Breaking News

Arts and Entertainment

Zoo News: Will we get through March?

March has definitely come in like a lion and I don’t mean the weather. These first couple of weeks in March have been some of the most challenging the staff has experienced in a long time. There has been so much that we at least were expecting, but then faced more unexpected than we bargained for. Again, I must say how proud I am of the staff for how well they have stuck together through it all. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like old man winter is ready to give up anytime soon. Despite the thoughts of many ready to hit the links, move baseball practices outside, or even the tennis ...

Mouse River Players’ lobby to finish by end of season

The Mouse River Players’ lobby has been under construction for quite some time, and MRP volunteer Lin Knickerbocker said the board is hoping it will be finished by the end of the 2024 season. Construction on the building began in 2022, with the facade redone with the help of city funding ...

Retirement’s Comic Relief: It’s a dog’s life for me

I’ve long felt our children got off to a great start thanks to their elementary education. In fact, the experience of our two who attended Minot Public Schools was superb — although my own experience with the entity could have been a smidge better based on what happened at Jim Hill in the 1990s. Living in southwest Minot, we had an Irish Setter at the time which seldom left the backyard. Unless I was at home and outside, she generally occupied a fenced kennel in the back yard. An unfamiliar Brittany Spaniel that began roaming our neighborhood made a habit of leaving its droppings ...

In Our Backyard

Some of my most fond memories as a child growing up in North Dakota stem from day trips to Bismarck. You see, we were (and still are) regular visitors to museums across the state. However, very few are as exciting as the N.D. Heritage Center and State Museum, especially for a young person. ...

MSU student transitions from small-town piano lessons to ND orchestras

Studying piano performance at Minot State University, junior Kevin Vandal has been playing piano for as long as he can remember. “I grew up in a home that had a piano and as early as I can remember, my dad showed me the basics of playing and reading piano music," Vandal said. “Once I ...

Zoo News: Volunteer roles can spell success

Last week, the zoo put out a press release about the loss of one of the zoo’s female Amur leopards. One of the most common questions brought up was what happens next? Much like the tiger transfers we tried to explain last fall, many of these decisions are out of our hands. Many of the animals we care for are a part of cooperative breeding programs called Species Survival Programs or SSPs. Each of these SSPs are supported by a studbook keeper that maintains an up-to-date database of all individuals within the managed populations. The SSP steering committees use the information ...