Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - National Geographic editor defends "Emptied Prairie" article

National Geographic editor defends "Emptied Prairie" article

Jan 16, 2008 - 04:05:26 CST

FARGO (AP) - National Geographic editor Chris Johns says he's been to North Dakota many times and an article titled "The Emptied Prairie" was not intended as a profile of the state.

Johns said the story, published this month, has its roots in his experience of driving through North Dakota as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota.

"Why did we focus on North Dakota? Because there are some trends there that spoke to us and I love North Dakota," he said.

The article created an uproar in the state, with residents saying it unfairly portrayed North Dakota as a state of ghost towns.

State Commerce Commissioner Shane Goettle said his search of the Internet turned up more than twice as many abandoned communities in Arizona as in North Dakota. Gov. John Hoeven fired off a letter to National Geographic, saying the story was "way off the mark" and that the magazine should return and cover the state's growing economy, low crime and clean environment.

National Geographic spokeswoman Beth Foster said the story was not supposed to be about all of North Dakota but rather "a specific look at a phenomenon in the North American landscape, and that's the abandoned rural farm towns."

Historian Clay Jenkinson, a scholar-in-residence at Dickinson State University who portrays Thomas Jefferson on a weekly radio show, said the story is old.

"Someone is always coming out here and discovering that the plains are emptying out," he said. "This is yet another in a long, long series of dying town stories, and we all need to take a deep breath."

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Comments

Dave wrote on Jun 10, 2008 12:45 PM:

" north dakota is full of small towns population under 100 with 98 perecent of them being old so pretty soon they will be ghost towns so i'll give him partial credit. i am a north dakota resident although i would like not to be(for all you who were thinking just move im working on it) however it has its up and downs and for all the people who have not lived here and maybe at most stayed here a couple times you have no place to comment here ive lived in other states and i feel like i would have no place acting like i knew what it was like there from just seeing a smll portion. Last but not least all of us including me are dumb for reading this and posting. who cares what a bunch of people have to say about this topic its irrelevent what you me or hoeven thinks nothing is gonna change not the small farm towns, not the horrible winters, not the 50 degree pouring outside june 9ths, not the constant abuse of alcohol, and certainly not the outsiders opinion of OUR state. "

News Release wrote on Jan 23, 2008 12:34 PM:

" First instrumentally recorded earthquake in North Dakota was on July 8th, 1968 felt by the Governor at the Capital. Intensity IV. "

Kimberly wrote on Jan 23, 2008 12:01 PM:

" I just want to say that Mr. Johns wrote an excellent piece. I love North Dakota and hopefully one day my family and I will be able to come back. I miss the wind and the rich soil. Every spring when it is time to plant, I long for home. "

Point to Ponder wrote on Jan 23, 2008 11:58 AM:

" Let's send National Geographic "A Letter from Hell." "

Model T wrote on Jan 23, 2008 4:05 AM:

" I grew up in ND, but now live in Washington state where winters are mild , no snow. It's depressing.
Feb 2006 I went to a funeral at Dickinson . The next day It was -13 below , snowing and blowing. I bundled up and went for a walk around town, It felt great!
You NDakotans are a tough bunch "

Dumb wrote on Jan 22, 2008 2:19 AM:

" How about we have our legislature vote and send National Geographic a live Buffalo to their Corporate offices. Sound Dumb? Well it actually happed when the term "Buffalo Commons" was written about North Dakota some time ago. The Governor's response is just as dumb. Please find something better to do with your time North Dakotans'......of which I'm not. "

I will never leave: wrote on Jan 21, 2008 2:32 PM:

" I will never leave this state simply because of the open prairies - lack of smog and crowded places everywhere - neighbors who actually know each other - and all kinds of reasons. If the more "progressive" people want the big city lights that's fine. I don't. I prefer the open prairie within a few hours drive in any direction. And, the funny thing, we seem to be surviving, and in my line of work I come across many people coming to or coming back to ND. I don't believe that anyone looking at moving here, looking at starting corporations or other businesses here, are taking the article into consideration. Surely there are other resources for studying the economic status here than a few page article of pictures of history. "

REX wrote on Jan 21, 2008 1:16 PM:

" There were almost as many people tail gaiting yesterdays Packers' game as there are living in North Dakota. Good place for 'em. "

Fossilman wrote on Jan 21, 2008 11:08 AM:

" I got to say it,North Dakota is a ghost state.There are alot of little towns and etc. that are setting empty or close to it...So whats the big deal.
Lots of open space between places and the such,got to get over it people.Who cares what others think of your state,I live here and don't like it one bit,(but the fishing is great)ha ha...............Its just an article about someones veiws and opinions..............
I'll even bet most of you that are complaining,never read the article or get the "National Geographic"............... "

Nick wrote on Jan 20, 2008 10:41 PM:

" Some things to consider:
North Dakota is the only state in the nation never to have an earthquake.
Dakota Gasification Company in Beulah is the nation's only synthetic natural gas producer.
North Dakota has 60 wildlife refuges, more than any other state, and all are managed for waterfowl production.
North Dakota has more miles of road per capita than any other state - approximately 166 miles of road for every 1,000 people.
If North Dakota seceded from the Union, it would be the world's third strongest nuclear power.
North Dakota has the highest number of millionaires per capita than any other state.
North Dakota leads the nation in the production of spring wheat, durum wheat, sunflowers, barley, a dry edible bean, pinto beans, canola, flaxseed, all dry edible peas, honey, lentils and oats.
The fastest-growing city in the state is West Fargo, which has soared from 14,910 residents in 2000 to more than 21,000 last year.
North Dakota has more Golf Courses per capita than any other state?
North Dakota Ranks #1 as the safest state to live in. (Morgan Quitno 03/05)
Is one of only eight states with a growing economy. (Economy.com)
Ranks 6th highest in state economic competitiveness. (Beacon Hill Institute, 12/05)
Had the second highest per capita income growth from2000-2005. (Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2005) Fargo-Moorhead ranked as one of America's top Business Opportunity Metros for 2005. (Expansion Management)
Ranks #1 for rate of high school completion (01/06 Corporation for Enterprise Development)
North Dakota is one of only two states to increase manufacturing jobs from 2000-2004. (U.S. Dept. Of Labor)

"

BF wrote on Jan 20, 2008 8:07 PM:

" You guys are hilarious. The people getting all worked up about this article are people that have never left the state. I lived in Bismarck for over 20 years, and have since moved many times, and to different areas of the country. You get OUTSIDE of your Bismarck (or Fargo or Jamestown or Dickinson, etc) bubble and you realize that the article is indeed right. It is essentially an emptied prarie, and getting more empty all the time. Young people are wising up and leaving the state. North Dakota has one of the fastest dropping populations. So, you don't have to like the article, but don't throw your little fits about it. If you love your town and/or state, great, but don't pretend its something its not. Thanks for the laugh though! "

aozzie wrote on Jan 20, 2008 4:21 PM:

" Just remember there are a whole lot of worse places in this country! Low wages are everywhere, since all of the good paying jobs went overseas. "

from Montana wrote on Jan 20, 2008 1:40 PM:

" Last month I read the National Geographic article about the rural ghost towns of western North Dakota. I thought it was a stunning piece. Having spent some time in Western North Dakota before moving to Billings, I was particularly interested. I was shocked to find that so many North Dakotans got all up in arms about it, and even the Governor himself got involved writing a letter of protest.

Lets all wake up to reality here. This was clearly a piece on some segmented dying rural areas of North Dakota. You cannot dispute the declining population trends in some of these areas. If you dont believe me, check out the statistical data readily available online from Census Data.

Some people either completely missed the context of the article ( It was definately not intended to be a portayal of ND or even western ND as a whole)...or the rancor is just politically or economically driven. One would have to be very obtuse not to understand the context in which this was intended after reading the enitre article. "

Dakota wrote on Jan 20, 2008 10:15 AM:

" The facts that I know:
60,000 square miles / 600,000 people. I hate crowded places and heavy traffic.
World record snow angel record. l.o.l.
A state W.S.I. agency that is in shambles, but, this is home for me and i wouldn't leave for anything at this point. I've left twice and came back. "

Let's Face the Truth wrote on Jan 20, 2008 1:11 AM:

" Hummm, who satistics should we beleive, FAmily Watchdog .com or the North Dakota Attorney General's Sex Offender and Child Offense List? interesting but the site you provide a link to doesn't give any calendar data for thier figures. That scares me even more, as I would think it would be at least in the last 5 years which means our sex and offenses against children are spirialing out of control. Congratulations Mr. Hoevne And Mr. Stejenhem. I will give you easy to follow dirctions for getting the truthful and current data on this issue. The link, http://www.sexoffender.nd.gov/publiclisting.aspx. after you get there, all you have to do is check the little box marked all offenders, and then click download pfd. After you get the file, you don't even have to go through the entire 130 pages, jjust scroll to the last page, and you will find total offenders 1241 as of january 19, 2008. It's easy, anyone can do it. It's interesting but Bismarck, again according to OUR Attorney General's Office, has almost 300 registered alone. It looks like Bismarck has the most of any town or city by far. Of course some of them are at the prison. I am most definately a conservative my simple minded and confused friend. Worried about crime, most importantly the safety of our children, and the fact that our state government tries to hide the fact that we have the same problems the rest of the world has, and in some cases worse. Here's a fact for you to chew on: If you take the actual number of these offenders as updated and reported by the AG's office, the actual numbers put us in the top 10 of the country based upon Family Watchdog's calculations. That's facing the truth. "

180 Ghost Towns in US wrote on Jan 19, 2008 7:56 PM:

" http://www.ghosttowngallery.com/ This site mentions 180 “Ghost Towns” in the US, but none of the listed towns are in North Dakota. I guess National Geographic just put us on the Tourist Map.

"

to lets face the truth wrote on Jan 19, 2008 6:02 PM:

" I guess you did not look up the stats on the page I posted! It clearly shows that 42 states have higher percentages of sex offenders than we do! I guess you just lost your farm!
http://www.familywatchdog.us/OffenderCountByState.asp
I repeat:
ND has less sex offenders than 42 other states! Only OR, MN, MA, HJ, AND RI are below ND, per population! So put that where you want to (truth? I don't think so! I could find another word for you) "
And to bad you think you are a conservative, someone lied to you! "

Crime Statistics wrote on Jan 19, 2008 5:22 PM:

" http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/ To: Let's face the Truth. Click on state in right hand column then read written summary at bottom.
(Note - large numbers of crime in really big cities goes unreported. Illegal Aliens and many people in Barrios and Ghettos report crime at very low rates). California was listed as 1st in population in year 2000. California’s 28.9 reported Forced Rapes per 100,000 people, ranked the state 31st highest. (That means 30 states were higher in rapes per 100,000 people).
North Dakota’s 26.3 reported Forced Rapes per 100,000 people, ranked the state 38th highest. (That means 37 states were higher in rapes than North Dakota). However if you compare the more often reported crimes of homicide and vehicle theft it gets really different. Only 16 states had higher murder rates than California and only 6 states had higher vehicle theft rates than California. 49 states have higher murder rates than North Dakota and 45 states had higher vehicle theft rates than North Dakota in year 2000.
Where the statistics do not specifically mention child molestation, I would not bet the farmstead if I were you. Continued vigilance is good but do not get paranoid. North Dakota does not have 4 times more of any one crime than any other particular state. Do not let the National Geographic article drag you down. "

Scary Fact wrote on Jan 19, 2008 5:08 PM:

" Number of Registered Sex Offendersliving in ND on AG office's list on 1/16/2008-1436, number on list today 1/19/2008- 1441. That's an increase of 5 in 3 days. Numer of Registered Sex Offenders in North Dakota according to Family Watchdog - 321. I think they need a new dog. "

Former North Dakotan wrote on Jan 19, 2008 3:00 PM:

" How embarrassing! The article was not about North Dakota as a whole, just about dying towns so why would the author be including anything else in that article. Hello! So then the Governor writes the author. Now I'm embarrased to even say I am originally from North Dakota. Stop personalizing this people - it's not about the State as a whole! "

Times Change wrote on Jan 19, 2008 2:28 PM:

" When I was young in Iowa and California we had milk delivery to front porch and Ice delivered for the Ice Box. Small corner stores were located every couple of blocks so mothers could walk to the store every couple of days for items like hamburger that needed the refrigerator only the store had. Few families had two cars. Mom washed on a wash board, in a pair of deep sinks, in the washroom until our first washing machine. That first machine had mechanized hard rubber rollers mounted above it to squeeze the water out of each clothing item. One of my brothers was playing with it one day and it pulled in his hand and arm. He screamed and bigger brother threw it in reverse squeezing his arm in the reverse direction. It was a terrible full arm bruise. Occasionally a milk bottle would get knocked over on someone’s porch and break. Then someone’s dog or cat would lick up the milk cutting its tongue on the broken glass. When you saw the broken glass and blood on someone’s porch it was obvious what had happened. At night we would sit around and listen to the radio. The whistler, night editor, the beula show, and others were quality shows. The fishing industry disappeared in my small coastal town long ago. With it went the fishing boat factory where old journeymen boat builders made beautiful boats, one board at a time. They did not seem to mind if we sat and watched. Times do change. In warm evenings no one roasts marshmallows or hot dogs over an open fire anymore. Violent movies and computer games overwhelm the modern youth in most cities. Except in the Mid West where people still encourage sports. I hope that never changes. Were the old days sad? Did the wind “moan” as in the NG article? I do not think so. But I now live west of the river where the hills slow it down. "

Let's face the Truth wrote on Jan 19, 2008 2:26 PM:

" Wow, 42nd in number of sex offenders and 48th in total population, your numbers are comforting. Guess you forgot how to do fractions and percentiles from High Scholl, now didn't you. I can't find a per capita rate for sex offenders, but I am willing to bet my farmstead that we rank amoung the highest at this point. Perhaps you will do the research and prove me wrong. Just a fact, 38 of thos states have at least 4 times the popultaion numbers we have, but not 4 times the number of sex offenders. "

Let's Face the Truth wrote on Jan 19, 2008 2:14 PM:

" Nope, I was a card carrying Republican until I discovered that there is no Republican Party in North Dakota. Just a bunch of wanna be corrupt politians who full of Democratic and Socialist Ideas who enjoy playing Republican dress up. I hope that is the only kind of dress up they are playing, but given the Hoeven Administration's (DJS) postiton that incestuous sex offenses between juveniles is no big deal, you never know. I will go back to my challenge and see if you can produce any facts that dispute anything I have posted on this thread. "

alan wrote on Jan 19, 2008 12:10 PM:

" The NG article would be like doing a sports article on the Green Bay Packers today.
If 99% of the GB Packer article concentrated on the fact that the Packers 3rd string quarterback is not very good the writer of the article could defend it by saying it is the truth.

The fact is that the NG article took a subject (North Dakota) and only covered a very narrow segment of that subject. The Packers are in the NFC championship game and the team had a great year and so did the State of North Daktoa.

You can talk about the vanishing prairie and that is legitimate but so is the postive side such as the todays booming agriculture, coal, oil, and wind energy industries. As most of us know the vanishing prairie is an old story. This trend started in the 1920's and continues today.
Modern farm technology is the primary reason. "

to lets face the truth wrote on Jan 19, 2008 9:39 AM:

" Let me guess, YOU are a 'registered' "I hate Bush and Gov. Hoven" person! How did I know? Your smell post gave you away!

Oh, and AZ has no people living there in summertime! They all leave to where it is 'cooler', like the West or NW!

In a few years all you people will be complaining that there are too many 'newcomers' to this state! It used to be "40 below keeps the riff-raff out!" but, that certainly is changing.
As far as the sex offenders living in this state, Let's face the Truth...... The truth is according to ...http://www.familywatchdog.us/OffenderCountByState.asp...
ND has less sex offenders than 42 other states! Only OR, MN, MA, HJ, AND RI are below ND, per population! So put that where you want to (truth? I don't think so! I could find another word for you) "

Read the article: wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:09 PM:

" I went on the website and read the article and viewed the pictures and I didn't see anything wrong with it. The article wasn't about current ND growth or anything else, it was about history! The old days on the plains, where we were and were we are now. HISTORY, people!! I found it entertaining and informative, and brought back memories of how I grew up. I wasn't insulted at all, and am proud of our ancestors, what they faced and what they accomplished. Let it be. "

Let's Face the Truth wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:11 AM:

" Wow, no takers on posting any facts to dispute the truth? I am disappointed when everyone runs for cover when faced with facts. Acn't effect change when the truth is covered up or ignored. We will contine the decline the NG documents in this article unl;ess we make some effective chnages in the way our state legislators deal with reality. "

Mouth from the South wrote on Jan 18, 2008 8:46 AM:

" My basic concern with National Geographic centers around their seemingly inability to write a balanced article about ND. There have been several articles in the recent past that have mentioned ND but nothing about the growing cities and some smaller towns or economic development around these cities and towns. They seem to be totally ignoring the more progressive parts in favor of putting more emphasis on the 'bad' if you want to call it that. It was, as another poster put it, a rather depressing article.

And many of us who live out here, don't see it that way. Times do change and the era of a homestead on every quarter of land had to go by the wayside. Progress in terms of bigger machinery, smaller families,etc., has made that type of extremely small farming obsolete. And the interesting part of this is that many states have their share of abandoned farms, towns, etc. Why single out ND and point on only the 'bad', which seems to be a recurrent theme?

"

to Oh rreally wrote on Jan 18, 2008 12:23 AM:

" So the smaller towns that co-op with another town because they don't have enough students are from the gold rush era. 10 yrs ago they had a elevator now they don't, is this from the gold rush era. Towns that had a farm implement 10 yrs ago are from the gold rush era. Wake up your from the gold rush era "

future wrote on Jan 18, 2008 12:11 AM:

" I agree with mmk. I grew up in a smaller community and have seen the changes from 20-30 yrs ago when a small community of 1500 has a JC penney store. Now farmsteads are abandoned or torn down. My grandparents and aunts farm which consisted a house barn and apprx 6 or 7 other building do not exit now. They were only 2 miles apart from each other. They are either torn down or just sitting empty. If your not from a small community you may not notice it. I live in Bismarck and don't go back to my home town but when I do, I notice the difference in a few years. I think the National geographic is correct on publishing this. It is the trend for the rural communities. "

Open letter to the editor of the National Geographic wrote on Jan 17, 2008 6:45 PM:

" Dear Editor, Most North Dakotans have the commons sense to not get knotted-up about your recent article. Most of the uproar over the article has come at the instigation of the the Governor's office and appointees of the Governor, who seems to lack the level-headness shared by most around here. This is an election year, and the Governor can use some free press. He also gets criticized a lot for not showing leadership when needed. It seems this is his effort to garner some leadership brownie points. The release of your article also came at a time when the Governor and legislative branch were getting excoriated about a number of issues of real concern to North Dakotans -- thus it provide a wonderfull opportunity to redirect people's attentioning away from these matters. I hope this letter provides some insight into an otherwise mystifying situation. "

mmk wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:59 PM:

" This article is really about change. I was born in ND and left as a child with my family, but I am married to a man who was also born in ND. In our 52 years of marriage I have seen many changes. Chickens no longer run around farm yards, cream and eggs are no longer taken to town on Saturday for the housewife's spending money, it takes fewer people to farm large acreages because of larger machinery, farmers no longer rush home from a social activity on Sunday because they need to milk cows, feed chickens, etc. Combines are relics of history "Dinosaurs of the Prairie" near Napoleon. Two of my husband's sisters have left their farms because they are widows and have health problems, I doubt that either of their houses will ever by lived in again. Another sister still lives on her farm and leases her land. Many buildings are left to rot because of similar situations. To get into farming today requires a large capital outlay and few young people can do it; other jobs in ND don't pay well. It takes a special breed of people to live in small town ND where there is no medical services, no grocery stores, no medical services, etc. Another change is that the roads have improved and people are more able to travel to larger towns for shopping etc. So the National Geographic article shows that ND continues to change and adapt. "

To Simle Mom wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:30 AM:

" Governor Hoeven should have mentioned the snow angel record in his stinging missive to National Geographic. That'd show 'em! "

Thank you wrote on Jan 17, 2008 10:55 AM:

" First off, I've lived in ND my whole life. I attended UND, and stayed in ND after graduation. I love the state and the people here. I would like to say thank you to the National Geographic editor Chris Johns for coming to ND and doing an expose on the troubles of small town living and the hardships that early North Dakotans had to go through. To those who were offended by the article, ask yourself; Are the small towns better today than they were 50 years ago? How about 20 years ago? Now the scary question...how about 5 years ago? "

Roger wrote on Jan 17, 2008 10:32 AM:

" The loss of people, schools, churches and stores in the rural towns of North Dakota has been fueled by the State Of Noth Dakota itself. The lions share of economic development funding has gone towards bringing large companies into the metro areas. This is done because the economic figures showing growth, look great on the paper written to brag about certain politcal accomplishments. Unfortunately if you look at the number of schools, churches and businesses that have closed in rural towns in the past ten years you will find that we really do not have enonomic development; we have an economic crash on the horizon.

Bringing (paying for) a company that will create 600 jobs to Fargo or Bismarck is not needed for Fargo or Bismarck, it is needed to make the Economic Development programs appear successful. What this really does is create a vacuum, sucking families out of the rural towns to the larger cities so that they can survive.

True economic development stimulates growth in the troubled areas of economic decline. Gov. Hoeven and Shane, Bismarck, Fargo and the other metro areas are not in decline!!! Economic development is acheived by advancing one base at a time, quit concentrating on the steroid driven homerun, you will not be a hero!! "

Simle Mom wrote on Jan 17, 2008 10:14 AM:

" Thank goodness for all the empty prairie space....that much more room to practice our snow angel technique.................. "

MamaMia wrote on Jan 17, 2008 9:15 AM:

" To Enough! Gosh, I wish I had the crystal ball you're using to figure out who are Republicans and who are Democrats on these comment boards. Must be a fun toy to play with! "

Wide Open Spaces wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:02 AM:

" This is not a new issue. Remember all the furor over Professor Popper from New Jersey? (It's always easy for me to remember his name, because of fond memories of the children's story, "Mr. Popper's Penguins.")

We're not quite cold enough to have penguins moving in, but the wide open spaces are wonderful. As a transplant from a big city suburban environment, I say, "God Bless North Dakota." After all, it is where He did some of His best work!

Nobody could (or at least would) pay me enough to put up with hellacious commutes in "creep-and-beep" traffic. If you don't know what that phrase means, consider yourself blessed. "

mn racer wrote on Jan 16, 2008 7:47 PM:

" Hey you people of north dakota don`t know how good you have it , wide open spaces, clean air , great hunting and fishing , and some of the nicest golf courses in the upper midwest . I have alot of family there and am originally form north dakota , the people are the greatest resource you have and are the hardest working and most reliable ones we can hire . Also there is a lot of oil exploration going on now with plenty of job opportunities in the oil basin area as i have been told. Wake up and enjoy the best state in the union !!!!!!! "

Sean wrote on Jan 16, 2008 6:51 PM:

" I do not understand the negativity prfessed against ND by people on this site. I love ND and did not grow up there. I was born and raised in Washington state. yes wages are lower as to be expected in a lower populated state. The quality of living is higher, a place I want my children to grow up. I will move to ND as soon as I secure A job in my field ( FD ). I will take a pay cut and never look back. You do not know how good you have it ND.A place where total strangers will say hi and ask how things are going even in large towns. Where a person I did not know helped me change my radiator in a hotel parking lot and would not accept any money for doing so. Thank you ND for showing me how life and people should be.

Sean Nelson
FF/EMT
Western Washington "

Let's Face the Truth wrote on Jan 16, 2008 3:07 PM:

" One last fact for you Naysayers, according to todays registered sex offenders list from the AG's Office, there are well over 1200 registered sex offenders in our sparsly populated state. http://www.sexoffender.nd.gov/publiclisting.aspx. Check it out for yourself. And those are just the ones we have caught. Seems like once a week someone is charged with a sex crime. I'd say that's a problem that needs to be addressed, not slipped under the rug for unsuspecting potential residents contemplating making our state thier home! "

Let's Face the Truth wrote on Jan 16, 2008 1:54 PM:

" Well let's see, the murder rate went from 8 to 12, but when our illustrious AgG released that figure on KFYR he tried to spin it like this: "We average 11 murders a year and we had 12 last year. Fact 2006 8, 2007 12 So, tell me who is twisting the truth Naysayer?. Let's talk about the sexual predators of children: State Hospital Psychologist and Pierce County Social Worker thousand of files of child pornography, Williston School Bus Driver molesting two young school girls, sexual assualt in Grafton, sexual assualt of an adult with the mind of a 5 year old who was in the State Hospital for his own protection, yet housed with sexual offenders, and let's not forget the guy in Fargo two days ago with over 19,000 child pornographic pictures. These are just the headline grabbers since September. Minot crime figures released today...murder 2006-0 2007-3, Aggravated Assault 2006- 31,2007 60 and this is just Minot...yep they are distorted figures. I challenge you dispute any of this with facts. Not to mention the Hoeven Administrations policy of housing foster kids with REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS. Please Naysayer, give us the facts that dispute this is happening here in ND. "

Mary wrote on Jan 16, 2008 1:43 PM:

" The governor should be spending his time working on the WSI situation, getting better paying jobs, etc. We see a continued downward spiral in this state, and then people get defensive when someone mentions something about it. Actions speak louder than words, and the fact is, there are problems here that need to be addressed via means other than talk. Making excuses and focusing on issues that really aren't relevant to a lot of people will not save businesses, get people to move here, etc. If they did, we'd be booming. "

To Racist Biker wrote on Jan 16, 2008 1:28 PM:

" Don't forget: mighty short riding season in ND for that chopper of yours too. :) "

Meagan wrote on Jan 16, 2008 1:10 PM:

" Honestly I don't see what the big deal is with this article. There ARE a ton of empty spaces in ND, is that news to anyone? Most young people leave because there are no jobs, and the small towns are dying. We've known these things forever. This is the situation in ND. I think people are just embarrassed because it's now on the world stage. I don't care what the governor says about the "growing" economy. If it is in fact "growing", it's service sector jobs that pay absolute crap. Given that services are our biggest industry, and the pay is dismal, is it any surprise why young people leave?? I'm going to become a statistic myself when I move to the Chicago area in Sept, for opportunities that this state can't provide for me. It's the story of my generation in ND. "

No Common Sense wrote on Jan 16, 2008 1:07 PM:

" I'm going to tie this topic into the issue being raised regarding a new refinery.
With the loss of small towns and farmers per the NG article, why not move the state to Wind Power on a massive scale?

ND could become the wind power world leader. All the open space where no one lives, you could put up enough wind farmers to power every home/business in the state and sell the extra electricity on the market. Set it up like Alaska where every state resident gets a winfall check at the end of the year. And no complaints with all the wind farms because no one is living there to bother them! "

Racist Biker wrote on Jan 16, 2008 12:10 PM:

" You know I hate to say (wait no I don't) but 'I told ya so'. I said in very first article post this wasn't an article about the WHOLE state. Small town boy you said it I too have talked with many of my classmates and they say the same thing. "What's there for me?" Honestly I don't have answer. I don't know why I am still in ND other than the fact I just haven't bothered to move out... YET... Making 14 bucks and hours is GREAT.
"

Enough! wrote on Jan 16, 2008 11:09 AM:

" There seems to be a lot of angry democrats who decide to add comments to the Tribune stories. I feel sorry for you if your lives are so shallow and limited that you can only speak in angry and negative words. Every problem in this state is not the Republicans fault. I honestly can't read the comment sectionns any longer, I am embarrassed how you represent our State. "

CWD wrote on Jan 16, 2008 10:37 AM:

" You know, I've never been to ND. I'm not from ND. I live in Chicago. But having read the Geographic article and looking up more on the web, (here and elsewhere), I'd like to visit sometime. Your state has open spaces Chicago does not, and it's interesting.

I think the Geographic article achieved what it set out to do: To bring attention to North Dakota to those who might not otherwise stop to think about it.

My wife even wants to write to some of the people in the article to say hello!

"You can't eat the scenery, but you can use the money from those who will pay you to show it to them."

- C in Chi-town. "

A Comment on our Governor's Actions wrote on Jan 16, 2008 9:33 AM:

" Our Governor, unfortunately, is a photo-op governor only. The WSI mess, the crime rate, endangering our children, etc. aren't photo-ops. Sorry to say, but the Governor stays mum on almost every element in our State that needs to be addressed BUT - a National Geographic story is a Photo-Op - he can look good while delivering misinformation to the public at large. Hope this gets posted. "

Small town boy wrote on Jan 16, 2008 9:16 AM:

" I heard about this on the radio and they said that National Geographic didn't do North Dakota justice. The first thing I thought about was the small towns and the out migration of our kids looking for jobs so they can pay for their rent and their cars.
I grew up in a small town and I liked it, you knew everyone and everyone knew you. I go back to that same small town and I don't see any kids playing basketball or at the playgrounds or parks, things that I drove to town to do.
Over 80% of my class left the state because of the dollars, greener pastures. Some came back but most won't come back. I visit with them and the same thing is said over and over;
"What's here for me and my family?"
"There is nothing to do, unless you want to drive three hours one way."
"North Dakota is a state of retired farmers and nothing else."
"North Dakota = Nursing Home"
"Yes, North Dakota has a lot to offer anyone that wants to live here; but you will have to like to live with no money." "

Edward wrote on Jan 16, 2008 8:59 AM:

" Dear Clay: Your observation "the plains are emptying out" can't be right. The Gov. says (so it is gospel) the state's economy is growing and that the article was "off the mark." So the towns mentioned are actually growing and National Geographic intentionally prevaricated to give North Dakota a bad name. They are bad people! "

country living wrote on Jan 16, 2008 8:42 AM:

" As I read the article I thought it was written in a way to present a depressing mood. Some of the ways he described things were tilted to the sick side! Did he try to interview anyone that was not close to100 years old! If they want to look at what happen to farming and what happen to the family farm-- Look no farther than the CRP gov. program. Took the land and machinery out working condition. Lost the small town tractor dealers and monies that went with the growing of grains. And any jobs associated with farming. And when it came to the next generation it was and is to expensive to try to retool to break it up! And you can not break a crp program. It is to costly. "

Naysayers wrote on Jan 16, 2008 8:33 AM:

" It never ceases to amaze me how people will twist things to make their point or discredit what others have said. People like "Let's Face The Truth" are so transparent it isn't even funny. One can be assured that had the Governor NOT said anything or written to National Geographic, "Let's Face The Truth" would have chastised him for such. Obviously a person who would use any occasion to bash others. Notice how "Let's Face the Truth" twists things. The Governor said they should cover the state's "low crime". Yet "Let's Face the Truth" writes to condemn the state's statistics by writing "murder rate increased by 50%". It's true that the murder rate has increased, but if you have a low murder number of 2 and you have one more murder for the year, it does increase by 50%. Compare N.D.'s "low crime" rate to all other states and you can't deny it is at the bottom of the list; no matter how you twist the fact like "Let's Face the Truth' did. I could go on to easily discredit each and every statement made by "Let's Face the Truth"; but when an individual was chastised simply for doing some research on the web, it only tells you that the intent was not to face the truth, but more to twist the truth.
"

In The Know wrote on Jan 16, 2008 8:32 AM:

" To Let's Face the Truth: Good job! You beat me to the punch. With the incredible problems at WSI, we can't even get the governor to sign the initiated measure to restore accountability to the agency much less send a letter to them. It seems that this is a "safe" issue for them to be outraged about. Take a strong stand against something that really makes no difference and then sit on your hands with the really important issues. Oh well.....It is only injured workers.......... "

Conservative wrote on Jan 16, 2008 8:20 AM:

" Murder rate increased by 50%?? What did it do, go from 4 to 6? "

LK wrote on Jan 16, 2008 8:09 AM:

" Lets Face The Truth, you hit the nail on the head, and have very well written comment. I read the article too, and apparently read it with a open mind because I didn't interpret it, like most everyone else did.
Someone from another state recently asked about the outcome of the salt water testing, when will we ever get the truth on that? There is so much cover up in our state governement, now that is an embarrassment to the state. "

Allen wrote on Jan 16, 2008 8:03 AM:

" STOP asking that idiot Jenkinson to speak for ND. He only speaks for himself! Not North Dakota!

And for cripes sake, stop telling us he is a "scholar in residence at Dickinson State that resides in Bismarck and he does a weekly Thomas Jefferson thing". We frigging get it. We know who he is. We know what he does for a living (well, kind of anyway) but a good chunk of us don't like him speaking for ND. "

Disgusted with you wrote on Jan 16, 2008 7:29 AM:

" I truly hope that these forums are not read by many - the negativity here is suffocating. Why are you still here? "

oh rreally wrote on Jan 16, 2008 6:42 AM:

" Most of the ghost towns are from the gold rush era. Wake up North Dalota! "

Let's Face the Truth wrote on Jan 16, 2008 5:17 AM:

" I love the Governor and His Adminsitration. They take something as simple as an article like this from National Geographic and then try to use it to create more misdirection from the real problems we have in our state. "Gov. John Hoeven fired off a letter to National Geographic, saying the story was "way off the mark" and that the magazine should return and cover the state's growing economy, low crime and clean environment." What a laugh Governor. Take a good look at some of the latest crime figures for 2007. Murder rate increased by 50%, Sexual predators of children out of control with social workers, mental health professionals and educational employees leading the way. Governmnt agencies staying in the national news showing ND government as incompetent and poorly run, and last but not least, a state that, outside of it's most populated cities, is dying. Now we have a Commerce Commissioner searching the "net" to see how many abandoned buildings other states have. What insanity! Mr. Goelette, what don't you take a good hard look at how Arizona has turned it's "ghost towns" into major "tourist attractions", generating commerce for the state and it's tax payers rather than trying to twist the fact that we are dying in 75% of the state. I know it's an election year Mr. Hoeven, but your transparency on this issue is disgusting. Why wasn't your outrage over WSI or the rampant problems in protecting our children voiced and addressed in so quick a fashion by you?
"

Tumbleweed wrote on Jan 16, 2008 4:37 AM:

" But, but... Didn't you hear? Ol' North Dakotey has a whole 2500 new residences during this tremendous economic boom. You know, that amount of people would be an extravagant number... If we were Guam, and not a gigantic state with a few people per square mile. "

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