It’s a Friday afternoon, and Brooke Hilzendeger plops a heavy bag on the dirt floor of the Lineworker Training Center in Mandan, kicking up a trail of dust. She opens it and pulls out climbing boots, a body belt, a pole strap, gloves and a hard hat. These aren’t the items most people would expect to find in a woman’s bag, but for those who know Hilzendeger, a 29-year-old single mom and self-proclaimed tomboy, it comes as no surprise.
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.
Cottonwood Cider House is rooted in family – both blood relatives and the family that exists only in rural America.
For Stacy Nelson-Heising and her husband, Dan Heising, the fourth-generation farmstead provides for their family. It also provides a place for the community to gather and connect.
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| Al Jaeger has been elected secretary of state by North Dakotans eight times and will retire at the end of 2022. |
5-4-3-2-1. Pam Emmil didn’t count on a pain medication prescription plummeting her into addiction. But those five numbers helped count her steps back to sobriety. And to a thriving, therapeutic business.
Wrapped around Emmil’s wrists are the bracelets that not only helped her overcome her addiction, but which are now part of her business, 5 Second Rule Bracelet.
She now shares her personal journey of opioid addiction – and recovery – through her business, as she sells bracelets and other jewelry with a message.
by Pete Erickson
