John Conrad Berkey is probably the best-known science fiction artist on the planet. His artwork appears on the covers of books, calendars and movie posters. His bold vision defined science fiction art. Berkey was born in Edgeley, North Dakota on this date in 1932. His family moved around, and as a child he lived in South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota. He studied at the Minneapolis School of Art.

In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll be listening to Demus McDonald, enrolled member of Spirit Lake Nation, talking about the lesson of bad medicine on the tongue.

After Congress established the US mint in 1792, the penny became one of the first circulating coins. The first penny was larger than a modern quarter, with an image of “Liberty” on one side and a chain of 15 links on the obverse. This coin underwent multiple changes over the years.

The Badlands of western North Dakota offer awe-inspiring views, but there’s a reason for the name: The Badlands are difficult to cross. And that’s putting it mildly.

In his book about the Great Plains, Ian Frazier wrote, “A nuclear missile silo is one of the quintessential Great Plains objects: to the eye, it is almost nothing…but to the imagination, it is the end of the world.”

In 1917, there were still North Dakota veterans who remembered serving in the Civil War. Their sons had stepped up in 1898 when the 1st North Dakota Volunteer Infantry set off to serve in the Philippines during the Spanish American War. Now, with America’s entrance into World War I, it was again time for North Dakotans to serve their country. A number of them had seen service in the Philippines and volunteered again.

In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll be listening to Leander Russ McDonald, enrolled member of Spirit Lake Nation, in part two of Storytelling and Humor.

Over 250,000 Native Americans lived on the Great Plains in the 19th Century. While white settlers focused on taming the frontier, the indigenous inhabitants sought to maintain their hold on land they had lived on for centuries. In the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, the United States recognized the Black Hills as the Great Sioux Reservation, promising to prosecute any “bad men” who committed wrongs against the Indians.

Twenty years after the Civil War, concerns were growing about the welfare of aging veterans. In 1887, Congress set aside land in states and territories for the construction of homes that would care for Union veterans. And in 1891, the North Dakota legislature authorized the construction of such a home. The facility opened on this date in 1893.

In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll be listening to Leander Russ McDonald, an enrolled member of Spirit Lake Nation, in part one of storytelling and humor.