Grand Forks Life

New local blog: A Wee Blether

2009-09-01T00:15:00.003-05:00

There is a new local blogger that we can add to the local blogroll. Adam Copeland recently started his blog A Wee Blether. Adam is a Presbyterian pastor who has moved to the area. Check out his blog...and welcome to the Red River Valley, Adam!

What happened?

2009-08-30T16:21:00.000-05:00

So why IS this blog so quiet lately? Why does a formerly talkative blogger have almost nothing to say these days? Well, for one thing, I have gotten very lazy. I'm busy in real life and I just haven't had near as much time to devote to extraneous activities like running a blog. I'm sorry I'm so lazy...I should try harder to find the time to blog. There is another reason, though...a reason

Open Thread #103

2009-08-10T01:11:00.000-05:00

Let's jump-start a little activity here. This is the first open thread since February. I know...kinda sad.

Green Giant

2009-07-23T16:26:00.000-05:00

So they're painting the Alerus Center a dark green color...among others changes underway and still coming to the city-owned events center. Thoughts? You think you'll like the new look?

Tweet talk

2009-07-08T23:38:00.000-05:00

I'm going to try something new. Here's a post that you can use to talk about my Twitter "tweets."

Toasted Frog to open location in Bismarck

2009-07-02T00:43:00.001-05:00

A Grand Forks restaurant is set to open a new location in Bismarck by next year. The Toasted Frog has submitted a Renaissance Zone application to the city of Bismarck. As in Grand Forks, the Bismarck location would be located in the downtown area of the city.Always nice to see a local business successful enough to not only build upon their initial investment but to be able to branch out to new

Anyone have a spare billion dollars?

2009-06-30T02:06:00.001-05:00

Is it petty of me to be taking some level of umbrage with a select few down in Fargo calling for a diversion to protect that metropolitan area from flooding? (Fargo Forum article) ("Flood Protection Coalition for the FM-Community")Perhaps diversions can offer advantages over dikes and floodwalls. In fact, I remember that in the wake of the 1997 flood I thought a diversion sounded like the best

Milo is back

2009-05-29T18:31:00.003-05:00

Milo Smith is blogging again. Follow his "quest for the perfect lawn" at his Milo's Turf Tips blog. Sadly, he's been blogging more than I have lately.

I'm on Twitter

2009-05-17T17:44:00.001-05:00

Check out my tweets at https://twitter.com/GrandForksGuyMore local Twitter-ers:https://twitter.com/TheCityBeathttps://twitter.com/TerryDullum

Luxury condos coming to Kings Walk

2009-04-15T00:53:00.003-05:00

A new "luxury condo" development is coming to the south side of the Kings Walk Golf Course in southern Grand Forks. The building will be built just off of 62nd Avenue South roughly halfway between South Washington Street and Columbia Road. The condos will be 3 1/2 stories high and include underground parking.

New strip mall coming to EGF

2009-03-07T00:17:00.001-06:00

East Grand Forks will soon be home to a new strip mall. The mall will be built directly west of Hugo's on 14th Street NE. The mall will offer around five spaces ranging in sizes from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet.What types of businesses would you like to see locate in this new strip mall? What stores or restaurants should take a look at adding a location in East Grand Forks?

GF Dining Thread #4

2009-03-05T17:39:00.001-06:00

We haven't had a dining thread since last October so I really think one is in order. This is the place for restaurant reviews, discussion of restaurant comings and goings, and the types of restaurants and cuisines you would like to see in Grand Forks. In other words...time to be a better Marilyn Hagerty than Marilyn Hagerty. (We love you Marilyn.)There have been plenty of changes lately in the

New University Village housing complex

2009-03-05T17:25:00.000-06:00

Here's a sneak peek at the newest housing complex on the University of North Dakota campus. The rendering above is of "Hamline Square" which is currently under construction just east of the Ralph Engelstad Arena in the University Village neighborhood. Hamline Square is a pair of apartment buildings with studio, two, three, and four bedroom units. The complex will feature underground

Grand Forks Guy is on Facebook

2009-03-03T00:54:00.001-06:00

I'm now on Facebook and I would like to be your friend.Check out my profile. :)

Changes at the mall

2009-03-02T01:23:00.000-06:00

Several stores at Grand Forks' Columbia Mall have moved into new spaces or are preparing to do so. Both Maurices and Victoria's Secret will be getting new spaces in the mall and have moved to temporary locations to prepare for the final move. Victoria's Secret recently moved to a temporary location in the old Target wing of the mall and, in the near future, will move to the former Maurice's

"State of the City" or "About that Monorail..."

2009-02-23T00:20:00.001-06:00

On Monday, Mayor Michael Brown will deliver his most recent installment of the annual "State of the City" address. Read Tu-Uyen Tran's Herald article here. Brown usually uses the speech to brag about several accomplishments of the past year and to introduce a couple of new proposals. I'm very interested to hear more about two of the proposals that Tran hints at in his article. Both projects

B&N's time at UND coming to a close

2009-02-20T00:54:00.000-06:00

In a little over a month, Barnes and Noble will no longer be a presence on the UND campus. As of April 1, B&N will relinquish management of the University Bookstore to Follett Higher Education Group. Follett is the nation's largest campus bookstore management company with more than 750 stores under their umbrella. B&N's 10 year history at UND appears to have been, at times, inconsistent with

Where those new railyards could go

2009-02-17T07:05:00.001-06:00

So, if we did have millions of dollars just sitting somewhere...or maybe if we were God...where would we reroute those railroad tracks and just where would we put those new railyards? I'm thinking rerouting the lines north of town would be the most logical. Below is a little map I put together showing two possible routes that I came up with. The colored lines are the tracks and the squares

Open Thread #102

2009-02-16T07:46:00.001-06:00

I think we could use a fresh open thread...don't you agree? What's on your mind? Hear anything interesting lately?

More on that railyard redevelopment...

2009-02-14T23:10:00.003-06:00

A few months ago, I introduced my idea (pipedream?) of redeveloping the BNSF railyards in the center of Grand Forks. I really do see this as sort of Grand Forks' manifest destiny. If we could somehow reroute the railroad outside of the present city limits, we would have a vast swath of land located directly between UND and the downtown area. Think of just how Grand Forks could be transformed

A grand plan for the Alerus

2009-01-28T17:42:00.044-06:00

The Alerus Center's new director, Steve Hyman, seems to be a man with a vision. According to Tu-Uyen Tran's great article, Hyman presented a plan today to Alerus Center Commission members. The plan outlines numerous improvements to the Alerus facility over the next 20 years...improvements totaling more than $30 million.$30 million more for the Alerus Center? What are all those Alerus-naysayers

GF Applebee's closing?

2009-01-23T00:39:00.001-06:00

I've been hearing an interesting rumor lately that: the Grand Forks Applebee's will be closing. I have to say that I would be shocked if this rumor turns out to be true. It would be odd for one of the biggest restaurant chains in the country to not have a location in Grand Forks. The rumor has the East Grand Forks Applebee's location staying open. Has anyone else heard anything about this

Grand Forks' new Christmas decorations

2009-01-15T19:24:00.001-06:00

This past holiday season debuted the city of Grand Forks' new Christmas decorations. Gone are the days of the tattered old "Christmas bell" lights that used to decorate the city's thoroughfares. The tinsel-wrapped bells with countless burnt-out light bulbs have been replaced with new LED snowflakes in a bluish-white color. LED lights were also used on trees throughout the city and in the

Open Thread #101

2009-01-15T19:18:00.000-06:00

The first open thread of 2009.

Columbia Mall comings and goings

2009-01-04T17:29:00.001-06:00

The new year has brought a handful of comings and goings at Grand Forks' Columbia Mall.Certainly the most high-profile change at the mall is the closure of the Royal Fork Buffet. The restaurant had been a fixture in the mall since the early 1980s and, until Sears set up shop at Columbia Mall a few years back, the Royal Fork had functioned as an anchor of sorts for the mall's north corridor. The