Author: Jim Fuglie

This morning's Bismarck Tribune had a front page story about the Catholic bishop of Bismarck announcing that he would no longer allow Catholic churches in his diocese to sponsor Boy Scout troops. He said in the story that the Boy Scouts of America's decision to allow gay Scout leaders "prompted him to decide that the … Continue reading Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged

According to the man who says he killed Kristopher “K.C.” Clarke, the young oilfield worker who disappeared more than three years ago is buried in one of North Dakota’s Bad Lands parks—likely Little Missouri State Park or the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. That’s one of the apparent confessions made by Timothy Suckow … Continue reading The Ugliest Story Yet From North Dakota’s Oil Patch

I’m going to Hettinger, my hometown, today. Class reunion. A chance to see many old friends. But I’d rather be in Chicago. Let me tell you why. Just about exactly 20 years ago, on the morning of July 8, 1995, I was sitting under the Gateway Arch at the Jefferson National Memorial in St. Louis, … Continue reading The Dead Have Risen, For A Weekend, At Least

Over the past couple of years I have written several times about the decline in North Dakota’s wildlife population since the Bakken Boom began. It may just be a coincidence that numbers of game species (deer, sage grouse, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn antelope, to name a few) have been decimated at the same time as … Continue reading Empty Deer Camps

If you head for the Bad Lands this summer, be prepared for some new scenery. All along I-94 from Dickinson to Medora you’re going to see the latest abomination brought to us by the oil industry: “repurposed” semi-trailers painted up with advertising messages parked along the ditches beside the freeway. It’s what happens when greedy, … Continue reading This Summer’s Prize For Tackiness On The Highway

A month or so ago, in an article I first wrote for Dakota Country magazine, and posted later here on my blog, I talked a bit about my father and his love of North Dakota’s outdoors. If you missed that, you can read it here. I need to share a few more words about my … Continue reading Why My Dad Would Be Thinking Bad Words Today

A Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad train went off the tracks near the small village of Heimdal, North Dakota, just east of Harvey, about 7:30 this morning. That's not news any more, since the train was pulling 109 tank cars of oil, and when six of them caught on fire, it made  national news pretty … Continue reading 15 Minutes Of Fame For Heimdal, Between Harvey And Hamberg

These are the three things I enjoy most about North Dakota’s outdoors: Wading across the Little Missouri River with my hiking shoes slung over my shoulder, on my way to a silent day hiking in the Bad Lands wilderness. Watching my dog lean into a patch of brush, just a glimpse of red feathers under … Continue reading The Artificiality Of Our Outdoor Experience

Let me start with this. I was sitting in my recliner last Sunday evening watching a rerun of the old Lawrence Welk show from the 1960s. It was one of Lawrence‘s “theme shows” and the theme this week was Los Angeles. As the show neared an end, after renditions of surfer songs and Hollywood movie … Continue reading We Cleaned Up The Air But We Couldn’t Clean Up The Politicians

Here's an updated version of a story I wrote here a month or so, and for Dakota Country magazine's current issue.   Now we know that there will be no bighorn sheep season in North Dakota this year, for the first time since 1983. Nor will there be one in the foreseeable future. So, add … Continue reading Well, We Were Warned . . .