Community
Like a warm hug, laughter echos through the dining room as a group of ladies gathers for coffee, gleefully cajoling cookies from the kitchen staff inside the Mott Health Care Center (MHCC).
The scene is the culmination of a mighty community effort.
“Perseverance is never giving up and never losing hope” was once scripted onto a wall of the physical therapy room in the center. That seems appropriate.
The city of Dickinson reimagined a downtown site – a former banking center – to create a vibrant outdoor space for the community.
Nearly five years ago, two North Dakota farmers had an idea to market their barley crop to beer brewers. A local surplus of barley and shortage of malt presented favorable market dynamics, and the pair were willing to bet on themselves, their barley and beer.
There is a place in western North Dakota where you can experience a rodeo on Saturday night and a church service on Sunday morning.
Syndi Musland Miske was practically born with boots on. Growing up in rural North Dakota, she spent her free time riding horse, practicing barrels in the arena near her family’s farm and ranch and riding to the Do Drop Inn in Merricourt for malted milkshakes.
A cardiac rehab nurse, Miske and her husband, Darin, now live on a ranch in Wibaux, Mont., served by Goldenwest Electric Cooperative, just 40 miles away from Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP). It’s a dream come true for the cowgirl who dreamed of riding her horse in the Badlands.
For over a century, Minot State University (MSU) has empowered students with the confidence and skills to lead fulfilling lives in their communities. By providing over $4 million in scholarships and aid annually, nearly half of MSU students graduate debt-free.
At the small, rural school in Anamoose, a young girl runs to the cafeteria door with a giant smile and tiny brown seed in hand. She politely asks for a plastic bag to take her trophy home – a pepper seed she found during lunch – so she could plant it and grow peppers.
Miranda Reider, assistant cook and the school’s “bread master,” happily obliges, explaining this is a common occurrence at the Anamoose-Drake Elementary School.
High above the ground with a sweeping view of the North Dakota prairie is right where Jacob Lund is meant to be.
As a journeyman lineworker, Lund is often 35 feet in the air, working on the high-voltage electrical infrastructure that powers the lives of his cooperative’s members. And there’s no place he’d rather be.
The world changed five years ago when the coronavirus pandemic entered our lives. It disrupted everything, from the way we learn and work to the price of groceries and gasoline. While many facets of our lives have returned to normal (or a “new normal”), the American pocketbook is still wishing and waiting for the return of pre-pandemic pricing.
