Author: Jim Fuglie

It is the third of December and today I finished my Christmas shopping. I didn’t mean to, and I am probably exaggerating, because I will probably get the urge to buy something for somebody, most likely Lillian, in the next three weeks, but technically, I am done, because I accomplished what I set out to … Continue reading The Lady Who Bankrupted Herberger’s

Well, there probably aren’t a lot of North Dakotans who think they’d like to see a greater presence by the Environmental Protection Agency in our state right now. That’s unfortunate, because there are a lot of environmental problems here that aren’t being addressed. But fortunately, one of those who would welcome it, in the form of Special Agents … Continue reading Let’s Hear It For The Good Guys: The EPA

When I left home on Thanksgiving Day 2001 I had a shotgun, a box of shells, a game vest, a gallon jug of water, a cooler, a propane stove with a small bottle of propane, a bottle of red wine and a wooden camping box made for me and given to me by my friend … Continue reading The Best Thanksgiving Meal Ever

“North Dakota oil producers were scheduled to feed the Keystone pipeline with 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day.”   --Jack Dalrymple, in the Republican response to the President’s weekly radio address, March 10, 2012 “The Keystone XL pipeline will move 830,000 barrels of oil a day, including 100,000 from North Dakota’s Bakken region.”   --Sen. John … Continue reading A Canadian Shuffle: Keystone or Energy East?

Here are the two best things the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party can say about Tuesday’s election: They picked up a seat in the North Dakota State Senate, and only one of their incumbents lost. The Senate seat was a big one: Erin Oban’s win over Senator Margaret Sitte. She was the number one target of … Continue reading No. Yes. No. No. No. No. No No.

It was a warm dry day, June 8, 1990. North Dakota was still in the grip of one of its most severe droughts, with little or no spring rainfall in most of the state and temperatures running well above normal. I was driving back to Bismarck from somewhere in the northeast part of the state … Continue reading It’s Election Day; Have A Beer

Yesterday was North Dakota’s 125th birthday. Officially it is called a sesquicentennial. I am only going to try to spell that correctly once. There was a grand party at the state’s Heritage Center, which celebrated the grand opening of its new $50 million facelift. Words fail me trying to describe it. I can only say … Continue reading Why a Sesquicentennial Matters

The departing Superintendent of Theodore Roosevelt National Park says the state “needs to be honest about what is happening in western North Dakota and address the environmental and social problems” that have been created by the state’s oil boom. Valerie Naylor, superintendent of the park for almost a dozen years, will retire from her National … Continue reading Important Words From An Important Person

Like I said yesterday: All the Republicans are going to win. All the ballot measures are going to lose. The election of statewide constitutional officeholders in North Dakota is a pretty ho-hum affair this year. All the Republicans will keep their jobs. Somebody named Ryan will win. That would be appointed Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger, … Continue reading 2014 Election Analysis–Part 2

All the Republicans are going to win. All the ballot measures are going to lose. If I were a betting man, and I could find someone to take the bet, that would be the one I’d make. Okay, not all the Republicans in the country, or even the state. Just the ones running for statewide … Continue reading 2014 Election Analysis–Part 1