Articles

A vulnerable time: Widows need to guard against ‘financial wolves’

FARGO - Beth Schaible was a young mother when she first faced the possibility of widowhood. Her husband, Calvin, was diagnosed with skin cancer in his 30s. Doctors gave him 50/50 odds, she says. He survived, but the scare helped the Fargo couple stay connected and communicate about the “what ifs” in life, including their financial picture.

• Beth Schaible with a photo of her husband

Three Moorhead High seniors create an event to empower girls and promote self-esteem

MOORHEAD – Over ice cream, best friends Olivia Bergh, Ama Frederickson and Annise Montplaisir would talk about self-esteem in girls – how girls dress or act a certain way to get attention and about the time Montplaisir saw a girl walk into the bathroom, look in a mirror, and say “ew.”

• The Beautiful to the Core Facebook group
• Moorhead High seniors create event to empower girls

Parenting Perspectives: Keeping an open heart in the midst of rejection

My husband, Craig, is ready to leave for work, but can’t quite shake the 24-pound weight clinging to his ankles. Once again, I peel little Owen off his “Da Da,” to screams and shrieks and slaps.

• Sherri Richards

Mother and daughter enroll in massage therapy program together

MOORHEAD - Lori Ganey and her oldest daughter, Christina Harness, moved to North Dakota at different times and for different reasons, but they’ve found their next step forward in the same place, at the same time. The mother-daughter duo both started in the massage therapy program at Globe University in Moorhead this January.

• Christina Harness, left, and her mother, Lori Ganey,
• Tandem massage therapy

Engaging and approachable: Mentoring, finding solutions a large part of Karen Tobin’s influence as Fargo’s Sanford Medical Center COO

FARGO - Karen Tobin’s mother told her not to take home economics in high school. They could cover that at home. Instead, she encouraged Tobin to study foreign languages.

• Karen Tobin
• Karen Tobin, chief operating officer of Sanford Medical Center, Fargo
• Tobin shows a tattoo with her four grandchildren’s initials

5 Things Friday: Five May Day crafts to do with kids

FARGO – With a winter that stretched well into April, this may be the most eagerly anticipated May Day in history.

• Conical May Day Basket
• Recycled May Day Basket
• Paper Plate Basket
• Mini Maypole
• Tissue Paper Flowers

Money Savin' Mama: Don’t let your tech wants become expensive ‘needs’

I’ve always been behind the technological curve. My family didn’t own a VCR until 1991. I listened to cassette tapes into the mid ’90s. I didn’t have cable TV or a DVD player till college, or my own computer until 2004.

• Sherri Richards

Thursday review: Turbie Twist a nifty way to dry your hair

FARGO – I don’t like to blowdry my hair, so The Original Turbie Twist Super-Absorbent Hair Towel box called to me. “Less blow drying!” it promised. “Stays in place!”

• Turbie Twist

Indoor playground latest way Junior League has worked to improve community

FARGO - Jo Kilander joined the Junior League of Fargo-Moorhead because her mother had belonged to the group. In the 1950s and ’60s, the women ran the Opportunity School for children with disabilities.

• Junior League of Fargo-Moorhead
• The Association of Junior Leagues International
• Kids in the Kitchen
• Kristen Liebl dishes out fresh bean dip
• At the indoor playground

Guardian Angels: Family tells story of becoming guardians of cousin's daughter

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. - In late 2008, young Katie Minge was on Lori Viger’s mind and heart. Katie’s mom, Shelly Minge, a longtime friend of Lori’s, had battled cancer for years. Now Katie’s dad, Bob Minge, a cousin of Lori’s husband, Don Viger, had been diagnosed with cancer, too.

• Katie Minge has been a welcome addition to the Viger family
• Katie, Lori and Don
• Katie Minge plays cards with Don and Lori Viger
• A difficult decision: Choosing a potential guardian – and agreeing to be one – is a major life decision

Columns

Parenting Perspectives: Slow down, sweet toddler

‘Mommy, please I have fruit snack?” my 2-year-old daughter asked me so sweetly the other morning. It was 7 a.m. “No, honey, you can’t have fruit snacks before breakfast,” I told her.

Parenting Perspectives: Movie’s mom confessions hit home

It’s a good thing movie theaters are dark, because I’m not sure the trio of single girls next to me would have understood the tears flowing down my face while watching “Sex and the City 2.”

• Charlotte and Miranda

Parenting Perspectives: Stroll a little slower

My daughter, Eve, and I went for a walk last week on one of those cloudless, warm mornings that finally felt like spring.

Parenting Perspectives: Cocky mother humbled by 2-year-old’s behavior

Compared with some other 2-year-olds, my daughter tends to be pretty well-behaved.

Parenting Perspectives: Who knew toddler’s day planner could fill up so quickly?

My daughter’s not quite 2, but already she knows the days of the week.

Retail employees share Black Friday war stories

The day after Thanksgiving, Colleen Flynn-Odney simply tells new Target employees to stand back and watch.

• Shopping at Walmart
• Shopping at Bath & Body Works
• Monitoring checkout traffic
• Stores hope basics will lure in customers
• Q&A: A closer look at Black Friday

Parenting Perspectives: Baby is a target for uncouth comments

I was grabbing a carton of milk from the cooler at Cash Wise earlier this month when the gray-haired woman stormed over to me.

Parenting Perspectives: Facebook friend(s): ‘We’re pregnant’

Forget post-World War II. I’m living in a baby boom now.

Richards: Mothers too often go on an unnecessary guilt trip

When women begin the journey into motherhood, we inevitably book a concurrent voyage: the guilt trip.

Parenting: Mom’s on a mission for baby bargains

My mom taught me to be frugal by clipping coupons and shopping at the Nearly Nu thrift store. I once watched her successfully bargain with a department store clerk to get the previous week’s sale price on a pair of shoes.