This is one of my favorite “floats” in the 2024 Independence Day parade! It’s got a pretty meaty sounding engine, too! I don’t know about you, but thanks to Bidenomics I can’t afford to fill a regular shopping cart…I can’t imagine what kind of cash it would take to fill this baby with groceries!
I had the opportunity to go for a little cruise on my motorcycle. I can use the phrase “my motorcycle” instead of “one of my motorcycles” because, for the first time since 1996, I only have one. Well, I put it to good use tonight.
I hope you read that title in Alice Cooper’s voice. I was going through some photos from 2022 recently, looking for a selfie I took in a Blackhawk helicopter, when I came across this one. I don’t believe I’d posted it before! By the way, this was an iPhone photo…not something I typically do on this blog. But the cameras in those things are getting so darn good – especially on my 15 Pro.
I actually came across the GPS waypoint for this little school, nestled in the far northwestern corner of our state, a day or two ago while looking for something else as well. I guess it was destined to get my attention!
I remember the moment I took this photo. First, it was drizzling. Second, I was near the intersection of the borders with both Montana and Canada. In fact, I believe my phone was roaming just like I was! I got one of those “you’re now in Canada” roaming messages on it. And third, it was a fantastic find. I even noted that in my map when I marked the waypoint for it. I’m glad I had the chance to post it!
I spotted this gem of a barn on the way back from a speech competition in northwestern North Dakota. My boy had performed quite well, so it was a Proud Dad moment. My eyes are always scanning while driving, a trait which has kept me alive through many years of motorcycling and motorcycle racing, and naturally that translates well to my photography hobby. Well, an inattentive eye would have missed this scene. Thankfully, being alert paid off: I pulled over, grabbed my gear from the trunk, bolted to the best vantage point, and got the shot.
I added a mountain bike to the stable weeks ago, but I hadn’t found an opportunity to actually get out and rock it until today. I did a leisurely 15-miler around town, and in the middle of that I was able to check out a pretty cool selection of other people’s rides…or ridez, to use their style. As I biked past the capitol building, I noticed that the Carz-n-Cures charity car show event was taking place in the northwest parking lot of the capitol grounds. Naturally, I had to stop by.
Peace Officers Memorial Day has been commemorated on May 15th since President Kennedy signed a joint resolution of Congress in 1961. The North Dakota capitol building has been adorned with a blue line in the windows since 2017, when a joint resolution in the North Dakota legislature was passed to designate the day and the display. As far as I know, this is the only display in the capitol windows which appears in Century Code.
North Dakota peace officers who have given their lives in service of our state include:
Fred D. Alderman: Fargo Police Department: 1882 Evan Paulson: Mayville Police Department: 1890 James Rauland: Northern Pacific Railroad: 1899 H.M. Personius: Valley City Police Department: 1906 George E. Moody: Richland County Sheriff’s Office: 1911 Carl G. Nelson: Carrington Police Department: 1915 Seymour H. Douglas: McKenzie County Sheriff’s Office: 1917 Evan M. Jones: Richland County Sheriff’s Office: 1917 George Dixon: Wilton Police Department: 1917 Patrick J. Devaney: Minot Police Department: 1918 Kersey E. Gowin: North Dakota Office of Attorney General: 1918 Earnst W. Thompson: Ward County Sheriff’s Office: 1920 Lee S. Fahler: Minot Police Department: 1921 Julius A Nielson: Kenmare Police Department: 1921 Christian A. Madison: Stanley Police Department: 1922 Carl Peterson: Westhope Police Department: 1922 Charles R. Sneesby: Devils Lake Police Department: 1924 Nels H. Romer: Mandan Police Department: 1926 Hans C. Jess: Mandan Police Department: 1929 Martin G. Johnson: Ray Police Department: 1930 George Peipkorn: Burleigh County Sheriff’s Office: 1930 Leo Dagner: Willow City Police Department: 1933 David L. Stewart: Hope Police Department: 1933 Aslak “Oscar” Thorsen: Bottineau County Sheriff’s Office: 1936 Fred A. Patrickus: Billings County Sheriff’s Office: 1940 Joseph Runions: Mercer County Sheriff’s Office: 1941 Aurther M. Sem: Stanley Police Department: 1942 Charles M. Allmaras: Eddy County Sheriff’s Office: 1942 Jacob M. Hoerner: New Leipzig Police Department: 1942 John Oles: North Dakota State Penitentiary: 1946 Rudolf F. Howell: Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office: 1950 William W. Hansen: Velva Police Department: 1950 Henry S. Halvorson: Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Office: 1952 Nicholas J. Ethen: Devils Lake Police Department: 1953 Edward E. Mumby: New Salem Police Department: 1953 Beryl E. McLane: North Dakota Highway Patrol: 1954 John Holcomb: North Dakota State Penitentiary: 1954 Ralph L. Burdick: Benson County Sheriff’s Office: 1954 Lee E. Morrow: Federal Bureau of Investigation: 1960 Max L. Taylor: Bowman County Sheriff’s Office: 1960 Nathan N. Bear: Bureau of Indian Affairs: 1960 Ralph J. Hansen: Ransom County Sheriff’s Office: 1962 Frank A. Peterson: Rugby Police Department: 1963 Burdette M. Miller: Ray Police Department: 1966 Theodore C. Wanner: Dickinson Police Department: 1966 Robert D. Martin: Grand Forks Police Department: 1966 Raymond A. Wietstock: State Industrial School: 1966 Ronald E. Trautman: Jamestown Police Department: 1966 Frank C. Schultz: Burlington Northern Railroad: 1970 P.A. “Tex” Goyne: New Salem Police Department: 1971 Herbert R. Parmeter: Sargent County Sheriff’s Office: 1974 Kenneth A. Lenerville: Reeder Police Department: 1975 Kenneth B. Muir: U.S. Marshal Service: 1983 Robert S. Chesire Jr.: U.S. Marshal Service: 1983 Timothy L Wells: Willaims County Sheriff’s Office: 1989 Valence L. Pascal: Benson County Sheriff’s Office: 1993 Charles V. Pulver: North Dakota Game and Fish: 1995 Keith A. Braddock: Watford City Police Department: 1996 Roger C. Sorenson: Youth Correctional Center: 1996 Steve R. Kenner: Bismarck Police Department: 2011 Bryan K. Sleeper: Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department: 2011 Jason D. Moszer: Fargo Police Department: 2016 Colt E. Allery: Rolette County Sheriff’s Office: 2017 Cody N. Holte: Grand Forks Police Department: 2020 Adam G Gustafson: West Fargo Police Department: 2021 Jake R. Wallin: Fargo Police Department: 2023
I’m delighted to live in a state which honors its law enforcement personnel instead of trying to portray them as oppressors, defund them, or otherwise disparage them. Many of them are my friends and/or colleagues. If you encounter an officer this week, please thank them and voice your support. National Police Week is designated as calendar week in which May 15th falls, so you still have a few days.
I’m no fanboy, but I gotta say: the iPhone 15 Pro is pretty darn slick. I had a blast hammering away at the Northern Lights with it while my trusty Canon equipment was dutifully cranking out time lapse photos. Here’s a dump of my favorites, no captions required.
Okay, when I was younger I stayed out all night quite frequently. In fact, I worked overnights for seven and a half years. I’m no dummy. I know what it’s like to stay out late. But now that I’m all growed up and have a real job and family, I don’t get to do it so much. So I’m a little crushed by staying out past 4am this morning. But it was WORTH IT.
My feed, like yours, probably blew up with Northern Lights photos last night and today. Fantastic. Recently I’ve dreaded that, because my photos haven’t been among them. This time, however, I was able to get out with my best friend and get some shots of my own! So let’s go…
Yes, the predictions for the Northern Lights came true. No, we didn’t have cloud cover for once. Yes, I got out there with my gear. No, I am not going to process and post any photos at 4am. Stay tuned!
It should be obvious that I’m a music and movie fan, and a fan of physical media specifically. I could rant for an hour on the virtue of owning a physical copy of the music or film you enjoy vs. having to rent it in perpetuity from some greedy pinhead who can make your beloved favorites vanish in an instant or pepper them with ads for products you’ll swear not to buy out of sheer annoyance.
Well, there’s a new shop for people like you – people like us – Music & More, located on Lockheed Drive in south Bismarck.