"This is part of the education, getting the kids to school. It makes me sad that my kids can't ride on a school bus."

- Lyn Weigel, a Bismarck parent who wants the school district to provide city-wide busing. The issue is being studied.

* * *

"I cannot imagine how it could be any better. I'm glad I came."

- Don Homuth of Oregon who returned for the 40th reunion of Zip to Zap last weekend. He helped promote the original event.

* * *

"We're repairing the roads with the most devastation. Because of the situation, we have to work like that."

- Ron Wagner, McLean County road superintendent, on the damage to roads and bridges from snow and flooding. In Mercer, McLean and Olivier counties there are hundreds of sites in need of repair.

* * *

"We'll use it just about every day it's open."

- Frana Walcker on a new swimming pool scheduled to open July 1 in Beulah.

* * *

"If I can't get a job at McDonald's, I'm just going to give up."

- Zac MacLaughlan, a sophomore at Bismarck High School, who has filed job applications at Little Caesar's, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and McDonald's, on his approach to the summer job market that appears a little tighter this summer.

* * *

"Until a year and a half ago, a birth rate of 100 a month was rare. Now it's 110 to 120 babies a month."

- Dr. Lisa Kozel, a pediatrician at Mid Dakota Clinic in Bismarck, on a baby boom of sorts in the state. The increase has been attributed to more young adults staying and moving to the state.

* * *

"Nearly eight of every 10 North Dakotans realize the importance of buckling up to drive safely. We continue to reach the rest of our citizens with campaigns addressing the importance of wearing seat belts to save lives."

- Linda Butts, deputy director of Vehicle and Driver Services at the North Dakota Department of Transportation. The North Dakota Highway Patrol plans to be out in force over the holiday weekend enforcing the seat belt law and checking for other violations.

* * *

"We have a blast here. When it's fun, they learn better. This is my dream teaching job."

- Autumn Criswell, the teacher at Amidon's elementary school that has four students. The one-room school has survived despite declining enrollment.

* * *

"I love western places and buildings, and that lodge has all of that. It just reeks with it, the history and the ambience."

- Nathan Sorenson, Badlands Ministries board president, on plans to move the old log Eaton Lodge to the Ministries' new site in Medora.

* * *

"Don't be bitter because someone special died. Don't live in anger for your loss, but be grateful that someone you love so much got to walk the Earth.

- Callie Beyer, Jamestown, who lost her husband in the Iraq war. She attended the Sacrifice for Freedom event at the Capitol on Thursday.