Articles written by Marvin Baker
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 99
Upside Down Under: Cellular dead spots...
In this day and age you wouldn’t think something so simple as cellular telephone coverage would be so spotty, but it is. There are numerous “dead spots” across North Dakota, and depending on...
Upside Down Under: DAPL rears its ugly head...
I’m sure just about everyone can remember the Dakota Access Pipeline protests that took place in 2016 and 2017. They lasted a long time and things got ugly. I’m sure some of you reading this were...
Upside Down Under: Greek immigrant recalls terrifying encounter
When I moved to Langdon in 1995, the company that owned the newspaper put me up in a hotel until I could find a place to live. It didn’t take but a couple of weeks and I found a decent apartment...
Upside Down Under: Is outmigration the answer?
We have some friends who grew up in northeastern North Dakota, went to college at the University of North Dakota, then worked in Grand Forks for many years. Then, the husband got a job in Minneapolis...
Upside Down Under: Gus the Magpie...
As a writer, this piece of information is, well, really stepping outside the box. It’s about an Australian magpie who took Melbourne by storm. Many of us know that Australians love their animals...
Upside Down Under: Why all the hatred for Carson Wentz?
Somebody help me out here. I’ve been a football fan for a lot of years and honestly don’t know what is going on right now. Why is there so much hatred for Carson Wentz? My guess is it’s people w...
Upside Down Under: Dickinson State
Dickinson State University was recently in the news for all of the wrong reasons. Five majors have been eliminated and several faculty laid off because of it. Students who were interviewed on TV were...
Upside Down Under: One grows, one shrinks
During the second half of the 1990s, I operated the newspaper in Langdon and often made short, 38-mile trips to Morden, Manitoba, for various reasons. At the time, Langdon’s population was about...
Upside Down Under: High speed chase in progress...
On Wednesday my young assistant and myself were on our delivery route going through Minot when we saw something we don’t normally experience in Minot. It was a high speed chase involving a late mode...
Upside Down Under: Is AM radio going away?
There have been a lot of articles recently about AM radio and its impending doom. Apparently, some auto manufacturers are eliminating AM radio from their cars, but there continues to be a pushback...
Upside Down Under: Spanning 3 degrees of latitude...
There’s a 1941 school map of North Dakota that hangs in my garage. Knowing of my interest in geography, one of my wife’s friends gave me that map when she moved away. I look at that map every day...
Upside Down Under: N.D. Highway Patrol professionalism...
Have you ever been stopped, ticketed or even arrested by the North Dakota Highway Patrol? If so, did you notice there is something different about this law enforcement agency compared to others?...
Upside Down Under: The marvel that is Garrison Dam...
Since July 4, my wife and I have had two opportunities to drive across Garrison Dam. The first trip’s destination was Rapid City and the second, Beulah. I drove the first time and she drove the...
Upside Down Under: People are visiting. . .
North Dakota Tourism tells us there are a lot of visitors to our state during the summer months. And that’s true. Just take a drive through the Badlands or visit Medora and you’ll see all kinds...
Upside Down Under: A step too far. . .
Have you heard about this incident in Marion County, Kansas? Apparently the police chief ordered a raid on the local newspaper, the Marion County Record and seized computers, cell phones, a router...
Upside Down Under: What happened to ethanol?
There was a time not so long ago that you could easily get ethanol (alcohol fuel) in North Dakota, but now you have to search for it and sometimes when you find an E-85 refueler, the place is “out...
Upside Down Under: Maybe the kids could teach us something
This past weekend we took the grandkids to Medora to see the musical, eat a pitchfork fondue steak and take in the sights. As always, it was first-class entertainment and it was good to see so many...
Upside Down Under: A critical element of education
In recent weeks I’ve had the opportunity to chat with two 10-year-old girls. One is my granddaughter and the other is the granddaughter of my farm intern. They come from completely different backgro...
Welcome to the North Dakota State Fair
It seems that every year, just before the North Dakota State Fair kicks off, there are construction zones everywhere. In fact, all we have to say is “state fair’s coming to town,” and others kno...
Upside Down Under: Skip the cookie cutter lesson plans
There were some comments regarding the quiz in last week’s article. One person said they didn’t get any of the 10 questions correct. Another said they only answered four correctly with the others...
Upside Down Under: Take the North Dakota quiz. . .
It’s no secret that students coming out of our high schools lack knowledge of history and geography. Is it poorly taught, does the curriculum matter to school boards, maybe students themselves just...
Upside Down Under: An obscure staffing shortage. . .
In last week’s article we discussed how shortages in the trades are making it difficult for businesses to carry out good customer service. But it isn’t just with electricians, plumbers and...
Upside Down Under: Dire straits in the trades. . .
In the past several months we’ve had a lot of work done on our house and greenhouse. New kitchen cabi-nets, some electrical rewiring in the greenhouse and house and new plumbing in the kitchen....
Upside Down Under: What's killing the honeybees? . . .
Believe it or not, there are people out there who still don’t know what’s causing the “mysterious” death of honeybees. I thought this was old news, but apparently not. For a time, that was...
Upside Down Under: Pembina Gorge State Park. . .
On May 22, Gov. Doug Burgum announced the Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area will be developed and become North Dakota’s 14th state park. A total of $6 million in funding for this venture has been...