The kitchen is the hub of the home for many households. Between a kitchen’s many functions as a source of nutrition, a gathering point, workshop and quencher of midnight munchies, it’s easy to see why we can’t stay out of the kitchen (perhaps to the frustration of the cooks in our homes). With all of the delicious meals cooked, school ...

HARTFORD, Conn. — The mild summer so far has allowed New Englanders to often turn off their air conditioners, helping cut costs with reduced demand for electricity. An abundance of natural gas and more efficient power plants have helped reduce the wholesale price of energy, a respite from soaring heating costs in the winter, said ISO-New England, the region’s grid ...

BLAIR, Wis. — The land around Mary Drangstveit’s farm is changing. Earth movers and graders have replaced farm tractors and combines. Hillside has been stripped bare, lowlands filled with yellow soil. A silica sand mine is moving in. “This was all farm fields,” she said, gesturing across the road. “It has become an unbelievable mess.” But Drangstveit, 72, is determined ...

BISMARCK, N.D. — Officials are kicking off the capitalization process for North Dakota’s Housing Incentive Fund. The fund is to help developers who pledge to build affordable and low-income housing. Those who contribute are eligible for dollar-for-dollar state tax credits. The North Dakota Industrial Commission, the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency and Wells Fargo Bank have scheduled a kick-off ceremony ...

St. Cloud Apollo graduate Dan Thomsen and his family still live in Mandan, North Dakota, albeit in a bigger and better house. Technical High School graduate Kate Chopp continues to chase adventure in Williston, where she still works for Champ’s Place — although now in more of a managerial role. She books music acts and handles advertising and marketing for ...

Sponsored article In 2010 Bill Murphy and Mitzi Bestall traveled from Colorado to Williston, North Dakota, trying to capitalize on the real estate market in the burgeoning economy associated with the Bakken oil boom. Attempting to jump from the tails of the recent financial and housing crisis and hit the ground running, they eventually moved (like many others) to try ...

You finally have a back yard. Between cookouts, gardening projects and the smell of fresh-cut grass to look forward to, the possibilities for the much-anticipated outdoor season are endless. Don’t let your new space go to waste—here are some quick, simple ideas to turn your yard into your new favorite hangout. Build yourself a fire pit As a quick perusal ...

The North Dakota landowners who are fighting the selling of an easement to the Sandpiper oil pipeline have lost a battle in district court. A North Dakota district judge ruled that the North Dakota Pipeline Company has a right to the property through eminent domain, finding that the pipeline will serve a public use. James and Krista Botsford, of Wausau, ...

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota built new housing at a faster clip than any other state from 2010 through last summer, as people flooded the state in search of work in the booming oil patch. The U.S. Census Bureau’s latest annual estimate shows North Dakota’s housing growth rate far outpaced any other state’s in the year leading up to last ...

BISMARCK, N.D. — The mayor of Watford City says rents in the city have gone down by $1,000 a month or more. Mayor Brent Sanford says about 300 apartment units have been added in the western North Dakota community recently. Sanford says just a month ago, rents ranged from between $3,200 to $3,400 a month. Now they range from $1,600 ...