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"(Commission chairman) Jim Arthaud and the Billings County commissioners have the fight of their lives ahead of them if they plan on using eminent domain to put a bridge across our land." That was Sandy Short, wife of the late Con Short and daughter-in-law of former U.S. Congressman Don Short, in an interview with The … Continue reading Quick Takes, Fast Tracks, And The Destruction Of A Historic Ranch And A State Scenic River

Meridian Energy Group, the fly-by-night California startup company that proposes to put an oil refinery next to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota, came one step closer to being able to start construction this week when the North Dakota Supreme Court upheld the Permit to Construct the refinery, issued by the state’s Department … Continue reading I’m Pretty Ashamed Of North Dakota Today

And so we’re a week into Summer, emerging from what I think is the darkest Spring of my life (my personal style book says capitalize the seasons, but I am almost reluctant to do so this year—this Spring doesn’t really deserve any recognition). The only Springs darker that I can recall are 1968, the year … Continue reading Ribs And Tacos: It’s The Little Things That Matter, After A Long Trip Through The Darkness

The Lamoureux twins, Jocelyne and Monique, who led the United States Olympic Women's Hockey Team to a gold medal in the 2018 Winter Olympics, have been named recipients of the North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt  Rough Rider Award, the state's highest honor. Finally. They are the first and only North Dakotans ever to win Winter Olympic … Continue reading Congratulations, Jocelyne and Monique

Four years ago, on the morning after the 2016 North Dakota Primary Election, I wrote a column for The Prairie Blog with the headline “What The Hell Just Happened?” Doug Burgum pulled off one of the biggest upsets in North Dakota political history, giving Wayne Stenehjem a sound beating in their race for the Republican … Continue reading Nobody Ever Got Rich Betting Against Doug Burgum

I’ll pause on this Memorial Day to remember my namesake, Navy Aviation Machinists Mate First Class Carlyle James Fuglie. He was my dad’s “big brother,” although only about 15 months separated them. They joined the Navy together in the spring of 1942, just a few months after the U.S. entered World War II in response … Continue reading Remembering A War Hero

Old joke: What’s the difference between a bedtime story and a fishing story? A bedtime story starts “Once upon a time . . .” A fishing story starts “No shit, this really happened!” Okay, so here we go. No shit, this really happened! It was a Pandemic Friday morning. Much like this morning, grey and … Continue reading No Shit, This Really Happened!

I’m having a hard time concentrating these days with all these whistles being blown in my ears. My phone keeps ringing. People who work for Meridian Energy, or used to work for Meridian Energy, want to talk to me. So I listen. And I ask a few questions, about the status of that oil refinery … Continue reading Those Whistles Just Keep On Blowing

Billings County Commissioners have raised the stakes in their quest to build their “Bridge to Nowhere” across the Little Missouri State Scenic River north of Medora, but the family on whose land the bridge is proposed to be built is not taking it lying down. At a County Commission meeting last month, the Commissioners, without … Continue reading “Bridge To Nowhere” Takes A Couple Tentative Steps Forward

Four years ago today Doug Burgum was criss-crossing North Dakota in a motor home with “Burgum for Governor” in big letters on the side, running against Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem in the Republican Primary Election just a few weeks hence. His campaign theme: Get rid of the “Good Old Boys” network in Bismarck. In what … Continue reading A ‘Good New Boys’ Network?