Category: Law, Government, Politics

Over the past few years I’ve written a number of stories about the threats to the Elkhorn Ranch Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It's a pretty sacred site to a lot of North Dakotans and Americans, and it needs to be protected. Aside from the fact that the 218 acre site in northern Billings … Continue reading Elkhorn Ranch Update #1

            A rerun. I wrote the piece below for a guest editorial in The Bismarck Tribune about ten years ago now. We were at war in Iraq. Now the wars are over. Sort of. I’ve updated it a bit. Bringing Home The Troops             Well, the troops are on their way … Continue reading Next: Canada

When I started this blog half a decade ago, it had a longer name. It was The Prairie Blog: Politics and Prairie Literature. And that’s what I wrote about. I’d go on rants about politics until my friend Wayne Tanous would send me a message, like “Hey, Jim, it’s Spring. Lighten up.” And so I … Continue reading Politics and Prairie Literature

Here’s an updated version of an article that I wrote for this month’s issue of Dakota Country magazine: There’s a new set of eyes behind the desk of the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Wildlife Division Chief, and that spells good news for the Bad Lands. Jeb Williams, now four months into his job … Continue reading A Little Good News For The Bad Lands

         James W. Foley was North Dakota’s longtime Poet Laureate. He grew up in Medora, where his family served as caretakers for the home built in 1884 by the Marquis de Mores for the parents of his wife, Medora. The restored home, now known as the  Von Hoffman House, remains open to … Continue reading A Couple of Christmas Poems

Soon it will be January of an odd-numbered year. For those who follow politics, and the result of politics—government—it is the beginning of the time when laws are made. They’ll be made in the North Dakotas by the State Legislature. They’ll be made in Washington by the United States Congress. In Washington, there haven’t been … Continue reading It’s Time To Get In Line For Our Wildlife

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?