Articles

FACES: Couple become foster parents, carrying on a family tradition

As a child, Jamie Martinson’s gatherings at her grandparents house were made up of dozens of aunts, uncles and cousins. Some of the cousins were related to her, and others weren’t, but she considered all of them family. Now Martinson has followed in the footsteps of her grandparents — who did foster care in Grand Forks for 32 years — and her aunt and uncle, who continue to be foster care parents in Grand Forks.

• Jamie, Kaylie and Greg Martinson

Julie Gause and Maria Lunak get a kick out of dance exercise

Spending time together is a workout for Julie Gause and Maria Lunak. Several days each week, the mother and daughter alternately teach or attend each other’s Jazzercise classes at the The Y in Grand Forks.

• Julie Gause and Maria Luanke

FACES: June Kassa enjoys her job taking care of children

Squeals of delight fill the air as a stack of wooden blocks at June Kassa’s home daycare goes tumbling down. A 9-month-old boy on her lap and surrounded by six other children between the ages of 2 and 4, Kassa helps them stack the blocks so they can knock it down again. Afterward, she danced with the children, made lunch, helped them with artwork projects and took them outside to play. Late last month, Kassa was named Polk County Family Child Care Provider of the Year by the Minnesota Licensed Family Child Care Association. Kassa, 41, has done home day care for nearly 15 years.

• June Kassa with two kids at her daycare

FACES: Dakota Science Center executive director was naturally drawn to science

Laura Munski was attracted to science at a young age by nature. “I was outside all of the time,” said Munski. Whether bird or wildlife watching or simply running around her yard in Havre de Grace, Md., she spent a lot of time outdoors getting hands-on experience with environmental science. Now, as executive director of the Dakota Science Center in Grand Forks, Munski works to instill in middle school students an interest in science.

• Laura Munski

FACES: Myron Barnes retires after rewarding career with Boy Scouts

Myron Barnes didn’t expect to dedicate his life to the Boy Scouts when he applied for a summer job to be an aquatics director at a scout camp near Hibbing, Minn. But the three-month position opened the door to a lifelong career, and this month, Barnes retired after 36 years with the Boy Scouts.

• Myron Barnes

FACES: Laura Pikop is world champ in mounted shooting

Three years ago lifelong equestrian, Laura Pikop was hunting for a competitive event to ride her horses in when she read about mounting shooting in a magazine. After she found Wild Rice Peacemakers, a mounting shooting club based in Twin Valley, Minn., which is affiliated with the national Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association, Pikop decided to give the sport a try.

• Laura Pikop

FACES: Five years after a near-fatal car accident, Ben Hylden is grateful to be alive

Eyes and ears filled with dirt, blood flowing down his throat and right leg crushed, Ben Hylden wriggled on his back, his only thought to get home and see his parents so he could say a final goodbye.

• Ben Hylden
• ANN BAILEY: Easter is a good time to count one’s blessings

FACES: Instructor Dacia Stiles says Zumba leaves participants sweaty, exhilarated and happy

Zumba keeps Dacia Stiles on the move. Stiles, of Grand Forks, was licensed in 2009 to teach Zumba. A fitness instructor who also has taught cycling and step classes, she constantly is on the look-out for new types of exercise classes to teach, she said.

• Dacia Stiles
• ANN BAILEY: Spring has arrived right on time

FACES: Allison Noll finds choreography fun and rewarding

Choreographing musicals makes Allison Noll want to dance. Noll, a senior at the University of Minnesota-Crookston, choreographs the university’s musicals. George French, a UMC associate, asked Noll, a UMC agriculture business and agriculture education major, to choreograph the musical “Leader of the Pack” two years ago after he learned that she choreographed a Crookston Senior High School play.

• Allison Noll
• ANN BAILEY: Rain is good, in manageable doses

FACES: Loren Abel oversees the completion of the 25th NCTC project house

Loren Abel likes building progress. Abel constructs houses in his job as an East Grand Forks contractor and supervises an annual student construction project in his other job as carpentry instructor at Northland Community and Technical College.

• Loren Abel
• ANN BAILEY: Gardening catalogs sow seeds of spring planting

Columns

ANN BAILEY: Spring is alive

In spring, the countryside is alive with sights, smells and sounds. After winter, a quieter, less colorful season on the farm, I feel like my senses, too, are coming to life again.

• Ann Bailey

ANN BAILEY: Mother’s Day brings back many memories

Today, Mother’s Day, seems like a good time to reflect on my mom. Though she died in September, there isn’t a day that goes by that I am not reminded of her, not once but many times, or that someone who knew her doesn’t mention to me how much they miss her.

• Ann Bailey

ANN BAILEY: On the farm, ‘doctoring’ part of the job

One of my primary chores growing up was to check the cattle during the summer months when they were on pasture. It was a job I enjoyed because it involved horseback riding. However, it wasn’t a joy ride because the reason my sister and I checked the cows, calves and bulls was to make sure they were healthy. If we spotted one that looked like it wasn’t feeling well, we herded it up to the corral, where my dad and brother could take a look at it and treat it themselves or call the veterinarian if it was a more serious problem.

• Ann Bailey

ANN BAILEY: Springing ahead, but not too much

A month ago, I thought I might break the record for earliest lawn mowing. The green lawn was showing signs of bolting and I figured it would only be a matter of time before I was back on the seat of the mower. But although there have been a few warm days this month, temperatures generally have been more seasonable and our grass has stayed pretty short.

• Ann Bailey

ANN BAILEY: New life is springing up on the farm

One of my favorite times of the year growing up on the farm is spring. Not only are there signs of new life all around me in the form of greened-up grass, budding trees and blooming flowers, there also are young animals on and around the farm to remind me of the renewal.

• Ann Bailey

ANN BAILEY: Flock provides farm-fresh eggs at a small price

Last summer, our small chicken flock of 21 chickens grew by 10, courtesy of a couple of friends who needed a home for their hens. The flock of 30 chickens and one rooster wintered well and even made history by going outside on Christmas Day. My husband, Brian, took a picture to record the event and our family talked about how delighted my mom would have been to see her chickens scratching in the dirt on Dec. 25.

• Ann Bailey

ANN BAILEY: Easter is a good time to count one’s blessings

Today, Easter Sunday, ushers in a week of blessings for me. The most extraordinary blessing for which I am grateful is the gift of Jesus’ resurrection. As a Christian, I believe that his resurrection after death on the cross freed us from sin and opened the gates of heaven.

• Ann Bailey

ANN BAILEY: Spring has arrived right on time

As a North Dakotan, I’m accustomed to hearing about spring arriving in other parts of the country long before it has sprung here. As I looked out of my kitchen window into a front yard knee-deep in snow, I could only imagine what it must be like to have trees leafing out and flowers poking up out of the ground.

• Ann Bailey

ANN BAILEY: Rain is good, in manageable doses

“When it rains, it pours.” There are times in my life when that old saying has been true figuratively and other times, literally. This past week, I was reminded of it the literal sense.

• Ann Bailey

ANN BAILEY: Gardening catalogs sow seeds of spring planting

What a beautiful week of weather. A week before the official start of spring, it felt more like spring than it did in May last year. If North Dakota history repeats itself, we’re likely to get some snow before spring really arrives — and stays. As I told my children, we really can’t count on being snow-free until mid-May. However, that hasn’t stopped me from enjoying the great weather we’re having now. If snow does hit the ground during the next several weeks, it quickly will melt, and then we can say we had a short winter.

• Ann Bailey