Open Thread #53

Wazzup?

Hana Japanese Grill opens

As Herald reporter and fellow area blogger Ryan Schuster previously reported, there is a new dining option at the Columbia Mall's Dakota Cafe food court. Hana Japanese Grill opened earlier this month and serves Japanese food including sushi, chicken dishes, and seafood. It's owned by the same group that owns the Magic Chopstix location in the food court.

Has anyone tried out this new restaurant yet? If you have, please share your thoughts. Are we talking about a carbon copy of Magic Chopstix here or is this place unique?

I'm glad to see another restaurant open at the food court. What other types of restaurants would you like to see open up in the remaining spots?

Open Thread #52

It seems like all I ever do these days is work, work, work...not enough time for blogging! What plans do you have for Thanksgiving? Have you already started decorating for Christmas?

Open Thread #51

What should we talk about?

Changes at UND

Face it...UND is the engine that drives Grand Forks. That engine has been undergoing a series of major changes lately. There are so many things going on at UND that it is almost hard to keep track of them all. A short review is in order...

•President Charles Kupchella is leaving his post at the end of this school year and a nationwide search is being undertaken to find his successor.

•The UND athletic programs are all being reclassified to NCAA Division I.

•The UND/NCAA Fighting Sioux logo and nickname lawsuit was recently settled outside of court. Although UND has three years to gain tribal support for the nickname, I doubt most of us really think that will happen. I feel strongly that...for better or for worse...in a few years UND athletics will have a new nickname and logo.

•The UND Athletic Director, Tom Buning, has resigned his post and a search will now have to be undertaken to find his successor. What should UND look for in a new AD? Clearly, a new AD would have many, many issues on his plate. Another issue facing UND athletics is facilities...a new football stadium is not out of the question for some time in the future.

•NDSU has grown dramatically in recent years. This year, NDSU now has almost as many students as UND does...the two campuses have never been so close in this critical number. Will NDSU grow larger than UND or will UND soon experience another growth spurt? UND was founded as and has remained as the flagship university in the state...would a larger NDSU hurt UND's prestige?

•Universities...and UND in particular...are no longer exclusively educational endeavors. While UND still exists primarily to educate, it has also been experiencing dramatic growth in research projects. Also, fundraising has become a major issue facing UND. For instance, a campaign will soon be launched to increase UND's endowment to $500 million...a seemingly astronomical sum.

Clearly this is a time of change...major change...at UND. I'm sure I'm leaving out other ongoing and upcoming changes. I'm curious how you think UND will pass through this era. Will a better campus emerge? What would you like to see in a new UND President? Will education start to take a backseat to research and fundraising? What will UND be 5 years from now? How about 15 or 30 years from now? The UND of the future is being shaped today and I'm curious what you think that UND will be like.

Open Thread #50

Wow, the big 5-0!

I Love Grand Forks #2

"I Love Grand Forks" is going to become a monthly tradition on GFL. There's lots to love in this city and I love reading through everyone's reasons. Name a few of the reasons why you love Grand Forks.

New GFHPC website

The Grand Forks Historic Preservation Commission has a brand new website. It's great to see decent looking local government websites...the same can't really be said for most of our local government sites.

I like the fact that local history - something which is very important to me - now has a presence on the web. I would like to see more historic images and some more informative text added, but good start.