Category Archives: Around Bismarck-Mandan

16,000

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This is the 16,000th shot through my new camera, looking upward at an interesting outcropping of what I presume is sandstone on a butte north of Bismarck. I had a unique opportunity to photograph this location the day before the landowner put cattle on it (and turned on the electric fence too, I believe).

While this rock formation doesn’t necessarily look all that special, it’s what is hidden on and around it that caught my eye: carvings going back to 1903, and a seventy year old geodetic marker! More on that another time.

It could be a while before your next Fort Lincoln Trolley ride

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Hiking north of Fort Lincoln reveals trouble for the Fort Lincoln Trolley, one of my favorite local attractions. Most people haven’t seen even a small fraction of the devastation caused by the Flood of 2011 south of Mandan, and this is just one of many tragic stories.

This particular section has left a long stretch of rail, along with whatever ties were strong enough to remain attached, literally hanging in open air.

While the rails have not broken, they’ve certainly bent and are in serious need of rescue. The dark spot to the right of the tracks in the upper right portion of this photo is an enormous crack in the earth.

This isn’t the first time that the trolley folks have had to deal with erosion of the hills upon which their track resides; however, I don’t know whether previous damage was anywhere near as serious as this. Not only has a lot of the hill let go, but there are still major cracks in parts of the hill that remain. It looks as though plenty more dirt is waiting for an opportune moment to plunge toward the river as well.

As you can see, a large section of the hill simply separated and tumbled toward the river below as the hill was eroded from its base by the overflowing river. I used my monopod as a makeshift jib to suspend my camera in the air over the tracks for this treacherous shot.

I don’t know what it’ll take to get these tracks back to operational status; it looks like a trellis system might be required, because I don’t think it’s feasible to try to rebuild and reinforce this section of the hill. Hopefully something can be done for next season, because this trolley ride is one of the more fun ways to spend a summer afternoon! I shot some video of my last ride…I’ll have to put a little something together and post it here.

Well, I never noticed that before

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Of all the time I’ve spent in various parts of the World War Memorial Building, I don’t recall ever taking notice of this interesting feature tucked up in near the ceiling over the edge of the basketball court. I don’t know if there were seats on both the north and south ends of the gymnasium, but they’re only on the north side now. I was sitting with one of my little boys having some lunch when I noticed this little box up in the rafters. The “KFYR” sign in the windows gives its purpose away.

The narrow wooden walkway to this booth remains intact, but whatever stairway or ladder provided access to the walkway is long gone. I imagine it’s been a long time since anyone ever called a game from this press box, but it’s probably more hassle than it’s worth to try to dismantle it and take it down. As a result it remains up above the gymnasium, just in case someone ever needs to get a birds-eye view of the haps down on the basketball floor.

Bismarck Citizens’ Police Academy

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Last fall my friend Lee and I were accepted into the Bismarck Police Department’s “Citizens’ Police Academy” for several weeks of education into what the Bismarck PD is all about. A couple dozen of us spent each Tuesday night from September through December learning about the various aspects of police work, the structure of the department, the special duties of various officers, and the standards of accountability and professionalism to which they hold themselves. It was a real eye-opener.

Some of the people in the class were interested in pursuing careers in the criminal justice field. Others, like me, are simply average citizens who support our local law enforcement personnel and jumped at the opportunity to learn more. I’d spent plenty of time in the Mandan Police Department growing up through the Explorers program, working in the control room and doing traffic control, color guard, etc. but I didn’t know much about things here on the Bismarck side.

While most of the Academy consists of classroom time, it’s not boring. It’s an informal environment, the chief and/or deputy chief are usually on hand to help answer questions, and there are always some interesting tales to tell. While the class went until 9pm each night, it was not uncommon for that night’s officer to stay until 10pm chatting about what we discussed in class.

Of course, there was a mandatory ride-along in a police car on a Friday or Saturday night. I think everybody had an eventful time, especially myself. I go on ride-alongs from time to time other than in Bismarck, and my rule is “what happens in the car stays in the car.” I respect people’s privacy as much as a value my own, and that sort of confidentiality is very important when dealing with people in the sort of situations that require a visit from a police officer. That wasn’t the only thrilling part of the Academy, however:

I think everybody was looking forward to the shooting portion of the class. One night a week we went through an evening discussing firearms and then going to the indoor range to fire some Simunition. We each were given the opportunity to fire eleven rounds from the same firearm carried by Bismarck police officers. It was performed under very close supervision after great attention to safety details.

I had to chuckle at my target, which I got to keep: six shots to the heart, five to the chin. I didn’t want to look like an idiot, so I intentionally aimed low for the head shots to avoid hitting the clamp holding my target. I think the groups would have been tighter if I’d had my own Glock, but I still think Lee and I had the tightest performance out of the group. I got to keep my shell casings as a souvenir of the evening as well.

It was bittersweet to reach the completion night for a “graduation” celebration. We had pizza and got our pictures taken with the chief & deputy chief and were presented with some additional memoirs. As you can see we each received a framed certificate, Bismarck PD patch, and Citizens Police Academy mug. My little boy PJ had come with to see Daddy’ graduation and insisted that he be in the photo with us. Later he talked ’em out of a CPA mug of his own, and he’s still very proud of it.

It’s a great opportunity and speaks volumes that our police department wants to reach out to the public like this. It’s amazing how much misinformation is floating around out there about how police officers operate, and those of us who have received a little bit of education to dispel the rumors can act as ambassadors for the department. I gladly embrace such an opportunity, because I’m proud of our local law enforcement in Bismarck-Mandan. I’m fortunate to call several officers and deputies my friends and am grateful for their service to our community.

I know this is short notice, but according to the City of Bismarck’s website, they’re still taking applications for this fall’s Citizens’ Police Academy for two more days. You can download the application PDF here and get it in immediately if you’d like to try for a slot…I don’t know how many they have filled.

There are some requirements for application, including a clear criminal record and passing a background check. If you are an adult resident of Bismarck and can meet these criteria, you’re able to apply. I highly recommend availing yourself of the opportunity to do so!

Checking the barn indicator…yep, still working

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North 26th Street is a gateway to photographic fun, and one landmark along the way is this barn with the droopy weather vane. While I can’t vouch for its accuracy as an apparent wind indicator, I can say that it’s got a sterling track record as a barn indicator.

This device first caught my eye a long time ago when it seemed to perfectly align itself with the brilliant red structure below. As you can see, this is a totally different angle, yet it seems to be pointing the way home quite clearly.

What I could use right now is a taco indicator!

Sorry, kid…Banksy you ain’t

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If you head down Washington Street and take a gander at the Main Avenue overpass, you’ll see something unexpected… something I spotted weeks ago but subsequently forgot about.

Someone stenciled a couple of Pooh Bear silhouettes on the support pillars of the bridge. Despite the fact that they’re sorta Kawasaki Green and Suzuki Blue, I’m not a fan of this sort of defacement.

My guess is that someone downloaded a copy of the documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop and decided to be small town North Dakota’s version of Banksy or something. The fact of the matter is that no matter how clever or extravagant, this “street art” is vandalism. It doesn’t get any more complicated than that. Hopefully this sort of thing doesn’t become too common in our city.

I can’t help but wonder if the Pooh bears are in any way related to this stencil of Waldo that used to adorn a boarded-up rear entrance of the former Home Depot building. I wrote about it last year and it’s no longer on that building, as the building configuration has been changed.

My suggestion for anyone who wants to get into “street art” is that they rent or buy a piece of property, and then go nuts with it. In the mean time, don’t bother defacing property around the Bismarck-Mandan area that doesn’t belong to you, and find a more constructive outlet for your stencil skillz (sic).

Welcome to Bismarck. Restrictions in effect. Only one catch: you may have to guess what they are

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It’s that time of year again: the ubiquitous “Restrictions in Effect” signs are popping up around the periphery of Bismarck. Restrictions of what nature, you ask? If your only source of information is these signs, I suppose it’s anyone’s guess.

I first saw these signs go up three years ago (and every Spring since) and thought they were pretty funny. It’s because of the load restrictions on Bismarck roads, which I heard about on the radio, but the signs are vague enough to omit that detail. It’s only after someone figured out what was missing (maybe they read this blog) and wedged a little “Load” in there that the signs made sense:

This is how the corrected signs look. I was actually surprised to find an unmodified one posted up along Divide Avenue this afternoon. As you can see in this post from last March, I was almost second-guessing whether I’d even seen the signs without the word “Load” inserted. Today’s sighting of one of the original signs is a bit of a vindication, I suppose. Now someone’s going to have to dash up to Divide Avenue with another “Load” sticker!

Barney

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The remains of this old barn reside just northwest of Mandan on Highway 25. I’d photographed this structure before, but I don’t think I have done so while it’s been covered with snow. I like the range of colors.

A number of familiar old “fallen farm” structures around town have finally succumbed to old age and fallen completely. There’s only a certain window of time in which these photogenic pieces of history may be captured, and after that they’ll simply collapse into piles of rubble and rot. I’m always intrigued by the thought that these were new at one time.

Somebody once stood back at the completion of building them and stopped to survey a job well done. Somebody was excited to finally have that barn or that new home. Somebody grew up, worked hard, or maybe even passed away in many of these crumbling old buildings. That’s why I think I’m so drawn to them; a photo of a decrepit farmhouse, barn or shed is merely a starting point from which one can look back and surmise what it could have been like back in its glory days.

Get your wallets ready: preachy Bismarck Tribune article demands mandatory recycling to “get some class”

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North Dakota has seen a surge in nanny-state activism in recent history. I suppose it comes with the influx of new people, many of them from areas of the country already ravaged by the very “progressive” policies which are driving people away.

Home-grown or not, the idea of mandatory recycling in Bismarck-Mandan is not too far from reality. In an effort to force you and me to comply with their efforts to “save the earth”, a pair of local teachers have decided that you should no longer have a choice in the matter.

They’ve found a mouthpiece in this Bismarck Tribune article, complete with “you’ve got no class if you don’t do what we want” headline. This article is tagged by the Bismarck Hi-Herald, the student newspaper of BHS, but was one of the top 3 headlined stories on the Bismarck Tribune website last night when I visited the site. One thing I learned early on is that once you put it online, you own it. Apparently the Tribune likes headlining high-school level advocacy reporting.

As if there aren’t enough financial constraints placed on families these days, they would like to see fines imposed on those who don’t adhere to their ideology. BHS teacher Vallerie Smallbeck is quoted as saying, “They (the community) need to recycle … If not willingly, then maybe they would be more cooperative if there was a cost for not complying,” Of course, the Tribune offers no alternative viewpoint or cost analysis of such a program in a small community.

Just in case you think this is simply another instance of liberal enviro-naivete’, you should know that Mayor Warford mentioned this very idea during the last State of the Cities address. I was there, of course, and my ears perked up when I heard him make a very brief mention of the cities looking into the idea. Don’t expect this sort of policy to get much publicity until it’s too late for you to do anything about it.

Naturally I’m all about good stewardship. I recycle various household items which I know are bad for the environment. I don’t, however, think it’s the job of some city official or nanny-state do-gooder to assess a financial penalty to my family if we don’t choose to rinse out and sort all our garbage. We can all decide what level of responsible recycling we choose for ourselves, thank you.

In issues like this, people tend to fall into two groups. The majority includes hose who want to go about living our lives responsibly as we see fit, minding our own business and expecting others to mind theirs. Then you have the minority, the vocal activists, who see injustice everywhere they turn and are frustrated that they can’t get the rest of us on board their campaign to reshape the community as they see fit. Sadly, those are the more vocal group.

You can help even the playing field by sending a quick note to your city government, urging them not to put a mandatory recycling program in place. At the very least they should put this sort of thing to a popular vote and let the cities’ residents decide if they wish to fund, enact, and submit tens of thousands of people to flaky ideas such as a mandatory recycling program. Click here to contact the City of Bismarck via a contact form, click here for the email addresses of Mandan city commissioners, and keep a watchful eye on your city government.

As this Tribune article demonstrates, there are plenty of activists out there trying to direct your life for you. Don’t let them get away with it.