I dragged two suitcases full of everything I owned to the terminal desk of a California airport in 2013. My one-way ticket to North Dakota was a promise to myself I would seek the adventure I felt I needed. I was looking for something, but I didn’t yet know just what it was.
On my first flight to Denver, I sat beside a woman kindly curious enough to ask where I was headed. I’ll always remember her tender chuckle when I told her how (un)prepared I was for a winter in the Northern Plains. It was New Year’s Day, and the temperature in Fargo was colder than I had ever experienced, which I now know is peanuts by North Dakota standards. She wasn’t judging me. She was encouraging me. She told me the winters she spent in the Midwest were some of the most comforting of her life. Difficult, yes. But full of goodness, too.
That encouraging stranger on the plane became the first of many people who would quietly nudge me along as I settled into my first job at Valley News Live (KVLY/KXJB): the taxi driver from the airport who pointed out the landmarks, the server in the restaurant where I ate alone, the running club that met at 5 a.m. (Even, to my surprise, in February.) I didn’t know if I did anything to warrant their extra measure of kindness, but they welcomed me, showed me the way and made me feel like I belonged here.
I am not a native North Dakotan, but because of the way this state and its people have taken care of me, I have found my home. I met the love of my life here, started my family and put down roots.
Now I see it was the cooperative spirit, woven through the fabric of North Dakota, that met me when I stepped off that plane. I didn’t know that spirit before I came here, nor did I understand its values. But it became a part of my story, teaching me concern for community, treating me with equity and inviting me to stand in solidarity.
Serving as managing editor of North Dakota Living is an honor I don’t take lightly. The 72-year legacy of this magazine was built by celebrating people and connecting communities. I am deeply aware I am stepping into a role shaped by the talented editors and storytellers before me.
So, to you, reader, I make this promise: I will honor every inch of every page with dedication and care. I will serve the values that formed cooperatives and keep power running to homes and industries across the state. I will approach each story with the same curiosity that brought me here in the first place. It led me to the wide-open plains in search of adventure, and it continues to teach me to look closer, appreciate the extraordinary within the ordinary and remain grateful for this North Dakota home.
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Hope Sisk is managing editor of North Dakota Living. She can be reached at hsisk@ndarec.com.
