I’m thinking today of an old friend, Ardell Tharaldson, who left us 10 years ago, Dec. 6, 2011. Our friendship dated back to Democratic-NPL politics in 1972, when he ran George McGovern’s campaign for president in North Dakot MS, which confined him to a wheelchair, and cancer, which killed him. He wrote a good book, “Patronage: Histories and Biographies of …
In the past three weeks, North Dakota has been invaded by millions of tumbleweeds. I do not exaggerate. I live well within the capital city of Bismarck, in a peaceful and thoroughly manicured subdivision. We’ve had a prolonged drought and unusually high winds this fall, in a land that is semi-arid in a good year, and the wind routinely blows more …
Some random thoughts, most of which appeared in an article in the December issue of Dakota Country magazine. How do you go about summarizing a year like 2021? Try this: It’s December, the year is almost over, and we’re still here. I’m still writing. You’re still reading. Y’know, considering everything, not much else seems very important. Like me, I’m sure you’ve lost …
People seem to start thinking about decorating their homes for the holidays earlier and earlier every year. Some in October or sooner, and a few even like to have their Christmas decorations up all year. In a way, Ginny and I may fall into that latter category. That’s because one reminder of Christmas hangs on our wall year-round, too. It’s …
Captain Mark Senden scored a career-best two goals and an assist to lead the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team to a 3-2 win over the University of Minnesota on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The No. 6-ranked Fighting Hawks (10-5) gained a weekend split with the No. 11 Gophers (9-7) after losing 5-1 Friday night. Gavin Hain …
It would be one thing to be on a cruise ship in some sunny locale during the holidays if you wanted to be, but quite another thing to be working on a cruise ship if you’d rather be celebrating the holidays at home in the Midwest with your family and friends. If it’s Dec. 24 and you’re longing to be …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team came from behind to defeat the University of Minnesota-Duluth 2-1 in a National Collegiate Hockey Conference game Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The victory gave the Fighting Hawks (9-4-0 overall, 5-1-0 NCHC) a split in the series with the Bulldogs (8-3-1 overall, 3-2-1 NCHC), the No.-ranked team in the country. UMD …
In today’s polarized political climate, Americans nervously anticipate U.S. Supreme Court rulings with the same fervor with that they enjoy sports, and with the same goal in mind: namely, to win. But American government is not a game, cautions U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton. By forcing the Supreme Court to make notably divisive, winner-take-all decisions, he argues, …
The University of North Dakota women’s volleyball team was swept 3-0 by South Dakota State University in Summit League play on Saturday afternoon in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The Jackrabbits (18-11 overall, 10-8 Summit ) spoiled Senior Day for the Fighting Hawks (1-29 overall, 0-18 Summit). SDSU took the opening set 25-23 and the subsequent sets 25-21 and 25-16. Ashlyn …
I have a friend who is an investment banker. I don’t know much about his business because I don’t have much to invest. But he’s been keeping track of the articles I’ve written about Meridian Energy Group, the company that wants to build a refinery next to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. From time to time, he sends me a letter …
About 3½ years ago, a few residents of the Highland Acres neighborhood in west Bismarck sat down with some staff at the State Historical Society of North Dakota and began discussing the possibility of creating the Highland Acres Historic District and to nominate it for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Today (Nov. 17), the Bismarck Historic Preservation …
What do you do when you have an overabundance of tomatoes and have already made juice, canned whole ones as well as freezing 20 to 30 pounds of the juicy orbs? That’s been the dilemma I’ve been facing the past three weeks or so. Before frost put the damper on my gardens, I picked almost all of my tomatoes that …
If you happen to be in Texas, in the Houston area, the first week of January, and you’ve got a little time to kill, you could probably stop by the 215th Judicial District Courthouse for a little entertainment. There’s going to be a trial going on that might interest you. Lawyers for this company called Meridian Energy Group that I’ve been writing about …
Backup quarterback Quincy Vaughn threw a 3-yard pass to Gavin Ziebarth with 4:26 left in the ball game to lift the University of North Dakota football team to a 14-7 Missouri Valley Conference win over Illiinois State University on Saturday afternoon in the Alerus Center. The Fighting Hawks (5-5 overall, 3-4 MVFC) were led by starting quarterback Tommy Schuster who …
Since I woke up a little after the killing of George Floyd on May 20, 2020, I have done a good deal of what I regard as required reading about race in America. I started with Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism.” Then I read Carol Anderson’s “White Rage: The Unspoken …
I’ve been intrigued by the movie “Fargo” ever since the cast and crew came to town years ago to shoot some of the scenes here. More accurately, north of here. I hung around the edges of the production for a couple of days, shooting television news stories, not knowing a classic American movie was being made. A new book called …
You can read all the newspaper stories with lists of vaccination and testing sites, and death counts, and you can watch the incessant pokes-in-the-arm on the 6 o’clock news, but you can’t really understand COVID-19 until you’ve sat at the bedside of a good friend in the intensive care unit of a hospital and watched a machine pump oxygen in …
The University of North Dakota football team overcame an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 24-21 come-from-behind Missouri Valley Conference victory over visiting Youngstown State University on Saturday afternoon in the Alerus Center. Quarterback Tommy Schuster led the Fighting Hawks (4-5 overall, 2-4 MCV) to the win over the Penguins (2-6 overall, 1-5 MVC), throwing for 191 yards …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team defeated the University of Denver 4-1 on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena to complete a weekend sweep of its opening 2021-22 National Collegiate Hockey Conference series. Riese Gaber, Austin Calder, Tyler Kleven and Matteo Constantini scored for the Fighting Hawks (6-3-0 overall, 2-0-0 NCHC). Sean Behrens scored the only goal for …
America’s racial reckoning — seen in protests in the streets and at school board meetings and even shaping this past Tuesday’s election results — comes as the nation continues to shift rapidly. The latest data — from the U.S. Census and the Pew Research Center, respectively — shows 40 percent of Americans now identify with a race other than white …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team opened its 2021-22 National Collegiate Hockey Conference season with a 3-1 win over the University of Denver on Friday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. Louis Jamernik scored two goals to lead the Fighting Hawks (5-3-0 overall, 1-0-0 NCHC) to the victory. Matteo Costantini scored the other UND goal. Cameron Wright tallied the …
Well, my e-mails have sure been interesting since I wrote about the Paycheck Protection Program gifts earlier this week. The first was just after I wrote about Rick Becker’s plastic surgery clinic getting a couple of loans: “Hey, what about his bars and restaurants?!?!” Oops. I checked. Yes, he is the registered owner of a couple of places in downtown …
This might be the shortest story I ever post here. While doing some research for an earlier story I wrote, I came across the website that apparently tracks every single “loan” made under the pandemic-inspired Paycheck Protection Program. That’s the program that was passed by Congress in 2020 to help keep small businesses afloat during the pandemic. Businesses went to their …
Global climate talks among government leaders are underway in Scotland for the next two weeks under the auspices of the UN’s 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26). Here at home, there is a small group of climate scientists whose focus is more domestic. They call themselves Science Moms. They came together to help other “everyday moms” who may not be confident in …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team couldn’t overcome an early Penn State University lead and played behind all evening as the Nittany Lions defeated the Fighting Hawks 6-4 in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game on Saturday night in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. No. 6 North Dakota (4-3) fell behind 2-0 in the first period and …
Just when you’ve got a sore neck from shaking your head over the stuff you read and learn about Meridian Energy Group, the company that wants to put a refinery beside our national park … there’s this. In spite of the fact that there is no oil refinery, and the only business the company seems to be doing is selling …
I rarely write anything political in this space these days — these columns are published in three states as well as in the two newspapers I own. I much prefer writing stories about the people I’ve met and the experiences we share on the northern Plains. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a political slant in our news coverage. …
I try to write an update on the Meridian Energy Group, the company that wants to put an oil refinery next to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, when there’s some news to report about them. Today’s news comes from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Meridian filed an amended report on its offering of securities with the SEC on Oct. 13. There …
A lexicographer once said, “a dictionary is the history of a people from a certain point of view.” Ken and Sarah Burns’ latest documentary film, “Muhammad Ali: Bigger than Boxing, Larger than Life,” is the history of the 1960s and ’70s in America through the life and career of one of the most colorful, entertaining, talented, provocative and compelling individuals. At the …
The University of North Dakota football team defeated Missouri Valley Conference foe Western Illinois University 34-10 on Saturday in the Alerus Center on Homecoming weekend. The Fighting Hawks (3-4 overall, 1-3 MVC) held the Leathernecks (2-6 overall, 1-4 MVC) scoreless in the second while holding them to just 99 yards of total offense. Otis Weah rushed for 125 yards on …
Twenty or so MORE questions because we’ve asked Doug Allen Nash to play along with this silly, little exercise once before. It was two years ago, just before he performed in front of a sold-out audience for the first time at the Empire Arts Center in Grand Forks. Lucky for us he’s on his way back. Doug will be bringing …
The reader feedback of the essay I wrote last week has been voluminous and gratifying. The reason for this, I think, is that we are all a little shell-shocked by the chaotic state of the world. So much anger and aggression, so many apocalyptic pronouncements and books. Most people look at the past 20 years, and particularly the past six, and ask, …
You know the world holds boundless possibilities when you live near the only golf course in the nation with the front nine in one state and the back nine in another. So when I was 6, I announced that everyone should reach age 12, then start over. There were a helluva lot of big thinkers through history. None of them …
Over the years, I’ve often been asked by individuals how they can most effectively help those who are most directly touched by the death of a loved one. As a result, I’ve come up with a list of Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to dealing with grief. It is based on conversations I have had with people who have …
As I reflect on the purposes of the retreat I attended this past weekend in the Little Missouri Badlands of western North Dakota, I have been asking myself hard questions about my approach to what the retreat hosts have called “the situation.” I inquired. Turns out they mean the whole enchilada: borders and immigrants, health care, global warming, the 1 percent and the 99 …
The University of North Dakota women’s volleyball team dropped a three-set match to the University of Nebraska-Omana 25-15, 25-14, 25-13 Thursday night in a Summit League play in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. North Dakota (1-17 overall, 0-16 Summit) was led by Alexa Albinson with five kills and Elizabeth Norris who had 11 assists. UNO is 8-7 overall and 5-0 in Summit. (Check …
In yet another bizarre twist to the long-running story of the controversial proposed bridge over the Little Missouri State Scenic River north of Medora to serve the oil industry, the state of North Dakota is now considering stepping in and taking over the whole project, including paying for the bridge and using eminent domain to condemn the land for the …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team kicked off its 2021-22 season with a 2-1 exhibition win over Bemidji State University on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. The No. 8 Fighting Hawks usually open their season with an exhibition game against a Canadian team, but travel restrictions because of COVID-19 prevented that this year, so the NCAA allowed …
Colorado River’s Glen Canyon Dam is at risk of reaching dead pool — that is, the water level at which a dam’s turbines are no longer able to generate power. A new report from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation puts the risk at 3 percent next year, escalating to 34 percent in 2023, and up to 66 percent in 2025. As Lake …
The University of North Dakota football team held North Dakota State University to just one touchdown and three field goals Saturday afternoon in the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, but the Bison defense was a bit better, holding the Fighting Hawks to one touchdown and one field goal en route to a 16-10 Missouri Valley Conference win. The 10th-ranked Fighting …
Just about everyone loves a pasta sauce. You know, the kind with sweet Italian sausage, a lot of tomatoes and some nice mushrooms and peppers. And don’t forget the Parmesan cheese. You can count me in that camp. In fact, it’s one of our favorites when served with spaghetti. When my grandson come home for visit, it’s one of the …
This is going to be a story about bacon. It’s an article which appears in the October issue of Dakota Country magazine, which is on the newsstands and in the mail this week. Hang in there with me for a little bit while I provide some background. I’ll get to the bacon part in a minute. This bacon is worth …
In a week’s time, I will be attending a retreat in the Badlands to talk about the future. The organizer, a close friend of mine, invited me to participate, along with several dozen others, perhaps because I have a new book on North Dakota and the Great Plains, “The Language of Cottonwoods.” He called to talk logistics Saturday. As the …
In the end, I was thankful for what seemed like the thankless task of coaching a first-year women’s softball team in Jamestown, N.D., in 1985. Early on, I realized I had just one very good ballplayer, a third-baseman named Margo, who carried herself like Geena Davis in “A League of Our Own.” We had an OK shortstop, one outfielder who …