Hardiness Zone changes…
Back in the 1960s, the United States Department of Agriculture produced a map of the nation with a number of hardiness zones to help guide gardeners and landscapers with better planting advice. However, those early maps don’t reflect the same zones as today’s maps. There are no doubt, warmer, albeit slightly, patterns that are moving […]
What It Takes
As a journalist writing a story, you sometimes are forced into situations that are at best, getting information to be knowledgeable enough to write a good story, one that gets and holds the attention of the reader. Four years ago, I had the pleasure of accepting a job with the Northern Sentry. I would be […]
This May Be The Summer My Plants Survive
I’ve lived in Indiana, Florida, Oklahoma, Louisiana, South Dakota, and North Dakota. In each place I did my best to make our house into a “home.” On the casual end of the spectrum that meant painting a wall or two. On the extreme end, it meant tearing out walls during a deployment, or overhauling a […]
It’s not as far as you might think…
Often times when I’m involved with my radio hobby of DXing, I’ll run across a radio station I’d never heard of before. When that happens, I look up the distance between my location and the radio tower. In so doing, I’ve come to realize that we are closer to many places than we realize. I’m […]
Minot’s Baseball Cathedral
The sweet scent of fresh cut grass. Dew glistening on baseball spikes. A mouth full of sunflower seeds. Holding a freshly oiled baseball glove to your face. A full moon rising over the outfield fence and the smell of hamburgers and hotdogs drifting across the diamond and through the grandstand. Memories of Corbett Field, Minot’s […]
A Center of Shopping
The parking lot was full of vehicles. Every available parking space for several blocks in all directions was full too. The crowd was shoulder to shoulder. Parents held tightly to their children. Great excitement in the City of Minot!Huh? The year was 1962. The occasion was the grand opening of Arrowhead Mall, the first shopping […]
Sadly, two more newspapers are gone…
It was recently announced that two more North Dakota newspapers have closed for an indefinite amount of time. They are the New Town News and Mountrail County Record in Parshall. That brings the recent number of closures to six in what seems to be a stunning trend. First, it was the Metigoshe Mirror, then the […]
My Summer Must-Dos
Summer is upon us in Hot Dish Land. For locals this means trips to “the lake.” For military families it means “PCS season.” For all of us it means days outdoors, shedding the translucent pallor of winter, and gloriously long days. There are few things better than a North Dakota summer. They go by quickly, […]
The History of “Dak Rats”
Quite often the discussion between a resident of Minot, and someone who lives and works on base will come to the existence of Richardson’s Ground Squirrels, aka gophers, or as they are referred to by military personnel on Minot AFB, Dak Rats. One of my first memories of exterminating a gopher from our yard came […]
Sunshine and Smiles
Everyone needs a little down time now and then. Maybe sit back and relax, whatever form that may be, and get away from daily routines and responsibilities. One way I’ve found to do exactly that usually involves a fishing rod, good company, and an appreciation for one’s surroundings. Shimmering water, gentle waves, and passing cloud […]