Kennedy DeLap

North Dakota now has less than 90 rural grocery stores, down from 137 in 2014.

Rural residents often drive 100 miles or more for basic groceries.

In Ashley, Towner, Turtle Lake, Velva and other small towns across the state, rural grocers are fighting to keep their stores operational. The margins are slim. The challenges mount. But their communities are relying on them.

So seniors don't have to drive long distances during the winter. So busy moms can stay close to home. So their small town survives.

Are these the last rural grocers?

This fall, students returning to school will say goodbye to summer and their cellphones.

In April, Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed into law a bill banning student cellphone use in the state’s public schools.

The law requires cellphones to be secured during instructional time, from the start of the school day to dismissal, or “bell to bell.” It does not include school-owned devices such as laptops and tablets used for educational purposes, but covers a variety of personal devices, including smartwatches and tablets, that could distract students during the day.

The conversation around colorectal health is far from glamourous.

“But what in health is glamourous?” says Beverly Greenwald, president of the North Dakota Cancer Coalition and endoscopy nurse of more than 25 years.

Plus, the conversation could save your life.

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.

Or a monster truck show one day and goat yoga the next.

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.

The city of Dickinson reimagined a downtown site – a former banking center – to create a vibrant outdoor space for the community.

Dickinson’s Legacy Square opened in 2023 after five years of planning and fundraising.

With technological advancements shaping the present and future, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) Nation in Fort Berthold is welcoming innovation and utilizing the tools it offers in a unique way.

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.

Jason Bentz has always loved fishing.

Growing up, Bentz and his family would spend their weekends camping at Heart Butte Dam and Lake Tschida, reeling in walleye, perch and bass from dawn until dusk in a 14-foot aluminum boat.

“You couldn’t go out when there was a whole lot of waves,” Bentz says with a laugh.

On camping trips, the family slept in a truck topper perched on a ’79 Dodge and spent time stargazing when they weren’t casting.