Air Force School Liaisons
The Department of the Air Force School Liaisons (SLs) are the central point of contact for commanders, military families, and school districts in all Kindergarten through 12th grade school matters. Speaking the dual language of military to educators and education to the military; they are considered the K-12 education office in the local community and […]
Another ‘rare’ animal shows its face…
Two weeks ago while I was watching huge chunks of ice pass by and the Des Lacs River quickly rise to flood stage, I saw a fur-bearing animal on the water trying to swim upstream. I was able to get some pictures of it, but in using an iPhone, you don’t have the option of […]
What A Teacher!
I have answered several surveys that query the name of my favorite teacher, and why. The question brings pause as I begin to think and narrow the list based on the good things and not so good things that I can remember about my classroom days. 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, nothing stands out […]
You Said Onions?
A friend of mine, Marvin Baker, has a garden in Carpio. In North Dakota having a garden would certainly not make him unique, except that Marvin runs North Star Farms where he raises and sells naturally grown prairie produce. Marvin and I met some years ago as he used to be the weekend editor of […]
Potholes and Road Work
The snow is gone—for now. The streets are dry—for the most part. That crazy ice dam near Jersey Mike’s and Noodles & Co has melted. Signs of winter are fleeting—although the forecast still insists on including a chance of snow flurries, just to keep us on our toes. And while many of us are joyously […]
Maple Sugaring Day
A horse drawn wagon, flannel shirts, floppy eared caps, smiling faces, the smell of fresh pancakes, and sweet maple syrup.Vermont?Nope. Fort Stevenson State Park a few miles south of Garrison. Standing under one of the park’s most reliable box elder trees, Park Manager Chad Trautman, was talking to park visitors.“I know. We’re crazy,” said Trautman. […]
Part II: North Dakota, more diverse than you think…
When looking at farm and ranch statistics from the USDA Census of Agriculture, a person could take all day picking apart the various numbers, crops, livestock and even ag processing. There are farms themselves, which in 2017 totaled 26,374 that included 39.3 million acres. The average size of a North Dakota farm was 1,492 acres […]
PCS & Personal Property Prep
A major stressor during a PCS is what to do and how to schedule the moving of your personal property. Personal property resources are available at https://www.militaryonesource.mil under the “Moving & PCS” section. Online tools include the Defense Personal Property Program (DPS), https://dps.move.mil/, where you can upload your orders, ship household goods, manage unaccompanied baggage, […]
A View From Our Side: Right On Time!
It was Easter Monday, April 10th. It was a really nice day…we were in Bismarck in the afternoon, and it was 60 degrees. On the drive back we were commenting on how there were open fields loaded with geese. A week ago, this wasn’t true. We seemed to miss the majority of the April snowstorm, […]
Slice of Life: The Silence of the Owl
Sometimes a person needs to listen to the silence. Our world is filled with sounds of all sorts, so much so that most of us don’t even realize it. There’s cheering and chatter, the closing of car doors, noise of traffic, televisions, ring tones of cell phones — even our own footsteps. It seems there’s […]