Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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The federal government has entered a new level of dysfunction. It’s like being in the middle of your favorite soap opera when the power goes out. For the first time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives has ousted its duly-elected speaker, Kevin McCarthy of California. “They don’t get to say they’re conservative because they’re angry and they’re chaotic,” McCarthy said of the eight Republican colleagues who voted against him. “That’s not the party I belong to. The party of Reagan was if...
This year marks the 83rd celebration of National Newspaper Week. From October 1-7, newspapers across the country are affirming their responsibilities to the communities they serve. I've written a lot about our industry in this space over the last year, yet I find myself compelled to do it again. So much has happened in the past several weeks. In August, we changed the distribution process for every newspaper we print, and that has affected when many of our readers receive their print edition,...
There's usually one in every hunting party, but this time it's the whole party and nothing but a party. This fall, DPRCA presents "Deer Camp," a hilarious take on hunting. Four buddies are set to enjoy their annual deer hunting trip, but this year is a little different. After 15 years of coming home with nothing but a hangover, their wives have given them an ultimatum: bag a deer or your deer camp days are over. Only one teeny, tiny hurdle stands in their way – none of them know how to hunt! D...
I hear that a lot from people who regularly buy PowerBall tickets, spend hours at the blackjack table and make frequent trips to the casino. My grandfather bet on horses at the racetrack in Fessenden when I was little. There hasn’t been horse racing, except for maybe an Indian Horse Relay, at the Wells County Fairgrounds in decades. My husband and I went to the casino for our anniversary several years ago. We each put $20 in the slot machines. We were both broke in a few minutes, so we headed o...
Last week, the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team set the world record for highest attendance at a women’s sporting event, EVER. The world was watching as they packed 92,003 people into their stadium. This is a college volleyball team, folks. Forget the WNBA! Yes, those players and coaches love their hometown crowds. New Rockford-Sheyenne and Carrington hosted their respective season home openers for volleyball this past week, and both put on a good show and defeated t...
by Amy Wobbema Tax relief is coming to New Rockford property owners, in the way of lower special assessments. Last month the Transcript reported that the street project was completed for $500,000 under the contractor’s bid amount. More positive news came for taxpayers last week at a special meeting of the New Rockford City Commission. The street project was finished more than $1 million under budget, or about 17 percent less than expected. City officials were aware of that possibility when t...
The New Rockford City Commission made progress in their quest to clean up dilapidated and dangerous structures this past week. A public nuisance hearing was held bright and early the morning of Monday, Aug. 28. For 90 minutes, city leaders pored over photos and documents and referenced letters and phone calls from property owners to develop a plan of action. There were more than a dozen structures on the list, and property owners had received certified letters requesting abatement of what...
The City of New Rockford proposes to generate $372,435.42 in revenue from property taxes in 2024. Auditor Becki Schumacher reviewed the proposed budget with commissioners at their Aug. 7 meeting. The general fund collections are projected to total $275,000, $50,000 more than in 2023. Schumacher noted that the increase is due to rising costs in a few key areas. First, the budget for the auditor’s office increased by a third to $60,000 for additional staffing. Also related to human resources, she...
I’m one of the lucky ones. I have been selected to be part of two surveys for the U.S. Census Bureau in the past year. No, these aren’t the types that ask nicely for your participation, offer you a free meal or a dollar or any token of appreciation for your answers. Rather, they are required by law, as is the decennial census that all Americans must fill out. Once you get “chosen,” you’re stuck. They send you emails and letters that don’t stop until you answer all their questions, sometimes m...
The winds of change are howling. Last Friday, Aug. 18, was the last time our staff had the opportunity to see and inspect our newspapers before they entered the postal system. Effective with the Aug. 28 edition and for the foreseeable future, we will no longer be unloading totes and bundles of addressed newspapers off pallets and delivering them to the local post offices in Carrington and New Rockford. Instead, our printing company will take all the print copies of both the Independent and the...
After hearing two months of appeals from property owner Larry Danduran, the New Rockford City Commission has answered back. Commissioners approved a new utility charge policy at their Aug. 7 regular meeting. President Stu Richter said that the goal was to clarify the city’s approach to charging for municipal services while trying to protect full-time residents that are paying the full service charges. • Empty lots with a curb stop will receive a monthly bill for sewer and/or water debt ser...
Both newspaper offices have been a flurry of activity lately. We’ve had many visitors this summer going through our bound files, or newspaper archives, to gather information published over the past 100+ years. I’m sure our guests in Carrington have heard their share of newsroom banter, as noise flows through those uninsulated faux walls like the North Dakota wind through a screen. Author Karri (Bye) Theis brought her daughter and a friend to the Carrington office to do research for a book she...
This Tuesday, Community Ambulance Service of New Rockford (CASNR) will again host Lifesavers in the Park, their annual community celebration. The event takes place on Tuesday, Aug. 8 from 6-8 p.m. at Centennial Park. A freewill meal of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs with sides and beverages will be served, and residents can meet and interact with their local first responders and community health partners. This past year has marked an important milestone for CASNR. In November 2017, New Rockford...
This Tuesday, Carrington is one of 17 communities across North Dakota hosting National Night Out events. The National Night Out program celebrates its 40th year of connecting law enforcement with the broader community. It all began with Matt, a volunteer with the Lower Merion Community Watch in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, Penn. in 1970. As one of a thousand volunteers in his area program, he prepared a newsletter to keep his colleagues informed about what was happening, and he learned...
It’s been a wild week of baseball. I photographed the Babe Ruth District 4 Championship on Sunday in Hillsboro. The contest spanned two games, 17 innings and nearly six hours from first pitch to last photo op. Hats off to the New Rockford Black Sox for hanging tough against the HCV Blue Sox and finding a way to come out on top! The Legion district championship was played in Steele just as this edition of the Independent was going to press, and it was Carrington Post 25 vs. New Rockford Post 3...
I was among a small group of three who decided to explore downtown Crosby, Minn., the nearest town to the lake house my husband’s family inhabited for a few days this past week. The population is 2,300, so it has a few more residents than Carrington. This central Minnesota town had a fair amount of traffic that Saturday afternoon, however, a sight that I would love to see in New Rockford or Carrington. No doubt the lake (one of Minnesota’s 10,000) – and the nearby Cuyuna Country State Recreation...
No, we don't need more sleep. It's our souls that are tired, not our bodies. We need nature. We need magic. We need adventure. We need freedom. We need truth. We need stillness. We don't need more sleep. We need to wake up and live. This poem, which was presented as a meme on my Facebook feed this afternoon, was just what I needed. It made me stop in my tracks and think. Better yet, it was just the inspiration I needed to write this column. I see and read a lot of conflicting advice these days,...
From Schroeder's music and Linus' blanket to the Red Baron and the kite-eating tree, this summer DPRCA brings to life the beloved comic strip that transcends generations. "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" opens Wednesday, July 12 at the Old Church Theatre. Bring grandma and the grandgirls to this family-friendly show. First staged more than 50 years ago in 1967, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" has something patrons of all ages will enjoy. Based on Charles Schulz's famous comic strip, this...
As I write this, summer has officially begun. It's the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. The weather is fine, and it's time to take in a live show (or nine). This year a pop culture icon will come alive at the little theatre on Central Avenue in New Rockford. "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" debuts July 12 at Old Church Theatre, featuring the art of cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. "Peanuts" debuted in newspapers on Oct. 2, 1950, years before my parents were even born. The short...
“Mom, wanna be on my BeReal?” my 16-year-old daughter asked me one day. “Um, sure,” I replied sheepishly, because frankly I didn’t even know what she was talking about. She told me to look at her camera phone, and she quickly snapped a photo of us. I didn’t really give it much more thought at the time. Since then, my husband and I have made guest appearances in both our daughters’ BeReal feeds several times. What is BeReal, you ask? Well, it’s just another social media app that all the kids ar...
City utilities were once again the hot topic at Monday’s New Rockford City Commission meeting. Larry Danduran, a rural Eddy County resident who owns property in the city, expressed concern about a new policy implemented for utility billing. Danduran owns a property with a vacant structure, and the city recently started charging him for city services on that property. He doesn’t, and hasn’t, used any city services, however, for as long as he’s owned it. When financing the water project, which b...
This time of year, there’s a produce patch in my backyard that requires no maintenance other than a regular cutting. It’s none other than rhubarb, and I don’t enjoy it nearly as much as I should. Botanically, rhubarb is a vegetable. In use it is considered a fruit. That’s according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who also notes that rhubarb actually belongs to the buckwheat family. Most of the nation’s rhubarb is grown in Washington, Michigan and California. There’s even a grading sys...
The New Rockford Swimming Pool officially opened on the first day of June, and kids came out in droves to beat the sudden summer heat. See more photos in our online gallery here: https://www.newrockfordtranscript.com/photos Photos by Amy Wobbema....
Newspaper publishers were recently told that our postage rates are set to increase by 8 percent in July. This is the third rate increase since August 2022, and a total of 35 percent in increases in just over two years. The cost of printing newspapers has also increased, by 24 percent since the spring of 2021. Annual subscription rates, meanwhile, at the Independent and Transcript have increased by $6 in the past 8 years I’ve been a publisher. In order to fully cover the costs of printing and p...
Summer is a great time to relax with a good book, whether it be under a cabana on the beach or in a chair on your patio. Our local libraries in both Carrington and New Rockford are hosting Summer Reading Programs, and their kick-off celebrations are coming up this week as we officially start summer break. A staff member in the Carrington office was chatting with one of her book club buddies last week. They had finished their latest title before everyone else and were so surprised by the ending....
