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.
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.
A magazine readership survey conducted in August shows familiarity and satisfaction with North Dakota Living are trending upward.
In May 2020, 48% of readers said they were very familiar or familiar with the magazine, while 29% were not very familiar. Familiarity with North Dakota Living increased to 64%, while unfamiliarity dropped to 17% in August 2024.
Similarly, satisfaction increased six percentage points in four years, with 66% satisfied or very satisfied with the magazine. Readers who said they were unsatisfied fell from 6% to 4%.
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.
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.
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.
Energy.