North Dakota
More than 60 years after Capt. William Richardson’s F-106 aircraft crashed into the frozen prairie near Flasher in 1963, a memorial saluting his sacrifice now stands alongside Highway 31 in Grant County.
Richardson’s daughter, who was 2 years old when her father died, tearfully attended the memorial’s dedication, as a 21-gun salute sounded into the pristine sky and a P-51 Mustang roared overhead in a flyover.
The soldier’s ultimate sacrifice has been honored in a warm embrace by the state, even though he was not a native son.
The winter of 2022-23 was unforgettable in many regards. It arrived in early November and hung around until sometime in April. Some areas of the state received 100 inches of snow or more during those long six months. Without question, many deer died that winter, and the fallout was a reduction of nearly 11,000 licenses for the 2023 deer gun season.
You could drive from Watford City to New York City and the distance would be roughly the equivalent of the miles of roads maintained by McKenzie County in the western North Dakota oil patch.
“It’s right around 1,500 to 1,800 miles of roads with gravel and pavement,” says McKenzie County Road Superintendent Layton Northrop.
Howdy Lawlar has driven most of them.
Farming in his tractor or feeding his registered Black Angus cattle.
Driving to county commission meetings as chairman or responding to calls as a volunteer fireman.
A gardener, quilter and fourth-generation McKenzie County resident living on her grandparents’ homestead. A mom and trusted local real estate agent. A U.S. Air Force veteran and Montana transplant turned McKenzie County resident. A proud new dad and long-suffering Minnesota Vikings fan.
What do they all have in common? They are among the more than 3,000 North Dakotans who run North Dakota elections. And, they’re your neighbors.
Could you get any more “North Dakota” than that?
It’s what I asked myself after talking to State Sen. Merrill Piepkorn and Congressman Kelly Armstrong about an idea I had for this month’s recipe section: What if we featured favorite recipes from North Dakota’s gubernatorial candidates?
A light accompaniment to a weightier issue of North Dakota Living. A side of broccoli with lasagna, if you will.
Voting and elections provide a vehicle for citizens to change laws or introduce new ones they think would benefit their community.
With North Dakota’s ballot measure process, citizens can introduce a statewide ballot measure to change the North Dakota Constitution or state law. A statewide measure can be placed on the ballot by the Legislature or through a petition process initiated by the citizens of North Dakota.
One in five eligible North Dakotans turned out to vote in June’s primary election. My county did better than the state average with 43% voter turnout in Kidder County. But little Billings County in western North Dakota, home to Theodore Roosevelt National Park and 945 people, did better than all of us with 59.25% voter turnout. Teddy would be proud.
In election years, North Dakota Living offers its platform as the state’s largest circulated publication to familiarize voters with the candidates seeking statewide office.
North Dakota Living posed two questions to candidates in select statewide races, including U.S. senator, representative in Congress, governor and lieutenant governor, and public service commissioner. Their responses are published here through page 31.
CONSTITUTIONAL MEASURE 1 – SCR 4001
Put forth by the state Legislature, this measure updates terminology used in the state constitution to describe several state institutions.
It would change the “school for the deaf and dumb of North Dakota” to the “school for the deaf and hard of hearing,” the “state hospital for the insane” to the “state hospital for the care of individuals with mental illness” and “an institution for the feebleminded” to “a facility for individuals with developmental disabilities.”
