6+ day, 20+ hour ago  (462+ words) The United States was not prepared for a foreign war as tensions with Spain rose in 1898. Then, on February 15, 1898, the battleship Maine exploded in Havana Harbor. Two hundred sixty American sailors were killed, and war seemed inevitable. The call went…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago  (87+ words) When settlers arrived on the Great Plains, communication was slow. Mail was delivered by stagecoach and took days to arrive. Mail arrived faster by Pony Express than by stagecoach. Riders galloped from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, making the…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago  (241+ words) The first North Dakota capitol building was completed in 1894, five years after statehood. It was destroyed by fire in the early hours of December 28, 1930. The state wasted no time beginning work on a new capitol, even selling off 160 acres of…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago  (311+ words) May is National Historic Preservation Month. Today, we're highlighting some of the historic places included in North Dakota's State Historic Sites Registry. By 1877, the Northern Pacific Railway Company and the Minnesota Stage Company had joined to form the Northwest Express…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago  (502+ words) Two conferences of regional scholars, one in Lincoln, Nebraska, the other in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, have taken the future of the Great Plains as their theme this spring. This sort of thing makes me uncomfortable. I can mouth off…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago  (387+ words) In 1883, Buffalo Bill's Wild West went on tour. The show combined theater, circus, and rodeo. It was inspired by Cody's experiences as a Pony Express rider and Army scout, and it romanticized an American West that was already disappearing. Spectators…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago  (376+ words) Pembina State Museum is hosting free, family-friendly programs on Saturdays in May to share the games and skills that shaped the history of the region. Children must be accompanied by an adult. May 9, Make Your Own Red River Oxcart, 10 a. m. -4 p. m. Make…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago  (103+ words) State, federal and community level leaders are putting finishing touches on preparations for the grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora this summer. The opening will take place July 4, 2026, coinciding with nationwide celebrations of the 250th birthday of…...

5+ mon, 20+ hour ago  (43+ words) After the original Capitol building burned down in 1930, a great deal of thought and effort went into constructing the new Capitol. Very different from the domed buildings most states were accustomed to, North Dakota wanted to rebuild something great and…...

1+ mon, 5+ day ago  (309+ words) Farmers weren't the only ones affected. The downturn contributed to a decline in population, as many residents moved to cities or left the state altogether. Nearly every part of North Dakota's economy began to contract, and to many, the state…...