harvey brock

One Sunday, years ago, I was sitting in church listening to the sermon and honestly was more focused on what the afternoon held than what he was preaching. Pastor Reiner said something that caught my attention and, looking back, had a profound effect on my life. The pastor said a...

I tried to imagine sitting down at the kitchen table to discuss household finances, and I began by stating our budget this year is probably going to be about 10 times higher than usual. After reviving my spouse with smelling salts, I would calmly explain that there are just a lots...

Technology has greatly improved our lives. Still, there are some technologies worth celebrating and others that, looking back, you think if I knew then what you know … maybe not so much. Recently while visiting a museum, I came across a phone booth and a bag phone on display. There...

There are few things that get this old fat guy hopping mad, largely because I don’t hop near as well as I did 30 years ago. Lately, what has me contemplating leaving the ground is when universities, school boards, city and county governments violate open meeting and record laws....

There are some things that shouldn’t be a problem in America — and even less so in booming western North Dakota. Topping that list is hunger. There are many social services to feed the hungry, and still some of our neighbors go to sleep hungry. Many are working, but the area’s...

I moved to Dickinson almost seven years ago. Like many of the folks moving here I, too, did so for employment. Unlike many that are moving here today, I had visited Dickinson and knew about the great quality of life here on the Western Edge. When folks ask me where I’m from, I...

What the heck happened? I went to sleep on May 15, woke up yesterday morning and it was the first day of August. I feel like I’m in a “Twilight Zone” episode. One minute I fall asleep, dreaming of soaking up summer sun and enjoying all the great things about summer in North...

While waiting outside for the oil to get changed in the company car on what was a beautiful summer day last week, I struck up a conversation with four other guys who were also waiting for their vehicles. They told me their names, but those are less important than who they were, where...

I still can’t believe 40-years ago in June I graduated from high school, and it is not the type of thing you celebrate like a 10-year or 20-year reunion. Recently, I heard someone describing how things were in high school 10-years ago beginning with the phrase “back in the day.”...

Scores of folks will line up to watch the annual Roughrider Days parade on Saturday. It’ll include the floats of class reunions. I have never attended a class reunion in large part because I moved so far away and partly because I’m not sure it is legally safe to return to the...

Admitting you own a dachshund is not an easy thing for a man to do, so I have always told folks Pressley is my wife’s dog. I am quick to tell folks that I own Griff, a Wirehaired Pointing Griffon bird dog ugly enough and pretty stupid, but an acceptable masculine working hound....

On Friday, Eric Shinseki resigned as secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department after meeting face-to-face with President Barack Obama about mounting evidence of widespread misconduct and mismanagement at the agency’s vast network of medical facilities. His resignation came after...

I attended the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck on Wednesday. This year’s theme is Bakken Strong and the main three areas of focus were economy, technology and opportunity. Technology was what blew me away at last year’s conference in Regina, Saskatchewan. Driving...

Dickinson residents will get to listen to three candidates explain why they should be elected city commissioners. The Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce and The Dickinson Press will host the Dickinson City Commissioners Forum at 6 p.m. today at City Hall. The panel will feature incubent...