Cally Peterson

The electric industry is in a state of transition. In the mid-2000s, a shift away from fossil-fuel generation toward renewables began taking shape. The green energy conversation has dominated the industry for several decades. Consumers have more interest in where and how their power is produced. Policy, regulation and private investment capital continue to step on the accelerator toward a lower carbon future.

But, another critical conversation has emerged in recent years – it’s message ringing louder and louder as extreme weather events test the nation’s electric grid.

The average age of the American farmer is 58.1 years old, and nearly 40% of producers in the United States are age 65 or older, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2022 Census of Agriculture released Feb. 13.

Surprising? No.

“Hey, girls. Hey, girls,” Al Gustin gently calls to the cows during morning chores, reassuring them in the presence of strangers holding a camera, notepad and pen.

The cows recognize his voice. The people do, too.

For 45 years, the retired farm broadcaster was the first welcomed guest in homes and on farms across North Dakota as he delivered his trusted morning ag news. And in January, Gustin completed his 50th year writing his monthly column, “Farm Byline,” in North Dakota Living.

Gustin stops to pat 12C, a black Gelbvieh he owns.

Whoever said “rain is a good thing” wasn’t referencing late December rain in North Dakota. Christmas Day rain blanketed southeastern North Dakota in a sheet of ice, which caused major damage to the electric system and left some North Dakotans without power for 11 days.

Electric cooperatives described it as “the worst ice storm since 1997.” Dakota Valley and Cass County electric cooperatives were hit hardest by the storm, while KEM, Mor-Gran-Sou, Nodak and Northern Plains electric cooperative members also experienced outages.

The gym is empty, though not for long. Soon, fans of basketball will fill the stands. But not before Catherine Howard, a Spirit Lake tribal elder, performs a ceremonial smudging of the Four Winds Community School gym.

Pat Traynor believes he lives in “the most generous part of the planet.” Since 2008, he has witnessed hundreds of thousands of generous donors give $165 million to more than 500 local charities in primarily North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.

Each year, 24% of weather-related vehicle crashes occur on snowy, slushy or icy pavement and 15% happen during snowfall or sleet, the Federal Highway Administration reports. North Dakotans can help mitigate risks posed by severe weather by following these winter driving best practices.

Marlo Anderson is living proof there’s reason to celebrate every day. As founder of the National Day Calendar – the official, authoritative source for fun, unusual and unique national days – Anderson has built a wildly popular national brand around celebration.

Anderson’s curiosity popped in 2013, as he searched for information on the internet about the national day dedicated to his favorite snack – popcorn (the movie-theater buttered kind, preferably).

From Richardton to Velva – Originally from Richardton, Randy Hauck has called Velva home for 39 years. Verendrye Electric Cooperative (VEC) hired him as member services assistant upon graduating from North Dakota State University in 1984 with a degree in agriculture mechanization.

Opening the December 1954 issue of North Dakota Living holds all the excitement of a child opening a gift on Christmas morning. It is a Christmas treasure. Visions of nostalgia dance in one’s head, perhaps yearning for a simpler, different time in rural America.