N.D. doctor joins fitness panel
BISMARCK -- A North Dakota doctor is joining famous athletes and first lady Michelle Obama on a national council to promote fitness, sports and nutrition.
Pediatrician Stephen McDonough of Bismarck called the opportunity "a dream come true."
Along with Drew Brees, Carl Edwards, Grant Hill and Michelle Kwan, McDonough will advise the president about opportunities to develop accessible physical activity, sports and nutrition programs across the country.
"Hopefully, it will be an opportunity to be ambassadors, to get out there and work with other organizations to get kids more physically fit," McDonough said.
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McDonough has been interested in physical fitness in children for 30 years. He thinks he was selected for the council because of some help from Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and the first lady's interest in the topic.
McDonough, 59, spent 15 years in the state Health Department and led efforts to prevent smoking and combat childhood obesity in North Dakota. He has also worked at the UND Medical School and now works at Medcenter One.
Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest on
The North Dakota Game and Fish Department's Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest is accepting entries until Sept. 30.
The contest has categories for nongame and game species, as well as plants/insects. Contest entries are limited to 5x7-inch or larger color prints, or digital files submitted on disk or via e-mail. Contestants are limited to five entries. Photos must have been taken in North Dakota.
By submitting an entry, photographers grant permission to Game and Fish to publish winning photographs in North Dakota Outdoors magazine and on the department's website, gf.nd.gov.
Prints or photo disks can be sent to Watchable Wildlife Photo Contest, c/o Patrick T. Isakson, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, ND 58501-5095.
E-mail digital photos to photocontest@nd.gov . Photographers will need to supply the original image if chosen for publication.
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All entries must be accompanied by the photographer's name, address, phone number and e-mail address, if available. Other information such as photo site location and month taken is encouraged.
Pomeroy ag forum
Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., and Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., will host a farm forum Wednesday in Amenia, N.D.
The goal is to get input from local farm and conservation groups on what they would like to see in the new farm bill. The public is also invited to attend.
In a statement, Pomeroy and Peterson said the forum will be used to gather input on what is working in the current farm bill and what could be changed to make the farm program stronger.
The event begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Hejl farm, 15560 28th St. S. The farm is about seven miles north of Casselton, N.D.
Ask your N.D. government
The writer of this notebook hopes to start a new feature this summer that connects the public with their North Dakota government. You write in with your question for any state government official or agency, and we'll do our best to find an answer.
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Each week, we'll publish a sampling of what we found. To submit a question, e-mail politics@wday.com (Subject: Ask your government).
You may also write to Teri Finneman c/o Forum Communications, Press Room, State Capitol, Bismarck, ND 58505.
Please include your name, town and a phone number to reach you for verification.
Teri Finneman is the multimedia correspondent for Forum Communications. To get the latest state briefings, visit her blog at www.areavoices.com/northdakota .
