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10/23/2013: Beginning in the 1870s, a new group of immigrants began arriving in the United States. The newcomers were from Central Europe and Russia, but they spoke German. These ‘Germans from Russia’ were ethnically German, and had fled their villages on the Russian steppes to seek freedom overseas. Thanks in large part to the Homestead Act, Dakota Territory experienced the Great Dakota Boom during this time, as settlers flooded the territory seeking cheap land. The Germans from Russia found the area appealing, as it mirrored the harsh treeless plains of the Russian homeland to which they had grown accustomed.

10/28/2013: At the turn of the 19th century, Hans Aaker was Moorhead’s leading prohibitionist, although he is best remembered for founding Aaker’s Business College in Fargo. A man of many endeavors, Aaker also served nearly a decade as Concordia College president before running for mayor of Moorhead, hoping to clean up “the Wickedest City in the World.” Yesterday marked the 111th anniversary of his founding of the Aaker’s Business College, which continues to operate in Fargo and Bismarck as a merged entity with Rasmussen College of St. Paul.

11/1/2013: North Dakota is no stranger to adverse weather. Although the state tends to be best known across the country for its blizzards and snowstorms, the region is also a frequent victim of tornadoes and thunderstorms. However, it was a rare day indeed when, on this date thirteen years ago, the state witnessed not only rain, wind, and hail … but tornadoes and snowstorms!

11/5/2013: Railroads were beginning to stretch across the Territory. To create the illusion that the land was being quickly settled, numerous, unorganized counties were established.

11/13/2013: After working in his father general’s store for several years, Fred Nash opened his own small candy and tobacco shop in Devils Lake in 1885. Business soon took off, and he enlisted the help of his brothers Edgar and Willis. He purchased a second store in Park River, and put his brother Edgar in charge there, while Willis took over a third store in Devils Lake. In 1887, a fire destroyed the original Devils Lake store. The brothers sold the remaining two stores and bought a larger store in Grand Forks, which had access to two railroad lines and thousands of additional customers. Within months, however, the new store also burned down.

11/15/2013: In the beginning of November 1959, Arthur Flemming, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, made an announcement that cranberries produced in Washington and Oregon in 1958 and 1959 were possibly contaminated by a chemical weed killer called aminotriazole. This chemical, when tested, caused thyroid cancer in rats.

11/19/2013: In 1888 Dennis Hannifin was a colorful character with a caustic wit who was renowned throughout the Territory. It was said that a visitor to Bismarck might as well miss seeing the Missouri River rather than failing to meet Hannifin.

11/21/2013: We all know what we can find on Sesame Street - friendly monsters, catchy tunes, and sunny days - even if we still couldn’t tell you how to get there after 43 years of singing about it. That’s right, this month marks the 43 anniversary of Sesame Street nationally and the 42nd anniversary in North Dakota. The children featured in the original Sesame Street theme song could be grandparents now. But with more Emmy and Grammy awards than any other children’s program, Sesame Street seems to be here to stay.

12/6/2013: The first black person known to enter the area that would later become North Dakota was a slave. Owned by William Clark, York accompanied Lewis and Clark during the Corps of Discovery Expedition. He was born in Virginia to slaves owned by Clark’s father, a small plantation owner. He was selected to be young William Clark’s companion. When the elder Clark passed away in 1799, Clark inherited his boyhood companion.

12/9/2013: A meeting on December 3, 1888 in Jamestown, sought to lay the groundwork for statehood. The meeting went well, laying out a conservative, yet aggressive path. But in a recent development, a bill had already been introduced in Congress that admitted the State of South Dakota. It had passed the US Senate, and the Senators-elect had been seated. They were now waiting only for a similar response in the House.