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North Dakotans rage against the mag
« on: January 13, 2008, 02:43:20 AM »
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North Dakotans rage against the mag
Janell Cole
The Forum - 01/13/2008

State Capitol Bureau

BISMARCK – One North Dakotan labeled National Geographic “The Empty Integrity.”

Other current and former residents assailed the venerable publication for “lazy journalism,” “babbling of a delusional mind” and “gross misrepresentations.”

Still others charge that the magazine has published errors, “drivel” and “a hackneyed narrative.”

The fuss is over National Geographic’s January issue with a spread titled “The Emptied Prairie.” In it, writer Charles Bowden and photographer Eugene Richards paint a dismal picture of North Dakota, where an abandoned house represents “just one bone in a gigantic skeleton of abandoned human desire.”

The overwhelming portrait is of a depressingly empty, wind-ravaged landscape dotted only by decrepit remnants of sorry little ghost towns with ramshackle, abandoned houses populated by corpses of badgers and cats. Only a few die-hard old fogies are still stuck living in them, in Bowden and Richards’ telling. Everyone else has moved away or committed suicide.

“What happens is that some people cash in on their property and move someplace warmer and easier. The rest grow old and die,” Bowden writes, not accounting for the rest of the world, where everyone grows old and dies.

“There are constant funerals,” the story intones. And when rural North Dakota churches close, “sometimes the congregation decides to burn the building to end the pain.”

Bowden dispenses with the rest of the state, its positive characteristics and overall robust economy in a few sentences. Even the smattering of positive references is anchored with gloom.

“All this decline exists amid a seeming statistical prosperity,” he writes. “Oil is booming, wheat prices are at record highs.” He concludes with a remark about “paper millionaires living in the lonely sweep of the plains with the surrounding community gone to the wind.”

In a passing reference to growth, he mentions only Fargo, Bismarck, Mandan and Grand Forks.

Only one sentence reflects any appreciation from Bowden: “North Dakota is a rarely visited state and surely one of the loveliest and most moving.”

Reaction furious

The reaction from North Dakotans and ex-North Dakotans has been furious. Dozens have written e-mails to the magazine – [email protected] – prompted in part by the state Commerce Department’s appeal to its 2,000 “Ambassadors,” self-appointed, amateur image boosters and business recruiters.

Gov. John Hoeven and his commerce commissioner, Shane Goettle, are working on a response, and hope to convince Editor-in-Chief Chris Johns to follow up with a second piece that balances the damage done by Bowden and Richards.

“He’s as offended as anyone,” Commerce Department spokeswoman Julie Fedorchak said of Hoeven.

A lively e-mail exchange among members and friends of Preservation North Dakota includes one from North Dakota photographer Dennis Stillings, who is convinced many of the stunning but depressing images in the “The Emptied Prairie” were contrived or staged.

Some who wrote to the magazine accuse its editors of failing to check facts and say they assume now that other stories in National Geographic are of questionable accuracy.

Several criticize Bowden for his statement that, “In most of the United States, abandoned buildings are a sign of change and shifting economic opportunities. On the High Plains, they always mean that something in the earth and sky mutinied against the settlers.”

No, it doesn’t, they write; it means that agriculture became mechanized and scientific, just as urban commerce and everything else in present-day America is not what it once was.

“Bowden seems to mingle the challenges of the 1930s with the present economic realities, and attributes a declining rural population to a harsh environment,” wrote one Ambassador and former resident, Steve Schoenig of Fort Collins, Colo. “To read Bowden’s writing is to be left with a sense that North Dakota is largely a bone yard of wrecked, lonely lives, abandoned, rotting structures and hopelessly cruel conditions.”

Report is ‘old news’

Many blast Bowden and Richards for coming to North Dakota bent on producing a wholly unoriginal collection of clichés and stereotypes. That many of North Dakota’s smallest towns have shriveled is neither fresh information nor unique to this state, they charge.

The article “is old news,” writes Mike Mabin, who owns a marketing and advertising firm in Bismarck. “The population of rural areas in throughout the upper Midwest region has been declining steadily for decades.”

Richards’ photos include a debris-filled classroom in the closed school in Gascoyne, a severed doll’s head in a farmstead’s garage near Powers Lake, the weathered buildings of what’s left of Corinth and the remnants of a deer carcass with an abandoned house behind.

The story and photos indicate that Bowden and Richards targeted 14 towns, nine of which were hamlets even in their pioneering heyday. They never reached more than 225 residents: Alkabo (Divide County), Amidon (Slope County), Charbonneau (McKenzie County), Corinth, Epping and Hanks (Williams County), Gascoyne (Bowman County), Havelock (Hettinger County) and Walum (Griggs County). Some are not incorporated as cities, or like Havelock, never were.

The other five they visited were Belfield (Stark County), Grenora (Williams), Marmarth (Slope), Mott (Hettinger) and Powers Lake (Burke) – none with more than 800 residents in the 2000 Census.

There is no mention of the lively main streets in New Rockford, Watford City and other locales, nor the quiet, hidden gems such as Fort Ransom and Luverne, nor of the bustling machinery manufacturing in Gwinner, Valley City, Wishek and elsewhere.

The state’s status as being the safest in the nation and the top producer of about a dozen commodities is not referenced, nor are the state’s standout institutions of higher education.

The e-mail address to send comments to National Geographic is [email protected].

BISMARCK – Pamela Rachel Trhlik, a marketing and communications specialist at the state Commerce Department, asked members of the department’s Ambassador Program to respond to the January National Geographic’s depressing pro-file of North Dakota. The program is for North Dakotans and former North Dakotans to sign up to be informal ambassadors for the state.

On Wednesday, Jan. 2, she sent an e-mail to all 2,000-plus ambassadors, asking them if they would respond to the magazine.

“By the time I got to work on Thursday a.m., I’d had 58 emails from ambassadors, some with their letters (attached) and some with a note saying they were going to write.” she said. “When I got back from a day in Fargo (on) Thursday I had 88 more emails. In total so far, 47 ambassadors already sent their letters in and several asked for more facts and ammunition from Commerce to craft responses.”

Trhlik invited the ambassadors to write rebuttals because, “I get many e-mails from ambassadors asking how they can provide assistance to the state. In fact, the common question is, ‘How do I do more as an ambassador of North Dakota?’

She said she’s “thrilled” with their responses. “Some said they had to sit back and breathe a little and come back to the computer so their responses weren’t too inflamed.”



I found Charles Bowden’s piece, The Emptied Prairie, to contain elements of truth presented in an artistic and captivating way. I also found that it both perpetuates old North Dakota stereotypes and sets some new ones in motion. That the prairies have emptied out is true. What is not true is that their emptiness always means, “…that something in the earth and the sky mutinied against the settlers”. If something has mutinied against the settlers, it is in the form of mechanized, scientific agriculture. Simply put, it doesn’t take a family on each parcel of 160 acres to farm the land as it did during the homestead era. Bowden seems to mingle the challenges of the 1930s with the present economic realities and attributes a declining rural population to a harsh environment.

To read Bowden’s writing is to be left with a sense that North Dakota is largely a bone yard of wrecked, lonely lives, aban-doned, rotting structures, and hopelessly cruel conditions. Even the photo of a rural, country road is labeled in a way that would make the reader think North Dakota’s excellent network of highways is unpaved. Nothing is mentioned of the state’s vibrant promotion of economic diversity, low crime rate, historic preservation efforts and the beauty of the prairies. Per-haps it is just as well that Bowden only told part of the story to accomplish his artistic journalism. A measure of what annu-ally draws me back to my native state is the majestic sweep of its clean, uncongested landscape. Bowden has artfully done his best to make certain it stays that way.

The NGS article spurs me to action. I intend to visit the luvnd website and sign up as an ambassador. Please keep up the good work and keep us informed.

Sincerely,

Steven Schoenig

Fort Collins, CO

To Whom it May Concern:

I was just e-mailed the article “The emptied prairie” by Charles Bowden which was in the January issue of National Geo-graphic magazine. I find this article to be very negative and disgusting. I do not understand why anyone who is either living in North Dakota or from North Dakota would ever subscribe to your magazine again. When articles like this are published it just adds to the decline. Why can’t you people in the media focus on the positive and perhaps help states like North Dakota improve its image instead of run it down? I, for one, have read my last article in National Geographic unless I see a public apology for this article.

If anyone in your management would care to focus on positive ideas, I have a few for you. To start with, the people who are from North Dakota are much more compassionate, sincere and caring than any other state I have lived in. They are always there to help when needed which is a characteristic that I have not found in many other areas of this United States. Or, why not focus on how people are working together to bring in new industry or improve the image of North Dakota. If interested I could give you names of some of these people, with their permission, of course. Or, perhaps, what does North Dakota lead production in and what products are made from it. If you are not aware of the products, I suggest you redirect some of your negative energy into research and find out. I am sure if you would take the time to investigate some positive aspects of states such as North Dakota, you could surely improve the image of your magazine, as well. I would bet that there are people who have not lived in North Dakota that find this article as disturbing as I do. I am sure they think.....wow, is my state next to get run down by your magazine!

Yes, I am originally from New Rockford, North Dakota and lived in North Dakota for 50 years. I was transferred with my job to other states and now reside in Texas where I am retired. Would I live in North Dakota again???? You bet I would if my health would tolerate the cold weather. Living in other states has only increased my positive feelings about the people from ND. We have a ND state club here in TX and I can tell you I’ll take a North Dakota born and raised friend over the phoney people from other areas of the United States any day!!!!

I certainly hope this email does not fall on deaf ears and you will take into consideration how you have offended the people who take pride in the great state of North Dakota!

Linda L. Colliander

I just finished reading the very poorly written story “the emptied prairie”. The reason I say poorly written is because I thought it was nothing more than a collection of babbling of a delusional mind. I cannot remember the last time I read such a broad brush, uninformed portrayal of anything.

I was bothered by most of the article but a few points really irritated me to the point of writing.

The reference to abandoned buildings is moronic. If Mr. Bowden had researched or viewed things objectively he would come to understand that a lot of the abandoned buildings are due to the industrial age and progress. When fieldwork was done with a single bottom plow and a single horse a farmer could not have possibly farmed 3000 acres. With modern farm equipment and GPS (believe it or not we have those space age new-fangled gadgets here on the wasted plains too) a farmer can cover a lot more ground with greater efficiency. “In most of the United States, abandoned buildings are a sign of change and shifting economic opportunities” Guess what? When you no longer need 20 families to farm 3000 acres that is a sign of change and shifting economic opportunity.

The open ended segment about suicide is also a little tough to take. Is Mr. Bowden insinuating that people would rather kill themselves than live such a retched existence in North Dakota. I think we have more than 600,000 people who would say otherwise. If I remember correctly there were a lot of suicides when the stock market crashed. I don’t remember reading anywhere that they were all North Dakotans who were “down and out”.

The general reference that somehow this land has been abandoned is also false. The land that these empty houses sit on is still owned by someone. While some land is better than others for crop production no land is without value. I don’t see any-one advertising land that they want to give away. There is money to be made from letting some land sit idle and put into CRP (conservation reserve program). The CRP is largely responsible for the return of the Mountain Lion and the increase in Moose. It also results in more deer, pheasants and turkeys. These animals bring hunters. Hunters bring money and leave it behind in North Dakota. In most of United States I guess you would call that a sign of change and shifting economic oppor-tunity and you would call it the same in North Dakota.

I haven’t even gotten into the fact that North Dakota has an excellent university system and most people have a higher education opportunity within 50 miles of their homes. We have good paying jobs in the energy industry and there are lots of opportunities for people who want to relocate here. North Dakota is a great place to live and raise a family. Yes we would like our small towns to boom again but we are also quite happy that we do not have several million people competing for space. We like it that way. There is an old saying in North Dakota about our weather. We say it keeps the riff-raff out.

A well respected magazine should know better than to publish such irresponsible journalism.

Perry Stieg

To the ingenious folks at National Geographic,

I found Charles Bowden’s stylistically extreme article “The Emptied Prairie” a bit of relief after the holidaze. Little I can imagine will do more to help out so many North Dakotans. National Geographic Society’s (NGS’s) mission in part, “…promoting the conservation of the world’s cultural, historical, and natural resources…” was again accomplished. NGS President and CEO, John M. Fahey, Jr., said National Geographic’s purpose is to inspire people to care about their planet.

Nice work in Bowden on that: the most intuitive of discerning readers recognize Bowden’s article bias; the unfamiliar with North Dakota but wily nonetheless must be more curious than ever before. Simultaneously, Bowden’s North Dakota… still offers nothing for those unable to sort wheat from the chaff. Please consider assigning Bowden to North Dakota again and again.

Scott Nodland

Seattle, Washington

I can’t believe the “story” that written in your magazine regarding what seems to be the demise of North Dakota. I grew up in a suburb of Detroit. In my thirties I moved to Chattanooga, TN. I am now a resident of North Dakota and there is no way I would ever go back to life in Michigan or Tennessee! I have two older children (ages 23 and 28) that were raised in the other two states and two children (ages 6 and 10) being raised in North Dakota and I can truly say there is no better place to raise children!

Raising children in an area where they can recognize the value of land and appreciate what their ancestors went through to develop the family farm are life lessons that are instilled deep into the souls of our children. They learn to appreciate what they have and develop a work ethic that can be compared by none other. There is no safer place to raise a child with the low crime rate recognized here. The educational system is better due to the fact that children get more one on one time with their teachers due to smaller classrooms. They develop relationships for life since their peer group is smaller than those that are raised in larger metropolitan cities. A deep sense of religion is found in most homes and family life circles around the activities of the children.

Patriotism is very strong in North Dakota. Many of our children go off to serve their country. My husband was born and raised here on the same land that we now live on. After serving his country in the navy during Vietnam, he obtained his master’s degree in forensic anthropology and now works for the State.

All I can say is that your writer truly missed the life that exists in North Dakota. Yes, there are ghost towns, but they exist to remind us of our history and the lives that came before us paving the way for the incredible life that we now know.

Rebecca Lahren

As a native North Dakotan, and as someone who has lived in a number of towns around the state over the last many years, Bowden’s article in your magazine left me with a lot of questions.

Just how much time did Bowden spend in the state? Did he do any kind of research, or did he come to the state with the tone of the piece already determined? Is this his “sense of place”? Was his article an emotional reaction to the photogra-pher’s work, or just a modified rewrite of some previous piece he’d done on the Southwest? Was it a drive-by article he wrote for the money?

It also made me wonder about the editorial staff at National Geographic. Do they ever challenge their writers to offer a fresh and different perspective, or do they simply accept the trite and unimaginative submissions of authors because they’ve been successfully published elsewhere? My freshman writing teacher would have refused to accept something with a point of view as cliche’ d as Bowden’s - why would you publish it? I’d think a magazine with National Geographic’s reputa-tion would set the bar a lot higher for their writers.

North Dakota has its challenges, as does any other state, but it also has a strong commitment to growth in technology, edu-cation and industry and has an incredibly bright future (and you really don’t have to look too hard to see it).

On the other hand, perhaps North Dakotans should thank both National Geographic and Charles Bowden for having done their part to keep it one of the best kept secrets in the country.

Regards,

Rick Monteith

Mr Bowden,

I was recently sent a copy of your depressing article about one of my adopted states - either you have had a similarly de-pressing life, spent a lot of time writing obituaries or don’t understand “positive.” It would have been nice to have seen a little about the good side of a state I spent almost seven years in. I am sure my friend, Governor John Hoeven, as well as all may many other ND friends, didn’t think much of your “reporting.”

I don’t disagree about the abandoned farms and small towns - but those situations aren’t unique to one state - our world has changed - especially in two areas - agriculture and small towns. If you have been in other parts of our country, it is the same - from my home state of Tennessee to Texas to the west.

It would have been nice to have read a little about the vitality of the many other small towns and the people in them, and the four (small by your standards but large by mid-America standards) cities of the state. I might also suggest you read a recent bio, “Flight of the Odegaard”, about John Odegaard, founder of the UND Odegaard School of Aerospace Sciences, the premier school of its type not only in our country, but the world. I had the good fortune of meeting John when he was still a student, about the time he conceived his idea for the school.

I spent almost seven of my thirty year Air Force career in North Dakota - five at Grand Forks in the late 1960s and almost two at Minot, my last tour before retirement. Based on your article, you probably never heard the term “Only the Best Come North” but it was very true in my business. I was an AF missileer, so I spent a lot of times in the plains states - five more in the other Dakota and four in Nebraska.

During my first stay in the state, I had the privilege of earning a master of science degree at UND as part of my duty as a missile launch officer. I pulled may alerts beneath North Dakota plains protecting your freedom to write what you think. Sure, it was cold - but I felt even colder during my two years outside Boston - minus thirty near the ocean is a lot worse than minus fifty in the dry center of our country. One of my favorite pastimes during the five winters at Grand Forks was ice racing - we used one of those bodies of waters you probably called ponds that the locals call potholes - they were scraped into the soil by glaciers long ago. It was a ball screaming across the ice in my Jaguar on solid ice. You comment on the cold - when the temperature rose as high as zero the young airmen at Grand Forks were outside playing touch football in tee shirts.

One day while driving to alert duty - usually a 60 to 90 mile drive - I got a little too exuberant and put my squadron com-mander’s AF station off the road into a snowbank. Across the frozen plain, we could see a farmhouse, so I sent the sergeant with me down to get help. He came back with the wheatfarmer who lived there and the biggest John Deere you ever saw - getting us out was not a problem. When I tried to reimburse him for his time, he said “No way - this is the most fun I have had all week.” He was typical of the many folks I met both while driving to and from missile sites and while ice racing, hill climbing and rallying with my sports car around the eastern part of the state.

Many years later, in the late 1980s, I was stationed in sunny Spain and was at the end of my tour as a commander there. I got a call from a colonel friend in SAC personnel who said “Charlie, I’m sorry, but all we can offer is Minot.” When I replied “Susan, Minot Country Club is one of the best golf courses in the world - give me my orders” she almost died laughing.

When I retired in the summer of 1989 while at Minot, a couple of hundred of my North Dakota friends attended the party - they put on a full court press to keep me there - job offers, everything - by I was on the way to real retirement in the moun-tains of Colorado. But I still get back and visit often. The people of North Dakota - rural, small town or big city (by their standards) are the best folks anywhere - they are proud of their state and proud of their progress, and I treasure the years I spent with them. I’d rather be back there than a whole lot of other places in our country.

Charlie Simpson

Breckenridge, CO 80424

Greetings from North Dakota,

National Geographic has built an outstanding reputation for bringing stories of interest, value and truth about the world as it exists today to its readers; however, Mr. Charles Bowden’s story about North Dakota in the January 2008 issue of your magazine completely missed the mark. The article, entitled “The Empty Prairie,” is old news. The population of rural areas throughout the upper Midwest region has been declining steadily for decades. There’s nothing new about this story.

Today’s real story is how states like North Dakota are reinventing themselves and becoming magnets for growth and pros-perity. Major cities such as Fargo and Bismarck are experiencing unprecedented growth, and job opportunities abound due to a booming economy in many sectors including energy, manufacturing, health care and information technology. The “Empty Prairie” article failed to mention that North Dakota is one of only eight states with a growing economy (www.economy.com), ranks sixth highest in state economic competitiveness (Beacon Hill Institute, 12/05), had the second highest per capita income growth from 2000-2005 (Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2005), and ranks #1 as the safest state to live in the nation. (Morgan Quitno 03/05). Telling stories about the despair and decline of a way of life may sell magazines and reinforce negative perceptions; however, it doesn’t reflect the reality of today or, for that matter, the promise of tomorrow for the people of the prairie.

Mike Mabin,

Bismarck, ND 58504

I was surprised to see and article on the demise of the small towns and farms in North Dakota as we consolidate into large farms that are more efficient. This is old news and does nothing for you. I have been a loyal National Geographic reader for the past 45 years.

It is our state that is number one in 11 different crops, that you eat daily. Try to find a more positive article on North Da-kota instead of degrading us with bad old news news.

No thank you for the article.

Micheal J. Berg

Minot, ND 58701

Dear Sirs/Madam:

I am writing in regard to the article you printed in your National Geographic. I regret that you have taken it upon yourself to mention only the less populated places in North Dakota. People choose to live where they can be alone and not in the more congested areas of our state or anyone else’s. I personally lived in a much larger town growing up and upon marriage moved to North Dakota, the native land of my husband. It was hard to get used to - small towns, business’ located miles away, but after living in rural North Dakota, I found it had so much more to offer. Your neighbors know not only your name, but when you are in need. They bring supper, they take your kids, they drive you to the doctor when you are not able, and much much more. You won’t find that in any of your metropolis’ you compare us to.

By the way, you never mentioned that the reason there are so many vacant farms is that people grow old, retire and need to move to an area where there are medical facilities closer to them. Also, that families combine farms and continue. You only mentioned the abandoned homes - not the growth of new homes. We do have industry and unfortunately you report only on the down side. Farming is a dream - just like anything else, not everyone is cut out for it.

We rate at the top for safest state, productivity of grains is at the top, power production to ship to your “areas of growth”, top notch -dependable workers. We have much to offer here - too bad you didn’t take the time to see that, too.

Thanks, but no thanks. North Dakota, not Dakota, is a great place to live. We have retirees from all over - California, Texas, Missouri and many more - that have chosen to reside here for the quaintness and the people. Wish you would have checked that out when you were here. History and growth loom in North Dakota.

Sue Mettler

Beulah ND

Dear National Geo,

My, my, my...Charles Bowden is a gifted writer.

His Comp/Lit 101 piece is all the better for the Andrew Wyeth (Christina’s World) inspired photograph by Eugene Rich-ards.

Is that Christina’s spine laying gently in the grass? Now we know what happened to her world.

Thank you both. Mr. Bowden’s Creative Writing courses are bearing fruit. Mr. Richards Art History studies serve him well.

Too bad neither have an original thought between them.

We’ve seen this photo and read this article a dozen times over the last twenty years.

This type of article is beyond cliché and stereotype.

These guys need to leave Manhattan, or at least get west of the Hudson River more often.

There’s a big world out there boys – and it’s dying to see you. Not dying for you to see it.

Critically yours,

Mark olson

Mojo brand consultant

Wow- you would think after reading the article “The Emptied Prairie” in the January 2008 issue of National Geographic one would think we were a bunch of homesteaders living without electricity, indoor plumbing and the internet! I am really sorry your writer has painted North Dakota as such a windy God forsaken place. Why didn’t he interview towns such as Williston? Why didn’t he attend the Williston Oilfield Summit? The purpose of the summit was to bring statewide attention to the impact and issues created by the continued growth in oilfield activities. Williston is experiencing a housing shortage as we speak. Houses, apartment buildings and mobile home parks are popping up everywhere in that region.

The article should have talked about the ethanol plants that are emerging all over the state and the people and jobs these plants bring to some of the “smaller communities” like Underwood and Richardton. Washburn, ND has been experiencing a housing and business development boom that has been on the rise. If “small” towns are going to be mentioned then why not focus on towns that have a population over 500 or even 200 people?

Yes, it is true towns like Fargo, Bismarck and Mandan (which is Bismarck’s twin city) are experiencing huge growth. Is that a bad thing? The smaller towns in North Dakota are becoming smaller to nonexistent, but the towns in the article were tiny little towns to begin with! I know in other states little towns are disappearing as well, so why single out North Dakota? Some of the towns that were mentioned I have never even heard of, and I live in North Dakota! I don’t consider a town to be a “town” with a population of 24 people.

Does the wind blow, yes it does, but it blows in Montana, New York and Chicago too! In the summer there are beautiful fields of purple flax and yellow canola that look like patch work quilts. Someone had to plant that, and yes, it takes a couple of city blocks to plants fields that gorgeous. So maybe a next door neighbor is a mile or two down the road in some of the smaller communities- it’s supposed to be that way. That’s farming that’s agriculture that is what North Dakota is all about but it’s not all. I encourage you too take a look at North Dakota’s State web site www.discover.nd.com. Check out our Englested Arena in Grand Forks at the University of North Dakota. It is by far one of the most beautiful hockey arenas ever! Mr. Bowden has done a very poor job of explaining the Badlands of North Dakota. The town of Medora is a piece of history that thousands of tourists flock to every year. More then 100,000 people attend the Medora Musical each year between May and September. The outdoor amphitheater is set among the back drop of the Badlands, and it’s like a step back in history. It is truly breathtaking.

Our state has an excellent private and public higher education system. Do some research on our state please? The Dakota Territory was originally North and South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. When the Dakotas were brought into the union on November 2, 1889, by President Benjamin Harrison, he designed them as North and South Dakota both were brought into statehood at the same time and the exact order in which they were entered is unknown. Due to alphabetical positioning North Dakota is first. Incidentally, the word Dakota means “friend” in Sioux Indian. You can learn more about our beauti-ful, attractive and friendly state by logging on to the website www.discover.nd.com.

In conclusion, I feel Mr. Bowden article is a gross misconception of the state of North Dakota and its great people. I am truly sorry a magazine such as National Geographic would run an article that was filled with so many fallacies. I am truly disenchanted and sadden to see the great State of North Dakota given such a poor and undeserving image.

Jean Keller

Minot

Dear National Geographic,

Just a quick note to say that I found Charles Bowden’s article on ND to not only be biased but incorrect. ND’s economy has been recently ranked as the best in USA and the number of young professionals moving back or staying in state is great. I recently moved back to Grand Forks from Denver, CO and have found young professionals everywhere. I would welcome Charles back to do another story and would serve as his host revealing the truth of ND’s growth. Much like our subtle hori-zon, our people are subtle and even our economic progress is subtle. Please consider running another story about ND’s sub-tle but impressive growth record.

Keith Becker

This article is dishonest. Mr. Bowden writes about a corner of the state and represents it as a full picture of North Dakota. Burying two sentences about the oil boom and growth of cities within paragraph after paragraph of (ho hum) “farms on the prairie are dying” is hardly a balanced or fair picture of what is the truth. Perceptions like this continue to make it impossible for the thriving industries in North Dakota to attract enough employees for hundreds of job openings.

Now let’s see an article about the wonderful quality of life in North Dakota, the incredible fertility and productive marvel of the farms in the ancient bed of Lake Agassiz, the evolution of Fargo into the “silicon prairie.” Life and business (including farming) in North Dakota are alive and well.

Kathleen Cleary

Vancouver, Wash.

I just finished reading the article Charles Bowden wrote about North Dakota and I am extremely disappointed. It is typical of media to paint a dismal picture of our beautiful, prosperous state. Generally, I have always enjoyed National Geographic’s articles and ability to showcase places in a different light than what is typically depicted. This was not the case in the North Dakota story.

It is not a secret that ND is not one of the top national tourist sites; however, your article will not help that at all. Thank God we have a “fan base” built up. I know I would have a hard time spending the time or money to visit ND for the first time after reading that article.

Charles Bowden should be embarrassed by his article and the one-sidedness of it. National Geographic should be ashamed for printing it.

Thank you for portraying our state so poorly. Hopefully it will help keep those who can’t appreciate ND out so that those of us who wouldn’t live anywhere else can enjoy life in our wonderful state.

Kate Gartner

Bismarck

To the Editors of the National Geographic

RE: January 2008 North Dakota story

My father’s membership in the NGS and the photos found in the issues ignited in me a passion for learning about other peoples and cultures. The story and photos in the January issue ignited in me, this time, a different response - one of disap-pointment for a magazine that has been part of my life for most of forty-some years.

Yes, there were too many towns established in North Dakota. Yes, there are some people leaving the state. But your one-sided showing of what HAS happened in isolated pockets of the state misses the mark by not showing what IS happening now.

What is the same about North Dakota since its founding is the vast expanses of prairie that provide a usually calm and peaceful place to live. I understand that the unlimited horizon can be intimidating to some people, and I wonder if that didn’t spark the reference to this state as “feral” by the author. The prairie’s beauty is subtle, and may not reach out to someone just passing through, as was apparently the case of the author and the photographer. As an amateur photographer myself, I glory nearly every morning to the beautiful sunrises here in the state, the subtle and not so subtle changes of seasons. Plenty of fine opportunities for photographs that show the beauty of this area, but somehow those opportunities were not taken.

I have lived in San Diego and in Washington, D.C., but chose to return to North Dakota for it’s beauty, safety, space, peace and my ability to connect easily and often with nature. I would invite the author and the photographer to come back to find and tell the stories of the promise of the prairie.

Karen Ehrens

Bismarck

Wow. After reading Mr. Bowden’s January article on North Dakota, I had to wonder if he fell down a rabbit hole while re-searching his story and ended up in an alternative universe. In fact, the entire article was so relentlessly negative that I’m surprised that I have so many positive memories about my native state, or that I actually enjoy returning as often as I can. While there is no doubt that Mr. Bowden is a poetic writer, I am inclined to believe he’s not a reporter — except of the Janet Cooke variety. Perhaps the next time National Geographic chooses to profile an area, they could send someone less artistic in their writing and more accurate. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done. Not to North Dakota. Contrary to Mr. Bowden’s assertion, the state and its citizens will be doing just fine long after we’ve both turned to dust. The damage is to National Geographic. I know that I, for one, will never be able to read another article in your magazine without a huge dose of skepticism.

Julie McElwain

Proud to be from North Dakota

Dear Mr. Bowden,

You are a gifted writer and painted an incredible picture with your words about my beloved home state. I am unsure if your visit took you across the state or if you were limited to the small dying towns, many I’d never heard of, some of which may have been doomed from the start, given life in a time when travel was not as easy as it is today, born out of homestead-ing and necessity.

I grew up on a farm outside of Cando, N.D., not far from the Canadian border, in the northeastern part of the state. My fa-ther owns a 1,600-acre wheat and barley ranch and before he retired five years ago ran a hundred head of registered Short-horn cattle. We led a storybook, middle-class existence. I often describe my parents as Ward and June Cleaver and though I lament about living 15 miles from town and not enjoying summers at the pool, hanging out with my friends in town doing whatever it is that city kids do, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

The values and work ethic I learned from my parents and from the people of the Great State of North Dakota are second to none. I lived the first 33 years of my life in North Dakota, thinking I’d never leave, but grimacing as I scraped the thick ice from my windshield and trudged through the snow to my newspaper job. Under my frozen breath I’d say, ‘why couldn’t my dad have grown grapes in California?’

One day, after experiencing the wrath of Mother Nature in the Flood of ‘97 that hit Grand Forks, destroying much of our city and burning down our newspaper, I got a call from a headhunter offering me a job in St. Paul at a much bigger newspa-per. Seems the Pulitzer Prize our newspaper won for community service had caught an editor’s attention and for the first time, I seriously considered leaving, but not for another chilly state. If I were going to do it, I was going to move somewhere warm and beautiful.

Remember North Dakotans (and Norwegians) are humble and I never thought about using that “P” word to my benefit. We never thought we’d win the Pulitzer. In the thick of the disaster and the weeks afterward, all we thought about was what we could do to help our fellow man. But that one disaster, that one act of God, changed my life and caused me to make the most difficult decision I’d ever come across. Leaving North Dakota was terribly difficult to do. I still wonder if it was the right thing to do.

I now live on the Central Coast of California and am the city editor at a newspaper in a progressive beach town, telling sto-ries as you do. I understand how you can get carried away with the tale of woe and the despair of the barren plains you speak of, but that’s not the North Dakota I know and love and miss every day. I live in an agricultural community surrounded by fields in California so I can be near the farming background that is dear to my heart. I live near wide open spaces so I can feel close to the open space I miss from my farm back home.

If I could do there what I do here, I would go back in a heartbeat. I know that I will return some day. I want to live on the farm that made me the woman I am with people who truly care about their fellow man.

California is beautiful, but it doesn’t compare to North Dakota’s rolling splendor, wonderful people and can-do attitude. The state is on track to grow and prosper in a way that most states can’t even begin to conceive. The state’s desire to attract strong companies to provide jobs to its young people is second to none. It’s economic development efforts are targeted and intense.

It’s efforts to bring back North Dakotans who have left the state are astounding. Every month, I receive an e-mail of potential jobs open across the state. I receive newsletters telling me of the state’s efforts to increase development, to stay economically viable and to keep its young people happy and employed at home.

My brother owns a successful and prospering business in Fargo. He’s a testament to what the state has to offer and what it’s young people can do with the help of a state that is business friendly.

My father has worked tirelessly to make sure that the family farm will stay in the family and that we can come home to the farm when he and my mother are no longer there. The will and the desire of the people of the state of North Dakota is not dying. Norwegians and Germans DO NOT give up. North Dakotans DO NOT give up. These are hardy souls who thrive and flourish even in the face of difficulty.

I am who I am because of what my family, fourth-generation North Dakotans, and the people of the state helped me be-come. I owe them more than I could ever repay. Not a day goes by that I don’t take my job as an ambassador of the Great State of North Dakota seriously, telling folks about how wonderful I think my home is.

I know you have a job to do. Doesn’t that job also include telling the whole story, the story of the positive things happening in our state?

Your article was a wonderful piece of prose, but I think it missed the mark.

Respectfully,

Julie Copeland

Salinas, Calif.

Dear National Geographic Editor:

As a North Dakota Ambassador, I feel compelled to respond to Charles Bowden’s recent article “The Emptied Prairie”.

How can someone print something that focuses on nothing but negatives and fails to mention the positive growth aspects of the state and its people? For as long as I can remember, I have considered the National Geographic to be an unbiased journal filled with nothing but positives about the world and the people that call this planet home. Please tell me why a journal of this caliber would chose to publish this article. Why not list the positives? A variety of industries have given North Dakota unbelievable economic growth which has resulted in increased per capita income. There are only a handful of states that can lay claim to the long list of positives that cost next to nothing to experience....clean air, low crime rate, friendly, hard-working people, and no traffic congestion/pollution. I’m very proud to say I hale from the Upper Midwest and wouldn’t change it for the world.

Jill C. Gilleshammer

Fargo

Dear Editors,

I was amused to read Mr. Charles Bowden’s recent article entitled “The Emptied Prairie”.

I am what they call up here a “transplant”. I am originally from Indiana, and came to North Dakota in 1983 while serving in the Air Force. I met and married my wife who is from North Dakota. And after a 20 year career, I retired here in North Dakota. I live in one of those small communities that Mr. Bowden talks about.

Mr. Bowden fails to articulate a few items in his article that I feel are important.Our traffic jams here are a few slow combines.

My 12 mile commute to work takes me 10 minutes, not 45 like it did in Seattle.

My 9 year old daughter goes to the local public school. And, I know every teacher in that school. I even attend church with a few of them. That means when my daughter is at school, I KNOW she is safe because they are ALL my friends, not strangers.

In my little community of 32 people, I help watch out for and provide assistance to 2 senior citizens. Yes, even in winter. And I have been adopted by their entire family and my community.

Mr. Bowden’s quote of Greg Bjella not remembering who lived in that old house was probably a nice way to tell him to mind his own business. He doesn’t need to know that information. Mr. Bjella was probably born there.

It is sad to see someone who has completely forgotten what a good neighbor is, nor able to recognize that we in North Dakota are here because we want to be. But even more tragic is to see it on display to the whole world. I invite all those who still have a pioneering spirit, and wish to find the “good” America we have all heard and read about. Because I did.

Jeff Langley

Dickey County, N.D.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing in response to the article “The Emptied Prairie”, written by Charles Bowden. I am a resident of Valley City, North Dakota, and I don’t think Mr. Bowden made a fair image of North Dakota. It is true that we do have ghost towns and there is a lot of wind, but that is far from the only two things we have in ND. Our state is like any industry, it is constantly evolving. Had Mr. Bowden traveled ND beyond our scattered ghost towns, he would have found one constant factor that makes ND the great state that it is. That is the people of ND.

I used to work for a retail store and was a fill in manager. I worked in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Every time my time was up I couldn’t wait to get home to North Dakota. Every state has pretty places that they brag about and so do we, but the thing we have is our people. That is the true beauty of North Dakota.

I think people get caught up in the stereotype of North Dakota being a lonely dismal place. It is not true. When reporters come here they are only looking for the one thing they hear about and try to exploit it. I challenge your reporters to do some-thing different and come with an open mind to our state. National Geographic is a highly respected magazine and people trust what you say. If you portray North Dakota as a dismal place, people will listen, and that hurts us. Please give the people of ND a fair chance to be heard. You will be overwhelmed by how beautiful our people are.

Sincerely,

James Jensen

We are avid readers of NGM and find your work admirable. However, your January issue’s spread on North Dakota (“the empty prairie”) is not up to your usually excellent level of story writing. In fact, your ND bash is a disgraceful example of unprofessional one-sided reporting of preselected negatives when you could just as easily have reported the many out-standing developments that made ND a much better place than so many other, perhaps more fashionable parts of our country. You have conveniently ignored the astounding rise in per capita income, the many successful manufacturing and high tech enterprises, the thriving academic institutions, the low crime rate and the first class medical services. Your harping on one and the same subject (the undisputed and regrettable shift away from family farming communities) is making for very boring reading, when there are so many positive and exciting developments to write about.

We are spending a lot of time in ND for all kinds of good reasons and have seen so much progress over the past decades, helped by an enlightened and competent state government. We can tell from our own experience that in this story you missed the mark widely, giving your venerated magazine a glaring black eye.

Wolfgang Mack

Seattle

I write in reference to the article published in the January 2008 National Geographic magazine:

Imagine the extent of their despair when a person elects to meet a speeding locomotive, head-on. What a way to go. How-ever, not everybody in North Dakota, as is true in most other parts of the world, is able to see the glass more half full than half empty. Mr. Bowden’s article could hardly have been more depressing. Fortunately, I haven’t seen anyone here in Bis-marck trekking toward the Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks that divide Bismarck.

Emptied prairie or, for that matter, North Dakota? Not even close. True, some of the small towns in the Dakota Outback are perilously close to the brink of extinction, but I don’t understand what the editorial point is in publishing an article like Mr. Bowden’s. For the people unfamiliar with this part of the country, it distorts the image of the prairie locations which are highly regarded by many who live there.

NG and its readers would be better served by emphasizing the brighter aspects of our United States, geographically, geologically, anthropologically, however you choose. If authors and the editorial board feel the need to cast about discouraging words and images, they can take their subscribers, including me, to really nasty places like parts of Sudan, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Haiti and others. Even for those places, I’m not sure the format of NG is well-served, other than to expose bad folks doing bad things, versus a few examples of bad geography.

Yes, it’s cold here, at times. The population density is on the low side when compared to a few square metropolitan miles. We don’t have the Rockies, or the Columbia Gorge for scenery, but we do have so much other beauty, friendly folk, and amenities, and, by the way, what a pleasant place to live and raise a family.

…….and so it goes

A long-time subscriber and North Dakota native

Mike Fladeland

Bismarck

I read with interest Charles Bowden’s dismal portrayal of North Dakota in “The Emptied Prairie” (January 2008). Having become tired of the urban sprawl of Minneapolis and all that goes with it, I moved to a small town in North Dakota a few years ago and I was struck at how Mr. Bowden somehow found and wrote about a side of the state that was completely foreign to me. After reading his article via high-speed Internet over my morning coffee, I dropped my daughter off at a high school in which I know most of the teachers and many of the students by name. Many of us participate in some of the wide variety of community activities offered here. On this beautiful winter day that featured not a breath of the wind that Mr. Bowden mentioned no less than 9 times in his article, I completed my 5 minute commute to work (a pleasant walk on days when I choose) to a university that offers experiences that students can’t get elsewhere: opportunities to conduct scientific research as undergraduates, innovative programs in information technology, 1-1 interaction with faculty, and more. In my job, I have the pleasure of working with a dedicated staff and faculty who actually teach all of their classes in-person and get to know their students by name. We all enjoy the many recreational opportunities that are within easy reach including some of the best hunting and fishing in the region. One of the biggest challenges this town faces is accommodating the new employees of businesses that moved here for our educated workforce with an excellent work ethic. Yet somehow Mr. Bowden only experienced the dismal, depressing, and “irreversible” decline of small towns? It left me to wonder whether he might benefit from an anti-depressant!

Doug Anderson

Valley City, N.D.

To the editor:

Our North Dakota prairies are far from empty.

Our ancestors were committed to thriving on this prairie, and so are we.

When I look out on the vast land my husband’s great-grandfather broke by hand and horse-drawn plow more than 125 years ago, I am honored to be sharing his land and preserving it for our children. We chose to move from a larger city to this rural homestead only months ago.

I see something far, far different than the dismal picture Charles Bowden so eloquently painted in “The Emptied Prairie.” I am filled with gratitude for those who passed by here before me and built with blood, sweat and tears the buildings that are admittedly in a state of disrepair. I see beauty in those buildings and have an unbridled appreciation for the rich history they represent.

It is these ghosts of the past that fuel my desire to remain in this, my amazing home state. I have career opportunities that reward me personally and professionally. I am able to easily balance motherhood and marketing because I have an employer who values family first. I don’t have a stressfull, bumper-to-bumper commute but rather a 15 minute, 20-mile drive filled with glorious sunrises and sunsets that magnify an open sky.

I know that when my young children walk out our back door they are safe. They have endless places to run. They appreciate the nature that surrounds them and thirst to breath unimaginably fresh air and feel the wind on their innocent faces.

We are not alone here, as Mr. Bowden implies in his dismal portrayal of our state. Granted, the distance between neighbors has grown through the years but there is a community in North Dakota unlike any other. We are a kindred spirit and until you have lived here, I don’ t think you can fully understand the bond that runs through each and every one of us.

Doris Cooper

Reynolds, N.D.

To the National Geographic Forum:

The article, “The Emptied Prairie”, well described little ghost towns and empty prairie houses, but where were the well written descriptions of small towns working for economic development, of prairie entreprenuers or of the lifestyle that is afforded by communities that operate like large extended family units? I live in Rugby, North Dakota—just such a community. Today as I drove down Main Street, I counted myself blessed to live in my town with schools and churches that provide so many positive activities for my daughter and for my son’s family, for a local hospital and clinic,day care, a nursing school program, a busy grocery store and pharmacy, gift shops, a discount retail store, service stations, banks, restaurants, a swimming pool, a golf course and even a large museum.

Mr. Bowden notes,”What happens is that some people cash in on their property and move someplace warmer and easier. The rest grow old and die.” That’s not really the way things work in my town. Some seniors follow a national pattern and retire to communities such as those in Arizona for the winter, but they often return to North Dakota in the spring. And here, people of all ages, are almost universally involved in community activities of all sorts. My town, for example, has a very active community arts program which I have participated in since 1988. I look forward to starting civic string and full orchestra in January and listening to the community choir rehearsing at the high school.This spring nearly 100 local adults and children, ages 7 to 80, will perform a pops concert together on the same stage. We’ve had visual arts exhibitions and classes, writers groups and work with a former Bolshoi Ballet principal dancer and choreographer. In June, we will be finishing rehearsals for our large cast community summer musical. We’re hardly out of touch with or incapable of participating in a bigger world. My local arts program has helped launch a number of careers. I ran into one of our theatre “alumini” at the local video rental store last week. He, for example, just finished acting in a fairly significant role in a Hollywood film and was hoping to get to some international film festivals in the coming months.

So, I was disappointed in the narrow focus of this article which caters to mythic stereotypes about North Dakota. Mr. Bow-den takes a slice of rural life and implies it represents all of North Dakota. It is not unlike probing the gravest problems in an urban ghetto in New York city and suggesting the whole state of New York is populated by impoverished drug addicts living on the streets or in crime ridden public housing. It is true that a number of tiny North Dakota communities have folded. However, this type pattern is common in any state when miniscule towns gradually become disconnected from major transportation routes or cease to function as service centers in a rural area. Most of our disintegrated North Dakota towns began the process of decline during the early 1900’s, and most had populations of less than 200 souls. Some of these towns were thrown together by early railroad developers in the 1800’s as stations to refuel steam engines.Their services have not been required for years. While most of us regret the loss of these little towns, the bulk had little potential for growth. Their demise does not suggest that the entire rural scene is “ebbing”.

I lived in the St. Paul/ Minneapolis area until I was 34 years old. I can’t imagine going back after 20 years of fulfillment in North Dakota just to face urban problems or waste my time, stuck in traffic. I can watch a lot of things unfolding there, but here, I can do just about anything I want to do. I’m too busy, too happy and too excited about being an active part of North Dakota’s present and future to consider a move elsewhere.

Debra Jenkins

Rugby, North Dakota

I was absolutely appalled by the opinioned-filled article that was published in the January issue of your magazine that depicted ND as a vast wasteland. Your reporter did a good job in seeking out the opinion of our state that he wanted to render. The depiction that this writer chose to portray can be said of any state if one looks hard enough.

I am a proud young citizen of ND who has chosen to live in a rural community. In my community of Stanley, just miles south of one of the communities mentioned in the article, our hotels, restaurants, schools, and downtown are experiencing growth. Our state as a whole is experiencing development and in particular our western communities are prospering in the midst of an energy boom. ND’s economic strength is still agriculture and we are the number one producer of more than a dozen commodities, from flaxseed to canola to sunflowers. These products find their way onto the dinner tables in nearly every household across the nation. But recently, we were one of only eight states with a growing economy overall and we were also one of only two states to increase jobs in the manufacturing sector from 2000-2004.

There is great opportunity here and that is exactly why my new husband, Athan, and I chose to make this our home. I could have moved to Athan’s home in NC but, we see the growth and positive possibilities that exist here. We appreciate the quality of life factors such as walking to the post office and movie theater and personally knowing our local police officers and elected officials. ND is consistently voted one of the safest states in the union and ranks #1 for our rate of high school completion. These quality of life factors contributed to our decision to make ND home.

We are the new face of rural North Dakota, and we challenge you to return and write another article about our experience and the ND in which we and many others choose to live.

Cori Otto Lindsay

Stanley, N.D.

Having just read this article about my beloved state, I felt that I must comment and spread the news that North Dakota is truly a hidden treasure - a subtle secret that does not need to boast its beauty and all of its attributes. I was saddened at Mr. Bowden’s take and display of how dismal he saw the state in a whole. There are parts of North Dakota, as with other states, that have not faired “evolution” into the next generation - mainly, I feel, because of distance from larger areas of the state. However, there are beautiful small towns in North Dakota that are thriving and embrace their heritage and are proud to be in North Dakota. Fort Ransom is a prime example of this. This was a short-lived military fort 100+ years ago and is now a booming little town that thrives beautifully. Land is high in price here as many people desire it and want it and are willing to pay for it. North Dakota has some very large companies that have either been here for a long time or are searching for a “home” in this state. North Dakota is not overcrowded and has so much room for growth and that is the absolute beauty of this state. Our opportunities are still endless...

Are there ghost towns in North Dakota? Of course there are, as with any other state in the union. But where we thrive is our spirit, our people, and our gorgeous variations in our land. For miles and miles, all you see is the flat prairie land and then all of sudden, there is a beautiful river valley or hilly terrain that reminds you that there is such beauty all around us in this state and that we sometimes forget to appreciate it. And we haven’t even touched on the Badlands of North Dakota yet!

I hope I never see a day when we are just “Dakota” as I think I then would hang my head and leave. I am PROUD to be a North Dakotan. We are windy (I think windier than the “Windy City” of Chicago) and bad hair days are aplenty. As far as one of the coldest areas...with this, I don’t necessarily agree. We have had very temperate winters for years and even though I am not a lover of cold weather or snow at all, I would not trade my “home” for anything. As we North Dakotans might say, “It keeps out the riff-raff.”

Billye Coenen

Lisbon, ND
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Offline pmp6nl

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Offline tetsujin

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Re: North Dakotans rage against the mag
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2008, 08:43:58 AM »
It is pretty ridiculous isn't it, I wrote about it on my website here: http://tetsujin.metamudcreations.com/index.php?/archives/113-The-Emptied-Prairie.html

Cameron

Offline Sal Atticum

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Re: North Dakotans rage against the mag
« Reply #3 on: January 18, 2008, 03:05:06 PM »
JUST EXTRA POLISH. I DO SOME WORK WITH EXCELL SO I KEEP THE CAPS LOCK ON :-P

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Re: North Dakotans rage against the mag
« Reply #4 on: January 18, 2008, 06:35:53 PM »

Offline JakeJZG

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Re: North Dakotans rage against the mag
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2008, 12:33:26 AM »
I'm not a native of the state, and I've only lived here for 1.5 years. 

I've grown to love this state.  The only thing bad about it, in my opinion, is one of it's greatest assets: low population.

I've grown tired of NG, and this really makes me discount just about everything they've produced in their magazines to date.  What else were they lazily or even untruthfully portraying?
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