Forecasted rising electricity demand and a continued shift in the resource mix will affect the bulk power system (BPS) this winter, electric reliability watchdog the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) states in its 2025-26 Winter Reliability Assessment.
While all areas have adequate resources for winter peak electric demand, extreme winter conditions extending over a wide area could result in electricity supply shortfalls, NERC says.
Capital Electric Cooperative director and rancher Sara Vollmer shares favorite family recipes from a cookbook she created for her daughters, “The Food that Grew Me.” Read more about Sara here.
Sara makes a huge batch of the Swedish meatball bake whenever she must feed a hungry ranch crew. She uses shell noodles in her preparation, but any egg noodle will do.
If you ask North Dakota Living Editor Cally Peterson, there are a few redeeming qualities of January in North Dakota: basketball and soup season. This month, soup and soupy dishes are leading ladies, and gravy is the knight in shining armor to save us from the depths of winter.
These recipes feature electric pressure cookers, but provide slow-cooker swaps. Learn more on page 27.
North Dakota Living was once again amazed by the photo entries for the second annual photo contest! There were 600 entries, double last year’s amount.
From North Dakota skies to North Dakota people and more, the photos captured North Dakota in all its beauty. The judges remarked how difficult it was to choose the winners.
Thank you to everyone who participated, and congratulations to the winners of the 2026 North Dakota Living Photo Contest!
During U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin’s visit to North Dakota in November, the agency announced its approval of North Dakota’s coal combustion residuals (CCR) permit program. The approval allows the state, instead of the federal government, to regulate the disposal of CCR in surface impoundments and landfills, making North Dakota the fourth state to have this oversight authority.
Zeldin says the move signals EPA’s commitment to permitting reform, which has become a policy priority for electric cooperatives.
Abby Finke, North Dakota’s Youth Leadership Council delegate, smashed her goal of collecting 50 pairs of shoes to benefit the Matthew 25 Project in Minot, which provides clothing and household donations to local community members. In August and September, Finke collected nearly 160 pairs of shoes.
Finke represented Verendrye Electric Cooperative (VEC) on the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour to Washington, D.C., this summer and was chosen to represent North Dakota on the Youth Leadership Council (YLC).
Level up your holiday cooking with these recipes from Sheri Shockman, a professional chef who lives in rural LaMoure, but caters a multitude of private parties and events across the state. Shockman’s cooking style has evolved to “gourmet comfort food” since moving to North Dakota 13 years ago from New York City. Read more about Sheri here.
The largest single-site electric generation project built in North Dakota in over 40 years is making electricity. Construction was completed this fall on Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Pioneer Generation Station Phase IV (PGSIV) located northwest of Williston.
The 580-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fueled facility combines combustion turbines and reciprocating engine units, providing reliable, flexible power and helping to ensure long-term grid stability.
The $805 million project was completed on time and under budget, the cooperative said.
From milking cows on the farm to baking at restaurants, grocery stores, a donut shop and even Minot State University, Carol Crabbe’s Norwegian work ethic hasn’t been tempered with age. Later this month, her kitchen turns into a lefse factory, before her holiday candy-making season kicks in. Read more about Carol here.
Carol shares her famous lefse recipe, which she used to make every day from Nov. 1 through December for many years and sell at grocery stores in Bottineau and Minot.
