As March comes to an end, there’s a certain shift you can feel – subtle but undeniable. The days stretch a bit longer, the air feels a bit warmer, and even here in Cavalier County there’s a sense that we’re turning a corner! March has always been a month of contrasts.

Whenever spring arrives, I find myself wanting to purge unneeded items, deep clean everything and get organized for the upcoming “fun season” of sunshine, outdoor sports, and summer festivities. But I am a squirrel.

As a board member of the Langdon Area School District Foundation (LASDF), I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the residents and businesses in the community of Langdon and any alumni, wherever you might live, for supporting the Buy a Door fundraiser that has been ongoing for the past several months. Working with the initial bid and a short-term goal of raising the funds and scheduling the project to be completed this summer, I’m excited to announce that we have met and surpassed our goal! Most of the fundraising was completed through social media appeals as well as our annual newsletter. More recently, we held a free will baked potato bar on St. Patrick’s Day at The Hop. While attendance was lower than what we would have liked, the donations exceeded our expectations. Thank you to everyone who came out for that despite the snow and cold that evening.

So I wish there was a button we could push - immediately following our last LAM Cardinal basketball game or poof – the snow would be gone and the sun would be sky high for the next seven months. In reality, it has been a painful, slow process until we can see the first patch of grass turn green. Yes, old man winter keeps throwing punches, but at least the days are getting longer for us to put up a fight.

Spring has officially arrived, at least according to the calendar, even if Mother Nature hasn’t quite gotten the memo yet. The changing of the seasons means one sports season ends and another begins.

By Bob Simmons, CEO, Simmons Multimedia I last left you as Diane and I, in our matching outfits, were having our hearing tested at the audiologist’s office in the Altru Clinic. We did it together so the other couldn’t cheat on the test, as we both suspect each other is going deaf – among other things.

By Sara Goodman Last week was NDSU’s spring break. Rather than our usual family trip to warmer, sandier locales, my older two decided that they wanted to go somewhere with friends. Gage had previously missed out on an annual skiing trip to Whitefish over Christmas break with his fraternity brothers, so he decided that he wanted to make up for lost brotherhood time and head for the mountains. Catelyn had a group of friends who had planned a spring break trip to Cancun and invited her along. Initially, she had hemmed and hawed over it, not sure if she wanted to spend the money and worried about finding a suitable roommate. Finally, over Christmas break, tired of the snow and cold, she broke down and decided to book the trip.

By Bob Simmons, CEO, Simmons Multimedia It’s true. If you’ve been married for a while, you start taking on each other’s traits. The experts call this ‘convergence.’ Some couples develop the same speech patterns while others mimic emotional expressions. Still others grow more alike in shared habits, beliefs and in some cases – appearance. With this in mind, the stage is now set for the Simmons trip to the audiologist for a hearing test.

Greg and I recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, and by the time you read this article, our oldest kid will have turned 21. In the space of almost five childless years after marriage, we experimented with the idea of having kids by getting cats. Our first cat, Smokey, was a mixed breed from the pet store that set us back 50 bucks.

One of the best parts of living in a small community is the people who make it special. From volunteers and local business owners to students, neighbors, and organizations quietly doing good work, there are stories happening around us every day that deserve to be shared.