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2/16/2011: Back in the day, skiing was as natural as walking for many Norwegians, and when they immigrated to North Dakota, it was logical that they brought skiing and ski-jumping with them. Among them was Casper Oimoen. He became the best ski-jumper in North Dakota in the 1920s and 1930s.

2/17/2011: For the rock-bottom price of fifteen million dollars, the United States laid claim to 828,000 square miles of the North American interior. Yet, many believed the Louisiana Purchase to be a mistake.

2/24/2011: William ‘Wild Bill’ Langer was once again creating a stir on this date in 1954. Langer, arguably one of North Dakota’s most colorful political figures, made headlines across the nation for his attempts to block the confirmation of Justice Earl Warren to the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Time Magazine declared Langer the “Bilbo of the North,” in reference to the then-infamous master of filibuster, Senator Theodore Bilbo of Mississippi.

3/2/2011: Floyd Boutrous, better known as ‘Mr. Constitution,’ passed away on this date a year ago. Boutrous participated in numerous business and social groups in Bismarck, but was most well-known for his strong sense of patriotism.

3/5/2011: Alexander McKenzie and Bismarck politics were inseparable at the end of the Nineteenth Century.

3/9/2011: North Dakotan politics in the 1930s were a whirlwind of controversy and acrimony as members of two divergent branches of the Republican Party fought a knock-down, drag-out civil war for control of state politics. Perhaps no politician’s career better reflected the nature of this civil war than Governor William Langer, a leading member of the Non-Partisan League, or NPL, a progressive wing of the Republican Party.

3/10/2011: Countless youngsters, farm kids and city kids alike, have dreamed of playing in the North Dakota high school basketball tournament since it began in 1914. The Class B tourney gets the most attention, because small towns gain the limelight. However, the Class A, large-school, boys basketball tournament has also had dramatic championship games.

3/14/2011: Following the conclusion of George W. Bush’s presidency, Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer and his wife Nancy left the national spotlight in Washington D.C. and moved back to their home in Fargo, North Dakota.

3/15/2011: The site of Bismarck has a long history as capital city. Originally and unofficially named Edwinton, it was renamed Bismarck in 1873 and became a county seat. At that time, Yankton was the capital of Dakota Territory; ten years later, however, the capital was moved to Bismarck. In 1889, when North Dakota attained statehood, Bismarck retained that honor of capital city.

3/16/2011: If you were listening yesterday, you heard the arguments facing North Dakotans who were both for and against moving the capital city to Jamestown after the capitol building in Bismarck burned down in 1930. On March 15, 1932, a special vote deciding the issue was included in the presidential primary election.