Dakota Datebook

The election of 1912 was one of the few times North Dakota supported a Democrat for president. It was a time of rapid social and economic change. Voters had a great deal to consider about the role of government in regulating the economy and protecting the rights of citizens against the undue influence of corporate power.

If you ever see a meteor in the nighttime sky, you will likely be either speechless with wonder or poetic in awe. It is unlikely you would be indifferent. For 62-year-old William W. Barrett, words came easily as he described a summer Saturday-night meteor display in 1894.

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."

It was early June 1863, when over 3000 soldiers under the command of General Henry Hastings Sibley marched into Dakota Territory to engage the Sioux Indians in a punitive campaign following the events of the 1862 Minnesota-Dakota Conflict.

It’s not uncommon for a newspaper to highlight a local citizen turning 100 years old. But the centenarian featured in The Fargo Forum on this date in 1994 held a special place in the hearts of people across North Dakota. Mable Leet Guy was the mother of William L. Guy Jr., North Dakota's longest-serving governor.

Modern-day people don't know much about oxen, unless they refer to someone as a big ox or being strong as an ox. Some might know about Red River ox carts or maybe Babe the Blue Ox's statue in Bemidji.

William "Bill" Hamann was a mover and a shaker in the western North Dakota cattle industry. He was born near Richardton in 1904 and began working with livestock in the late 1920s.

By 1928, brothers William and Harvey Erlenmeyer, ages 16 and 18 respectively, had worked for nearly a decade on their small produce farm. It was referred to as a "truck garden" because the produce was transported by truck to nearby cities. Through their work in the garden, they earned enough profit to pay for their college education, with money left over to help cover living expenses and support their younger brother.

Grant was impressed with Dakota Territory when he ventured onto the Great Plains in 1883. During his stop in Fargo, Grant said, "I came out here to be impressed, but I see greater evidence of enterprise in your city and prosperity in your country than I anticipated, and all promise great things for the future. Although I have crossed the United States much and visited nearly every territory as well as state, this is the first time I have ever set foot on Dakota soil. I am glad to be on so solid and substantial a foundation."

The Missouri River, the longest river in North America, begins its journey at Three Forks, Montana. It travels 2,341 miles before joining the Mississippi River just north of St. Louis. For 390 of those miles, it winds through North Dakota. It is such a literal force of nature and such a major presence in the state that it has been called "one of the defining attributes of North Dakota's landscape."