Recently, I’ve been trying to find some essential home furniture by using the Ikea design inspiration website.  Seems like a worthwhile tool that offers some really nice design ideas on a budget.  I also like the idea of basing some of my thoughts on a rather cheap furniture store as opposed to somewhere that I [...]

The recent impeachment of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich brought to mind some early North Dakota history.   The first governor ever to be recalled in the United States was Lynn Frazier, who served as governor of North Dakota from around 1917 to 1921. 
Politics in those days were messy.  Farmers who felt they weren’t being treated [...]

To this point, I have kept most of my opinions about the housing crisis, the slumping economy and the upcoming presidential election to myself.  I don’t think I can do that anymore. 
My feelings echo the ones expressed by this article written by Orson Scott Card.

This editorial from Minot Daily News puts the $700 billion bail-out in perspective very quickly.  The Magic City could build 35,000 new schools or county office buildings…or give more than $19 million to each resident.  $700 billion is A LOT of money.
Of course, that wouldn’t fix the economic problems at the national level.  But what [...]

I really loved this article and wanted to share it again.  (Pay attention to the real estate prices and the school scores this guy talks about.)

The Nature Conservancy is sponsoring the Prairie Photo Contest to celebrate the Federal Duck Stamp contest which will be held in Minnesota this year.
The Prairie Photo contest calls for digital photos of native prairie land in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.  From the press release I received:
The Conservancy’s Prairie Photo Contest is open to all [...]

The photo of an unidentified creature (google the Montauk Monster for pictures) that washed up on Long Island Beach in July got me to thinking again about some of the strange things in North Dakota.  I doubt they mean anything, but they’re fun to think about anyway.  There’s also the dinosaur mummy on exhibit at the [...]

After 85 years, North Dakota has the chance to have an active naval ship named after it again.  A press release sent today stated that the Secretary of the Navy has agreed to name a nuclear submarine for the state.  Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, Representative Earl Pomeroy and Governor John Hoeven all commented [...]

 The United States is getting more visitors from overseas, and North Dakota seems to be reaching its fair share of them.  Apparently they want to visit and be a part of the western experience ND can provide.
 From this KX News article:
(Fred Walker / ND Tourism) “they want to experience ND – they don’t just want to step [...]

Political blog posts like this one and this one have surprised me, partly because North Dakota is apparently surprising the nation.   It seems ND, which has voted mostly republican these past few presidential elections, is now split evenly in the polls between Barack Obama and John McCain.
Perhaps Obama’s visits to the state are paying off.  North [...]