Community

“A child care crisis.”

That’s how Gov. Doug Burgum described the state of child care in North Dakota, speaking at a press conference in September 2022 to pitch his child care plan.

“In many cases, parents have to choose between working and paying for child care, or not working at all,” Burgum told the Legislature in his executive budget address in December. “Currently, child care costs account for 15% to 40% of the average household budget in North Dakota, which often isn’t sustainable for young working families.”

Rhonda Gilbertson-Evans wrote those words in a poem called “Why I Do This Work.” The poem explains her reasons for serving people experiencing homelessness, including a man dear to her heart.

“It’s not that easy for many of our community members who are homeless. Some hills are unsurmountable,” she said.

Going into last winter, with many North Dakota waters lower than they’d been in some time thanks to severe drought, N.D. Game and Fish Department (NDGF) fisheries managers worried that declining water levels and other factors would lead to significant winterkill.
Turns out, it wasn’t nearly as bad as anticipated.

Many of us are so connected to our phones, tablets and laptops we panic when the battery nears the dreaded 0% mark.

We want our device batteries to perform well for as long as possible. But taking care of them can conflict with why we have our electronics in the first place. The point isn’t to fret about battery life; it’s to read and send emails, scroll on social media, take photos and countless other pursuits.

Editor’s note: Property tax is promised to be a hot topic before the state Legislature this year. Republican lawmakers put forth property tax relief proposals in advance of the Jan. 3 start of the legislative session. This story cuts through confusing property tax terminology to help taxpayers understand property tax, how it’s calculated and where it goes. This story originally appeared in the December 2022 issue of the Union Farmer.
 

Frostival started in Fargo as a two-day winter festival celebrating the “cool” of winter during the quietest time of the year.

Over the years, the spearheading committee decided to expand the festival into a six-week festival to help encourage placemaking and to bring the residents and visitors outside for some fun.

Technology in 2023 will continue to advance rapidly. In particular, there will be many new and emerging technologies available to the public, including augmented reality, artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles.
I am excited to see what 2023 brings. Most of these advances in technology will help us live a healthier and better life.

John Anderson dearly loved rocks, judging by his lifetime of work with them. It wouldn’t be surprising if his mother had to empty his childhood pants pockets of stones before she washed his clothes, nor is it surprising he chose a career in stone masonry.

But the true test of his partiality exists yet today in the creative and beautiful work he performed with rocks – mere fieldstones – erecting exquisite functional edifices, making Rugby – and all of North Dakota – the richer for it.
 

When you sign up to belong to an electric cooperative, know that members matter most. It’s a philosophy deeply held in the hearts and minds of both the directors who represent you and the employees who serve you.

From Pearl Street to the Pierson farm. From New York to near York.

On Sept. 4, 1882, Pearl Street station, Thomas Edison’s complete direct-current electric system, was publicly unveiled in Lower Manhattan. Edison’s electric idea eventually reached North Dakota farm country, where the Ray and Evangeline Pierson farm, 3.5 miles south of York, was energized by Baker Electric Cooperative on Thanksgiving Day 1937. It was the state’s first farm to receive electricity.