Dreaming is one thing. Following that dream is another.
That's why I was so excited when Nancy Yoshida came back from Alaska and said she is going to follow her dream of running her sled dogs in the Iditarod. She is thinking of making the run in 2009, if she can get sponsors.
The idea has been in the back of her mind for a long time. Now, she is fueled by the excitement of working as a volunteer at the checkpoint near the end of the 2007 Iditarod in Shaktoolik on the Bering Sea. She was on the job 24/7 and loving every minute of it - especially when Dr. Ellen Halvorson, formerly of Grand Forks, crossed that point. It was the third try for Halvorson and Yoshida said she wasn't going to let her quit this year.
Sure enough, Halvorson and her sled dogs made it to the finish line in Nome on the morning of March 21. It took her 16 days, 56 minutes and 20 seconds to complete the journey. Yoshida said it was a grueling 16 days, but the dogs looked good at the end of the race.
Halvorson is a UND graduate and a psychiatrist in Wasile, Alaska. Her parents, Jon and Mary Jane Halvorson, live in Grand Forks. Yoshida has been able to show the Halvorsons pictures of their daughter finishing the race.
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Fish on Friday
The season for sports is winding down, but there is plenty to do in Grand Forks this weekend. You can eat fish in centers such as St. Mike's and Sacred Heart tonight in Grand Forks and in St. Matthew's in Thompson, N.D. . . . Or you can dig out some old polyester or other stuff just as ridiculous and have some fun at the Polyester Party tonight in the American Legion in East Grand Forks. It's a benefit for projects of Prairie Harvest Foundation. . . . The Writers Conference at UND continues today and Saturday. . . . And the annual Home Design and Garden Show featuring Chef J. Warren runs today through Sunday in the Alerus. . . . North Country Fiddlers are playing for a community barn dance Saturday evening in the Grand Forks Senior Center. . . . "Beauty and the Beast" is in its third and final weekend in Fire Hall Theatre. . . . Sacred Heart students are doing "Jolly Roger and The Prairie Queen" this weekend. . . . And "Monroe Crossing" is playing Saturday in Empire Arts Center. . . . "Shrek on Ice" is the show Saturday evening and Sunday in East Grand Forks Civic Center. . . . While little girls and their dads are dressing up for an evening together at Knights for a Princess parties running today through Monday evenings in the Holiday Inn sponsored by the Park District. . . . "Robert Robinson and the Twin Cities Community Gospel Choir" are performing Saturday in the Chester Fritz. . . . And the sound of basketballs will be heard all around town this weekend during the annual junior Grand Am tournament. . . .
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Caramel deLites
Thoughts while eating bagels: The price is right for membership in the Bethesda Society, fundraising organization for Valley Memorial Homes. It's $1 a year. And that's what it was when the group was organized in 1914. . . . Dee von Ruden of Mayville, N.D., really wants a recipe for Cinnamon Puffs. She saw it in The Recollections section of the Herald and couldn't read the fractions even with a magnifying glass. . . . There's nothing better than jelly made from chokecherries, which are to be North Dakota's official state fruit. . . . Caramel deLites were the best sellers when Girl Scouts were taking orders for 355,000 boxes this spring in 33 counties that make up Pine to Prairie Council. Nationally, Thin Mints are most popular. The new Cartwheels weren't selling too hot around here. After April 15, Girl Scout cookies will be available at booths around town. . . . The Song of the week ahead is "Meet Me in St. Louis."
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Cheerful people of the week: Chris Porter and Ryan Duncan. Runner-up: Al Pearson.
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Reach Marilyn Hagerty at mhagerty@gfherald.com or telephone 772-1055.
