Articles

MATTERS AT HAND: Optimism in short supply this New Year

The beginning of another year is supposed to be an optimistic time, but optimism is hard to muster this New Year. The news of the last month has been unbearable sad and unbelievably frustrating. Nor do the portents bode well.

• Mike Jacobs

ALWAYS IN SEASON: Local bird counters find record number of species

This year’s round of Christmas bird counts produced both delight and disappointment — but more delight than disappointment. The Grand Forks count took place Dec. 16 and produced 65 speci

• Mike Jacobs
• Mergus
• Robin breasted nuthatch

MATTERS AT HAND: An elephant shows up in North Dakota’s press room

Big change is under way in the news business in North Dakota, including the Associated Press' loss of a longtime legislative reporter to a new media venture.

• Mike Jacobs

MATTERS AT HAND: Grand Forks farewell highlights Conrad’s personal attributes

Saturday’s event showed off the senator’s emphasis on planning, his compulsive attention to detail, his intuitive grasp of big issues, his toughness, his sense of humor and his improbable optimism.

• Mike Jacobs

ALWAYS IN SEASON: Red River Valley hosts a variety of owl species

The owls are freighted with folklore. The ancient Greeks thought them wise, the Old Testament regarded them as unclean. Many cultures regard them as portending misfortune, even death. Harry Potter finds them magical. We in the Red River Valley often think of them as signs of approaching bad weather.

• Great Horned Owl
• Mike Jacobs

ALWAYS IN SEASON: Collared doves conquer the continent

Probably no species has conquered North America more quickly than the Eurasian collared dove.

• Mike Jacobs
• Eurasian collared dove
• Eurasian collared dove, illustration 2

ALWAYS IN SEASON: What does the eagle see?

The turkey is the bird usually associated with Thanksgiving, of course, but in my mind, the holiday is linked with the bald eagle.

• Mike Jacobs
• Bald eagle illustration

ALWAYS IN SEASON: Early winter brings unusual bird sightings

Last week brought the expected and the not so likely in the bird world. The first snowy owls of the season showed up, right on time. Most years, these birds are here by mid-November. So far, reports are encouraging, and it could be a good year for snowy owls.

• Mike Jacobs

MATTERS AT HAND: New Vision project draws ideas, creates anticipation

Like a lot of other people, I’m feeling a keen sense of anticipation about NV360. And there are a lot of people. Far more have taken part in NV360 than any other similar community involvement project has managed to attract here.

• Mike Jacobs

ALWAYS IN SEASON: Unpredictable redpolls show up early

Jacobs ponders an early surge in the redpoll population.

• Mike Jacobs
• Carduels flammed common redpull

Columns

OUR OPINION: People like pools, politicians should fund them

Mayor Lynn Stauss’ decision to veto renovation of the East Grand Forks swimming pool is both a disappointment and a challenge. It’s a disappointment because it puts off the day when the city has a modern pool. It’s a challenge because the mayor asserts firmly that the city will have a pool.

• Our Opinion

OUR OPINION: After 55 years, Jim Bollman deserves his morning nap

It’s pretty hard not to like Jim Bollman. There’s the record. 55 years in radio. 45 years in Grand Forks. He worked at several stations, but he’s most closely connected with KNOX, where he was “the morning man,” covering the microphone from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. with local news, sports, weather information and tidbits about life in the Red River Valley.

• Our Opinion

OUR OPINION: University chiefs face up to audit report

North Dakota’s largest universities had different approaches in response to a state audit of student fees. NDSU’s president told a legislative committee that many of the practices singled out had been addressed. At UND President Robert Kelley was equally emphatic that the fee issues would be dealt with.

• Our Opinion

ALWAYS IN SEASON: Flycatchers deserve pride of place as summer birds

The title “Birds of the Summer” surely should go to the aerial insect-eaters. Chief among them are the swallows, so numerous this time of year. Seven swallow species of swallows nest in the Red River Valley. A seventh occurs in western North Dakota. These birds differ in habits and, especially, in nesting and flocking behavior. But they are all insect eaters.

• Mike Jacobs

MATTERS AT HAND: Back to the basic issue in U.S. Senate race

The closeness, of course, makes the U.S. Senate race of national interest. It’s not out of the question that North Dakota voters will decide which party holds the majority in the U.S. Senate. That’s not the only reason the race is of interest. Another reason is that it is plain peculiar.

• Mike Jacobs

ALWAYS IN SEASON: Swallows fill up the mid-summer sky

Swallows have taken over the sky at our place west of Gilby, N.D., and one evening last week, there was an aerial encounter.

• Mike Jacobs

ALWAYS IN SEASON: Already autumn in the bird world

Birds have their season in the spring. That’s when birds are most active, when they sing the loudest and the longest. By early summer the nesting season is over for most birds. In fact, what humans think of as summer is really autumn in the bird world. The explanation is straightforward. Birds respond to light. Humans respond to heat.

• Mike Jacobs

ALWAYS IN SEASON: Uncertainty, confusion, disagreement about dickcissels

It’s possible to get into an argument about dickcissels. Several arguments, actually. For many local birders, this has been the bird of the season. Dickcissels are not regular birds here. Or at least they aren’t reported regularly. That’s one of the arguments about dickcissels.

• Mike Jacobs

MATTERS AT HAND: Hoeven for veep? Here's why

Mitt Romney might not want John McCain’s advice about a running mate – but in this case, it’s better to follow his advice than his example. McCain’s choice for 2012 is any but divisive. It’s John Hoeven, U.S. senator from North Dakota. McCain made the suggestion at an appearance in Fargo last month.

• Mike Jacobs

MATTERS AT HAND: Appointments show off governor’s political brain

Gov. Jack Dalrymple has proven his agility with appointments once again. There was much speculation about Dalrymple’s choice to succeed himself. In the end, he tapped the one person who’d said he wanted the governor’s job, Drew Wrigley. He’ll have to wait out Dalrymple’s term, of course. With the appointment, the governor deftly removed a potential opponent.

• Mike Jacobs