Nice news of the week – June 4, 2020

Did you know the Fargo Moorhead Area Youth Symphonies are performing live every Friday on Facebook?

And did you know this week’s news features an Employee of the Month, a poetry contest for high schoolers, and free ice cream? Read on.

One of the greatest inventions in the world is the ice cream truck. In Williston, Susan Elsbernd took her truck to Bethel Lutheran Home to say thanks to the staff and residents with free ice cream paid for by the community. (Williston Herald)

Devils Lake’s Pete Pederson has given over 100 hours of his time to drive groceries to people who cannot leave their homes. (Devils Lake Journal)

Minot’s Papa Johns held a fundraiser to provide 100% of the daily profits to the family of one of their former employees who had passed away. (KX Net)

New Rockford’s Employee of the Month, which is nominated by the community and selected by the newspaper – is Andrew Presnell, the youngest recipient of the award. (New Rockford Transcript)

A cool Hettinger three-year-old named Aakron Raba now has an equally-cool wheelchair swing thanks to Make-A-Wish North Dakota. (KFYR TV)

Jamestown Public Schools is continuing their free meal program to the end of June to make sure families get fed. (Jamestown Sun)

NDSU’s Corso the bison is now home, home on the range. (KFYR TV)

The coronavirus pandemic has led to some really beautiful opportunities to create wedding memories beyond the norm. (Wahpeton Daily News)

In all of this sadness, I think it’s wonderful to see North Dakotans coming together to help one another. The morning after rioters damaged buildings in downtown Fargo, volunteers showed up in force to clean up. (Dickinson Press)

The Minot Chamber Chorale is holding its first-ever poetry contest on the theme “Life & Love in the Time of Covid-19.” If you know of a North Dakota high school student who loves their way around words, have them enter now. (Minot Daily News)

A lot of bad news surrounding the police lately, but here’s something good: if the police “catch” you wearing a bike helmet in Minot, they will give you free ice cream. (Minot Daily News)

Watford City’s Samantha Jorgenson saddled up for The American, one of the biggest rodeos in the world. (McKenzie County Farmer)

Congratulations to Minot’s Paisley Stanley, winner of the North Dakota PBS Kids Writers Contest! Paisley just finished the third grade, and you can hear her story on news.prairiepublic.org. (KFYR TV)

I think it is so kind how the North Dakota community has rallied around the family of Grand Forks Police Officer Cody Holte. (Grand Forks Herald)

On a personal note, I posted a poem the other day on North Dakota Nice and received so many nice comments from all of you. I’m always a little embarrassed to share what I write, and your words mean so much to me; thank you.

Nice news of the week – April 30, 2020

All of our North Dakota food banks are being stretched thin as more and more people need their services. If you can, deliver up some North Dakota Nice by donating non-perishables and hygiene products!

And speaking of North Dakota Nice, this week’s news is about a family that cleans together, a gaggle of lawyers, and beans beans the musical fruit. Read on.

McKenzie County has put together 14-day meal kits for anyone who has to self-quarantine. (KX Net)

Fargo businesses have been stepping up to help Golden Drive Homeless Kids collect food, hygiene and safety items, and clothing for families. (KVRR)

The Larson family of New Rockford spend every spring picking up garbage. (New Rockford Transcript)

Here’s what some of our awesome nurses and doctors are doing to keep spirits up while they take care of our fellow North Dakotans. (KX Net)

Making lemonade (or burritos) out of a difficult situation: the North Dakota bean market is doing whatever it can to meet the new demand. (Williston Herald)

My husband is a lawyer, which means I know a lot of lawyer jokes like this: “Why don’t sharks eat lawyers? Professional courtesy.” Lawyers in Ward County are going against their (often unfair) stereotype to donate lunches to essential workers. (KX Net)

Seventy-five Twin Towners (Wahpeton and Breckenridge) took a community stroll together in social distancing style. (Wahpeton Daily News)

South Prairie teachers and staff held a socially-distanced Ice Cream Social for their students and families. (KFYR TV)

You can build your own at-home movie theater experience with a little help from Mott’s Playhouse Theater. (Grant County News)

The Grand Forks Senior Center is providing weekly – not once a week, but enough food for seven days – meals to allow vulnerable area residents to stay home. (Grand Forks Herald)

Volunteers in Michigan revived their now award-winning ambulance service. (Grand Forks Herald)

The photo in this week’s post was taken by Steve Silverman. It is called “Maah Daah Hey Trail.”

Nice news of the week – February 27, 2020

Happy leap year week! Speaking of upcoming events, here a few to help you meet your fellow North Dakotans:

Beer and Bacon Bash on February 29 from 1pm – 5pm in downtown Cavalier. For $10, you get a beer mug, a map, and punch cards for door prizes and a poker run entry.
The 58^th Annual Feast of Nations on March 7 starting at 5pm at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. For $35 ($25 if you are a student), you get a five-course international meal, live music and cultural dancing, and a chance to win tickets to Folklorama.
The 21^st Annual Fargo Film Festival from March 17-21 at the Fargo Theatre in Fargo. There are dozens of shorts and panel discussions, as well as a number of juried categories for the movies.
The 42^nd Annual Runnin O’ the Green on March 21 in Jamestown. You need to be 21 years old and have a non-alcoholic drink or alcoholic drink at several bars and pubs in town. Last year, 1,500 people participated. Proceeds this year will support area cancer patients.
The 5^th Annual Gumbo Cook Off in Williston. Admission is $10 (and you must be over 21) and proceeds go to Bras for a Cause.
The 3^rd Annual North Dakota Ice Hole Extravaganza/Indoor Cornhole Tournament on April 3 and 4 in Devils Lake. The largest cornhole tournament in North Dakota has over $50,000 in prizes and a live band.

And speaking of gathering, the Story of the Week is all about in-person connections. Read on for all of this week’s nice news.

This is the dictionary definition of North Dakota Nice: a Bismarck woman found an ornament in a coat pocket, and so she called the local news station to return it to its owner. And, of course, the station obliged. (KX Net)

Crosby’s Mariah Jenkins is wearing a special dress at prom this year. (KFYR TV)

Hunter’s mom is a classmate of mine and so I’ve been following his story closely since his accident. This is such a great article – the first in a series of three – about an amazing guy with an amazing attitude. (Grand Forks Herald)

I have an 8-year-old and a 4-year-old, and we just spent a night talking about what you do if you get stuck outside and it’s freezing cold. Thank goodness for Fargo’s Mark Sorum, who saved an elderly woman from freezing to death. (Fargo Forum)

You’ve read about West Fargo’s Sawyer Anderson before – she’s the girl who wrote “Water Works” to bring attention to the water crisis in Africa – and now Sawyer gave a copy of her book to a group of students in Fargo and, in exchange, they donated money for water wells in Africa. (KVRR)

Thanks to a dedicated science teacher, students in Flasher now have a Level 2 lab. (KFYR TV)

This is a great story about not letting criticism get in the way of your dreams: New Rockford’s Paula Winskye has just published her 21^st novel. (New Rockford Transcript)

I had someone tell me the other day that they throw away pennies. At Lincoln Elementary in Dickinson, kids brought in those “worthless” pennies to raise $7,329.80 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. (Dickinson Press)

Minot’s Domestic Violence Crisis Center and PATH Inc. held a chili cookoff for Giving Hearts Day, which is really a win-win for everyone involved. (Minot Daily News)

Bismarck’s Emma Beverly, who is now tumor-free, is off to Disney World thanks to Make-A-Wish North Dakota. (KFYR TV)

I don’t even know how to describe this story. You’ll need to read it for yourself. (Grand Forks Herald)

New Rockford-Sheyenne School is one of only a few schools nationwide to receive a “Molly of Denali” grant for family learning. (New Rockford Transcript)

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I’d struggle to be one of the spectators, let alone a participant. (Grand Forks Herald)

Oh.My.Gosh. I think the snow fort is about to become the new backyard rink. (Grand Forks Herald)

There’s a new pageant for kids – a natural pageant, so none of the heavy makeup or hairdos – coming to North Dakota, and the winner goes to Palm Springs. (Sent via email)

Students in Williston were a part of the 2,500 volunteers that packed 500,000 meals for Feed My Starving Children. (Williston Herald)

Story of the Week: At a time when people choose texting over calling and Facebook over in-person get togethers, West Fargo’s Mark Berntson took 275 opportunities to meet with people face-ot-face. (Fargo Forum)