Culture

by Taylor Markel taylormarkel@cableone.net

What began as a single weekend of wintry activities, has now, for the first time in its history, snowballed into a multi-week celebration of all things winter! With countless, exhilarating activities like the beloved cardboard sled races, a coffee and cocoa crawl, a winter gear swap event and even an outdoor winter movie night. Frostival is by far one of the coolest winter traditions for you, your friends, family and coworkers to be a part of in…

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by Kris Gruber
perriex1@gmail.com

Hemp is a Cannabis plant grown all over the world, in temperate climates. It is fast-growing, beneficial to the soil, requires minimal fertilizer, and is pest resistant. The fibers are processed and used for cordage, fabric, bioplastics, construction material and paper. The seeds are edible, with a mild, nutty taste, and nutritious--even surpassing flax, chia and fish oil. The list of the benefits from hemp is long. Containing all 20 known amino acids, an…

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To everything, there is a season, a time to weep and a time to laugh and of course, a time to make 2020 predictions. I can hear it, the prediction clock is ticking, and while many of us are great at making predictions, hardly any of us short of Warren Buffet are great at getting them to stick. Clearly, the fear of being wrong isn’t stopping anyone, not even me.

The trick to prediction is being vague enough in your prediction wording that there are multiple ways to interpret them.

In…

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by Kris Gruber
perriex1@gmail.com

Two teenagers rescued around 20 Koalas from the horrific bushfires in Australia, fitting them in their car.

An anonymous donor pays off back taxes for several mobile home residents.

Neighbors with snow blowers free their buried counterparts after the storm of the decade.

People are doing good. Good deeds, good works, good words.

It is easy to lose focus on the good, in a turbulent time of political unrest, unstable weather patterns, incalculable loss from…

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New Year’s Eve celebrations usually go one of three ways – you either end up introverting at home, go out to eat at your old standby or ring in another year at your favorite local bar. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with any of that.

But if you want to shake it up this year, you can drink champagne in 1920s formalwear or your best 80s looks, lace up your roller skates, twirl light-up hoops or prepare your own lobster dinner from scratch with someone special. Toast the New Year…

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Pwned, in this context, simply means that your account has been the victim of a data breach.The word itself takes its name from player-to-player messaging in online computer gaming. When one player is defeated, another might type out a message to say ‘You’ve been owned’.

This was so frequently misspelt as ‘pwned’, the word itself took off. There are a lot of younger folks who don’t spell very well.

Sorry, I digressed...

I spend a fair amount of time in this column talking…

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photo by Sabrina Hornung

The Hurd Roundhouse is a unique site situated in the rolling hills of Wells county, the structure, as well as the nearby town of Hurdsfield, bears the name of Warren Hurd who worked as a land agent for the Northern Pacific Railroad. The Hurd house’s initial purpose was to serve as a land office and space to entertain potential land buyers. The house is two stories high, has a wrap-around porch and a round roof that also supported an observation deck. To this…

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by Rob Hanna

history@nd.gov

As I write this, the beautiful Stutsman County Courthouse State Historic Site in Jamestown is only partially furnished. But this photo, taken by my one-time colleague Guinn Hinman, caused me to see the place in a whole new light. She concentrated some of the historic paperwork, office equipment, and books in one room to stage this historic vignette. Don’t you want to step into that room? You just know you’d be immersed in another time. It makes you want to…

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by Aaron Swinkels and Erica Sponsler
gamegiantfargo@gmail.com

Make your hot chocolate, gather your family, and sit around the kitchen table on a cozy night. What else could you need? A board game! Family game night is not a new tradition, but that doesn’t mean it should be stale. There are so many board games available, it is easy to keep it fresh. Check out our annual holiday board game guide below to find the right fit for your family this season.

To start things off, we recommend…

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By Jill Finkelson
jsfinkelson99@gmail.com

Have you ever wondered what it was like to celebrate Christmas is 1885? Discover Christmas Past at the Comstock house this Saturday. The Cass County Historical Society has decked the house for the holiday season. In addition to the tours they have been having, they are hosting Christmas with the Comstocks. The holiday party is free with regular admission to the house (and to Historical Society members) and includes food, drink, and music. The…

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