With Labor Day weekend just ahead, we tend to think a little more than usual perhaps about the nature of work and the men and women of America who do it, especially those who do actual, physical labor. My first exposure to real work was picking potatoes for an area farmer on the edge of town, the town being Hillsboro, …
Attorneys across America are reporting a brisk uptick in business as clients rush to request the absence of Donald J. Trump at their funerals. Most are insisting that all caps be used in the codicil. The trend is the same at LegalZoom\ and other do-it-yourself websites for wills and other documents. John Suh, CEO of LegalZoom said, “Our Last Will …
Aristotle wasn’t privy to modern science, but he contended that people from nations outside of Greece were inferior in a number of ways to the native Greeks. Many of the outsiders ended up as slaves, so I doubt their opinions were taken into much consideration. And don’t get me started on the whole mess with the Moors, Sephardic Jews and …
The problem with democracy is when citizens start sticking their noses into the government’s business. No state is more under siege than ours. There are four measures on the November ballot placed there by malcontents. As if we can’t trust the Legislature to do what’s best for oil billionaires. That sort of thinking threatens to undermine our way of life. …
All during Paul Manafort’s criminal trial, including while the jury was deliberating, the president of the United States did everything but call the jury members, espousing what an honest, good and decent man Manafort is. Even after the jury convicted him on numerous counts, the president continued his rant. That old cliché that “water seeks its own level” surely applies …
When people say that the internet and the digitization of culture represent something as important as the invention of movable type by Gutenberg in the 15th century, I usually wonder if that can be true. The Gutenberg revolution gave us the Reformation. Luther was the first publishing phenomenon in human history, and later, when it had settled down a bit, …
About a half dozen years after World War II, Uncle Joe rattled through some woods around Minnesota’s west-central lake country and started to frame a cabin. It was to be about 600 square feet in a clearing with a southern exposure. In winter, the struggling sun would bathe the windows facing the lake, making even a February day a little …
The University of North Dakota women’s volleyball team kicked off its 2018 season with its annual Green and White scrimmage Tuesday night in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The intersquad game featured the team split into two groups playing three sets, which was on by the Green squad 25-14, 25-19, 25-15. The Fighting Hawks are coming off two very successful seasons, …
Dorette Kerian and I spent several wonderful hours Saturday attending a “Wacipi” sponsored by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community a short drive from our place in Bloomington, Minn. A Wacipi, or powwow, meaning “they dance” in the Dakota language, is a marvelous event to watch. I’ve been a spectator over the years at many smaller scale Wacipis at the University …
Grand Forks photographer Michael Bogert recently spent four days at the lake, and here are some of the images he captured.
Jim has written about the proposed new bridge over the Little Missouri State Scenic River north of Medora, N.D., that is being shoved down our throats by a megalomaniac county commissioner who wants to spend up to $20 million of our gas tax dollars on a “Bridge to Nowhere.” At the insistence of the Federal Highway Administration, the county is deep …
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote here about the proposed new bridge over the Little Missouri State Scenic River north of Medora, N.D., that is being shoved down our throats by a megalomaniac county commissioner who wants to spend up to $20 million of our gas tax dollars on a “Bridge to Nowhere.” At the insistence of the Federal …
Garden production can vary greatly from year to year. Just ask any gardener. One year, a person might have tremendous crop of a certain vegetable and a dismal one of another. And the next season, the tables can turn and abundance can become a smattering and a pittance a carload. Fortunately in our 2018 garden, we don’t have any vegetables …
Hello class, it’s that time of year. The wheat harvest is on, the leaves will be turning soon, and NFL players are beginning to kneel. It’s time for the Tony Bender Back to School Super Brain Quiz. 1. Why won’t Kevin Cramer agree to more debates? A. Stall Ball always works out so well. B. How many ways can you …
This is a hard time to be a true American. As I write this, a very large military appropriations bill was passed by Congress. The president of the United States signed the bill into law and held a press conference acknowledging some lawmakers in attendance. What the president did not do is to acknowledge Sen. John McCain, for whom the …
The Purple Xperience, a five-piece Prince tribute band from Minneapolis, headlined Hugo’s Third Street Dance on Saturday night in downtown Grand Forks. Opening for Purple Xperience was Someday Heroes and Another One Night Stand. Photographer Russ Hons was there and shares these images. (Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.)
A particularly memorable moment in my travels with the message of Fred Rogers came a few years ago in a junior high school gym in Tampa, Fla. That afternoon, I shared with 600 students how, after meeting Mister Rogers in the mid-1990s, the great man mentored and loved me through a very, very difficult time in my life. They were …
Just a note about Jefferson and leadership. First, he was reluctant. Thanks to the influence of classical culture, all of the Founding Fathers had to pretend that they would rather be home tending their garden than hold political power, but Jefferson seems actually to have meant that. He was a shy, thin-skinned, scholarly man who had a poor speaking voice …
Bloomington, Minn., photographer Dave Vorland recently traveled to northeastern Minnesota to take in the Bayfront Blues Festival in Duluth. During the trip, he and his partner, Dorette Kerian also took in some local sights.
Mara Yapello and Cassie Giddings scored goals to lead the University of North Dakota women’s soccer team to a 2-1 win over the University of South Dakota in exhibition play Saturday at Senior High Field in East Grand Forks. The one USD goal was scored by Alexis Mitchell. Olivia Swenson and Jacqueline Wells combined for seven saves in goal for …
I took a week to be quiet. I realize how privileged I am to have this opportunity — to get away and turn off the noise of the world. For far too many, the realities of everyday survival preclude such luxuries, and for a chance such as this, I am deeply grateful. I’ve done this for years. I return to …
Peak daylily bloom here at Red Oak House has passed, and I can’t help but feel a bit wistful about this. The focus of this past July has been daylilies of all kinds, and not just in my garden. Late in the month, I took in an exhibit of daylily art at Bismarck Art Gallery Associates, where it was delightful …
In the halcyon days of the 1970s in North Dakota, when the state was a quieter, kinder, friendlier, more thoughtful place, the Legislature passed a bill, and the governor signed it, designating the Little Missouri River as our state’s only official State Scenic River and creating a commission to look out for it. The Little Missouri Scenic River Commission did …
A few weeks ago, I came across a book from the 1990s called, “Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life.” The author, Jon Kabat-Zinn, has for decades been a leader of the mindfulness movement and has introduced mindfulness into the practice of medicine. I’ve found the book a treasure as I attempt to cultivate, in very …
Olivia Knox scored two goals and Katie Moller, Maddy Beams and Cassie Giddings each scored once as the University of North Dakota women’s soccer team defeated the University of Manitoba 5-1 in Wednesday night’s exhibition opener at East Grand Forks Senior High, the team’s temporary home in 2018 while Bronson Field undergoes renovations. Alanna Shaw scored the lone Bisons’ goal …
Photographer Eric Bergeson knows a bit about flowers and pollination.
About Bob Aronson … A former journalist, governor’s press secretary, communications consultant and sun seeker, Bob Aronson smoked for 37 years. He quit the habit nearly 30 years ago after developing COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). A failing heart, probably caused by smoking, resulted in his receiving a heart transplant in 2007. In June 2018, he was diagnosed with stage four …
Mama Robin built a nest a scant 6 feet from the front door this year. Brave girl, that one, or perhaps just trusting. The azure eggs were visible just below eye level, and India and I watched the progression from broken shells to featherless, famished babies with gaping mouths, as their gaunt, overworked mother retrieved worms and bugs from the …
If you read The Bismarck Tribune on Tuesday morning, you read Amy Dalrymple’s pretty good story about Monday’s marathon Little Missouri Scenic River Commission meeting. I’m going to write more about that later. I’ll just say, for now, be careful what you wish for. What I want to write about today is one of the things the commission discussed Monday …
If you’ve never been to Bergeson Nursery during the summer, it’s probably something you should add to your bucket list. Located southeast of Fertile, Minn., the gardens are always open during daylight hours in the summer. They are the most beautiful from late July through early September, and during that time, printed garden guides are available then that allow you to …
Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons spent this past weekend in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota, and here is what he saw. (Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.)
After a 40-year hiatus, the stark beauty of North Dakota captured my heart and drew me home. I was awestruck by the vast ineffable horizons, the wheat and sunflowers undulating in the wind and the other-worldly color of the Badlands and buttes. Returning to my roots, I remembered why I loved the landscape, the land itself and the powerful Missouri …
Like me, my sisters are fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Laura’s stories shaped our understanding of the prairie landscape on which we make our homes. This past weekend, my sister, Beckie, and I made the journey to De Smet, S.D., a place, to her friends’ amusement, on Beckie’s bucket list. I’ve been there, but it has been more than 20 …
Twins President Calvin Griffith letter to Jim Thielman – July 1974 Whatever I wrote in that letter to Calvin Griffith in 1974, it didn’t include any profanities. I told the first owner of the Minnesota Twins about it a few years later. “Did I write back?” he asked. He said it was his habit to take phone calls and respond …
Gov. Doug Burgum joined 30 other governors last week in support of Brett Kavanaugh as the next Supreme Court justice, which is — if you’re a Republican — about as shocking as going to a midsummer tent revival and proclaiming your love for Jesus. Even if you’re only there to pick up sweaty Baptist chicks. Burgum, Sen. John Hoeven and Senate …
Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons checked out some state qualifying racing the Red River BMX track in Grand Forks this past weekend, and here is what he saw. (Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.)
My first independent post on the Fish — whoopee! No more advertisers squawking about me picking on poor Donald Trump. I get to say what I think, not what others think and not softened to avoid stepping on advertisers’ toes. I used to think that good advertising meant that the advertiser wanted to make its products known, not to control …
Red daylilies are stealing the show a wee bit these days in the garden. And then, there is the delicate beauty of the Leopard Lily. Happy days!
The Fargo AirSho was held Saturday and Sunday at Hector International Airport in Fargo, and Grand Forks photographer was there. The show was attended by more than 30,000 fans and featured the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels, John Klatt Airshows and Matt Younkin’s Beech 18 performance. (Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.)
Grand Forks photographer Dave Bruner and his wife, Sheila, recently took a road trip to Minnesota and visited a flower nursery and Phelps Mill in Otter Tail County.
The Forum of Fargo initially said it was $104,528.22. Then the mayor said it was more like $10,000 over the daily cost of law enforcement. The deputy police chief said city law enforcement “… accrued only $1,200 in overtime.” A commentator from The Forum said it was actually $31,147.58. The cost of President Trump’s event in Fargo in support of …
Scheels in Grand Forks hosted DockDogs competition this past weekend, and photographer Russ Hons was there. DockDogs describes the event as “the fastest growing sport on 4 legs.” Competition is divided into three categories — Big Air, Extreme Vertical and Speed Retrieve. Here are some images from Sunday afternoon’s finals. (Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.)
My word for the week is “vindictive.” The word is an adjective that means “one who has a strong and unreasonable desire for revenge.” This week, the president went off the charts in his desire to seek revenge. He is the first president in history to demand that security clearance be revoked for the intelligence and law enforcement chiefs of …
We slipped away from domestic chores this week for an interlude in Theodore Roosevelt National Park (South Unit) along with a night in the charming village of Medora, N.D., where we were treated to two very pleasant days, warm and sunny, with a gentle breeze. We took a hike on the Jones Creek trail and two drives through the Park …