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Confessions of reformed male chauvinist

Yes, It’s true. I have been a male chauvinist most of my adult life. I grew up in a family where the Dad was a poster guy for  chauvinism, no questions asked and no answers given. He never touched us but he had an air of authority that we never questioned.  Not only did I get chauvinism at home but I also got it in church. When I was young, just about every church taught men that they were the head of the family and taught women that they were merely  “complementarian.” So chauvinism was the norm and I had no reason  to be abnormal. In fact, I taught the New Testament ...

Gunther, Havlat, Knauss and Veterans Day

The 11th hour has become synonymous with Veterans Day, originally called Armistice Day, in recognition of the document signed at the 11th hour, or the 11th day, of the 11th month. In reality, the Armistice ending the war to end all wars was signed around 5 a.m. on Nov. 11. Over the course of the next six hours, nearly 3,000 men would lose their lives in the final hours of a war that had already claimed the lives of 20 million military personnel. The final death of World War I came at 10:59 a.m., one minute before the guns of war would fall silent. Pvt. Henry Gunther was a ...

Bottineau’s parade of flags program honors veterans

If you visit Bottineau this Veterans Day, you’ll find yourself ushered in through an amazing and beautiful Parade of Flags documenting the community’s immense patriotic pride in honoring those that served their country. The VFW Flag Program was established in 1984 by Bottineau Post 8688 members Arland Hanson, Clarence Helgeson, Gordon Kittleson, and Almer Reing. The idea for this flag program was born when Gordon visited a friend in Washington State and saw a flag program there. Upon returning to Bottineau, he was very excited to start a similar program in Bottineau. These WWII ...

Bears pondering big honey tree

once upon a time, there were three bears living in the north country — Poppa Bear, Momma Bear and little Boo Bear. They loved living in Bearland even though they barely made it on Poppa Bear’ poor hunting excursions, especially after the big lawsuit with Goldilocks. She sued for a million dollars but settled for $15 when the court ruled that she had baited Boo Bear into sitting in her fragile chair.  One day Poppa Bear was pursuing a curry of squirrels up a huge oak tree when half way up  he spotted  a huge cache of honey in a knothole. He was astonished and went to the bear ...

Let’s celebrate election day, and our veterans

Dear Minot: The week of Nov. 7 offers us two important opportunities in Minot, giving us both Election Day and Veterans Day. It’s our duty and privilege to participate in both of these special days that represent two of the best elements that make up our community and our country. Election Day is Nov. 8. Voting in Minot will be held at Maysa Arena (2501 Burdick Expressway West) and the State Fair Center (2005 Burdick Expressway East) from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. There are important choices to make, as the election will decide who occupies a seat on the City Council, spots on Ward County ...

Medical campus moves from vision to reality

Dear Minot Community and the Region-at-Large: The completion of our healthcare campus and medical district is getting closer and you can feel the excitement growing. What started as an empty plot of land in SW Minot has evolved into a beacon of hope for those seeking care and healing – the symbol of our once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the delivery of care in northwest North Dakota. For the third letter in our series, I’d like to share how our “Reinventing Health” vision moved from words on a page to “shovels in the dirt.” At the end of 2010, the Trinity ...