Josh Kramer

The electric industry has always been interesting to me. However, my kids, judging by the glazed expressions and sudden urges to exit when I start talking shop, think otherwise.

I hope one day, when they’re grown and pay their own electric bills, they’ll find their old man and electric cooperatives far more interesting. Or at the very least, they’ll understand how not to waste electricity.

Quick story.

I came home early from work one day after everyone had left for school. The house was empty, but lit up like Times Square. Lights were on everywhere.

It takes all of us. This theme echoes through this issue of North Dakota Living, with accounts of people coming together and stepping up for the betterment of our greater community. It’s a reoccurring virtue of rural people and rural places.

In this issue, you’ll meet teenagers who are balancing school commitments while volunteering as rural emergency responders. You’ll learn how our state helps its seniors. And you’ll meet a family who is giving back to their community, which supported them during one of life’s greatest challenges.

August’s North Dakota Living is our back-to-school issue. While I do not enjoy the sign summer is ending, let me take this opportunity to express gratitude to educators, administrators, aides, coaches, bus drivers, cooks, janitorial staff, support staff, parents and public safety professionals. As they say, it takes a village to ensure students are provided an opportunity to learn, feel safe and be supported.

Two big legislative events were recently completed on the electric cooperative calendar, both critical to the members we serve.

One is a short, jam-packed sprint. The other is a longer, persistent test of endurance, a marathon.

Now, those who know me are chuckling at my use of a running analogy, but why stop now?

On your mark, get set, go!

“It’s complicated.”

Far too often, topics of great importance are inadequately explained and packaged into short soundbites and character-limited social media posts. The information delivered is often void of the context needed to gain understanding.

Like many of our readers, the Kramer family logs hundreds of windshield hours a year enroute to various competitions and activities. Within seconds of leaving the driveway, our kids don their headphones and electronic devices, remaining relatively quiet for the duration of the trip. That is, of course, until a battle for the last remaining charging cord breaks the silence.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Who doesn’t enjoy the conversations and curiosity this question elicits from young minds? It’s been a favorite of parents throughout the years, me included.

During the “earlier” years, my own kids expressed interest in a range of occupations – firefighter, teacher, soldier, dancer, farmer, fixer-person. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

Happy New Year!

Our editor challenged me, as she did our new governor in a sit-down interview on page 12, to pick a word of the year.

My initial thought was how impossible it seemed. Choose only one word to set the tone for an entire year? Begrudgingly, I complied.

I chose the word “transition.”

Time to brag a bit about my wife. No, I’m not sucking up.

OK, maybe a little.

Even though she made me promise to never write about her in this column, she did something this past weekend worth writing about.

Although she’d prefer I not share, her recent act of kindness offers a good lesson as we embark on the holiday season.
Allow me to set the scene.

Our family was visiting an establishment that could be described as the epicenter of chaos. I won’t mention names, but a hint can’t hurt.

Among the political messaging of an election year, I was happy for the 30-second reprieve offered me recently by a Touchstone Energy® Cooperative advertisement.

The ad wasn’t marketing a product. It wasn’t a call to action. Quite simply, it was a feel-good message.

It told the “who” of the electric cooperative story, and it went something like this: