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12/26/2014: After a fire destroyed North Dakota's first capitol building on December 28, 1930, a new Capitol was constructed. Completed in 1934, it was a dramatic departure from the style of the old building. Very tall and solitary, the Capitol towered over the burgeoning city of Bismarck, standing 241 feet, 8 inches high. Being built during the Great Depression meant money was tight. Consequently, many exterior embellishments were dropped from the design.

1/7/2015: Danish settlements were founded across North Dakota, but the largest and best-known were in the northwest portion of the state. By 1910, this region held one-quarter of all Danes in North Dakota. Their presence remains highly visible even today. Names like Denmark Township leave little doubt as to its original occupants, and the Danish windmill in Kenmare continues to draw tourists. However, a small stone monument north of Kenmare may be less familiar. This monument was erected in 1952 to honor Brorson, a Danish folk school, and its principal, Jens Dixon.

1/29/2015: As his first act of 1970, Richard Nixon created the Council on Environmental Quality. He said the 1970s had to be the time when America reclaimed its air and water purity to improve the environment. He said, “It is now or never.” On this date in 1970 he named the first three members of the Council. Undersecretary of the Interior Russell Train was named as chairman. Nixon also appointed Richard Cahn and Gordon McDonald, two men with strong environmental backgrounds.

1/30/2015: If you were listening to Datebook on January 26, you heard about the Red River Dog Derby organized for the Outdoor Sports Carnival in Minnesota. Eleven dog teams were running from Winnipeg along the old Pembina trail through North Dakota and into Minnesota, to take their finish at Como Park during the carnival. However, cold weather and illness delayed and even knocked some participants from the race.

2/2/2015: This was a day of mourning in 1897 in Grafton, as word spread that Jacob Reinhardt, age 51, had died. Jacob Reinhardt had been one of the first settlers of Grafton, and he served as the first Walsh County sheriff in territorial days.

2/5/2015: Ever since territorial days, Bismarck, Fargo, and Grand Forks have been rivals for supremacy – in politics, commerce and leadership. But there was also Bismarck’s claim to have the best and longest toboggan sliding hill, far superior to those in Grand Forks and Fargo.

2/6/2015: The cavalry is forever linked to North Dakota history. The most famous cavalry unit to serve in North Dakota was the Seventh Cavalry. Although cavalrymen only earned $12 a month, they considered it a prestigious assignment. When we think of the cavalry on the frontier, we often think of battles with Native Americans. But the cavalry spent most of its time policing the lawless frontier, protecting immigrants, and defending rural settlements from criminals.

2/11/2015: Silk has a natural beauty unmatched by lesser fibers. Silk ranks among the strongest of fibers and among the most lustrous and shiniest materials on earth, and softest to the touch. Nothing holds the color of dye more deeply than silk.

2/12/2015: Dr. William Jayne owed much of his political success to President Abraham Lincoln.

2/13/2015: War has two themes: Love and Death.