut back on our Christmas mailing this year, so we’re using our blogs to send out our 2023 short Christmas letter. Dear Friends and Family, 2023 was a travel year for us. Including last December, when we were away from home the entire month, the states and provinces we’ve been to: Hawaii (2 new national parks). …
It’s almost here. 2024, an election year. I get the feeling that most North Dakotans, like their fellow Americans, shudder at the thought. That’s OK. Politics in America, which I used to call “my favorite spectator sport,” has taken a sad turn away from what used to be the path to the most successful democracy in the world. Elections, too. …
It’s a Grand Forks holiday tradition if there ever was one. Santa Village opens its doors each year to visitors just after Thanksgiving until just before Christmas. It is visited by “children” of all ages, the oldest on record is 101. Lynne Roche and several other Grand Forks Park District workers created Santa Village something like 20 years ago. At …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team solidified its No. 1 ranking in the country with a 5-0 victory over Bemidji State University on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena to complete a weekend sweep of the Beavers. The Fighting Hawks (11-2-1) received goals from five different players — Jackson Blake, Dane Montgomery, Ben Strinden, Jackson Kunz and Garrett …
Jackson Blake scored 50 seconds into overtime to give the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team a 3-2 win over Bemidji State University on Friday Night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The Fighting Hawks UND (10-2-1) rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Beavers (5-8-0). Cameron Berg scored the other two UND goals, while Kasper Magnussen and Jackson Jutting …
This happened 50 years ago almost to the day, but I remember it down to the overcast skies outside and fading autumn light of that late afternoon in northern Minnesota. There were about 30 of us aspiring young hockey players gathered in the classroom that day, and it’s safe to say that none of us were particularly concerned about the …
Riese Gaber scored two goals to lead the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team to a 5-1 victory over Miami University on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The Fighting Hawks (9-2-1 overall, 4-0-0 National Collegiate Hockey Conference) also received goals from Jackson Blake, Griffin Ness and Jayden Perron. UND netminder Ludvig Persson had 21 saves. The lone goal …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team remained unbeaten in conference play with a 6-4 victory over Miami University on Friday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The Fighting Hawks (8-2-1 overall, 3-0-0 National Collegiate Hockey Conference) were led by Jackson Blake who had a goal and and two assists and Owen McLaughlin who chipped in a goal and an …
I wrote this past week about the battle between the Short family and the Billings County Commission and how it is going to finally go to court in January. The Short family, descendants of the late U.S. Congressman Don Short, own the land on the west side of the Little Missouri State Scenic River — the west end of the …
The University of North Dakota rallied late in the fourth quarter to eke out a 22-21 Missouri Valley Football Conference win over Illinois State University on Saturday in the Alerus Center. Gavin Ziebarth scored his second touchdown of the day with 25 seconds left in the game to secure the win for UND. Ziebarth carried the ball 16 carries for …
The heirs of North Dakota’s U.S. Congressman Donald Levingston Short are going to get their day in court. You can join them Jan. 22, 2024 if you sit quietly in Courtroom 1 of the U.S. Courthouse in Bismarck. At precisely 9 a.m., U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor will gavel the audience to quiet and begin hearing a request from attorneys …
In all my years as a reporter, I had never done an interview with someone spending time “behind bars.” Not until the other day. I talked via Zoom with Matt Hippen of Thompson, N.D. He has been incarcerated in the James River Correctional Center at Jamestown since April 2020. His story is nothing if not compelling. From the outside looking …
Sometimes I like to try recipes that are posted on my Facebook feed. One such is for Hunter’s Chicken. It came from the website Les Repas de Mon Enance, which translates to “Meals from my Childhood. The author of the recipe is Daniel Parenteau, who describes himself the child of French-Canadian parents who was raised a small town called Biddeford …
Eventually, I kept saying, everyone is going to get COVID. Everyone. Eventually. My “eventually” time came this past week. Lillian and I came home from New York with raging cases of COVID. It’s the worst disease I’ve ever had. It’s the sickest I’ve ever been. For a full week. We came home late Saturday night. I started coughing Sunday. I …
The University of North Dakota claimed an overtime victory against Indiana State University on Saturday afternoon in the Alerus Center, defeating the Sycamores 36-33 in Missouri Valley Football Conference play. The No. 15/17 ranked Fighting Hawks (5-3 overall, 3-2 MVFC) trailed 30-27 with less than a minute to play in regulation before kicker C.J. Elrichs booted a 32-yard field goal …
Jackson Blake scored two goals and added an assist to lead the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team to a 6-2 nonconference win over Minnesota State University Mankato on Friday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. Also scoring for the Fighting Hawks (4-1) were Owen McLaughlin, Jayden Perron, Logan Britt and Hunter Johannes. Sam Morton and Luc Wilson scored for …
Freshmen Jayden Perron and Jake Livanavage scored goals and goaltender Ludvig Persson stopped 21 of 22 shots to lead the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team to a 2-1 win over the University of Minnesota on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The victory for the Fighting Hawks (3-1) gave them a weekend split with the Gophers (3-1). Minnesota …
The no. 1-ranked University of Minnesota men’s hockey team blanked the University of North Dakota 4-0 on Friday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. Brody Lamb, Oliver Moore, Bryce Brodzinski and Jimmy Snuggerud scored for the Gophers (3-0) while holding the Fighting Hawks (2-1) off the scoresheet. Minnesota goaltender Justen Close stopped all 25 UND, while Fighting Hawks goalie Ludvig Persson …
“I realized that this show is not about Fred Rogers. It’s about the feeling that Fred Rogers conveys and gives to the world. The nuances, the beliefs, the spirituality of him, the feeling … because I think that is what it is. It’s the love, the compassion. It’s the looking for the good, not for the bad. It’s the positive, …
Hunter Johannes and Riese Gaber scored goals to lead the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team to a 2-0 win 0ver the University of Wisconson on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. UND goalie Ludvig Persson had 29 saves. (Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.)
OK, so we don’t have a Speaker of the House. And there’s no one stepping forward from the ranks of the U.S. House Republican caucus to grab the gavel. Well, no problem. The House can pick anyone it wants to be the Speaker, according to Article I, Section II, Clause 5, of the U.S. Constitution, which reads: “The House of …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team defeated Army 7-2 Friday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. Jackson Blake and Hunter Johannes each scored twice as UND opened its season with a victory. Jayden Perron, Cameron Berg and Riese Gaber each scored once. Ludvig Persson had 10 saves in goal for the Fighting Hawks. (Check out more photos from Russ …
One of Fred Rogers’ favorite things was making connections between people, so he would be delighted by recent events at Circle Theatre in downtown Fort Worth, Texas. It is there that I have been privileged to observe the cast, crew and theater staff as they prepare for the premiere of “I’m Proud of You,” the stage play based on my …
Minnesota baseball fans will forever remember the Twins’ two world championships. The roaring crowds in the Metrodome. “Sweet Music” Frank Viola baffling the Cardinals in ’87. Kirby Puckett’s walk off home run and leaping catch at the wall. Jack Morris dealing zeroes into extra innings to down the Braves in ’91. Ahh, the good old days! Unfortunately, the “good” is …
OK, this is kind of a big deal. I’ve been friends with Tweed Roosevelt for almost 30 years. We’ve hunted and fished and sat around campfires together in North Dakota, and we’ve spent wonderful days and nights at his home on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Now, this week, I’m just going to sit and listen to him. Tweed’s the keynote …
Grand Forks photographer Dave Bruner out a few days to capture some images of the fall colors and a country scene before they are all gone. “Overcast skies gave some nice saturation to the fall colors.”
The image of a frog in boiling water shows us how things can heat up incrementally so that you don’t realize how bad it is until it is too late. This past week, the former president claimed that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, committed treason and that such action in the last called for DEATH …
I swear, I thought this was a spoof story, a la The Onion,until I got down to the bottom and saw this: “NAGA president Eunice Davidson released a statement through theg roup’s media advisors Global Impact Campaigns. Global Impact Campaigns is run by marketing and PR veterans who have worked as strategists for various government, political, and media organizations, including for …
In the early morning of Sept. 3, 1855, 600 U.S. soldiers commanded by Gen. William S. Harney surrounded a peaceful Lakota Sioux village — about 250 people whose tipis were pitched along a clear stream in the Sandhills of northwestern Nebraska. On Harney’s order, the village of a revered Lakota leader named Little Thunder was destroyed. Lodges were set ablaze …
In a file cabinet at the Billings County Clerk of Court’s office in Medora, N.D., there are four checks totaling $54,975 waiting to be picked up by members of the Short family, owners of a ranch about a dozen miles north of town. County Clerk of Court Juliana Hammerstrom is not holding her breath waiting for them to be claimed. …
Grand Forks photographer Michael Bogert recently took a road trip to the Pembina Gorge in northeastern North Dakota. The Pembina Gorge extends from the Canadian border west of Walhalla and encompasses one of the largest uninterrupted blocks of woodlands in North Dakota of approximately 12,500 acres and the longest segment of unaltered river valley in the state. Surging waters carved …
“When people come to see the play, I hope they learn what Tim learns.” — co-writer and director Harry Parker On Saturday evening, Oct. 28, Circle Theatre in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, will host the world premiere of “I’m Proud of You,” the stage play adapted from my memoir of the same name. My life and career is indeed about …
Cabbage is a German tradition. It doesn’t matter if it is fresh or in the form of sauerkraut. Or if it’s red or green. Or steamed or pan-fried. Germans love affair with cabbage is second to none. And pairing cabbage with sausage is about as German as you can get. You don’t have to be German to enjoy the following …
This is a re-run of something I wrote a dozen years ago, Sept. 11, 2011. And now I’m going to forget what today’s date is and have a good day in the garden. Yes, it has been a long 10 years. On August 29, 2001, I sat beside my wife’s bed as she looked up at her doctor, exhausted, pale and …
I doubt many of us consider what Labor Day is about or think about what the labor movement did to build the middle class. It astonishes me that people who’ve unwittingly benefited from unions spend so much time demonizing them. Government statistics will tell you that a union worker’s family gets 10% to 15% higher wages, and they bring nonunion …
Some people say too much cabbage can be bad for your health. It’s true, eating cabbage in excess can result in abdominal discomfort, diarrhea and flatulence, but the benefits strongly outweigh the health risks. Cabbage is highly nutritious vegetable, rich in vitamins C and K, fiber and potassium and may help with heart and digestive health. Studies show those who …
OK, a couple of months ago, I bit on Doug Burgum’s now-famous gambit to send $20 gift cards to anyone who would send him a dollar to help him qualify for the debate last week. I sent him a dollar July 17. I immediately got an e-mail that said, “Thank you for your donation! Due to high demand the gift …
Many people who grew up around gardens in this neck of the woods probably aren’t real familiar with eggplant, a delicate tropical perennial plant often cultivated as a tender or half-hardy annual. I wasn’t. Dad’s garden had all the usual suspects — tomatoes, beans and peas, onions, cucumbers, cabbage, plus a few other vegetables such as radishes, carrots, beets and …
There’s something very special about vegetables straight from the garden that just can’t be replicated by supermarket fare. If you’ve ever eaten a tomato from the store know what I mean. Many of those are shipped before they are ripe and taste nothing like one from your garden or the farmers market. That’s why I so love this time of …
The vibe, the music, the food and the company was mighty fine. Home to harvest.
Forty-mile-per-hour winds drove a pouring rain sideways outside the Billings County Courthouse in Medora, N.D., this past Thursday afternoon, washing the Bad Lands dust from a dozen or more cars and pickups (mostly pickups) parked on the streets outside. Inside, another storm was brewing, this one going on behind closed doors, as a handful of drivers of those vehicles waited …
Joe Mauer didn’t reject his induction to the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame this summer, and if he gets enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame next year, he won’t turn that down, either. I’m not saying he should. It’s just that no one turns down an award. Who are you to deny your admirers if you’re to be …