President Franklin Roosevelt was on the move in the fall of 1937, embarking on a cross-country railroad trip to assess the needs of the nation. Scheduled to make several speeches during his trip, his staff described the journey as “more intake than outage.” Roosevelt aimed to meet local officials and assess the needs of the American people as the Great Depression persisted ..read more

1902 saw the introduction of a new sport in the United States when a turtle race took place in Chicago. This so-called sport became very popular in the 1920s. Gangster Al Capone took note of the popularity and realized he could introduce them into his speakeasies as an indoor betting event. In 1930, he bought 5,000 racing turtles for his saloons ..read more

Lisbon, located in the beautiful Sheyenne River Valley of southeastern North Dakota, is home to a historic post office building built in 1939. Within that history is the story of a lost sculpture ..read more

In the early morning of Sunday, December 28th, 1930, the North Dakota State Capitol building burned down. People capture this historic and momentous event on film and in photos. Newspapers across the state reported on it ..read more

The University of North Dakota's 1912 Dacotah yearbook reported that president Edward Robertson of Wesley College envisioned Sayre Hall, the men’s dormitory, as a place “where tossing, stretching, room stacking, and other relics of barbarism intended to strike terror into freshmen … would have no place, for the founder had high ideals.” The yearbook continued, “The knowing ones shook their heads and murmured: ‘Wait and see, time will tell ..read more

In June 1917, fourteen steamships and three Navy transports gathered in New York Harbor. They were accompanied by four cruisers, thirteen destroyers, two armed yachts, and two fuel tankers. By the end of the month, the flotilla had reached France, delivering fourteen thousand fresh American troops to join the Allied forces in World War I ..read more

Ever since the establishment of the Minot Air Force Base and the Grand Forks Air Force Base in 1957, North Dakota has been considered a potential target for enemy nuclear weapons. This knowledge created anxiety among some of North Dakota’s citizens. One response has been to build fallout shelters in backyards or basements ..read more

On this date in 1971, the University of North Dakota's student newspaper, the Dakota Student, announced an upcoming visit by Congressman Arthur Link to UND. He represented North Dakota's western district at a time when North Dakota had two congressional districts ..read more

In this episode of Dakota Datebook, we'll hear from Kevin Locke, enrolled member of the Standing Rock Nation, in part three of Hinhan Kaga and the Milky Way ..read more

Frank O’Brien was born in 1892 in Fargo. At 18, he began working at the Fargo Mercantile Company, a wholesale grocer. Like many young men of his time, Frank was drafted after the United States declared war on Germany in 1917. He was among the first draftees from Fargo and was inducted in September 1917. After arriving at Camp Dodge, Iowa, Frank wrote a letter to his former colleagues at the Fargo Mercantile Company, describing his training as a member of an infantry supply company ..read more