We’re Remembering Our Heroes

My wife opened the door at CashWise foods and deposited her Saturday morning grocery purchase in the car, and asked “there are a couple of ladies in their selling poppies, should I go back and get some?” My answer was “of course” and then my mind slipped back to my young kid days when two […]

New Public Charter Schools Law Takes Effect August 1st 2025

Senate Bill 2241 passed the house and the senate last month. This bill requires public charter schools to be part of North Dakota’s public education system. Governor Kelly Armstrong states, “Expanding school choice is a win-win for North Dakota families and for our state’s workforce and long-term success. The public charter schools authorized by this […]

Cold Case North Dakota

Did you know North Dakota has at least a dozen cold cases with one of them that dated back to 1945.According to the attorney general’s website, there are actually 13, with one of them, the Anita Knutson case in Minot, recently in the news with a trial in Grand Forks. Nichole Rice who was on […]

I’ve Never Been, But I’d Love to Go

I love visitor guides. When we travel, I’m the person who scans the brochure rack in the hotel lobby. I’ll read the guide cover to cover and relay any fun facts I find. At national parks, the pamphlets handed through the window upon entry are never relegated to the floorboards or that crevice between the […]

Playground Safety and Student Success Outside

As a certified Early Childhood Playground Inspector since October 2020, I have inspected seven playgrounds on Minot AFB. The first one was the Lewis and Clark Park, which satisfied my final project requirement for certification. Next, the Bud Ebert Park, which consists of ten play structures and is located at the far end of the […]

North Dakota Border Towns

As we all know, North Dakota borders South Dakota, Minnesota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Montana. What many of us my not know is there are numerous communities that were built right on a border and in a couple of cases, they extend beyond North Dakota. The most obvious border town is Fargo. It’s our largest city […]

Historically quirky North Dakota

Despite our state being only 136 years old, we all know there is plenty of history that happened during those years. Military history, the building of the railroads, cities springing up on the steel rail, massive cattle ranches and bonanza farms are all part of it. There’s also the lesser-known history that most of us […]

The Glass Is Half Full

Whether your passion is hiking, biking, camping, swimming, kayaking or just plain hanging…around on a beach, take some time and fill the glass to overfull with exciting hour long, or day long events. Best Kept Secrets- Small Towns, Big Events:There are so many small communities in North Dakota that host world class events. We have […]

The Spring Shift

Last week, I began clearing things out of my garage to clean and sell on Facebook Marketplace. This is part of my spring-and-fall routine: pull out the large toys—bikes, scooters, strollers, and all manner of plastic monstrosities we’ve accumulated over the previous season. Then I audit. What don’t we use? What are the boys too […]

Big ‘A’ Airmen

You might say “well Rod, that’s what they are told to do” and I will agree. But it certainly would be easy to have a bit of a chip on your shoulder when weather conditions are extreme, and I am pretty sure that not everyone who drives up to the gate is having a Grade […]