The Latest


School lunch | April 14, 2026

If you know us in real life, you know that Kyle is BY FAR the superior parent when it comes to school participation.  Looking for a field trip volunteer?  Look no further; Kyle is there.  Running out of classroom snacks?  Kyle is on the way.  Want someone to attend a school assembly, a monthly reading program, or a citywide band concert?  Theeere’s Kyle.  Need a parent to talk so much at conferences…

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Howdy, I’m Amanda

I created North Dakota Nice in 2017 to share stories about people being awesome because I love people – and also a weekly story about me because I love me (most of the time), too. Thank you for reading, and feel free to send me a message about whatever’s on your mind (especially if whatever is on your mind is something nice I can talk about on North Dakota Today or in the Grand Forks Herald. If you want to vote on Sundays for the outfits I wear on TV, follow me on Facebook.

Weekly Amanda


  • School lunch | April 14, 2026

    School lunch | April 14, 2026

    If you know us in real life, you know that Kyle is BY FAR the superior parent when it comes to school participation.  Looking for a field trip volunteer?  Look no further; Kyle is there.  Running…

  • The birth of the great American novel | April 8, 2026

    The birth of the great American novel | April 8, 2026

    My parents came up for the weekend and brought with them grandparentness: chocolate chip cookie bars, videos of model trains, presents for two very spoiled children, and love. They also brought a bagful of my childhood…

  • Spring cleaning | April 1, 2026

    Spring cleaning | April 1, 2026

    It’s spring.  SPRING!  SPRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING.  Sweet mercy, I love spring.  I don’t care that we still have snow on the ground and it’s 35 degrees the minute the sun sets.  I do care that the birds are…

  • Rough Rider Industries | March 25, 2026

    Rough Rider Industries | March 25, 2026

    Late last year, I toured North Dakota’s maximum-security prison in Bismarck.  If you didn’t know that or would like a refresher, I’ve put a link inside the story below to the article that prompted my dad…

North Dakota Today


Grand Forks Herald


April 4, 2026 | Eric Ripley and the new Career Impact Academy are growing region’s next crop of professionals

Back in the 2000s, Sadie Ripley and I sat next to each other during the Grand Forks Chamber Leadership Program. At the time, North Dakota was battling the out-migration of local 20-somethings toward bigger cities and bigger jobs. As Sadie and I were in the early days of our careers — and Sadie had excitedly confided to me that she and her husband, Eric, were in the early days of pregnancy with their first baby — the community was especially supportive of giving us professional opportunities that would keep us in Grand Forks. Continue reading

March 21, 2026 | Blizzards, breaches and being 17: A look back on 1997’s Blizzard Hannah

After a springtime snowstorm, Grand Forksers over the age of 40 are required by social law to turn to their children, grandchildren and younger friends and say, “You know, back in April of ’97, we had a three-day blizzard named Hannah and that’s one of the reasons it flooded.” Continue reading

March 7, 2026 | For the owners of Grand Forks’ Urban Stampede, it’s the beans that bind

My little sister and I grew up in my family’s clothing store, Silverman’s, in downtown Grand Forks. When we weren’t working Crazy Days, wrapping presents or measuring teenagers for prom tuxedos, we were eating kuchen at A Taste of Norway and weaving in and out of the tables at the antiques store. We spent hours upon hours upon hours of our childhood at the City Center Mall, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Continue reading

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