North Dakota Nice News of the Week | August 13, 2020

Well, shucks! The Emerado Corn Feed may have been cancelled, but they are still giving away an a-maize-ing amount of free corn this weekend. Check it out here.

And while you’re at it, check out this week’s nice North Dakota news – about a tractor parade, two new books, and fleischkuechle. Read on.

Residents at Dickinson’s senior facility were front-and-center for the first-ever community tractor parade. (Dickinson Press)

Grand Forks’ Betty Williams has pinned over 500 free masks to a tree in her front yard. (Grand Forks Herald)

Sanitation workers in Minot got together to celebrate a five-year-old’s birthday. (KX Net)

Nothing can stop fried goodness – which is why the Oliver County Ambulance figured out a way to host their annual fleischkuechle fundraiser in socially-distanced style. (BHG News)

North Dakota is second in the country for students who started and passed their GED exams within a year. (KFYR TV)

Twelve West Fargo and Fargo kids have new bikes, thanks to the Shrine Circus. (KVRR)

We are fortunate to have organizations such as Farm Rescue – who is about to surpass 700 assistance cases – in North Dakota to help farmers when times get tough. (Minot Daily News)

Irene Henrietta Bork’s life story homesteading in North Dakota at the turn of the last century has now been told, thanks to her daughter. (Globe News Wire)

Cavalier is having it’s day in the sun thanks to a resurgence of young people moving to the area. In a related/unrelated note, they recently created a Cavalier Bucks program to keep money in the community, moving nearly $80,000 to date through local businesses. (Grand Forks Herald)

Inspire Family Fellow and the Bismarck International Christian Church in Bismarck held a joint prayer concert and worship to “unite people of every color.” (KX Net)

The Watford City PTO has put together packs of school supplies to get kids going with style in the new school year. (KX Net)

Fort Stevenson has seen a whopping 96% occupancy rate on its camping sites this year. (BHG News)

Mandan has created a Be a Good Neighbor volunteer and donation program to help community members when they need it most – which has been very important in the last few days in helping families rebuild their lives after an apartment fire on Monday. (KX Net)

If you see damage to the leaves of your garden plants, do not dismay – it may be the work of leafcutter bees, some of North Dakota’s best pollinators. (Minot Daily News)

After 6 years of writing and editing, Kensal’s Sarah Davis has just published her first book, entitled “Inside Voices.” (Jamestown Sun)

Taylor hosted a root beer social to allow the community to ask questions of school board and civic leaders. (Dickinson Press)

One-hundred-ish years ago, my great-grandfather rolled his peddler’s cart into Grand Forks, North Dakota, decided he didn’t want to pay the tax to continue on into Minnesota, and opened the door to our family’s men’s clothing store, Silverman’s. Here are a few of my many, many, many memories of what it was like growing up surrounded by suits and hangars.

Nice news of the week – May 21, 2020

Congratulations to all of the seniors graduating from North Dakota’s 181 high schools! As these awesome students begin their next adventure, they may want to take part in Bismarck-Mandan’s Lemonade Day – where young entrepreneurs are given the opportunity to start a business of their own. Learn more here.

But before you go, check out this week’s news – about a community of t-shirts, a diligent coffee group, and a lot of quilts. Read on.

Jamestown first-grader Aubrey Blackmore has raised enough money to purchase books for all of the students at three out of the five elementary schools in Jamestown. (Jamestown Sun)

A North Dakota Nice reason for wearing a mask. (Jamestown Sun)

Sixth-graders in Dickinson made t-shirts to thank community healthcare workers. (Dickinson Press)

The Great Plains Food Bank now has 30,000 pounds of pork ribs to feed hungry families thanks to the North Dakota Farmers Union. (KVRR)

Parshall High School seniors received a “star quilt” upon graduation – and this year they took to the streets to hand them out. (KX Net)

Velva church members have been working since January to make quilts for the graduates of Velva Public School. (KFYR TV)

Emerado’s Michelle Carrera uses her school bus (she’s both the bus driver and a custodian) to bring breakfast and lunch to 85 kids in town. (Grand Forks Herald)

Minoters have Adopted a Senior to help spread the love to the area’s high school grads. (KFYR TV)

A group of Jamestowners have been meeting for coffee daily since 1985, come rain or come shine or come COVID-19. (Jamestown Mall)

Bismarck’s Miss Dani Mo is ready to teach your kids how to do their laundry. (KX Net)

I was born and raised in North Dakota, and it still took me until my 30s to see the Enchanted Highway for the first time. It’s definitely a hidden jewel – which is why four teenagers are working to raise $25,000 to add a new sculpture to the mix: a knight slaying a fire-breathing dragon. (Dickinson Press)

The Plains Art Museum is taking its collections and classes to the airwaves. (Fargo Forum)

North Dakotans are known for running towards trouble; like Bottineau/Bismarck’s Victoria Gregg, a traveling nurse who volunteered to go to New York – the Bronx, specifically – to help COVID-19 patients. (Bismarck Tribune)

North Dakota is hosting one big graduation event with some of our favorite 701 celebs. (Grand Forks Herald)

A B-52H from Minot Air Force Base flew over hospitals in Minot, Bismarck, Fargo, and Grand Forks hospitals in thanks to healthcare workers. (Grand Forks Herald)

North Dakota’s newest celebrity, sign language interpreter Lindsey Solberg Herbel, has created a series of videos for those interested in learning ASL. (Bismarck Tribune)

Nice news of the week – February 6, 2020

Happy Birthday to Minot’s Norma Hanson, who turned 100 years old on February 1! Did you know:

Fargo’s Karissa Mehr and Jason Melin are in the background in the new Kevin Smith movie, “Jay & Silent Bob Reboot?” Karissa and Jason spent two days filming a scene at a Jay & Silent Bob convention, dressed as “Jay-lor Moon and Sai-lent Bob.”
The Roosevelt Park Zoo is about to get a new leopard habitat for its two snow leopards, Marty and Ramani, and its Amur leopard, Clover?
Erwin and Wilma Pfenning of McClusky just celebrated their 75^th anniversary?
Casey Hillebrand of Fargo is on a mission to get North Dakota to “Unhide a Hydrant” by shoveling around fire hydrants to help firefights get to the water as quickly as possible?
North Dakota’s Department of Commerce is giving away two grants – one for $25,000 and one for $5,000 – to one filmmaker and one Instagrammer to tell the story of North Dakota?

And did you know this week’s news is about the Winter Deaflympics, the Grand Cities Children’s Choir, the Story of the Week – and much more? Read on.

The GOD’S CHILD Project was founded in 1991 by Bismarck’s Patrick Atkinson to help care for orphans around the world. After her children grew up and moved out and her husband passed away, 85-year-old Audrey Erickson Gerhardson decided to become an “adopted grandmother” to children in Guatemala through The GOD’S CHILD Project, and now she spends her days rocking her babies. (Fargo Forum)

David Zimmerman has been teaching at the North Dakota School for the Deaf for 30 years, and recently won his third gold medal coaching the US men’s national dead hockey team to the Winter Deaflympics. (Devils Lake Journal)

They aren’t just good for the latest in fez fashion and crazy cars – the Jamestown Shriners gave out $122,000 in 2019. (Jamestown Sun)

Minot’s Sarah Hanley has published a book entitled “Matka” that is loosely based on her grandmother, who came to North Dakota after being held as a POW in a German prison camp. (Minot Daily News)

Volaire’s Lacey Homen paints pictures of people’s beloved deceased pets as a way to preserve their memory. (KX Net)

The Williston Rainbow Girls bought and donated $2,000 worth of winter gear for students to keep warm this winter. (Williston Herald)

We’ve talked about Hunter Pinke on here before, and now KFYR TV has taken a look at the community rallying around him. (KFYR TV)

Knights, rogues, clerics, and wizards gathered in Fargo to raise money for 4 Luv of Dog Rescue. (KX Net)

Light from sadness: The Grand Cities Children’s Choir lost a long-time member, and so they dedicated their concert to his memory and donated the proceeds from the event, which were supposed to fund a trip to New York this month, to his family to pay for his funeral. (Grand Forks Herald)

After Dickinson’s Maggie Kessler was sidelined with an autoimmune disease, she decided to channel her energy into giving old sports equipment a second shot to “play it forward.” (Dickinson Press)

Grafton’s Glenn Paulson is 95 years old and still rockin’ for his fellow seniors. (Grand Forks Herald)

I have done event planning as a part of my job for 20+ years, and so I have the utmost respect for Chris Misialek – who is the party planner for all of Minto. (Grand Forks Herald)

Four families from Emerado and Thompson (and Shelley, MN) started a high-fiber pasta company and is donating part of the proceeds to Journey Home Animal Rescue of Grand Forks. (Grand Forks Herald)

Story of the Week: Williston’s Kievyn Waggoner celebrated his 11^th birthday by donating his birthday presents to the Mondak Animal Rescue. (Williston Herald)