Business

Each spring, Thomas Hanna walked alongside his father and grandfather, surrounded by the sweet scent of clover and the hum of hundreds of hives. There, he learned the rhythms of beekeeping, watching, listening and gaining hands-on experience all through high school. By 2009, he became a full-time beekeeper. Today, Thomas and his family continue their grandfather’s legacy at Hanna Honey Farm.

Data centers, seeking land and electricity, are top of mind in rural America and for good reason.

Expected to lift new U.S. energy demand by 30% by 2030, data centers are setting their sights on electric co-op country, where power is affordable and reliable, and they have acreage to spread out.

A regional initiative aiming to transform the rural food system by helping small-town grocery stores stay open and expand markets for local foods is gaining momentum.

North Dakota now has less than 90 rural grocery stores, down from 137 in 2014.

Rural residents often drive 100 miles or more for basic groceries.

In Ashley, Towner, Turtle Lake, Velva and other small towns across the state, rural grocers are fighting to keep their stores operational. The margins are slim. The challenges mount. But their communities are relying on them.

So seniors don't have to drive long distances during the winter. So busy moms can stay close to home. So their small town survives.

Are these the last rural grocers?

Both tariffs and electricity have been in the news a lot this year.

The president’s “America First” trade policies have led to new and increased tariffs on specific imports and entire countries.

Meanwhile, U.S. electric demand has soared to the highest levels seen in two decades.

Tracie Thompson hasn’t gotten a paycheck in more than a year and a half – and it isn’t because she’s not working.

She’s working – a lot. And she’s trying to make things work in the small town of Westhope, 2 miles from the Canadian border in north-central North Dakota.

A few years ago, the Westhope grocery store, which Thompson managed, was in financial trouble, and the owner was forced to close in December 2023.

Bill Butterfield is good at a lot of things.

The Lodgepole, S.D., native is in the Hettinger High School hall of fame. He got his PGA card two years after picking up a golf club. His Black Angus cows and calves eat out of the palm of his hand.

“I have to be competing in anything I do,” Butterfield says.

Four years ago, the self-taught pitmaster took home the People’s Choice award at his first competition barbecue event in Taylor.

Butterfield didn’t just bring the smoke that day: He brought his homemade seasonings.

Whether two legs or four, the big kids and the little ones, everyone is welcome at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. The same can be said for Hondo’s Hideaway restaurant on the Jamestown Reservoir.

“I wanted to keep (the ambiance) more of what you’re maybe used to if you visited Grandma and Grandpa’s house, a little bit of a homey feel,” says Lucas Dockter, Hondo’s Hideaway owner and chief grunt worker. “It pairs well with the food we serve. It’s stuff you would find at Grandma’s house or what you grew up with.”