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  • The dying art of Halloween costume humor

    Tom Purcell|Oct 30, 2023

    Halloween is upon us, which means you'd better be cautious about the costume you choose. Halloween has long been a staple of childhood, but in the past few decades it has been increasingly celebrated by adults – and for good reason. Until recently, it was the one day where adults could dress up in funny, outrageous costumes that satirized popular culture and the complexity of modern life. Dressing up as a rock star, Albert Einstein, a famous sports figure or some other pop icon could be fun a...

  • Taft: The court should preserve framers' governmental structure

    David Adler|Oct 30, 2023

    The U.S. Supreme Court is a law court, of course, but it is primarily a political institution that guides the destiny of the nation. Its rulings mark the boundaries of power between the branches of the federal government and those between the federal and state governments, as well as determining the scope of liberties enjoyed by the citizenry. William Howard Taft, the lone American to serve as both president and chief justice, was acutely aware of the impact of the Court on the life of the nation, and the influence of individual justices on...

  • Letter to the Editor: October 30, 2023

    Erin Laverdure|Oct 30, 2023

    I am sincerely grateful to Representative Joshua Boschee for his focus on the working families of North Dakota during the special legislative session with HB 1193, child care stabilization. I am disappointed the Legislative Management Committee voted to not move this critical bill forward, and I urge legislators to continue to find ways to fund this fundamental issue. As a co-founder and board president of Energy Capital Cooperative Child Care in Hazen, I have a front-row seat to the challenges faced by child care providers. North Dakota...

  • SBA announces National Veterans Small Business Week

    Oct 30, 2023

    Administrator Isabel Guzman, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, announced the SBA will celebrate the 10th annual National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3. Throughout the week, the SBA, its resource partners and local organizations across the country will host a series of virtual and in-person events to highlight the entrepreneurial journeys of veteran- and military spouse-owned small business owners and...

  • The value of volunteers

    Amy Wobbema|Oct 23, 2023

    I grew up understanding that being part of a community meant giving of your time and talents whenever possible to enrich others. My dad was a member of the Robinson Lions Club when I was a kid. My mom took us to many activities and events led by volunteers, including 4-H and Sunday School. Both my parents served on church boards and committees, and I remember watching my grandmother prepare and serve meals at funerals and other special events in her church. We volunteer. It’s what we do. T...

  • Remember When

    Dave Jenkins|Oct 23, 2023

    For the last 4 months I have been traveling in North Dakota, exploring the ways that ordinary folks in rural areas are revitalizing their communities through immigration. It has been a heartwarming journey. Our state is made up of good people with abundant common sense, whose memories stir them to go extra measures time after time to help new neighbors. It is the North Dakota way. So many of our churches have an ethnic heritage and memory. As I started this journey and realized that a new wave of Ukrainians is entering North Dakota, it seemed...

  • It pays to be a co-op member

    Amy Wobbema|Oct 16, 2023

    This National Co-op Month, I recognize that many of the cooperatives operating today were established for the benefit of people. It didn’t take much effort to put together a list of cooperatives we do business with on a daily basis. After all, I’ve been a member of cooperatives since I was a young girl. My extended family have been members of Northern Plains Electric Cooperative (formerly Tri-County Electric) my entire life. The family farm and my parents’ home are served by this all-i...

  • We need a rebirth of empathy

    Tom Purcell|Oct 16, 2023

    When I read a news piece about the passing of longtime California senator Dianne Feinstein a few weeks ago, some of the comments left at the bottom of the online article made me sad. Feinstein suffered a very public health decline before she passed. Anyone with the slightest sense of empathy would think “there but for the grace of God go I” – as every one of us could suffer a similar decline before our time finally comes. Empathy is in short supply these days, however. I don’t recall the exact w...

  • A painful precedent

    Amy Wobbema|Oct 9, 2023

    The federal government has entered a new level of dysfunction. It’s like being in the middle of your favorite soap opera when the power goes out. For the first time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives has ousted its duly-elected speaker, Kevin McCarthy of California. “They don’t get to say they’re conservative because they’re angry and they’re chaotic,” McCarthy said of the eight Republican colleagues who voted against him. “That’s not the party I belong to. The party of Reagan was if...

  • Newspapers Your Way

    Amy Wobbema|Oct 2, 2023

    This year marks the 83rd celebration of National Newspaper Week. From October 1-7, newspapers across the country are affirming their responsibilities to the communities they serve. I've written a lot about our industry in this space over the last year, yet I find myself compelled to do it again. So much has happened in the past several weeks. In August, we changed the distribution process for every newspaper we print, and that has affected when many of our readers receive their print edition,...

  • Americans depend on newspapers to stay informed about their communities

    Benjy Hamm|Oct 2, 2023

    Nearly 220 million American adults turn to their local newspapers regularly for news and information they need to stay informed, feel more connected to their neighbors and improve their lives and communities. That readership number is based on a recent national study by independent research firm Coda Ventures for the America's Newspapers organization. Most likely, the number of readers is higher. Many people who say they receive news on their phone or from social media instead of newspapers fail to understand that the sources for those stories...

  • Letter to the Editor

    Charlotte Franks-Erickson|Sep 25, 2023

    School has started and there’s a teacher shortage across the nation. It’s a well-known fact that burnout is a common reason. I might have a solution or two that could be tried. We have dedicated teachers who are reluctantly leaving their teaching positions heartbroken, physically exhausted and emotionally drained, and returning to their families who have sacrificed the attention and energy of their mom or dad for years during each school year. Teachers are not trained in emotional disturbances, extreme academic needs and trauma-affected chi...

  • I "bet" you gamble more than I do

    Amy Wobbema|Sep 18, 2023

    I hear that a lot from people who regularly buy PowerBall tickets, spend hours at the blackjack table and make frequent trips to the casino. My grandfather bet on horses at the racetrack in Fessenden when I was little. There hasn’t been horse racing, except for maybe an Indian Horse Relay, at the Wells County Fairgrounds in decades. My husband and I went to the casino for our anniversary several years ago. We each put $20 in the slot machines. We were both broke in a few minutes, so we headed o...

  • Wild world records

    Amy Wobbema|Sep 11, 2023

    Last week, the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team set the world record for highest attendance at a women’s sporting event, EVER. The world was watching as they packed 92,003 people into their stadium. This is a college volleyball team, folks. Forget the WNBA! Yes, those players and coaches love their hometown crowds. New Rockford-Sheyenne and Carrington hosted their respective season home openers for volleyball this past week, and both put on a good show and defeated t...

  • Do you want the good news or the bad news?

    Nathan Price|Sep 4, 2023

    Sometimes I wonder what people expect from local newspapers like the one I work for, and from local reporters like myself. While readers regularly thank us for our great coverage, we’ve also been told we’re too negative, and that our only job should be to “build up” our community with positive news. Recently I was reminded what it means to be a good reporter, and why I work for two of the best newspapers in North Dakota. Some may have heard about the small-town newspaper in Kansas that was rec...

  • The Survey Says

    Amy Wobbema|Aug 28, 2023

    I’m one of the lucky ones. I have been selected to be part of two surveys for the U.S. Census Bureau in the past year. No, these aren’t the types that ask nicely for your participation, offer you a free meal or a dollar or any token of appreciation for your answers. Rather, they are required by law, as is the decennial census that all Americans must fill out. Once you get “chosen,” you’re stuck. They send you emails and letters that don’t stop until you answer all their questions, sometimes m...

  • Letter to the Editor: Mosquito control

    Aug 28, 2023

    I would like to thank the New Rockford City Commission for allowing me to voice my concern about the city providing mosquito fogging at the golf course for free. It all started when the city minutes mentioned that the city fogged at the golf course. A telephone call confirmed that the city was mosquito fogging the golf course for free. My signed complaint letter addressed to the City Commission about the free mosquito fogging was filed in City Hall on July 5th. The City Commission has stated that no complaint will be addressed unless it is...

  • Open letter to all readers

    Amy Wobbema|Aug 21, 2023

    The winds of change are howling. Last Friday, Aug. 18, was the last time our staff had the opportunity to see and inspect our newspapers before they entered the postal system. Effective with the Aug. 28 edition and for the foreseeable future, we will no longer be unloading totes and bundles of addressed newspapers off pallets and delivering them to the local post offices in Carrington and New Rockford. Instead, our printing company will take all the print copies of both the Independent and the...

  • Newspapers are the ultimate history books

    Amy Wobbema|Aug 14, 2023

    Both newspaper offices have been a flurry of activity lately. We’ve had many visitors this summer going through our bound files, or newspaper archives, to gather information published over the past 100+ years. I’m sure our guests in Carrington have heard their share of newsroom banter, as noise flows through those uninsulated faux walls like the North Dakota wind through a screen. Author Karri (Bye) Theis brought her daughter and a friend to the Carrington office to do research for a book she...

  • Letter to the Editor: Vote NO on Fessenden Co-op/CenDak merger

    Joanna Larson|Aug 14, 2023

    I have many concerns about the proposed merger of CenDak and Fessenden Co-op. The joint letter sent out to members claims that a merger will maintain local control, expand access to talent, and allow the implementation of best practices. The past acquisition of Equity Co-op by Fessenden Co-op, resulted in a complete lack of local control at the Sheyenne house. With no onsite manager I have seen many things deteriorate, and locals have disagreed with hiring, safety and day-to-day operational decisions. What is meant by "expand access to...

  • Justice James Wilson: leading constitutional architect

    David Adler|Aug 14, 2023

    It was altogether fitting that James Wilson, second in importance only to James Madison as an architect of the Constitution, would be nominated by President George Washington to the original Supreme Court. From this position, Justice James Wilson could defend the Constitution, which he had done so much to shape and define. As it turned out, Wilson’s leading role as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention was his greatest achievement, the high point of his life. Not that such influence is without cause for celebration. Hardly. It’s rather th...

  • Newspapers provide valuable experience

    Isabella Garr|Aug 7, 2023

    Hello everyone! I’m definitely a new face around here, but for the past nine weeks, I have had the opportunity to intern at the Foster County Independent and the New Rockford Transcript. This summer internship has been amazing, and I have learned so many valuable skills. I am a 2022 graduate of Carrington High School, and I just completed my freshman year of college at Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. My plans in the future vary a little bit from the status quo. Eventually, I hope to obtain a degree in Graphic Design a...

  • A summer staycation travel guide

    Jase Graves|Aug 7, 2023

    Are you tired of financing a tank of gas? Are you afraid your armpits might burst into flames if you leave the air-conditioned confines of your home? Or maybe, like our family, you blew a decade’s worth of vacation savings on a trip to New York City over the Christmas holidays, and you’re still having night terrors about subway rats dancing to Broadway show tunes. Whatever your reasons, if you are in the midst of a summer staycation this year, the following is a brief guide for enjoying the exotic destination of your home address. First, a stay...

  • We the People: August 7, 2023

    David Adler|Aug 7, 2023

    John Jay: first Chief Justice, diplomat, founding era giant When the newly-elected President George Washington turned his attention to the historic opportunity of nominating citizens to fill seats on the first U.S. Supreme Court in 1789, he knew exactly whom he wanted to name the nation’s first Chief Justice: John Jay. Jay enjoyed Washington’s confidence in a way few of his contemporaries did. Apart from Chief Justice William Howard Taft, who was elected as the United States' 27th president before ascending to the High Bench, nobody has com...

  • National Night Out

    Amy Wobbema|Jul 31, 2023

    This Tuesday, Carrington is one of 17 communities across North Dakota hosting National Night Out events. The National Night Out program celebrates its 40th year of connecting law enforcement with the broader community. It all began with Matt, a volunteer with the Lower Merion Community Watch in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, Penn. in 1970. As one of a thousand volunteers in his area program, he prepared a newsletter to keep his colleagues informed about what was happening, and he learned...

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