Dakota Datebook

Direct global disaster costs reach about $200 billion annually, but the overall economic impact goes as high as $2 trillion as the economy suffers disruption. Wealthier countries suffer the most when it comes to economic costs, but developing countries suffer more in terms of human suffering.

We're saddened to share the news that longtime Dakota Datebook writer Jim Davis has passed away. To honor his many contributions to this program, we're re-airing a favorite Datebook: Traveling Jenny — the tale of a super cow in the Killdeer Mountains.

In August 1939, a group of concerned scientists drafted a letter warning of the potential development of powerful bombs of a type never seen before. They urged the United States to begin acquiring stockpiles of uranium ore and to support Enrico Fermi’s research into nuclear chain reactions. The letter was signed by Albert Einstein and delivered in person to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1889, men met at the Constitutional Convention in North Dakota to work on framing the state’s foundational document. They met from July 4, 1889, until August 17. There were various topics of interest under discussion, and while they debated, the public watched and voiced their own opinions and concerns—such as in the case of the establishment and location of public buildings, including government offices, universities, and the state hospital.

Railroad tracks finally began creeping west from Duluth, Minnesota, in 1870. On a cold New Year’s Eve in 1871, the railroad finally reached the Red River at Moorhead. Construction on a railroad bridge across the river continued through the winter. The residents of Fargo eagerly watched a locomotive sitting on the tracks, waiting for the completion of the bridge. On June 6, 1872, a group of women boarded a ferry and crossed the river. They decorated the engine with flowers and were then invited to climb aboard the train. The locomotive got up steam, the whistle blew, and the train moved majestically across the bridge and into Dakota Territory.

At one time, the stagecoach was a tempting target for outlaws. They could stop a coach far from the prying eyes of the law, stealing the cargo and robbing the passengers. As trains began moving across the country, they replaced the stagecoach for long-distance transportation. They also became the new target for outlaws. Train robbery was common in the United States and is associated with outlaw gangs in the American West.

World War I broke out on July 28, 1914. At first, airplanes were used only for reconnaissance, but it didn’t take long for the shooting to break out in the air. On August 25, two French aviators shot at and damaged a German plane, which managed to escape. In September, a Russian pilot destroyed an enemy airplane, but instead of shooting it down, he rammed it with his own plane. The crews of both planes were killed.

On this date in 1908, newspapers reported on the arrest and seasonal enterprise of a serial thief pursuing his third hitch in the state penitentiary. Mr. Malloy, alias Kennedy and Murphy, allegedly stole men’s overcoats in autumn in order to secure food and shelter for the winter. The Grand Forks Evening Times said, “Malloy who stole the overcoat and who has been sent to the Penitentiary three times on the same charge will probably plead guilty to get into Winter quarters.”

For years, many residents in Dakota Territory wanted to split it into two halves, but it wasn’t until the Enabling Act, passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Grover Cleveland in February of 1889, that Dakota Territory was allowed to split into the separate states of North and South Dakota.

Iowa schoolteacher Walter L. Carter came to Dakota in 1888 with the Patterson brothers. They organized the Wahpeton National Bank with $50,000 in capital. On this date in 1889, the bank opened for business.