Before the military service or statewide public service, community service shaped Brian Kalk’s values.
Growing up in Bottineau, with a father employed by North Central Electric Cooperative, Kalk was inspired early to improve the quality of life for his neighbors. Cooperative values run deep in his story.
As students across the state settle in for another school year, North Dakota voters will decide whether to fund the food that fuels them.
If passed in the November general election, a constitutional measure brought forth by a citizen-led coalition – Together for School Meals – would require state funding for daily school meals. Measure 2 would provide one free breakfast and one free lunch each school day to every student enrolled in public schools and public charter schools. Private and tribal schools may also opt-in for the program.
Children dance below the stage at the Washington Elementary School in Minot, skipping in circles and clapping wildly after every song while their parents watch from the sidelines.
On stage, four high schoolers in sequin hair stickers and star freckles, play songs new and old for their audience, from Chappell Roan’s viral hit “Pink Pony Club” to classic tunes from times before.
Growing up on a farm near Casselton, Michael Howe never imagined his family’s dinner conversations would inspire an initiative he would later launch as North Dakota’s secretary of state.
“My parents, I would say, are very civically engaged, and I grew up talking about policy at the kitchen table. My parents never ran for office, but we had the 6 o’clock news on during dinner, and you would hear about the events of the day,” he says.
Now, Howe encourages other North Dakotans to understand the benefits of those types of dinner table conversations.
As America marks its 250th anniversary, North Dakota will celebrate a milestone of its own with the grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library July 4 in Medora.
Built within the buttes of the Badlands, the library showcases Theodore Roosevelt's character and vision, and tells the story of the nation’s 26th president who influenced conservation, preservation of public lands and true American leadership.
Long before North Dakota’s statehood, Indigenous people shaped the Northern Plains.
Along the banks of the Missouri River, Mandan and Hidatsa women crafted earth lodges from willow, grass and sod. With hoes made of bison bones, they tended vast fields of corn, squash and beans – the Three Sisters. These nutritious crops could be dried and stored, making them valuable for trade.
Bismarck State College (BSC) delivers career-focused education “Done Right.”
