Topic

Category: Columns

Can We Coherently Define the American Dream Anymore?

Approximately 13 years ago, I blogged about “The American Dream.” As a real estate professional at the time, I had noticed that certain politicians continually referred to “home ownership” as the quintessential aspect of the American Dream. What directly followed that claim were fiscal policies, such as artificially low interest rates, and lending practices, such […]

by Greg Demme

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March 4, 2022

She's Not from Around Here: A Friendly Push

A few weeks ago I came across a car stuck in a bank of snow. We’d gotten snow earlier in theweek, but this was a warm, 35 ̊ day. Streets were clear, snow had even begun to melt on thesidewalks. The sky was blue, the sun was warm, the wind was almost nonexistent. Obviouslythis was […]

by Amy Allender

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March 3, 2022

Outdoor Lessons for the Real World: Reach-Throw-Row-Go

I was scrolling through the news the other day when I saw a story of a police officer barreling out on the ice to save a dog that was heavier than the ice could handle. The story falls under the feel good category, getting good tractions with all the animal lovers out there. As a […]

by Geremy Olson

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March 2, 2022

For the Farmer: False Motivation

The definition of “False Motivation” is buying into the illusion that you're content with someone or something in hopes that eventually you really will be. In the realm of business career advice, I’ve heard the phrase, “If you don’t like what you are doing, then find something else. Life is too short to be miserable.” […]

by Charlie Adams

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March 1, 2022

Let's Talk Beans

After you have a good store of food — the Super Pantry that we talked about a couple weeks ago — the next thing you should do is go buy 100 lbs of beans and 100 lbs of rice. I can hear you already exclaiming, “One hundred pounds! Are you nuts?” While at first this […]

by Charlene Nelson

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February 28, 2022

Upside Down Under: What is happening to our shopping malls?

Have you been to a shopping mall lately? I haven’t until recently, and it’s quite surprising at the lack of activity going on. Some of it could be attributed to COVID, but somehow I doubt it because we’ve seen a shift in buying habits before the pandemic and that’s undoubtedly due to the internet. It […]

by Marvin Baker

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February 27, 2022

Northern Celebrations: Spring Hunting

Oops, just in case anyone missed it, North Dakota is already almost a week into hunting season. And, oh by the way, another hunting season closes in a few days. The state’s hardy tree squirrel hunters have to hang it up for another year on Feb. 28. However, that doesn’t mean hunters have to wait […]

by Jonathan Starr

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February 26, 2022

Courage Comes in Different Forms

Some types of courage may seem familiar to us. For example, many North Dakotans understand the need to regularly brave dangerously cold weather in order to care for their livestock and provide for their families. In fact, some might say that’s not even an example of courage but of simple responsibility. Nevertheless, I consider it […]

by Greg Demme

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February 25, 2022

She's Not from Around Here: Hot Dish Airports

Since moving to North Dakota I’ve had many moments that leave me thinking I must have stepped into an alternate universe. However, few compare to my experiences at North Dakotan airports. Though locals may not bat an eye at the Hot Dish airport experience, to those of us who aren’t from around here, it’s really something […]

by Amy Allender

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February 24, 2022

Making a Difference: Men on Ice

I think it's really fair to say that it's easy to get discouraged when you take a look at the news now-a-days. Just the other day I heard somebody say that our country is going to hell in a hand basket yet again and definitely agree that it's easy to be afraid of the future. […]