The hostess with the mostest

I had the privilege of inviting newspaper colleagues of mine from across the state to central North Dakota recently. This was one of the "perks" of serving as president of the North Dakota Newspaper Association that I looked forward to the most. I know our communities are pretty great, and I couldn't wait to show them off.

We met under the "Big Chief," a central North Dakota landmark in Carrington. We dined at the Chieftain Sports Bar & Grill, which serves bison ribeye processed locally at North American Bison, LLC. Of course, that was my dinner suggestion for the team! It was prepared to perfection, and the service was impressive.

From there, it was onto New Rockford. Not one person in this group had attended a live theater production at Dakota Prairie Regional Center for the Arts (DPRCA) before this, and if first impressions are everything, our local troupe knocked it out of the park.

Here are two examples:

Matt Von Pinnon, Editor-in-Chief of the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, took the time to write about New Rockford in his weekly e-newsletter, The Week. He writes this newsletter early Friday morning, which he did from his room at the Rock Inn after his overnight stay there Thursday night. His full review, which was sent to his 25,000 subscribers and shared widely online shortly after, is published on page A4 of the print edition, or at this link online: https://www.newrockfordtranscript.com/story/2022/08/01/opinion/guest-review-worthy-of-applause/8844.html

Allison Olimb, the editor of the Walsh County Press in Park River, went to social media to express her appreciation for the New Rockford community.

"New Rockford North Dakota is now officially in the running for my favorite town that I never knew I always loved. The Dakota Prairie Regional Center for the Arts production of Little Shop of Horrors was nothing short of amazing. Suddenly Seymour? More like ... Suddenly New Rockford. I ♥ you," Olimb wrote in a Friday (July 22) afternoon Facebook post.

And that wasn't all Olimb did. She also made a second post, this time to rave about the accommodations at the Rock Inn.

"One more rave about my New Rockford trip. Rock Inn is what would happen if a hotel and an Air BnB had a baby and that baby was still bigger and more attractive than my first apartment. A vacant USDA building was refurbished by a local farm couple to become the ideal small town hotel solution. #amazingproject #sojealous"

Note the hashtag, "#sojealous". Dear readers, we are very fortunate to have people so passionate about our community that they invest their hard-earned money into projects like the DPRCA and the Rock Inn. We have businesses, services, recreation, entertainment and events that other communities only dream of having. I will add that before coming to New Rockford, Olimb thought DPRCA was a rodeo when I first rattled off the acronym during the planning stages. And at the Rock Inn, they were in awe that its eight rooms, as well as the meeting room and restrooms, were all something of the size even Texans would brag about.

Readers, how many of you have walked into the Rock Inn, or better yet encouraged a visitor to stay there? If you live out of the area, consider making a reservation there the next time you plan a trip home.

Have you seen a performance by DPRCA lately, or ever? They produce a variety of shows, and "Little Shop of Horrors" is one of three they will produce this year. This newspaper covers all of their performances, as well as introduces the actors and actresses who come into our community to share their talent with us.

It was a pleasure to host this dynamic group of journalists, as well as our Interim Director, Beth Helfrich, and longtime counsel, Jack McDonald. You all know by now that I will do everything I can to promote our communities and the great things we are doing.

The way I see it, I am "the hostess with the mostest." I don't say this because I think I'm the best hostess, but rather because I feel like we have so much to offer here. This trip was one more way to get people from across the state to discover and appreciate our little gems. We truly are in "the middle of everywhere," and the more people know about us, the more we will thrive!