My screen name is also a Dakota one. I was born and raised in Bismarck, ND and have gotten very tired of having people make disparaging remarks about it. "It is so cold there !!" "It is so desolate there" "Does anyone else live there?" " Is
everyone there Swedish?" Most of the people asking have never been there. Actually, I am Swedish, I loved living there and miss the peaceful quietness, and the cold I certainly prefer it to the hot and steamy of summers here in Maryland.
I am also very sad about the oil boom going on in the state, it may well ruin large parts of the land.