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Tom Isern reflects on his 999th Plains Folk Essay, the University of Mary's Black Elk Forum explores cultural healing, Brave Conversations, and Rick Gion's Prairie Plates.

1902 saw the introduction of a new sport in the United States when a turtle race took place in Chicago. This so-called sport became very popular in the 1920s. Gangster Al Capone took note of the popularity and realized he could introduce them into his speakeasies as an indoor betting event. In 1930, he bought 5,000 racing turtles for his saloons.

Valley City was named an American WWII Heritage City for its war efforts. Rick Gion discusses football food and college hunger, and Erik Deatherage tries a Norwegian delicacy at Norsk Høstfest.

1912 promised to be a banner year for North Dakota farmers, with predictions of a bountiful harvest for virtually every crop. North Dakota had never seen such a promising harvest. However, there was one big snag, and for a change, it wasn’t the weather—it was a shortage of farm laborers.

For thousands of years, American Indian tribes lived in what is now North Dakota with their own systems of government and economy. They were pushed out of their traditional lands as Euro-Americans began to arrive. The Homestead Act of 1862 attracted new immigrants with promises of cheap land, while tribes were confined to reservations as new settlers established their homes.

President Franklin Roosevelt was on the move in the fall of 1937, embarking on a cross-country railroad trip to assess the needs of the nation. Scheduled to make several speeches during his trip, his staff described the journey as “more intake than outage.” Roosevelt aimed to meet local officials and assess the needs of the American people as the Great Depression persisted.

Explore fall in the Black Hills with insights from Alicia Underlee Nelson, review Prairie Public debates, and dive into a movie review of Megalopolis with Matt Olien.

Rick celebrates regional Apple Harvest Festivals.

Sometime soon I will come to Prairie Public studios and record Plains Folk radio feature no. 1000. I am not winding down, but ramping up toward that recording, wherein I will, of course, offer some wise and witty remarks about life on the Great Plains of North America and the enterprise of telling their stories.

No doubt many North Dakotans hear a loud, gurgling call emanating from overhead during spring or fall, and look skyward in search of the source. After a bit of searching, you finally identify the source as a flock of large birds, way up there! If the flock is lower, long legs might be visible sticking out behind them. Ahh, the call of sandhill cranes!