Every time I hear the phrase “return to the scene of the crime” I smile and chuckle a little inside. It goes back to an evening about ten years ago when Lillian and I and her two teenage daughters were living on a small farmstead north of Dickinson. One early Spring evening, just after dark, … Continue reading Return To The Scene Of The Crime
Category: Law, Government, Politics
Super Tuesday? Not in North Dakota
Super Tuesday. Republicans and Democrats all over America will line up tomorrow to cast their votes for their favorite Presidential candidates. By the end of the night, we might have a pretty clear picture of who the two national party candidates will be, although 34 states and a handful of territories won’t have completed their … Continue reading Super Tuesday? Not in North Dakota
Burt Calkins Was One Cool Dude
March 5 Update: In an e-mail from Burt's son, Craig, I learned there will be a brief service for Burt on Monday, March 7 at 10 a.m. at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery south of Mandan. Friends are invited to attend. Most of you didn’t know Burt Calkins. Too bad. He was one of the most … Continue reading Burt Calkins Was One Cool Dude
A Lenten Primer
When a friend of mine asked me yesterday how fishing was going this winter, I replied with a smile “I have enough perch in the freezer to get me through Lent.” Today is the first Sunday of Lent, Father reminded us at mass. Time for a little Lenten primer, for you non-Catholics (and some of … Continue reading A Lenten Primer
Facing New Economic Reality in North Dakota: Fed Data Shows N.D. as One of Worst-Performing States
(Editor’s Note: I generally don’t allow others to post on my blog. No “Guest Editorials.” Usually, when someone wants to do that, I tell them to get their own blog. But the timing of this article by Doug Burgum is really interesting. It appeared in my e-mail inbox about ten minutes after I posted my … Continue reading Facing New Economic Reality in North Dakota: Fed Data Shows N.D. as One of Worst-Performing States
Oh, Woe Is Me. I’m A Democrat.
What’s a Democrat to do? Just when the North Dakota Republican Party appears more vulnerable than it has been in almost 25 years, the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party has retrenched into a hole so deep that it’s unlikely Democrats here will be able to climb out of it in time to compete in an election … Continue reading Oh, Woe Is Me. I’m A Democrat.
Protecting Humans, Critters and the Little Missouri River Valley
U.S. Highway 85 is North Dakota’s deadliest highway. If you’re not familiar with it, it is the road that runs north and south along the western edge of the state, from our border with Canada to our border with South Dakota, through the North Dakota Bad Lands, some of the state’s most scenic and fragile … Continue reading Protecting Humans, Critters and the Little Missouri River Valley
Giving Away A Gravel Mine
The strange saga of Roger Lothspeich and the Elkhorn Ranch gravel pit has taken a bizarre turn. Lothspeich, you will recall, is the fellow who bought the “surface minerals” (gravel, scoria, coal and uranium) on a piece of land owned by the U.S. Forest Service directly across the Little Missouri River from Theodore Roosevelt’s ranch … Continue reading Giving Away A Gravel Mine
A Short (Well, Sort Of) Introduction To The Koch Brothers Influence In North Dakota
Sunday, January 10 update: As I predicted, look for much about Kevin Cramer in Rob Port's Sunday columns in the Forum Communications' newspapers. As I point out below, Rob owes much to Cramer's communications director Jason Stverak. So it's no surprise that Cramer is the hero of Rob's first Forum column today. Expect a regular diet. … Continue reading A Short (Well, Sort Of) Introduction To The Koch Brothers Influence In North Dakota
Whither The Meadowlark? A Message For North Dakotans Who Enjoy The Outdoors
Here’s a question for some of you who spend a lot of time in the outdoors in the fall: How was your pheasant season? “Good enough, I guess,” would be my response. All of us who hunt pheasants in North Dakota are loathe to say anything gloomier than that, because saying “It wasn’t all that … Continue reading Whither The Meadowlark? A Message For North Dakotans Who Enjoy The Outdoors
The Prairie Blog 