News from Minot, ND

Sometimes it's just too easy.



The worst part? I first heard about this story on a Pittsburgh news cast.

News from Minot

It had been a while since I had checked in on the news in Minot. There was this little treat waiting for me yesterday:



BTW, this was the main news story on the website.

I'm totally not mocking the sweet little old lady. She rocks for volunteering to work with kids. Everyone should give it a try.

What I AM mocking, because it needs to be mocked, is the dream job the editor of that newspaper has landed. How do you suppose he or she feels at the end of the day when the big story is about a Grandma letting kids pick apples from her tree? I can just picture the editorial meeting:

"Anybody have a story?"

"Not me."

"Sorry, not really."

"I . . . uh . . . there's an old lady that's letting kids pick apples from a tree . . ."

"Perfect! Let's run it!"

Big News

I'm waiting for a process to run on my computer, and you know what that means . . . time to check the news in Minot! Today's headlines:

Man converts car to electric power
Kiting even Skydance Sakakawea set for weekend
Velva pharmacist receives award

The car story is the top headline right now. I don't know what that kiting story is all about but I guess it involves flying a kite. And I think "even" is supposed to be "event." (North Dakotans are not known for the editing prowess.) The pharmacist won an award for being named the 2007 Distinguished Young Pharmacist of the Year in North Dakota. I bet the other two young pharmacists in the state are real mad they didn't win. Better luck next year.

Purely for the Entertainment Value

Occassionally I like to entertain myself by looking at the website for the newspaper in Minot, ND. As many of you know, I grew up there and have the opinion that absolutely nothing interesting has ever happened in that "city". Every time I look, I am rewarded with some fabulous headline that proves my point. Today's MAIN headline: "Eighth-grader wins State Geographic Bee, to compete in nationals". Other headlines include "Minot Lions Club hosts annual German Feast" and "Roosevelt Park Zoo puts on an 'egg'citing Easter egg hunt".

Now, let's take a moment to compare those headlines to what's happening in Pittsburgh. We have "Officer shoots man downtown", "Suspect caught in abduction", and my personal favorite "UPMC headquarters moving downtown". That is my favorite for two reasons: 1)It totally explains why I have been driving downtown to go to work for the past two months every day instead of the South Side. 2)Nobody was hurt in the move (that I know of anyway). BTW, I am purposely ignoring any headlines that includes mention of a home opener featuring the baseball team that put the "uck" in suck.

Finally, let's review a real newspaper site. The New York Times is reporting "3 Executives Suspended at Student Lender" and "Iraqis Protest U.S. Occupation of Iraq". I really can't believe the NY Times hasn't picked up the Geography Bee story. They should totally be ashamed of themselves.