Monday, April 30, 2007

Legalize It



"Squeaky clean" North Dakota farmer loves hemp -- for rope, cloth, livestock feed and all that -- and brings the word to Vermont. But alas, every time he plant a seed, they say kill it before it grow.

N.D. hemp advocate in Vermont

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Even More Remembering the Flood (Cont.)



Chicago Tribune editorial: Norwegians in North Dakota are stoic. The rest of you should stop whining, too.

ChiTrib on the "whine-free life"

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Tractor



For some reason, this story set off alarm bells in the heads of wire editors across the country, perhaps confirming long-held suspicions. Here it is in the Washington Post:

N.D. Senior Goes to Prom in Tractor

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Slow News Day



Not much new today, so we'll go back to 2003 for maybe my all-time favorite Onion news article.

North Dakota Found To Be Harboring Nuclear Missiles

And then's another article on the state's new incorporation rules. Strap yourselves in, it's one exciting story.

Reuters: "Don't expect a rush of large companies to the sparsely populated state."

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

The Writer and the Mascot


I acknowledge that this isn't exactly a national news event, but it gets to the (poorly stated) point of this site: How does the rest of the world view our generally unknown state?
Louise Erdrich and the Fighting Sioux athletes are people we should want North Dakota associated with -- talented folks who excel in the top ranks of their chosen fields, in this case, literature and college sports. It'd just be nice if we could have the one while avoiding being thought of as stubbornly resistant to giving up our offensive imagery.
("Sure," you say, "but how many hockey trophies has Louise Erdrich won?" But still ...)

Monday, April 23, 2007

Wonkette Is Snarky


This site always kinda bugged me, to be honest. Here it makes the trenchant observation that North Dakota is cold (and that state legislatures can make oddball laws).

Sunday, April 22, 2007

More Remembering the Flood


It's all about the hardiness. Or something like that. The Chicago Tribune calls some people in Grand Forks to talk about the flood. That Mike Jacobs stays awful busy with this stuff.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Look Out, Delaware!



The Economist lauds North Dakota's new incorporation laws. The writer also followed the no-one-knows-anything-about-North-Dakota-but-bad-weather theme. God knows, Delaware's lax incoporation laws have helped that state burn brightly in the world's imagination, so maybe this will help.

"Look Marge, I'm reading the Economist! Did you know Indonesia is at a crossroads?"

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

The Big Flood, 10 Years Later



As reported by Weekend Edition. Includes a good slideshow of Grand Forks then and now, interviews with Mike Jacobs, Pat Owens and others. Perhaps NPR music director and Grand Forks native Ned Wharton helped steer NPR's attention to the anniversary. Or maybe it's just a good story.

Looking back on '97

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Prof. Farmer


Fred Kirschenmann, an N.D. farmer, Iowa State prof and organic food guy appears on the Splendid Table, a public radio show about fancy cookin', and talks about farming from a more high-brow perspective than, say, Al Gustin. Not that we have anything against Al.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Good Words for Grand Forks


The album, not the town. N.D. native Tom Brosseau gets mentions in the NY Times and on NPR. He's not just for KFJM anymore.