I just realized my microwave popcorn is actually popping out Morse code — in Russian. If I’m translating correctly and, admittedly, my decoding skills are rusty, Pootie wants me to drop some d-CON into someone’s latte. Or maybe the word is DEFCON. I may have missed a dot or a dash. Probably no big deal. Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe. I’ve become suspicious …
A good indicator that spring has arrived is the appearance of animals that have either gone south in the fall or the emergency of those that have made themselves scarce during the long winter. Canada geese are among the former and moose the latter. Bald eagles, however, can be counted in both groups. Some winter along the Red River of the North, while …
I recently took a solo two-way road trip from Bloomington, Minn., to Grand Forks, N.D. It’s 323 miles each way via Interstate 94 and I-29. I celebrated my daughter Kristi’s birthday one day and headed back the next. To say this drive can be monotonous is a gross understatement. So as usual, I brought along a handful of music CDs …
I was on Medicaid. There, I admitted it. It’s not an easy thing to do for me. Even when I was on it, and I would go to the doctor, I handed the card to the person at the admittance desk with a furtive glance around to see if anyone saw me. And every time, I wanted to blurt out my …
Not that this will surprise any nonbelievers, but the absolute and total lie by POTUS 45 — that President Obama ordered some sort of wiretapping or surveillance on him or his administration — has now been revealed by all the government agencies involved in security to be false. (Or as that idiot Sean Spicer, 45’s official press spokesman, would say: …
OK, at first it was just a sly hint, a trickle of wishfulness, but it’s become a pretty serious subject of open discussion now, both on social media and on the street: How long do you think Trump will last as president? Some say he’s going to commit an apparently impeachable offense, and Congress will go after him. If that’s …
Remember the last time the sound of a ringing telephone made you smile? I think I do. I was probably still in school, pining for some fabulous high school hunk to finally call. Perhaps, for you, it had less to do with teenage hormones and more with family ties. It could have been a birthday call from Grandma while you …
“Bates Motel” has been one of my very favorite guilty television pleasures for the past couple of years. The A&E series is a prequel, of course, to arguably Alfred Hitchcock’s most popular film, “Psycho.” I saw “Psycho” back in the 1960s, when I was way too young. Apparently, they didn’t check IDs back then. Anyway, I was too young to have an ID. Suffice …
Ruth Buffalo wrote a perfectly sane, accurate and compelling letter-to-the-editor a few days ago, but the truthfulness was more than the Ward County Red Snouted Port could bear. Sad. I have never met Ruth Buffalo, but I know she is very smart because I can read and comprehend. And educated. She is also quite pretty and has a beautiful family. …
Call Your Senators — Oppose Efforts to Repeal the BLM Methane Flaring Rule The splash of light in the center of North America at night, seen from space, shines like the opposite of a black eye. It doesn’t mark a big city or conglomeration of cities like the other light spots across the continent. In fact, it’s coming from where there …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team came up short Saturday night in Minneapolis’ Target Center, dropping a 4-3 decision to the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the championship game of National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff. Despite the loss, the Fighting Hawks (21-15-3) advance to next week’s NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey West Regional in Fargo as the No. 3 seed …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team qualified for its 15th straight appearance in the 16-team NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 shutout of Denver University on Friday night in Minneapolis’ Target Center in the semifinals of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Four. Austin Poganski’s goal just 2:30 into the third period sealed the win for the Fighting Hawks (21-14-3). …
In high school we called him “Slick.” He was handsome, swarthy, athletic, a bit of a rebel, with slicked back hair and cool clothes. He was Fonzie before Fonzie was invented. He didn’t seem to mind the nickname Slick back then, but after we all grew up and moved away and fought in wars and married and then came back …
The University of North Dakota men’s basketball team couldn’t overcome a talented University of Arizona squad, dropping a 100-82 decision to the Wildcats Thursday night in the opening round of the NCAA West Regional in Salt Lake City, ending the Fighting Hawks amazing run in the 2016-17 season. The Fighting Hawks (22-10) were led by Quinton Hooker, who scored 25 points, …
Martin Luther, at least according to the legend, once said we should sin occasionally to prove our victory over the devil. Historians say Luther probably didn’t, but if so, he was likely joking about the one sin of the deadly seven that tempted him: gluttony. It’s been said a craving for good food is the only passion that gets stronger …
Photographer Michael Bogert’s recent travels took him up and down the Red River, where he captured these images of bald eagles, our national bird.
Congratulations to the Moorhead Spuds boys hockey team and to the Shanley High Deacons girls basketball team. Each team and their coaches represented their communities and schools extremely well. My nephew, Steve Jacobson, coach of the Deacons, overcame some serious heart and health issues, claiming that basketball provided the outlet he needed to heal. Only in the Jacobson family could sports …
Chance has worked in the garden all his life. “It’s a good garden and a healthy one,” he says when asked about a flailing U.S. economy. “Its trees are healthy and so are its shrubs and flowers … I agree with the President: everything in it will grow strong in due course.” His interviewer, a late-night TV talk show host, …
I’ve read a several books by the English author Julian Barnes, including “Through the Window: SEVENTEEN ESSAYS AND A SHORT STORY.” The short story is about a Brit professor frustrated with his immature students as he discusses Ernest Hemingway’s “Homage to Switzerland.” My favorite passage: “He talked of Hemingway’s humor, which was much overlooked. And, of how, alongside what might …
There are a lot people who relish leftovers. But there probably are just as many who view them as a nuisance. You can count me among the former. I believe there are a lot of leftovers that are better the second day. Chili, for one, comes to mind. It’s also a food that can’t really be made in small batches, especially …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team is heading back to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s Frozen Faceoff next weekend in Minneapolis. Trevor Olson’s goal 7:38 into overtime lifted the Fighting Hawks (20-14-3) to a 6-5 win over St. Cloud State University (16-19-1) on Saturday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. North Dakota on the first game in the best-of-three series Friday …
The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team took a big step toward reaching the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s Frozen Faceoff next weekend with a 5-2 victory over St. Cloud State University in Game 1 of their NCHC first-round playoff series Friday night in Ralph Engelstad Arena. Rhett Gardner, Shane Gersich, Brock Boeser, Austin Poganski and Joel Janatuinen scored for …
I have something in common with the author Joan Didion, who is about to publish the unedited notebooks she used over the years. Why did she jot things down? Apparently to remind herself of the good and the bad in her life that she might otherwise have forgotten. “I think we are well-advised to keep on nodding terms with the …
The other day, our Steinbeck cultural tour made the journey from Monterey, Calif., to Pinnacles National Park. There is no clear and obvious Steinbeck connection, except that the National Park is part of the Gabilan Mountain system, and that range marked the eastern boundary of the Salinas River Valley, sacred to Steinbeck and the source location of several of his …
It did not go unreported that Kevin Cramer might run for Senate in 2018, but the news was largely lost in the fog of the scandalous AMC miniseries, “The Case of the White Pantsuits and Other White Outfits,” based on the true story of a primitive male, with a bad combover, and his faithful miniature poodle, Port, named for the …
A thousand trucks a day. That’s what Billings County Commission Chairman Jim Arthaud bragged to the Dickinson Press one day, a number of years ago, when he was asked how many vehicles would use a new bridge over the Little Missouri River north of Medora, N.D. A lot of water has flowed beneath that proposed bridge since 2012, the last …
For some, it was the breakup of the Beatles — for others, the demise of the Volkswagen Bug. For me, though, “groovy” officially died last week when Vanity announced it’s closing its doors. Millennial shoppers may view it as merely a sign of the times … or barely notice at all, given their propensity for ordering online and foreswearing girly …
Pay a visit to TCF Bank Stadium sometime and you’ll think you’re entering a time warp. University of Minnesota football fans know what I’m talking about. Those banners waving in the wind atop the facility pay homage to the Gophers’ proud history. Seven national championships. A whopping 18 Big Ten titles. Sounds impressive, right? There’s just one problem. That last …
Photographer Eric Bergeson has been doing some sightseeing this past month while taking a winter break in Tucson, Ariz. These are just a few of shots that caught his eye, including blooming wildflowers at Catalina State Park, which have been boosted by timely rain.
Spring teased the Northland last weekend. The seasonal diversion seemed as though it knew the winds from hell would soon attack us from the north. Rarely do March temperatures rise into the balmy, high 40s. But when they do, cabin fever-crazy Minnesotans head — where else? — outside. Sunday was the ideal day to take a hike along the East …
We used to tell our children, “When you grow up, you could be president.” Now we know you don’t have to grow up. Many folks think I am focusing on political activities because I am a Democrat. The fact is, I consider myself an American. I’ve voted for Republican presidents as well as Democrats, since I try to select the …
Raptors are birds of prey that common in the Red River Valley of the North. On his travels in the area, Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons often comes across raptors, sometimes perched in trees, sometimes feasting on carrion and sometimes just soaring in the sky. Here’s what caught his eye in recent weeks. (Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.)
Grand Forks photographer Michael Bogert took advantage of the above-average temperatures in February and early this month to capture these upper Red River Valley scenes. From old farmsteads, long-since-used automobiles and farm equipment, beautiful sunsets and wildlife, Bogert’s snapshots will make viewers yearn for a ride in the country, too.
Goulash has a long history, dating back to the ninth century in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary. Today, gulyás is one of Hungary’s national dishes. Without getting into too many specifics about the original version — the dish might be a little too much for those with a weak stomach — old-fashioned goulash featured meat that was cooked and dried (pemmican), stored in what we would consider …
The University of North Dakota men’s basketball team clinched its first regular season conference title in 22 seasons with an 82-73 victory over Portland State University on Saturday in Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Just like he’s done all season, Quinton Hooker led the way for the Fighting Hawks (19-9 overall, 14-4 Big Sky), scoring 29 points against the Vikings (14-15, 7-11), …
My senior year of seminary I gave up cynicism for Lent. My life, at that point, was literally out of my control. Approved for ordination, my placement was in the hands of the Conference of Bishops, which held a draft of all the eligible candidates to decide where we would end up going, geographically. It would have been easy to …
The engineering firm drafting the Environmental Impact Statement for Billings County’s request to put a new bridge across the Little Missouri River north of Medora, N.D., has determined the best place to put the bridge is just 17 miles north of Medora, about a third of the way — as the crow flies — between the two current bridges near …
Donald Trump was standing at the podium, addressing a joint session of Congress, explaining to the American people how badly the State of the Union sucked, and they best hide. Stupid Kenyan! He gazed to the right when some of the Democrats laughed after a sentence because the words were so absurd, based on reality, it was impossible to muffle …
Sorry to disappoint you, but no checks are in the mail. A standing-room-only crowd showed up for Rep. Kevin Cramer’s Fargo “Coffee with Cramer” town hall last week. Let’s call them “lively.” Trouble was clearly brewing. They packed a local coffeehouse to pepper him with comments and questions about health care, the bungled travel ban, the Great Wall of POTUS …
In the bicycle racing movie “Breaking Away,” the hero’s mother owns a passport she knows she will never use, although the fact that she COULD use it is important to her. I didn’t use my first passport, either. In the early 1980s, I was public relations director at the University of North Dakota. One day, my boss, President Thomas Clifford, …
I’m wondering if there is something in the air, or if it’s only me. A demand is made for an investigation into communications between the Russians and members of the Trump administration. In the world I live in, I wouldn’t object at all if there was nothing to the matter. I’d tell the complainers, “Have at it!” I would know …
Join our annual adventure — the Summer Lewis and Clark Cultural Tour on July 18-25 — through the famous White Cliffs section of the Missouri River and the most pristine portion of the entire Lewis & Clark trail, in the Bitterroot Mountains west of Missoula, Mont. Participants must be in good physical shape to participate. For those who do not …
Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson recently made his first visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a Smithsonian Institution museum established in December 2003. The museum’s building was designed by Davud Adjaye and is on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The museum has about 37,000 objects in its collection related to such subjects as community, family, the visual and performing arts, religion, …
In 1974, I took the above picture of Pablo Picasso’s most famous painting, then displayed in New York’s Museum of Modern Art. “Guernica” was created in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War to protest Nazi Germany’s terror bombing of that undefended and militarily unimportant village. Picasso loaned the huge 11-by-25-foot work to the museum at the beginning of World War II. …