The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
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I rode on the back of a steam engine this past weekend. I’ve lived in New Rockford for 20 years and have made the short trip to the Central North Dakota Steam Threshers Reunion for nearly every one. I’ve also covered the local steam show for the Transcript 10 straight years now. Each time I aim to capture something and someone new and different, as there are so many things to see and do on the grounds. They’ve recently added events as well, including tractor driving for the kids and a Frida...
Sept. 14 was an unusual day in our little Ward County community of Carpio. It marked only the third time there had been a parade there in the past 20 years. This time it was the fire department’s parade. The local first responders were celebrating 75 years as a fire department and as a spectator looking on, it was impressive. The Carpio department brought out all the big guns, but that wasn’t all. Donnybrook, Tolley, Burlington, Berthold and Minot Rural fire departments were all involved, hel...
I confess to employing the occasional half-truth. In order to keep conversations moving (and save face), I sometimes mumble, “Sort of” when someone queries, “You know where ol’ (fill-in-the-blank) lives, don’t you?” Around these parts, it’s a major social faux pas if you don’t know some nodding acquaintance’s street address, the Vehicle Identification Number of their conveyance and their middle child’s school locker combination. In this part of the country, “I know where you live” is a nonneg...
Measure 4 provides huge property tax relief to everyone, completely reforms how cities and counties will tax in the future, and is a tremendous opportunity for all North Dakotans. It does this while ensuring full local control, and not a single dollar of funding is lost. Dr. Arthur Laffer is a world-renowned economist who advised both President Ronald Reagan and President Trump on their famous tax cut programs. He has reviewed Measure 4, and believes it is a great opportunity for the people of North Dakota. In a letter to the committee dated...
I am personally opposed to Measure 4. I don't think that it is a good solution for our residents. First of all, it is an incomplete package. Widespread concern about real estate taxes is real, but this measure does not specify how this revenue would be replaced. I don't think our residents want to see drastic cuts to services, so another method would be needed to replace the lost revenue. This would still have to come from North Dakota residents, directly or indirectly. $1.575 billion would be needed annually for our state, counties, cities,...
You may have noticed the leaves on the trees in your back yard beginning to change color. And as we go later into September, that foliage is becoming more intense and looks stunning. Granted, North Dakota doesn't have forests like other places do, so you can't just drive down a road and see what those in New England might see. But you can drive to certain places and see the same thing that is happening in Vermont, New Hamp-shire and New York, as well as parts of Michigan, Wisconsin and...
We hear it every two years – "This is the most important election of our lifetime!" In a sense, it is true. Not because of who the candidates may be or the issues facing voters, but because the most important election of our lifetime is always the "next election." Voting is a privilege that every United States citizen has and a responsibility every eligible voter should take seriously. You are responsible for choosing your leaders, your policies, and your future, no matter if it is a P...
During the month of September, approximately 1.3 million people in the U.S. will have suicidal thoughts, 142,000 will attempt suicide, and 4,000 will die by suicide, according to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. In 2023, 142 North Dakota residents died by suicide, according to N.D. Vital Records. “Compassion and human connection are powerful tools in suicide prevention. Reaching out, listening without judgment, and showing genuine care can provide the hope and support that someone in c...
The festival coming up in Minot that celebrates all things Scandinavian is a lot more than just a party to celebrate Norwegian heritage. If you’ve never been there, you’re missing out on some of the best food you’ll ever taste. Numerous vendors have food items as you walk through the halls, but the Høstfest brings chefs in from Norway and Iceland to prepare signature dishes from those countries. It’s a foodie’s paradise. If you don’t go there for any other reason, go for the food. We often tal...
Allergies suck. This is why we should bulldoze all the trees and replace them with McDonalds. Apart from absorbing greenhouse gases, providing food, reducing erosion, housing wildlife and catching rainwater, what have trees ever done for us? They make me sick. Literally. There's pollen everywhere. It's like the Dust Bowl all over again. And tons of people are saying we should plant more. I'll explain why planting more trees is a bad idea as soon as I shake the yellow dust out of my keyboard. If...
In the world of public notices, this summer has been a doozy. Recent events, some involving celebrities, have shed light on just how well read public notices are. Public notices are reports of upcoming meetings held by government entities, notices to creditors when a person passes away, foreclosure notices issued by banks, and financial reports of the cities and school districts, to name a few. Each state has laws that govern what is considered a public notice and how often each needs to be...
Several weeks ago I was asked to give a presentation to a Christian women’s group about growing vegetables in North Dakota as well as talk about farmers’ markets and how they operate. It was a bit surprising to learn that many people in this group weren’t aware of what is happening in this emerging industry. Growing vegetables and taking them to market is much like operating a grain farm. Almost always, however, vegetable farms are smaller acreages. And, unlike grain farms, there is no elevator...
For decades, my mother (who was a veterinarian’s assistant during my childhood) gloated about her visit to my third-grade classroom. The dignified Mrs. Shelton accidentally transposed some numbers and Mom quickly corrected her for stating the normal human body temperature is 96-point-8. (With the proliferation of true-crime podcasts, it seems today the normal human body temperature is “room.” But I digress.) And I fondly remember wandering through corn mazes with my son’s elementary school...
The United States Postal Service is a vital partner to newspapers. We pay them to provide a service, that is to deliver our print editions to every address in America. That partnership, however, is facing new challenges. I was among a select few representing North Dakota newspapers at a roundtable discussion hosted by U.S. Sen. John Hoeven on Monday. An article about that meeting first appeared in the Grand Forks Herald on Tuesday, and is republished in this edition of both the Transcript and th...
We’ve all heard the creepy, campfire stories that scare us out of our wits. But there are actually documented accounts of the unexplained happening in various parts of our state. You can choose to believe it or not, but the people who tell these stories are quite serious. For instance, during Prohibition, tunnels underneath Minot were basically a haven for bootlegged booze and speakeasies. There was also crime in those tunnels because there was a lot of money changing hands. It is said that s...
All anybody needs to know about a free economy is alive and well thanks to social-media flea markets, such as Facebook Marketplace. While procrastinating every morning, I review this site looking at cars, lakefront homes and a wide variety of highly entertaining items people are trying to hock. Facebook Marketplace offers a hands-on lesson in how free-market economics really works. You see, commerce and trading are what humans do. They are the basis of wealth creation and a thriving...
Simplicity, simplicity. If I was really practicing it, I would have said it once. I've been trying to cut down on the clutter in my life, mostly because I keep stubbing my toes on it. But also because people say it helps you focus on the things that matter. Well, not stubbing my toes matters to me. So I've been donating or throwing out every unnecessary thing I own. It's out with my presidential bobbleheads, my chess set with the missing pieces, and my refrigerator. When you think about it, you...
I’m sure we’ve all been in Bismarck at one time or another. But, if you don’t live near Bismarck and don’t get there very often, the next time you do, you’ll most likely notice changes. The city of Bismarck seems to defy just about all of the rest of North Dakota and continues with a robust growth that has now pushed the city to 75,000 in population. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that the state capitol is located there, but it also sits in a strategic location in North Dakota which makes it a na...
Sen. Bernie Sanders has sponsored a bill to mandate paid vacations for all employees. Like so many of Bernie’s proposals, it sounds good until you get into the nitty gritty. Look, it’s true, as Bernie argues, that the United States is the only advanced economy that does not require employers to provide paid vacation time. It’s also true, reports CNN, that “not only do American workers get less vacation time than workers in other industrialized countries, but they also opt to take fewer days of...
We constantly hear that we will no longer need print. However, we believe print's value is increasing in a world of digital distraction, shallow learning, and increasing polarization as people shift from focusing on local news to national television outlets and the Internet. "As a professor of linguistics, I have been studying how electronic communication compares to traditional print when it comes to learning," Naomi S. Baron, a professor of Linguistics at American University, writes. "Is...
On July 28, we attended the Medora Musical with our grandchildren. It’s always fun to get away from the monotony of our every-day routines to enjoy some taffy, ice cream and the musical. Since that Sunday night, a number of people have commented about the musical after we told them that we had attended. The first thing that should be mentioned is it’s amazing that there are people here in North Dakota who aren’t aware of the musical. In their defense, their often transplants who have come here...
School is officially starting for New Rockford-Sheyenne, Carrington and many other area schools this week. With school starting, that usually means taking pictures for the newspaper at the local football and volleyball games. However, my schedule this year will be just a little different. My first-born, Peyton, will be starting pre-K at New Rockford-Sheyenne school this year. She is quite excited for this new adventure and so am I, but I can't say that I am not getting teary-eyed thinking that...
I had the wonderful opportunity for the past 10 weeks to be an intern at the Foster County Independent, and here I am to tell you about the wild summer I had. I never expected the skills that I would learn and develop through the experience. I graduated from Carrington High School in 2023 and just completed my first semester of college in the spring. I am attending the University of North Dakota and pursuing a degree in forensic science. At the end of the school year, I was not entirely sure...
A couple of weeks ago KFYR-TV in Bismarck reported North Dakota now has only 29 grade A dairy farms, down from 53 in 2020. That seems unusual given that milk is the official North Dakota beverage. The number of dairy farms has been sinking for many years with no recourse to keep the industry from spiraling out of control. Back in the 1950’s there were thousands of dairy farms in the state. Thousands might be a little misleading because back then, any farm with 10 or more milk cows was c...
For the first six decades of my life, I was content to travel throughout the United States as opportunities arose. I was blessed with parents who both loved history, so any trek we made in the US was replete with stops at historical sites. However, traveling to Europe happened only through reading, movies and daydreaming. But in 2011, all that changed. An international student at LRSC, to whom Doug and I became quite close, shared my passion for Anne Frank. When her mom came to visit, they invited me to visit them in Luxembourg and promised to...
