The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 200
This year marks the 83rd celebration of National Newspaper Week. From October 1-7, newspapers across the country are affirming their responsibilities to the communities they serve. I’ve written a lot about our industry in this space over the last year, yet I find myself compelled to do it again. So much has happened in the past several weeks. In August, we changed the distribution process for every newspaper we print, and that has affected when many of our readers receive their print edition, w...
There's usually one in every hunting party, but this time it's the whole party and nothing but a party. This fall, DPRCA presents "Deer Camp," a hilarious take on hunting. Four buddies are set to enjoy their annual deer hunting trip, but this year is a little different. After 15 years of coming home with nothing but a hangover, their wives have given them an ultimatum: bag a deer or your deer camp days are over. Only one teeny, tiny hurdle stands in their way – none of them know how to hunt! D...
It was a beautiful end-of-summer day in Carrington City Park on Sunday, as the community walked to prevent suicide. Carrington's 2nd Annual Out of the Darkness Walk was well attended. Hosted by Carrington Area Healthy Communities Coalition, with support from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a crowd gathered to remember those lost to suicide, offer support for those who struggle, and to bring hope to the community. The message is that suicide can be preventable, and no one is...
At Tuesday’s meeting, Superintendent Janelle Helm shared a new enrollment report with Carrington School Board members. She said she plans to update the chart every month to illustrate how the numbers change throughout the year. Helm reported that the district began the year down about a dozen students compared to last May. Grade K-12 enrollment totaled 554 as of Sept. 8. In addition, the Pre-K program is at its maximum capacity of 40 students. The average daily membership for grades K-12 last y...
I hear that a lot from people who regularly buy PowerBall tickets, spend hours at the blackjack table and make frequent trips to the casino. My grandfather bet on horses at the racetrack in Fessenden when I was little. There hasn’t been horse racing, except for maybe an Indian Horse Relay, at the Wells County Fairgrounds in decades. My husband and I went to the casino for our anniversary several years ago. We each put $20 in the slot machines. We were both broke in a few minutes, so we headed o...
Last week, the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team set the world record for highest attendance at a women’s sporting event, EVER. The world was watching as they packed 92,003 people into their stadium. This is a college volleyball team, folks. Forget the WNBA! Yes, those players and coaches love their hometown crowds. New Rockford-Sheyenne and Carrington hosted their respective season home openers for volleyball this past week, and both put on a good show and defeated t...
I’m one of the lucky ones. I have been selected to be part of two surveys for the U.S. Census Bureau in the past year. No, these aren’t the types that ask nicely for your participation, offer you a free meal or a dollar or any token of appreciation for your answers. Rather, they are required by law, as is the decennial census that all Americans must fill out. Once you get “chosen,” you’re stuck. They send you emails and letters that don’t stop until you answer all their questions, sometimes m...
As of July 31, the end of the 2022-23 year, the general fund balance for Carrington School District totaled more than $3 million. “We carry a huge reserve, percentage-wise of our general fund budget,” President Joel Lemer told members of the school board Tuesday, adding that the public has expressed some concern about the size of the fund balance. Therefore, when putting together the budget for the 2023-24 year, the finance committee set in motion tax relief measures. The district can ass...
The winds of change are howling. Last Friday, Aug. 18, was the last time our staff had the opportunity to see and inspect our newspapers before they entered the postal system. Effective with the Aug. 28 edition and for the foreseeable future, we will no longer be unloading totes and bundles of addressed newspapers off pallets and delivering them to the local post offices in Carrington and New Rockford. Instead, our printing company will take all the print copies of both the Independent and the...
For a quarter century, the Carrington Fire and Rescue has answered the call, time and time again, from the same six-bay headquarters. The present Fire Hall, located just west of Carrington City Hall, was constructed in 1998, and just celebrated its 25th year of operation. Locals established the Carrington Fire Department in 1891 to provide fire protection service to residents and businesses. For many years, the Carrington Fire Department operated out of the armory, just across the street from...
Both newspaper offices have been a flurry of activity lately. We’ve had many visitors this summer going through our bound files, or newspaper archives, to gather information published over the past 100+ years. I’m sure our guests in Carrington have heard their share of newsroom banter, as noise flows through those uninsulated faux walls like the North Dakota wind through a screen. Author Karri (Bye) Theis brought her daughter and a friend to the Carrington office to do research for a book she...
Along with the State American Legion Baseball Tournament and various CHS class reunion activities, the Central City Bash hit Carrington July 26-30 for several days worth of downtown and community-wide events....
This Tuesday, Carrington is one of 17 communities across North Dakota hosting National Night Out events. The National Night Out program celebrates its 40th year of connecting law enforcement with the broader community. It all began with Matt, a volunteer with the Lower Merion Community Watch in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, Penn. in 1970. As one of a thousand volunteers in his area program, he prepared a newsletter to keep his colleagues informed about what was happening, and he learned...
One of the signs of a healthy economy is an increase in taxable sales and purchases. According to Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus, North Dakota’s taxable sales and purchases for the first quarter of 2023 totaled $5.7 billion, an increase of 21.4 percent compared to the same time frame in 2022. “We experienced significant year-over-year growth throughout 2022 in taxable sales and purchases. That same growth is continuing into 2023, reflecting our strong state economy,” said Kroshus. Local...
It’s been a wild week of baseball. I photographed the Babe Ruth District 4 Championship on Sunday in Hillsboro. The contest spanned two games, 17 innings and nearly six hours from first pitch to last photo op. Hats off to the New Rockford Black Sox for hanging tough against the HCV Blue Sox and finding a way to come out on top! The Legion district championship was played just as this edition of the Independent was going to press, and it was Carrington Post 25 vs. New Rockford Post 30 battling i...
Carrington Public Schools are doing fine, even better than they anticipated a year ago. Finance Committee chair Kevin Wolsky offered positive news to the school board at Tuesday’s meeting. The finance committee met Monday and learned that 2022-23 spending had come in under budget, while the district received more revenue than anticipated. The result was over $300,000 in remaining funds at the end of the fiscal year. The committee decided to use some of those funds for several items on the d...
I was among a small group of three who decided to explore downtown Crosby, Minn., the nearest town to the lake house my husband’s family inhabited for a few days this past week. The population is 2,300, so it has a few more residents than Carrington. This central Minnesota town had a fair amount of traffic that Saturday afternoon, however, a sight that I would love to see in New Rockford or Carrington. No doubt the lake (one of Minnesota’s 10,000) – and the nearby Cuyuna Country State Recreation...
There's something hot off the press at the Foster County Museum. The 3D printing press, that is. A 4-by-8 foot replica of Carrington's Rainbow Gardens, as it was in the 1930s, arrived at the Foster County Museum on Wednesday, June 21, just in time for the 91st Annual Foster County Fair. The Independent got a close-up view of the impressive diorama just a couple hours after it arrived thanks to Foster County Historical Society board member Mike Larson. It was built by Bill Cochran, owner of...
No, we don’t need more sleep. It’s our souls that are tired, not our bodies. We need nature. We need magic. We need adventure. We need freedom. We need truth. We need stillness. We don’t need more sleep. We need to wake up and live. This poem, which was presented as a meme on my Facebook feed this afternoon, was just what I needed. It made me stop in my tracks and think. Better yet, it was just the inspiration I needed to write this column. I see and read a lot of conflicting advice these days,...
The election results are official and unchanged. Dr. Ben Garr has earned a seat on the Carrington School Board effective July 1. The board met on Monday, June 19 for a regular meeting and canvassed the June 6 election results. Angela Kutz was re-elected to another term as a rural member, and Ben Garr was declared the winner of the three-year, at-large term with 50 write-in votes. The Foster County Independent was also reinstated as the official newspaper for publication of minutes after voters...
From Schroeder's music and Linus' blanket to the Red Baron and the kite-eating tree, this summer DPRCA brings to life the beloved comic strip that transcends generations. "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" opens Wednesday, July 12 at the Old Church Theatre. Bring Grandma and the grandgirls to this family-friendly show. First staged more than 50 years ago in 1967, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" has something patrons of all ages will enjoy. Based on Charles Schulz's famous comic strip, this...
As I write this, summer has officially begun. It’s the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. The weather is fine, and it’s time to take in a live show (or nine). This year a pop culture icon will come alive at the little theatre on Central Avenue in New Rockford. “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” debuts July 12 at Old Church Theatre, featuring the art of cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. “Peanuts” debuted in newspapers on Oct. 2, 1950, years before my parents were even born. The short str...
Step out of the darkness and into the light. On Sunday, Sept. 10, Carrington City Park will host the second annual Out of the Darkness Walk with a goal to raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention. The walk is organized locally by the Carrington Healthy Communities Coalition with support from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Funds raised from the Out of the Darkness Walks allow the AFSP to invest in research, create educational programs, advocate for public policy...
There's something hot off the press at the Foster County Museum. The 3D printing press, that is. A 4-by-8 foot replica of Carrington's Rainbow Gardens, as it was in the 1930s, arrived at the Foster County Museum on Wednesday, June 21, just in time for the 91st annual Foster County Fair. The Independent got a close-up view of the impressive diorama today thanks to Foster County Historical Society board member Mike Larson. It was built by Renee and Bill Cochran of BridgeTown Imprints in Valley Cit... Full story
“Mom, wanna be on my BeReal?” my 16-year-old daughter asked me one day. “Um, sure,” I replied sheepishly, because frankly I didn’t even know what she was talking about. She told me to look at her camera phone, and she quickly snapped a photo of us. I didn’t really give it much more thought at the time. Since then, my husband and I have made guest appearances in both our daughters’ BeReal feeds several times. What is BeReal, you ask? Well, it’s just another social media app that all the kids ar...
