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People sometimes ask me where I get all these stories about life on the prairies. My typical reply is, Why, there’s one up every section road. That’s actually understating things a bit. There are several good stories up any section road, and they intersect and entwine one another.

Tuesday, March 15, 2022 – Muscle Memory is a film examining dance and vulnerability. It’s showing during the Fargo Film Festival, where filmmaker Mary Trunk will also take audience questions. ~~~ It’s the third installment in our series examining how to retain teachers in North Dakota. Tom Gerhardt interviews North Dakota United President Nick Archuleta.

Online shopping is common today. Virtually any product is available from the comfort of home. But shopping from home isn't new. Publisher Aldus Manutius is credited with distributing a catalog of his publications way back in 1498. Shopping by mail did not catch on widely, however, until the advent of the railroads. In 1861 Welshman Pryce Pryce-Jones began shipping his wool sweaters to consumers by mail.

As the English sparrow, a.k.a. the house sparrow, Passer domesticus, made its way from New York, where it was introduced in the 1850s, to Dakota Territory in the 1880s, prairie folk braced themselves for the invasion. The US Department of Agriculture, in a 405-page farmer’s bulletin of 1889, warned them of “the obnoxious character of the English sparrow.”

Friday, March 11, 2022 – On the upcoming Why show, philosopher Dr. Jack Russell Weinstein discusses this month’s theme, “What Is a Model Minority,” with Dr. Emily Lee, chair of the Department of Philosophy at California State University, Fullerton. ~~~ News Director Dave Thompson is here for his weekly news debrief. ~~~ Matt Olien review, “The Batman.”

On this date in 1971 the last episode of Hogan’s Heroes aired. It was a television comedy set in a German prisoner of war camp during World War 2. The series started in 1965 and ran for 6 years with a total of 168 episodes.

“The chance to find a pasque-flower is a right as inalienable as free speech.” That much quoted passage from Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac has been on my mind lately. Nothing symbolizes spring on the North Dakota prairie more than the flowering of the pasque flower or wild crocus. And if the pasque flowers are not already blooming near you, they will be soon.

Today many farms are industrial in scale, using chemicals to help improve yields. By the time fruits, vegetables, or grains have made it to the shelves, these chemicals are trace enough to offer little risk. However, in larger quantities, these chemicals can be toxic. The city of Minot grappled with these effects when a fire started in a chemical warehouse on April 4th, 1987. The event made national news and the New York and LA Times reported about it on this date.

On this date in 1907, many North Dakotans experienced a storm that brought both heavy snow and heavy rain. Bismarck set a new record for precipitation, a record that still stands to this day. Elsewhere, the storm had other effects.

Wednesday, April 6, 2022 - The Ursulina is a new book set in the frozen north woods of rural Minnesota. Deputy Rebecca Colder hunts the mythical Ursulina creature responsible for brutal murders. We visit with author Brian Freeman. ~~~ In this week’s Natural North Dakota essay, biologist Chuck Lura talks about voles. ~~~ Director of Radio Bill Thomas was a judge at the recent Poetry Out Loud competition. He shares highlights for National Poetry Month.