(Reprinted from Dakota Country magazine, June, 2021) Most years, the North Dakota Badlands, as I write this in early May, are changing color. As the ground warms, the winter’s snowmelt brings hints of green into the brown landscape of buffalo and crested wheat grass and little bluestem, and by the end of the month, as … Continue reading It’s Going To Be A Long, Hot Summer In the Badlands

Meridian Energy Group, the troubled startup company that has announced plans to build an oil refinery next to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, has closed all of its offices and three of its top executives have left the company, leading energy industry watchdogs to question the future of the company. The company lists three offices on … Continue reading Like Rats On A Sinking Ship . . .

Looks like it’s going to be a rainy, windy day. A day to stay inside and write, something I haven’t done for a while. I need to share with you something that happened a little more than a week ago at this same keyboard I am writing at today. I got censored by Facebook. Now … Continue reading Donald Trump And I Got Censored By Facebook

I know, I haven’t written much about the North Dakota Legislature this year. Too many other things on my mind. But I followed it, and read about it daily, and shook my head in amazement over the stupid things the Republican majority did. I won’t tick them off here—you know what I am talking about. … Continue reading The Curious Case Of The Drunk-Driving Legislator

Somebody asked in a comment on my blog last week for an update on the proposed Little Missouri Crossing north of Medora. Here’s some information stolen from an article I wrote for Dakota Country magazine’s May issue, which should be on the newsstands later this week, or in your mailbox if you subscribe, which you … Continue reading An Update On The ‘Bridge To Nowhere’

A little more than eight years ago, in December 2012, I wrote one of the hardest obituaries I’ve ever had to write, and believe me, I’ve written a lot of them, as a former newspaper reporter and editor. The obituary was for Snaps®. Anyone who knows me well or remembers that blog post on December … Continue reading Snaps® Are Back!

Three groups have been cheering the appointment of Debra Haaland as President Biden’s Secretary of Interior. WOMEN. Although 21st Century Presidents have done better, over the years, probably only about 10 per cent of all Cabinet Secretaries have been women (I think I read somewhere the total is about 30 since we became a country) … Continue reading A Short, Sweet, Norwegian Celebration

There are a couple new developments in the ongoing saga of the proposed Little Missouri River Crossing north of Medora. I’ve written about this extensively, most recently last December. Here’s what’s going on right now. There’s a new look to the Billings County Commission. Longtime Commission Chairman Jim Arthaud, the driving force behind the bridge … Continue reading April’s A Key Month For The ‘Bridge To Nowhere’

                In the end, the vote last week to kick Luke Simons out of the Legislature wasn’t about Luke Simons at all. It was about Chet Pollert showing Ricky Becker who’s in charge.             Pollert’s the Majority Leader in the North Dakota House of Representatives. He introduced the resolution to kick one of his own … Continue reading Pollert vs. Becker. Pollert Wins. Luke Who?

This is a story about a REALLY GOOD FRIEND and a REALLY GOOD WIFE. It started about a year ago when my friend Mike Jacobs offered to place a bet on the 2020 June North Dakota Primary election. It seems he had made a bet on a candidate in a contested Primary race, but was … Continue reading A REALLY GOOD FRIEND and a REALLY GOOD WIFE