The conventional wisdom is that Hillary Clinton won the first presidential debate Monday. I was less certain. She was clearly better at talking policy, but I doubt that she really drew many undecided voters to her side. If she had been debating an inspired or charismatic opponent, she would come off as dull and uninspiring. My own study of American …
Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons has an eye for wildlife, so it’s no surprise that he recently visited the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley and the Como Park Zoo and Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in St. Paul. The Minnesota Zoo, which opened in May 1978, is a state agency that has been a destination home to more than 4,700 animals — many endangered …
This is just going to be a personal meditation, and I apologize to anyone who would rather have more analytics and argumentation. When I was still a teenager, my best friend gave me a copy of “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown. I read it hard and fast, cover to cover, and it changed my life. It’s basically …
Last year, when I was getting ready for my 50-year class reunion of the 1965 graduating class from Hettinger (N.D.) High School, I dug through boxes of keepsakes downstairs and found my senior class yearbook. It was actually an expanded edition of the Hettinger Hi-Lites, our high school newspaper, but it was the same format as a yearbook, slick paper …
Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson recently took part in a tour of Yosemite National Park in California. Yosemite is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and is famed for its giant, ancient sequoia trees, and for Tunnel View, the iconic vista of towering Bridalveil Fall and the granite cliffs of El Capitan and Half Dome. Here are some of the images Jeff captured.
The world of golf lost a legend Sunday. Arnold Palmer, who was nicknamed “The King,” died in a Pittsburgh hospital while awaiting heart surgery. Palmer won seven major championships during his professional career, which spanned more than five decades. He won the Masters four times, The Open twice and the U.S. Open once. Here are some photos taken by Russ …
There was a discussion at my table Saturday night about whether Indians in North Dakota have gained or lost respect as a result of the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy. There was no consensus. But what I do know is that important voices are rising in support of Tribal actions (although not so much in support of Tribal agitators), and there is …
If you think you’re up to speed after a two-minute segment on the news and a Facebook meme about the pipeline, here’s your reality check. The purchase of the Cannonball Ranch by Dakota Access Pipeline exposes more of billionaire Kelcy Warren’s Machiavellian relentlessness. He ordered a sacred burial site bulldozed, brought in attack dogs to defend the destruction, and now …
Non-Indians have a very hard time understanding and recognizing the concept of tribal sovereignty. No matter what the U.S. Constitution might say, or Chief Justice John Marshall, most non-Indians see Native Americans as a poor, ghettoized and dysfunctional people living on the fringes of American society. They are aware that Indians license their vehicles with special plates, according to the …
The other day, I mentioned casually on Facebook that a nice neighbor of ours had come to the door with a Tupperware container full of tuna noodle hotdish (minus the crumbled potato chips for the top). I added snarkily something about it being almost as much fun as attending at a Lutheran funeral. Well, that seemed to wake up the internet a bit. Almost 200 Facebook friends chimed in with …
Anyone who has contemplated making bean soup for the first time and goes to the internet looking for a recipe will likely find one that suits his or her tastes. That’s because there’s hardly any limit to the number of bean soups that a cook can make. Perhaps the main reason is that beans come in all shapes, colors and sizes, and when you …
The Minnesota Twins aren’t having the season most of their fans were expecting, but that doesn’t stop some of them from going to a game. Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons was at Target Field on Thursday night for the second game of two the Twins played against the Detroit Tigers. And here’s what caught his eye. Check out more photos from Russ …
This week, south Moorhead finally got a glimpse of the silver lining inside the stormy construction season of 2016: It feels so delicious when it’s almost over. That must be why an otherwise-inexplicable happy cloud of good cheer has settled across the south quarter of town — the neighborhoods around Ground Zero. Something wonderful has happened. On what would otherwise …
Grand Forks photographer Michael Bogert offers some early and colorful signs of autumn from a recent outing in northwestern Minnesota.
Fargo leaders and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would be well-advised to heed the warning of Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton. He didn’t fire a shot across the bow; he can cause the sinking of the entire ship known as “The Fargo Flood Diversion.” Dayton is a politician with the courage of his convictions who knows how to stand up …
America’s best journalist — ever — Seymour Hersh, and North Dakota’s best journalist — ever — Mike Jacobs, will share a stage with the publisher and editor of America’s first “national newspaper” — Ben Franklin — at the North Dakota Humanities Council’s “GameChanger Ideas Festival” on Saturday in Bismarck. It may be the most distinguished panel of writers gathered anywhere in …
You’re wondering why a small-town newspaperman has invested so much time covering a pipeline protest across the river? Because this is a global, national and local issue right in our backyard. Our rural water comes from the spot near the pipeline’s path, a violation of the state’s Source Water Protection Program and another sign the state’s regulatory process is a …
Coupon grocery shopping is sort of like hunting for Easter eggs. Since I have no say in our household, I do both the shopping and egg hunting. The local family-owned grocery monopoly mails coupons to residents every once in awhile. Two weeks ago, we received some, so I decided I’d go spend and save some money. The colorful coupon package …
It was 1976. Just a half-dozen years old, already The UND Writers Conference was a well-established and highly regarded cultural event. But conference founder John Little had outdone himself that year, booking two of the country’s best-known authors, Tom Wolf and Truman Capote. Wolf, ever the clothes horse, opened the weeklong conference with a reading of his works wearing a blazing yellow three-piece suit, …
The sky has provided a backdrop for Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons the past few weeks. Whether it is a glowing sunrise or sunset, a majestic full moon or storm clouds rising, Russ displays a knack for capturing the essence of celestial beauty as it graces the Northland. Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.
Keaton Studsrud’s 1-yard plunge in overtime gave the University of North Dakota a stunning 47-44 come-from-behind victory over the University of South Dakota in the 51st annual Potato Bowl game Saturday in the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. The Fighting Hawks trailed 34-14 in the the third quarter before staging the comeback. UND (1-2) forced the extra session by scoring the final …
As another steamy summer slips slowly southward, I’ll remember this one for two reasons: monstrous Midwestern mosquitoes and batches of bad baseball. Yes, our lawn has never looked greener in late September, but I’m looking forward to the fall. I would imagine the Minnesota Twins are, too. It seems we’ll both be eager to get the bugs out. While the …
Ten (OK, a bunch more) Things That I Find Totally Annoying in Airplane Travel 1: The flight is sitting on the tarmac in the departure city. Minutes pass, then tens of minutes. The pilot doesn’t bother to get on the intercom to explain what’s happening. We all have connections to make at the next hub. How hard is it to keep …
Eating well is a habit I learned later in life. As a sixth-grade kid back at Fram Township School No. 3 in Wellsburg, N.D., my favorite teacher, Margie Weisser, once advised me not to wolf down my lunch, if for no other reason than to better enjoy the taste of the food. And although it pains me to admit it, …
In America, where protest is in our DNA, suddenly it’s a limited option. Presumably, you can still dress up as a Native American, commandeer a British freighter and throw tea overboard, you just can’t be a real Native American in the process. Oh my, a whole bunch of Native Americans are camped at Cannonball, N.D., praying for God to smite …
I’ve tried to follow the events at Standing Rock pretty closely, and I’ve written about it a few times. Let me repeat what I said earlier: I think we need to build this pipeline because it is the safest way to move our oil, and it is the only pipeline project on the table right now. Do I wish we …
Hunting season has arrived in the Northland. For many cooks, that means it’s time to start digging through their recipe boxes for some tasty wild game dishes. Over the years, I’ve listened to some of my readers complain about wild game recipes because they can’t “bear” the thought of eating magnificent Canada geese, which mate for life, or a Bambi, with whom they …
The stuff on the log looked like something that belonged in an ocean. Like pure, white clumps of coral growing on a reef, it stood out in stark relief to the jungle green of early September’s foliage. How could we have missed it? That we had passed it by the first time on our short hike on the mountain bike …
Bloomington, Minn., photographer Dave Vorland and Dorette Kerian recently returned home after a trip to Chicago for the annual Chicago Jazz Fest. Dave was busy snapping photos while in the Windy City, and here are some of the images he’s sharing.
Here are some facts that you won’t hear from the pipeline shills and propagandists: • The tribe was not offered millions to allow the pipeline. That planted rumor was denied by Dakota Access Pipeline folks themselves. A stupid rumor considering the pipeline follows an established corridor. • The tribes were consulted by the U.S. Army Corps on the water. Nope. …
No one has ever heard me disagree with the decision or logic of a federal judge before. This time is the exception. I have not read the decision, but if I had, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s legal conclusions would not be in question. It is the factual basis upon which the conclusions are based that I take issue. A certain …
This is Tony J Bender’s report that appears in today’s Ashley (N.D.) Tribune and Wishek (N.D.) Star. In a stunning pushback against U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s decision Friday to deny an injunction to stop the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline, the Departments of Justice and Interior were joined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to override that decision. “Construction …
Unheralded.fish welcomes three contributors aboard our ship. We believe you’ll enjoy reading blogs from Clay Jenkinson, John Strand and Russell J. Myhre. Here’s some background on each, plus an excerpt from one of their recent blogs. All three men have joined other Fish bloggers who’ve provided exclusive, complete, accurate, relevant and thought-provoking stories about the ongoing saga connected to the …
About this time in 1965, I arrived at the huge depot pictured above on my way to Northwestern University to begin a master’s degree in journalism. I was burdened down with heavy luggage, so the subway to Evanston wasn’t an option. I needed to transfer to yet another rail line. According the diary I kept, I ran out of time …
Yes, journalists can be arrested for trespass. However, when you single out reporters as an intimidation tactic — a warning shot — to try to suppress media coverage, that’s not even America, anymore. Those cameras, following a huge evolving story in North Dakota near the Standing Rock Reservation, kept everyone on the scene safe with their presence. How would hired …
On Friday, as I prepared to say goodbye to my daughter, Amanda Myhre, and her traveling companion, Kaitlyn Huss, after spending the day at Sacred Stone Camp outside of Cannonball, N.D., and later at the state Capitol in Bismarck, I said, “I only wish your mother had been alive to see this day.” Amanda’s mother, Benedicta “Bennie” Callousleg, a full-blood Lakota …
Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons made a stop recently in Fargo, where he visited the Red River Zoo. The zoo, which primarily focuses on species from around the world with climates similar to North Dakota’s — i.e. North America, Northern Asia and Northern Europe — also features a modern Children’s Zoo Farm that centers on heritage breeds and teaching children where their …
I needed to go to Cannon Ball, N.D., and see firsthand the Dakota Access pipeline protest site in the heart of Indian Country, a stone’s throw north of Standing Rock Reservation. When reports Saturday depicted a confrontation between the protestors, who are really protectors, and security personnel armed with dogs and Mace, it was clear I had to go. Seven …
When Dorette and I were in the midst of our three-month retirement “sabbatical” in southern France in 2010, we traveled by train from Marseilles to the town of Aix-en-Provence to visit a friend and former University of North Dakota colleague, Paul Schwartz. Paul was living and teaching there at the time; one of his students, I think, took the above …
Shortly after the election in November, a piece of presidential memorabila goes on the auction block. Well, sort of presidential. The skin-tight, highly sequined gown Marilyn Monroe wore on the occasion in 1962 when she breathily and memorably sang “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy. The dress, which has been mostly out of the spotlight, so to speak, since that night is …
Many people have fond memories from their youth of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. For a lot of families, it was a matter of economics. Both peanut butter and jelly were relatively inexpensive compared to luncheon meat, making the sandwich combo a great alternative for snacks or school lunches. That’s the way it was at our house, although we were occasionally treated with …
I was in Chicago on Sept. 3, the date of my late father Kermit Vorland’s birthday and didn’t think of the anniversary until today (Tuesday). He died in 1991 at the age of 80, a few days before my mother, Minnie. This above picture of him with my maternal grandmother, Ellen Vogel, was taken in the early 1950s in Enderlin, …
The following is a report on the events that are unfolding south of Mandan, N.D., near the boundary of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The story is by Tony Bender and his son, Dylan, and appeared today in the Ashley (N.D.) Tribune and Wishek (N.D.) Star. The accompanying video was shot by Dylan, who is a student at Bismarck State College. An …
Take a stroll in Minnesota lake country, and you’ll soon discover there is a lot more out there than meets the eye. These images from photographer Michael Bogert are a case in point.