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Yesterday, December 7th, 2022, is a day that will live in infamy (to borrow a catchy phrase from my favorite president) for me. While visiting the USS Arizona Memorial on Pearl Harbor Day, I experienced severe chills in 80 degree weather. I went to the gift store and bought a really cool Pearl Harbor jacket, … Continue reading VACATION INTERRUPTED!

(NOTE: This article is reprinted from the December issue of Dakota Country magazine, on newstands and in the mail this week.) I wish I could tell you there’s a lot to see on Kendley Plateau, south of Medora. I wish I could, but I can’t, because there’s not much to see there. Mostly Bad Lands, … Continue reading Kendley Plateau: “The Heart of the Badlands”

Headlines from this week’s papers: “GOP grows supermajority in North Dakota’s Legislature; Dems have ‘collapsed completely’” “North Dakota sees worst voter turnout this millennium” “DFL wins full control of Minnesota government” “Minnesota voter turnout shaping up to be highest in nation yet again” The Democratic-NPL Party (my party, sadly) in North Dakota is now almost … Continue reading What If They Gave An Election In North Dakota And Nobody Came?

Everybody’s talking about term limits this week, in the leadup to Tuesday's election. Well, not everybody, but it certainly is the topic of discussion at coffee klatches and business lunches. Even one of my lawyer buddies walked up beside me on the track at the Y this morning and asked “What do you think is … Continue reading Term Limits? We’ve Already Got ‘Em.

(Note: This article first appeared in the November, 2022 issue of Dakota Country magazine.) Long ago, way back in the 1970s, I lived in Dickinson, in western North Dakota, and was a writer and editor for The Dickinson Press. My regular working hours were 2-10 p.m., Monday through Saturday. I was a recently returned Vietnam … Continue reading Twin Buttes: Wilderness, and Maybe a Few Sharptails

There’s an election coming. It’s a pretty boring one. In North Dakota, all the Republicans will win, except in Fargo and a few other places in the Red River Valley. And maybe one Democrat in Bismarck. District 35 Senator Tracy Potter. I think District 35 is the only district west of Highway 281 represented by … Continue reading There’s Going To Be An Election. Ho Hum.

(This article is reprinted From the October, 2022, issue of Dakota Country magazine. I know I've written about this before, but it's an important piece of good news about the Bad Lands, and it's worth revisiting.) Okay, I know, I know, I’m not supposed to speak ill of the dead. But I’m going to a … Continue reading Attorneys General – Good Guys And Bad Guys

Friends have been notified that Hal Simons, 73, died at his home last week, after a long battle with cancer. A memorial service is being planned for late October. Hal was a longtime friend, dating back to our newspaper days in the 1970s. He was a member of a loose knit group of friends who … Continue reading Another One Bites The Dust

There’s something almost magical about stepping onto the prairie and knowing that it’s possible—even likely—that you’re the first person who has ever put their foot down on that spot. Ever. One of the places you can do that is on the Long X Divide, near the extreme north end of the North Dakota Badlands. Long … Continue reading The Long X Divide Offers Wilderness Hiking

On a warm summer evening in late August, 1947, young Phyllis Maxine Boehmer Fuglie stood on the platform of a Chicago train station and kissed her husband, Whitey Fuglie, goodbye. Just 22 years old and heavy with child, she boarded a train for North Dakota, where her mother and his mother waited to help her … Continue reading 75