The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
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Here’s an unpleasant holiday statistic: Average Americans are giving significantly less to their favorite charities this year than they did just four or five years ago. Average Americans have long been among the most generous people on Earth. But this year, thanks to an economy disrupted by COVID, soaring interest rates and three years of high inflation, many are unable to give. Americans are hurting in their pocketbooks. This past year credit-card debt jumped faster than ever before in history,...
The countdown to Christmas is on. As I write this, December 25 is exactly 27 days away. That means I have a lot of shopping to do, and very little time. I came across this meme on Facebook a couple of weeks ago, and it really hit me. It read, “Big companies won’t notice your purchase over the next couple months. But small businesses will, and it might even change their life.” It’s true. Small, independent local businesses are the heartbeat of our economy. And their survival is integral to our...
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 where you experience this, you sometimes have to shake your head because it really shouldn’t be rocket science. Joel Heitkamp talked about this on KFGO radio one day, but I’m not sure anything was ever done to rectify the situation. I personally don’t remember where all the spots are in the state, but...
With every purchase you make — at coffee shops, fast food restaurants, chain stores and more – you are presented with a digital payment screen that asks you to leave a tip. On one hand you feel guilted into leaving a tip, because the person who just rang up your purchase is staring directly at you. On the other hand, you wonder how in the world did we get to a place in which workers in so many different roles – even plumbers and mechanics – are suddenly expecting extra money just for doing their...
On Tuesday, December 5, 2023, at 7:00 p.m., in the community room of the Carrington Public Library, we would like to have an open house for all active members of the American Legion Post 25 along with anyone who is not a member, but an eligible veteran. I would like to invite all veterans to come in to visit and enjoy some refreshments along with an opportunity to bring the camaraderie back to our veterans’ group. We would like to hear from all of you on how we can build our numbers up and increase our activity in a positive manner. R...
“Mr. Watson. Come here,” Alexander Graham Bell said to his aide, “I want you.” Those were the first words transmitted through Bell’s breakthrough technology, the telephone. The history books document that moment, but a pivotal event took place three days earlier. On March 7, 1876, the U.S. Patent Office granted Bell patent number 174,465, cementing his legacy as the inventor of the telephone. At the time, Bell did not operate a large business. The prototype telephone was built in a small workshop with help from just a single assistant...
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 involved in it in some way. First responders were sent, law enforcement was sent, protestors came from all over the U.S. and Canada and they all stayed there for a very long time. That placed a lot of stress on the locals; those people living in Morton County south of Mandan who sometimes cou...
Well, that didn’t take as long as expected. In case you missed it, our federal government is now estimated to pay more than $1 trillion a year to service just the interest on our national debt — about $200 billion more than we spend on our military or Medicare. Why are we suddenly paying so much? Because the cost to service our debt has doubled in the past 19 months as annual federal deficits balloon and high interest rates make borrowing more expensive. The origin of this “sudden” problem...
We’ve been blessed with beautiful fall days lately. I can’t help but smile as I run around doing errands and buzz from one meeting to another. The only thing that could have made this past week better was spending more time outside. With our daylight hours dwindling and the temperatures beginning their precipitous drop, I’m choosing not to dwell on the depressing weather that is destined to come. Instead, I’m focusing on the good things (such as this gorgeous weather) and mindfully practic...
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 that wasn’t too expensive and it was close to work so I took the third-floor loft. During the two years I lived there I got to know the neighbors quite well. Almost all of them were elderly or recently retired. One neighbor, who was the exception, was a teacher at Langdon High School. One of those nei...
Yes, it’s that glorious season that so many pumpkin-spice addicts claim to be their favorite. I must admit that, I, too, succumb each year to the autumnal charms of fall, except for my seemingly never-ending battle with leaves, or, as I like to call them – tree dandruff. So what is it that ironically draws us to a season that marks the end of long, carefree summer days when the sight of a shirtless dad bod outdoors is slightly less disturbing? Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first, the...
Frustration is the word of the day in the newsroom. It’s Monday, and subscriber newspapers have not been delivered to New Rockford, Fessenden and other rural post offices on time for the second week in a row. Our loyal readers, and this time the local postmaster herself, pick up the phone to notify us of the delay. “So what gives? Why isn’t the paper coming on time?” readers ask. I wish I had the answer. All the subscriber print copies of this newspaper were taken to the Fargo Post Office...
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 that paid far better than anything he could have ever imagined in Grand Forks or Fargo. The wife was able to work from home after moving to the Twin Cities. For the past seven years, these two, who don’t have any children, are set. Their salaries together total a half million dollars a year, they b...
According to my extensive research (approximately five minutes on Google when I should have been folding underwear), the Chinese zodiac system assigns an animal symbol to each year. It is believed that people born in a given year have the personality of that year’s animal. For example, based on the placemats at my favorite Chinese buffet, I was born in the Year of the Dog, which means I am loyal, honest and difficult to housebreak. Although it has absolutely nothing to do with the Chinese zodiac...
Would it surprise you to know that a significant amount of the newspaper has been written via iphone these past few weeks? Well, unfortunately it has. In fact, any article written by me since the Oct. 16 edition appeared in your mailboxes has been typed out from my living room and on a cell phone app, and I’ve hardly been at the office for over three weeks now. It’s all because I’ve been dealing with severe lower back pain, which has had me in and out of the doctor’s office, chiropr...
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 and one example is they worked feverishly to save as many koalas as they could following devastating fires that happened west of Sydney. The situation with Gus the Magpie is similar. Judy, my friend who lives in the Melbourne suburb of Tarneit, found an injured magpie and took him in and nursed him b...
Hopefully, the rugged beard I’ve been sporting will motivate at least one of my fellow men to take better care of his health this November. Every November, you see, two charitable organizations, Movember and No-Shave November, raise funds by encouraging men to not cut or shave their facial hair. Both organizations have made November an enjoyable month for we men to share photos of our thickening mustaches, beards and other long hair. The idea is to get men thinking and talking about mental h...
WASHINGTON – Administrator Isabel Guzman, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, announced the SBA will celebrate the 10th annual National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3. Throughout the week, the SBA, its resource partners, and local organizations across the country will host a series of virtual and in-person events to highlight the entrepreneurial journeys of veteran- and military spouse-owned small busin...
I am sincerely grateful to Representative Joshua Boschee for his focus on the working families of North Dakota during the special legislative session with HB 1193, child care stabilization. I am disappointed the Legislative Management Committee voted to not move this critical bill forward, and I urge legislators to continue to find ways to fund this fundamental issue. As a co-founder and board president of Energy Capital Cooperative Child Care in Hazen, I have a front-row seat to the challenges faced by child care providers. North Dakota...
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 who are hiding behind a computer screen and have never played football. I just don’t get it. Here is a guy who grew up and played football at Bismarck Century, went on to be successful at North Dakota State University, then got into the National Football League. He’s a professional football player and all...
Kicking and screaming were not involved, but it did take our 19-year-old son Gideon an interminably long time to show an interest in soloing with the drivers license he obtained at age 16. Finally, the reality of walking 20 minutes from his off-campus apartment in inclement weather made him more agreeable to letting us buy him a sensible vehicle. (Also, my over-protective mother has relinquished her habit of squawking, “Don’t let that young’un get splattered all over the road!” every time th...
I grew up understanding that being part of a community meant giving of your time and talents whenever possible to enrich others. My dad was a member of the Robinson Lions Club when I was a kid. My mom took us to many activities and events led by volunteers, including 4-H and Sunday School. Both my parents served on church boards and committees, and I remember watching my grandmother prepare and serve meals at funerals and other special events in her church. We volunteer. It’s what we do. T...
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 obviously upset about this and they have every right to be. For those of us looking in the from the outside; we obviously don’t know all the details of what led up to this. However, this doesn’t make sense. DSU President Stephen Easton went on TV to say that math, communications and political sci...
For the last 4 months I have been traveling in North Dakota exploring the ways that ordinary folks in rural areas are revitalizing their communities through immigration. It has been a heartwarming journey. Our state is made up of good people with abundant common sense whose memories stir them to go extra measures time after time to help new neighbors. It is the North Dakota way. So many of our churches have an ethnic heritage and memory. As I started this journey and realized that a new wave of...
I want to thank the public health for their support of breast cancer awareness. I am a breast cancer survivor. On December 9, 2009, I had my last chemotherapy treatment. The cancer was found on a mammogram, so all women need to get your mammograms. Anyone who is going through this, there is so much hope. There are many treatments. The survival rate is very high. Good luck and God bless. Bernice Sandvol Carrington, ND...
