Search results for

Wednesday, August 18, 2021 - A commemorative event for famous North Dakota vocalist Peggy Lee is scheduled Friday, Sept. 10, at the Eagles Club in Valley City. It features the Myron Sommerfeld Orchestra with vocalist Bonnie Sommerfeld. Myron and daughter Bonnie join us to discuss Peggy Lee and their own musical histories. (Proceeds of the event benefit the Barnes County Historical Society.) ~~~ Jodi Smith is the North Dakota Commissioner of the board of University & School Lands. For many people, it’s a board they’re not too familiar with. Jodi joins us to explain the important work the board does in the management and stewardship of educational trusts, mineral acres, and other assets that are purposed for the benefit of public schools and other institutions in the state. The board administers nearly $6 billion of financial assets, and oversees more than 2.5 million mineral acres, and 700,000 surface acres.

In the spring of 1937, R. L. Melville, while walking along Apple Creek south of Bismarck, found an old axe, hobbles made of iron for a horse or mule, and some links for a log chain. But it was a rusty old branding iron buried in the sand that caught his attention. The brand had been forged in the shape of a Masonic emblem. On this date in 1937, responding to a reporter’s questions, William A. Falconer, Bismarck’s oldest resident and historian, related the story of the man for whom the branding iron was forged and how he met an untimely death.

“I hereby resign the office of President of the United States.” In that simple 11-word message, President Richard Nixon resigned from office this week in 1974.People in this region, like the rest of the nation, were stunned, saddened or satisfied. The complicated Watergate investigation revealed that Nixon concealed evidence from House impeachment investigators, his own lawyers, and the American public.

In 1909, a new hotel inspection bill passed the North Dakota House and Senate that would hold hotels to a new standard. This required hotels to have sanitary plumbing; to clean carpets and rugs at least once a year; to clean pots, kettles and pans; and to have proper fire escapes. It also required eight-foot bed sheets -- a full foot shorter than required in Oklahoma!

Tuesday, August 10, 2021 - Jeffrey Miller joins us to discuss his new book, “Klasberg, North Dakota: Collected Stories from the Middle of Nowhere.” Set in a fictional town, it’s a collection of short stories that examines the reality of modern rural living, far from the big city. ~~~ The heat of summer reminds us to appreciate things like shade, air conditioning and water. That’s especially true on farms, where it can be a struggle to keep livestock cool. As Harvest Public Media’s Dana Cronin reports, with increasingly hot summers linked to climate change, livestock producers are searching for ways to protect their animals from the heat. ~~~ Reservation Dogs is a new TV comedy following the lives of four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma, as they spend their days committing crime, and fighting it. It was created by Taika Waititi and our guest, Sterlin Harjo.

Friday, July 23, 2021 - “The Future of Food” is the topic of an event coming up in Bismarck soon. It will feature an impressive group of well-known speakers, all visionaries in the field of food production and soil conservation. Joining us with details is Darrell Oswald of the Burleigh County Soil Conservation District. ~~~ Dave Thompson is here for a deeper dive into the latest news stories. ~~~ Matt Olien reviews “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain.”

Monday, July 26, 2021 - For this month’s episode of Philosophical Currents, UND philosophy professor Jack Russell Weinstein tackles the topic of critical race theory. ~~~ In this The NDSU Center for Immunization Research and Education recently received funding from the state to promote the COVID vaccine. Here to tell us about that effort, and the other work of the center are medical director Dr. Paul Carson, and operations manager Kylie Hall.

Monday, August 9, 2021 - Don Weinell, a long-distance bicyclist, documented one of his trips in a new book titled “A Field Guide to Custer’s Camps: On the March to the Little Bighorn.” Weinell kept a log of his experiences as he traced Custer’s route, creating an on-the-ground exploration of the elements, the terrain, and the physical demands of cross-country travel. ~~~ NDSU history professor Tom Isern is here with a Plains Folk essay titled “Language of Cottonwoods. ~~~ Dr. Leana Wen, is an emergency physician, former Baltimore Health Commissioner, and medical analyst for CNN. In an excerpt from the Conversations on Healthcare podcast, she takes a critical look at the nation’s response to the pandemic and discusses her new book, “Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.” ~~~ Eliza Blue shares a Postcard from the Prairie -- an essay about a welcome rainfall.

Martha and Harry Thompson of Selz, North Dakota had six children. Son Gust was born in 1923 – tomorrow would be his birthday. He joined the army when he was barely 18 and parachuted into Normandy on D-Day. Sometime later, he would become a German prisoner.

On this date in 1924, Ward County's Rice Lake resort hosted the biggest celebration of Emancipation Day in North Dakota history.