Akin to a Fitbit for cattle, an ear tag developed by a Fargo-based company is bringing smart technology to the most basic of places – prairie pastures.
The tags have been developed by 701x, a tech startup owned by Kevin Biffert.
If “rural electrification” was a buzzword spreading across the nation in the 1930s, “beneficial electrification” might be a buzzword of the 2030s.
Rural electrification in North Dakota held dreams of making life better for every farm family, and eventually, meant serving members in every pocket of this state, from the most remote to urban areas.
A 15-year-old Lansford girl has turned her love of writing into a successful first book.
Lindsey Undlin, a freshman at MLS-Mohall, had her book, “Stolen,” published by W. Brand Publishing last March. Since then, more than 1,000 copies of her book have sold.
If you’re a garden lover in North Dakota, the planting season may not be long enough to satisfy your yearning to connect to the earth.
However, you can extend the season by planning and preparing prior to planting.
Considering the season’s last frost usually happens between May 16 to 30, depending on where you live in North Dakota, you have some time over the next two months to get a few things ready to make your growing season more productive.
TAKING CARE OF YOUR TOOLS
It’s a Friday afternoon, and Brooke Hilzendeger plops a heavy bag on the dirt floor of the Lineworker Training Center in Mandan, kicking up a trail of dust. She opens it and pulls out climbing boots, a body belt, a pole strap, gloves and a hard hat. These aren’t the items most people would expect to find in a woman’s bag, but for those who know Hilzendeger, a 29-year-old single mom and self-proclaimed tomboy, it comes as no surprise.
“A child care crisis.”
That’s how Gov. Doug Burgum described the state of child care in North Dakota, speaking at a press conference in September 2022 to pitch his child care plan.
“In many cases, parents have to choose between working and paying for child care, or not working at all,” Burgum told the Legislature in his executive budget address in December. “Currently, child care costs account for 15% to 40% of the average household budget in North Dakota, which often isn’t sustainable for young working families.”
Rhonda Gilbertson-Evans wrote those words in a poem called “Why I Do This Work.” The poem explains her reasons for serving people experiencing homelessness, including a man dear to her heart.
“It’s not that easy for many of our community members who are homeless. Some hills are unsurmountable,” she said.
Going into last winter, with many North Dakota waters lower than they’d been in some time thanks to severe drought, N.D. Game and Fish Department (NDGF) fisheries managers worried that declining water levels and other factors would lead to significant winterkill.
Turns out, it wasn’t nearly as bad as anticipated.
Many of us are so connected to our phones, tablets and laptops we panic when the battery nears the dreaded 0% mark.
We want our device batteries to perform well for as long as possible. But taking care of them can conflict with why we have our electronics in the first place. The point isn’t to fret about battery life; it’s to read and send emails, scroll on social media, take photos and countless other pursuits.
Editor’s note: Property tax is promised to be a hot topic before the state Legislature this year. Republican lawmakers put forth property tax relief proposals in advance of the Jan. 3 start of the legislative session. This story cuts through confusing property tax terminology to help taxpayers understand property tax, how it’s calculated and where it goes. This story originally appeared in the December 2022 issue of the Union Farmer.
