Sisseton, South Dakota, USA

Defining Main Street: The Insurance Office. Again, let's not ignore the more mundane: establishments like the insurance office. And, humor always helps to attract attention. What other elements of Main Street culture might also be over looked? Attorneys? Funeral homes? [2007]

Cleveland, North Dakota, USA

Welcome to Geography Awareness Week: It's time to appreciate maps on the landscape! The one on this coop grain elevator is easy to miss. That's because North Dakota's shape is so boxy. If you are still not seeing the map, here's a hint: It is framed in yellow. Your assignment for the week: Keep track of all maps that circulate into your field of vision. [2021]

Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

Forty-eight of our 50 states were born as singletons. Two were born as twins: South Dakota and North Dakota. They were admitted to the Union on the same day: November 2, 1889, which makes them 133 years old today. Yet, to highlight their different personalities, one gave their capital city a French name, and the other chose a name from Germany. [2021]

Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

Why should streets get all the attention? On a street it would matter if donations sprawled out onto the pavement, but alleys can be a little more tolerant. Some cities have abundant alleyways (think: Pennsylvania). Others have none. Alleys really took a hard hit with the great suburbanization movement after World War II. [2021]

Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

The Missouri River in Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, 3rd ed., 1997, p. 750: "River; cen. and NW cen. U.S.; formed by confluence of Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin rivers in Gallatin co., S Montana; . . . joins the Mississippi River ab. 10 mi. N of St. Louis; 2466 mi." [2021]

Jamestown, North Dakota, USA

In the words of Discover Jamestown: "The world’s largest buffalo doesn’t really roam but he does tower over the plains and draw thousands of visitors yearly. While you’re here to see the buffalo, visit the places that inspired the great western writer, Louis L’Amour, who was born and raised in Jamestown, North Dakota." [2021]

Steele, North Dakota, USA

Say hello to Sandy, world's largest sandhill crane. She may be the world's oldest, too, since she just reached her majority. Let's hope she's still of reproductive age since those houses on the horizon look like habitat destroyers on the move. The leading cause of species loss is habitat destruction, both here and everywhere. [2021]

Edgeley, North Dakota, USA

It's only a row of storefronts along the town's main street. What sets it apart? A mural paying homage to the town's economic geography. Maybe Edgeley could add some real economic landscapes as a backdrop. Oh, wait, they already did!  See those grain silos rising above the storefronts? [2021]

Lidgerwood, North Dakota, USA

What do we put on a pedestal in American culture? The Military. So, expect to find many a public park with aircraft, including helicopters, on display. The Cobra has become iconic of the Vietnam War. For Marines who were stationed there, an installation like this must trigger a lot of memories. [2007]

Edgeley, North Dakota, USA

What do we put on a pedestal in American culture? Farming. More specifically, we have elevated the family farm to almost God-like status. Here, our gaze is forced upward, where the great god of farming, John Deere, is elevated to a position of honor upon the altar. [2021]

Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

You matter. Don't give up. Your mistakes do not define you. Be your own person, your authentic self, your own best friend, and a companion to all. Today is the day to give thanks for who you are, for who who were, and for who you will become. Remember: It's all about you! [2021]

Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

Odds and Evens, Ones and Twos, Singles and Doubles, Which one be You? Here are two frontiersmen who will forevermore occupy the historical record as partners: Lewis and Clark. On this date in 1804, they reached what would become North Dakota. The setting: part of the original Lewis and Clark trail, which is now a numbered (look again!) highway. [2021]

Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

Geographically Yours couldn't help but think more about the sphere than the eagle. It could easily be turned into a world globe. Keep the reflective surface, but add the continental outlines. Then, visitors could see themselves on every land mass and in every ocean of the world. They could roam the planet without ever leaving Steamboat Park. [2021]

Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

Missouri River: "I'm bound away, 'cross the wide Missouri." As the longest river in North America, the wide Missouri feels slighted when it's called a tributary of the Mississippi. It also feels slighted when people notice the wide Missouri doesn't end at the sea, but 430 feet above sea level, and that it has no delta to be proud of. At least, it's wide (and long)! [2021]

Edgeley, North Dakota, USA

That is some fine folk art for a mere mailstop. How would you interpret it? (1) A blissfully wedded couple lives here but the stag sees no reason to give his doe equal billing. (2) A blissfully wedded coupled used to live here, but the stag lost the lamp of his life and now lives alone with only memories of his doe. [2021]

Jamestown, North Dakota, USA

In the United States we do anything we want with our flag. That's because the flag belongs to us: We, the People. Do you know that in many other countries the flag belongs to the government and its use is restricted to officially sanctioned places and events. But wait! Isn't there a U.S. Flag Code? [2021]

Ellendale, North Dakota, USA

Ellendale's population peaked in 1980 at less than 2,000. Surprise: Stores along main street are still occupied! Where do the customers come from in a town so small? The True Value dealer's displays tell you. They come from farms and villages all around to stock up on hardware or buy a new lawn mower. [2021]

Hague, North Dakota, USA

North Dakota's state government takes the rules for surviving Covid seriously. South Dakota's state government flouts all the Covid rules, including mandates to wear masks. When the road from Pierre to Bismarck crosses the state line, North Dakota has erected a reminder that casts mask-wearing in a more favorable light. [2021]

Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

What does the Dakota Zoo want you to know about the North American River Otter? ”Nature’s clown” is often observed sliding, swimming, jumping and playing with other otters. Once common in many North Dakota waterways, they were wiped out in the early years of the fur trade. Now, they are making a comeback in the state. [2021]

Bowman, North Dakota, USA

Last year at this time, the sunflowers here on the northern Plains were in full bloom. The Dakotas are the largest producers of sunflowers in the United States by far. Nevertheless, Kansas has dubbed itself the Sunflower State. It might be time to re-imagine state nicknames. [2019]