The Good Life – March-April 2022

DAD LIFE 

EIGHT THINGS MY DAD TAUGHT ME 

A short list of dad-isms and advice that I was taught 

and whether or not they are relevant to my life. 

WRITTEN BY: PAUL HANKEL 

It is my great hope that I, as a dad, am able to pass 

on some of the dad-isms that my dad imparted to 

me. Going beyond wearing cargo shorts and keeping a 

meticulous eye on the household thermostat, here are 

a few dad-isms I enjoy. 

Expand your flavor pallet. 

I, much like every other 30-something male, took 

up a new food habit during the lockdown. Instead of 

getting weirdly obsessive about sourdough bread or 

nightshade vegetables, I chose spices. Because of this, 

I now have a small spice market in my cupboards, with 

spices from every hipster spice company on Instagram. 

There IS a flavor profile beyond garlic salt and allspice 

people. Explore! 

Buy local produce and meat. 

North Dakota has some of the best soils 

in the world. This means that our state 

can produce some of the best meat 

and vegetables out there. Growing up, I 

didn't have store-bought corn, potatoes, 

rhubarb, or dill until I was living on my 

own. This has stuck with me. 

You can sleep anywhere if you're tired 

enough. 

• In between flights at an airport: can and have 

overslept and missed a flight. 

• Watching my kid play video games: out cold. 

• Two beers deep and watching an east coast 

college football game at 9 pm: lights out. 

• Five minutes post-Thanksgiving meal: ZZZ's. 

• It's a male and family trait that I am happy to 

say that I inherited. I just wish my ten-yearold 

was showing early signs of exhibiting this 

trait. 

Charcoal is always better than 

propane. 

Grilling season is a mere two months away 

and that means it's the perfect time to remind 

everyone of Dad Law #3 on this list: when able, 

charcoal beats propane every single time. 

Time to grill, flavor, overall experience…it's 

just better. 

Don't be afraid to spend the extra dollar or two at local 

butcher shops and produce markets for local stuff. Not 

only is the quality much better, but you're also helping 

out our local and state economy. 

Unless you're getting a truck, buy 

foreign cars. 

As a bald eagle/American flag 

type guy, this was hard 

advice for me to take as 

I've aged. However, my dad 

had a Subaru Legacy over 

400,000 miles on it and no 

major mechanical issues, so it was extremely hard to 

argue with his point. 

Growing up I had a Subaru Outback Sport, two 

Subaru sedans, a Toyota Camry, two Subaru 

Foresters, and a Toyota Corolla. Needless to 

say, the ladies were impressed. 

Then, I decided that I was a red-blooded 

American and needed to drive some Americanmade 

steel. So I bought a Ford Explorer last 

fall. Sidenote: next to the Kia Telluride, the Ford 

Explorer is the most mom-SUV of all the mom- 

SUVs on the market today. However, my kid 

plays four sports so I thought I also needed the 

space. 

2 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com

Conveniently after I had purchased my Ford Explorer 

and driven it approximately 70 miles, the engine 

exploded. 

I was given a Toyota Rav 4 to drive for two months 

while it was fixed and loved every minute of it. 

Do with this advice what you will. 

You will never remember your kid's friends' 

names. 

I am wholly convinced that I would lose money if 

someone asked me to name even all of my nieces and 

nephews, much less all my son's friends' names. Factor 

in all his sports team's teammates and it's game over. 

This is most certainly not intentional. It more so stems 

from the fact that, once I hit my mid-thirties, my 

capacity for long-term memory items is limited to: 

The Office quotes, my kid's practice schedule, and the 

password to the app that keeps all of my passwords in 

one place. 

Teaching your child to drive will be one of 

the scariest experiences of your life. 

While I have yet to face this nightmare (still thankfully 

five years away), I do have fond memories of my dad, 

on several occasions, taking the Lord's name in vain 

while teaching me to drive. To say that he aged slightly 

during those learning sessions in the parking lot of 

West Fargo High School during the summer of 2001 

would be the biggest understatement of all time. 

I feel it is only fair that I too experience the terror, 

optimism, and eventual expense of having a miniature 

version of myself on the roads. Can't wait. 

Invest in a snowblower. 

Two half-hearted Peloton sessions per week aren't 

going to keep you in good enough shape to be moving 

around piles of heavy, wet North Dakota snow, October 

through March. 

Don't fight the urge to save a few shekels by continuing 

to shovel the snow yourself…get a snowblower. Your 

lower back will thank you! • 

urbantoadmedia.com / THE GOOD LIFE / 3

CONTENTS 

VOLUME 9 | ISSUE 5 

MARCH-APRIL 2022 

02 

DAD LIFE - EIGHT THINGS MY DAD 

TAUGHT ME 

14 

NINE LIFESAVING MNEMONICS 

EVERY MAN SHOULD KNOW 

A short list of dad-isms and advice that I 

was taught and whether or not they are 

relevant to my life. 

24 

NORTH WOODS HEARTY POT ROAST 

RECIPE 

06 

10 

EARLY SEASON SMALLMOUTH BASS 

Late spring and early summer can be such 

a tremendous time to target smallmouth 

because early season smallmouth are often 

shallow and relatively easy to catch. 

HAVING A BEER WITH - Adam Ladwig 

KVRR News Anchor and Producer Adam 

Ladwig tells us a little about himself—like 

how he loves traveling and inflatable lawn 

decorations. Read on to learn more about 

the Colorado native. 

26 

30 

Cook up this hearty pot roast with braised 

beef shoulder roast and chunky fresh 

vegetables in a savory gravy. 

KOMMER'S CUSTOM KNIVES 

Custom knives made locally to fit in the 

palm of your hand. 

LOCAL HERO - John Dalziel 

After the 1983 bombings in Beirut, John 

Dalziel’s life changed forever, but his 

purpose became clear: he would serve and 

protect, no matter the cost. 

18 

ON THE COVER - Mike Morse 

Local musician talks about life and recovery 

ahead of his upcoming solo album release. 


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EARLY SEASON 

SMALLMOUTH BASS 

WRITTEN BY: JASON MITCHELL OUTDOORS 

PHOTOS BY: JASON MITCHELL OUTDOORS 

6 / THE GOOD LIFE / urbantoadmedia.com 

Smallmouth bass are one 

of my favorite fish to target. 

Smallmouth bass are just built 

to provide joy and excitement. 

Much has been written and said 

about the fight of a smallmouth. 

The stubborn digging below the 

boat and airborne acrobatics 

simply make these fish so much 

fun to target and catch. Late 

spring and early summer can be 

such a tremendous time to target 

smallmouth because early season 

smallmouth are often shallow 

and relatively easy to catch. 

Smallmouth bass will typically 

spawn when the water 

temperatures reach the low 

sixties in the early season but fish 

will move shallow long before. 

Stable and warming water temps 

often create tremendous shallow 

water fishing opportunities. Cold 

fronts will often momentarily 

push fish off these shallow 

locations but only temporarily. 

Smallmouths typically look for 

rock, boulder and gravel locations 

in which to bed. Reefs and 

shorelines that offer this rock 

rubble bottom are prime. If I had 

to pick a perfect location to find 

shallow smallmouth in the spring, 

that location would be a large 

shallow flat or reef that protrudes 

from the shoreline where there 

are scattered rocks that range

Suspending jerk baits like 

the Salmo Rattling Sting 

are absolutely deadly on 

spring smallmouth bass 

in shallow water. Simply 

snap these lures one to 

three times in a cadence 

and then momentarily 

stall the lure. 

between the size of a baseball 

to the size of a bowling ball. 

Larger boulders scattered in 

the mix are alright and the 

entire reef doesn't necessarily 

have to be covered with rock 

but you can bet that the rock 

areas are the sweet spots. 

Obviously, large spots can hold 

more fish and attract more 

attention from anglers as well. 

Some of my favorite locations 

that often get overlooked or 

missed by other anglers are 

simply shallow rock spines 

that are slightly offshore, 

perhaps a hundred yards. The 

closer to shore these locations 

are, the easier these locations 

are for other anglers to find. Of 

course, you can always catch 

fish on the easy-to-find obvious 

locations depending on the 

amount of fishing pressure but 

missed and overlooked is often 

better for cooperative fish in 

today's world. 

Polarized glasses are a 

must for reading water and 

side imaging can also help 

immensely. To really maximize 

the potential of side imaging, 

I often like to search through 

an area with my bow mount 

trolling motor down and lift 

my outboard motor so I get a 

better reading off both sides 

of the transducer. When I see 

patches of rock or boulders, 

I then move the crosshairs to 

mark those locations with a 

waypoint. You can bump fish 

off a location if you move too 

close but the fish typically 

return so if you have to get 

your boat right on top of a 

location to really learn the 

spot, do what you have to do 

to understand what you are 

fishing. 

For simply covering water 

and fishing through locations 

relatively fast, jerk baits like 

the Salmo Rattling Sting 

are simply deadly. The lures 

have a long cast weight 

transfer system that allows 

for launching casts which is 

important early in the year 

when you must be able to 

reach spots and cover water. 

Snapping the rod forward will 

cause the lure to slash and 

careen in opposite directions 

but the pause or stop between 

the snapping cadence is often 

what triggers strikes. If I could 

pick just one hard lure for 

springtime smallmouths… my 

vote would be a jerk bait. 

One change we have seen 

however on some fisheries 

is the move deeper by 

bedding bass. This seems 

to correlate with angling 

pressure. On heavily fished 

water, we are seeing more 

bass bedding in much deeper 

water. Depending on the lake, 

these deeper locations are 

often seven to fifteen feet of 

water. This is where deeper 

diving crankbaits and even 

some square bills can really 

shine especially if the fish 

are scattered and there are 

numerous locations along 

a shoreline that all have the 

potential to hold fish. Salmo 

Rattling Hornets in both the 

5.5 and 6.5 sizes can be deadly 

along with Square Bills. 


Soft baits like flukes 

can be very effective 

on smallmouth bass in 

shallow water and are 

particularly effective in 

ultra-clear water or after 

cold front conditions. 

There are times however when 

soft baits shine particularly 

with extremely clear water or 

post-frontal conditions that cool 

down water temps. My favorite 

all-time plastic for early season 

smallmouth in shallow water 

would have to be a fluke-style 

plastic. Flukes can be fished slowly 

unweighted or fished faster like 

a jerk bait by simply rigging on 

a darter head. You can also drop 

shot flukes particularly if you are 

fishing over deeper ten to fifteenfoot 

locations offshore. 

I haven't mentioned color yet but 

usually early in the year; location, 

depth and speed are so much more 

important. In other words, if you 

find fish, you usually can catch 

them and often with a variety of 


presentations. These fish 

are often triggered to react 

out of aggression. Don't be 

consumed with matching 

the hatch but do focus on 

being visible. I usually vary 

from the basic white to dark 

spectrum. White and pearl 

can be great colors as can 

be black, pumpkinseed and 

motor oil. Crayfish patterns 

always seem to produce but 

these fish often strike out 

of annoyance. Simply get 

lures in front of fish. 

Spend time to really dissect 

locations and learn spots. 

Always try to learn spots 

and fish from a comfortable 

distance. If you can see fish, 

these are often the toughest 

fish to catch. Try to back 

off far enough where 

seeing the fish is difficult. 

If the water is ultra-clear 

and the fish are difficult, 

what I have done with 

great success is running 

my boat around the area 

with my big motor to churn 

up and stain some of the 

water, often just making a 

pass back and forth idling 

upwind of the fish. This will 

sometimes cloud up the 

water just enough where 

the fish are not as spooked 

and discriminating on the 

presentation. 


HAVING A BEER WITH | ADAM LADWIG 

HAVING A BEER WITH 

Adam Ladwig 

WRITTEN BY: MEGHAN FEIR 

PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA 

Adam Ladwig, an Emmy Awardwinning 

news anchor and 

producer for KVRR-TV, met 

with us for a couple of brews at 

Drekker on a regular, blustery 

Tuesday in Fargo. 

After graduating from the 

University of Colorado, the news 

anchor started his professional 

life in Scottsbluff, Neb. Ladwig 

soon made the move to Devils 

Lake, N.D., to start a job as the 

bureau reporter for WDAZ, and 

four years later, he moved to 

Fargo to work as a weekend news 

anchor for KVRR. 

In 2016, Ladwig and his coanchor 

Emily Welker started the 

KVRR local morning news show 

that runs weekdays from 7-9 a.m. 

It’s a show he loves to be a part of, 

even if he’s still not used to getting 

up at 2 in the morning. 

Good Life: Adam, where in 

Colorado did you grow up? 

Adam Ladwig: I was raised in 

Morrison, Col., a suburb of Denver. 

It’s 10-15 minutes away from Red 

Rocks Amphitheater. In fact, my 

high school graduation ceremony 

was at Red Rocks. It was great 

because I was in the choir and we 

got to sing and hang out on stage 

throughout the ceremony. I always 

tell people I got to perform where 

the Beatles performed. 


GL: What’s your opinion on lawn decorations? 

AL: What’s wrong with lawn decorations? 

GL: Are you a fan or are you against lawn decor? 

AL: I love them. I love being weird and expressing yourself, and if you want 

to have crazy lawn decorations and a whole team of lawn gnomes, go ahead. 

I go running sometimes by Gooseberry Park in Moorhead and there’s a 

house that has dozens of bowling balls lined up around the yard. I love 

running by that house. 

GL: Do you have lawn decorations? 

AL: If I had a big lawn I would. I got a bee-on-a-spring lawn decoration 

from a grab bag at a gift shop and planted it in the little yard by my building 

without telling anyone. I think someone took it out when they had to mow 

the yard and it didn’t get put back. 

GL: What about huge, inflatable Christmas decorations? 

AL: I love them! 

GL: Do you? Okay. 

AL: I would love to have a 10-foot tall inflatable of Baby Yoda wearing a 

Santa hat for Christmas. 

“I got a 

bee-on-a-spring 

lawn decoration 

from a grab bag 

at a gift shop 

and planted it in 

the little yard by my 

building without 

telling anyone.” 

GL: If you won the lottery for $1 million, what would you do with it? 

AL: Number one: Pay off student loans. Number two: I would probably use 

it to travel as much as I could. It would be so much fun to take trips to every 

corner of the world and explore different cultures and areas. 


HAVING A BEER WITH | ADAM LADWIG 

“Living the good life is 

doing what makes you 

happy but also knowing 

what makes you happy, 

which I think is one of 

the hardest things to 

figure out in life.” 

GL: What’s been your favorite trip 

you’ve ever been on? 

AL: Oh, easy. I went to Iceland 

last summer. It was my first trip 

overseas and my first time in 

Europe. The natural beauty there 

made it seem like a different 

planet. The whole island is made 

of volcanic rock, so even walking 

along the ground looks completely 

different than here in the U.S. 

They have these breathtaking 

waterfalls that are fed by glaciers 

and beaches with black sand. 

There was a volcano eruption 

while I was there and I got to see 

the lava. It wasn’t exploding lava, 

but I could see smoke shooting out 

of the volcano and got to hike up 

to it. It stopped flowing two days 

after I saw it. There hadn’t been 

an eruption in that peninsula of 

Iceland since the 1200s. 

GL: Where do you think you’d 

want to go next? 

AL: My girlfriend and I would 

both love to go to Ireland with 

their rolling, green hills and old 


castles and stuff. We just watched 

a Netflix Christmas movie that 

was set in Ireland called “The 

Christmas Castle.” 

GL: Ahh, I love Hallmark-like 

movies. 

AL: Those movies are fun and 

cheesy, and if they’re bad you can 

make fun of them together. It’s 

not something you should feel 

ashamed of enjoying. I watch a 

bunch of them with my girlfriend. 

GL: I watched one set in Ireland 

too. It’s the one where this lady 

works for a management company 

out of New York— 

AL: That’s about half of them. 

GL: It’s always an executive who 

ends up realizing the joys of 

bucolic bliss. 

AL: Or her hometown. 

GL: Yes! I love those movies 

because they aren’t full of any 

actual, intense stress. It’s always, 

“Oh, no! How are we going to get 

everything ready in time for our 

Christmas festival!?” 

AL: Or the hunky lumberjack, 

whom she hated when they first 

met, will help save the day and 

they’ll fall in love and have one dry 

kiss at the end. 

GL: Speaking of Hallmark-like 

movies, if you could write a 

Hallmark movie that you and 

Kelly were going to star in, what 

would it be about? 

AL: She’s a small-town florist, 

and I am a curmudgeon news 

anchor who has to do some story 

on Christmas flowers but is 

grumbling the whole time because 

he just doesn’t understand the 

point of flowers for Christmas. 

GL: And you hate poinsettias. 

AL: Yes, and we argue over how 

to say it. And then we storm off in 

separate directions. She’s also part 

of the old church in town. It needs 

renovations or else it’s going to be 

foreclosed on. She has to organize 

some benefit to save it and needs 

the help of the TV station to get 

the word out. I end up helping out 

and get into the spirit of things, 

and the next thing I know I’m 

hanging up garland on the wall

and decorating the tree. 

GL: And then your heart melts. 

AL: And it grows three sizes that day. 

GL: And then you share a dry kiss at 

the end. 

AL: Exactly! And live happily ever 

after. 

GL: What animal would you be? 

AL: Maybe a buffalo. You’re just 

hanging around, eating whenever 

you want, not really causing too 

much mischief. But if someone 

really, really gets you mad, you’re not 

fun to mess with. 

GL: What would be one thing you’d 

change about this country? 

AL: Is this the “gotcha” question? 

GL: I’m going to make you look real 

bad. Just kidding. 

AL: I wish that fewer things would 

get politicized. It seems like no 

matter what anyone says about 

anything, it invites some sort of 

backlash and argument. It’s really 

hard to say something benign. In 

the last few years, everything has 

become a statement on something. 

It’s exhausting. 

GL: What does living “the good life” 

mean to you? 

AL: Living the good life is doing what 

makes you happy but also knowing 

what makes you happy, which I think 

is one of the hardest things to figure 

out in life. Maybe it’s not a thing 

you’re doing, like a job, but a mindset 

you have. Something stuck with me 

the day of my college graduation. I 

was talking with my mom and said 

something along the lines of, “Now I 

need to figure out what I want to do 

with my life.” She looked at me and 

said, “Honey, I still don’t know what I 

want to do with my life. It’s okay.” • 


NINE LIFESAVING MNEMONICS 

EVERY MAN SHOULD KNOW 

WRITTEN BY: BRETT & KATE MCKAY / ARTOFMANLINESS.COM 

When it comes to trying to save a life — either someone 

else’s or your own — it can be hard to remember what 

to do. Not only because the breadth of survival/first aid 

know-how is so vast, but because it’s hard to think clearly 

in a threatening situation. 

That’s where mnemonics — the use of rhymes, acronyms, 

and other techniques to more easily remember something 

— come in handy. For example, you likely conjure up 

the cardinal directions by saying “Never Eat Shredded 

Wheat,” remember the colors of the rainbow by thinking 

of that colorful fellow ROY G. BIV, and remind yourself 

to avoid touching poison ivy by rehearsing the old “leaves 

of three, let them be” admonition. 

Below are 9 mnemonics related to first aid and survival 

that can be easily memorized now, and readily pulled out 

in case of emergency later: 

To identify venomous snakes: 

Red on yellow, kill a fellow; 

red on black, friend of Jack 

This classic rhyme is a help in differentiating venomous 

coral snakes from similar looking but nonvenomous king 

snakes. The former sport alternating black, yellow, and 

red bands of color in which the red and yellow stripes 

touch each other; a king snake has the same bands of 

color but in a different pattern, so that the red stripes 

touch the black. 

It’s important to keep in mind that this mnemonic 

only holds true for North America; other species of 

coral snakes exist outside the continent with different 

markings. One should also keep in mind that king snakes 

are not exactly a “friend” in the sense that you’d want to 

handle them; even if nonvenomous, they can still bite, 

and snakebites of any kind aren’t pleasant. 

How to recognize if someone is having a heart attack: PULSE 


Pain in the chest, jaw, neck, back, or arms 

Upset stomach (nausea, vomiting, indigestion) 

Lightheadedness (or dizziness) 

Shortness of breath 

Excessive sweating 

The hour after a heart attack happens is referred to as the “golden 

hour,” as the sooner a victim can get medical treatment, the better the 

chance of mitigating the irreversible, tissue-killing damage that follows 

in its wake. As another popular phrase in the medical community goes, 

“time is muscle,” so know the signs of a heart attack well and familiarize 

yourself with what to do in case one occurs.

To recognize if someone is having a stroke: FAST 

Face drooping 

Arm weakness 

Speech slurring 

Time to call 9-1-1, if you see these symptoms 

Just as with a heart attack, every minute counts when 

someone has a stroke, and the sooner you recognize one 

is happening, and seek medical attention, the better the 

chance of survival and of preventing long-term disability. 

To save someone from drowning: Reach, Throw, Row, Go 

If you see someone drowning (which can be harder to 

recognize than you think), your first instinct is likely to 

jump into the water to save them. But this actually isn’t 

the best course of action; drowning people aren’t only 

a danger to themselves, but to their would-be rescuer; 

panicked and flailing about, they can pull and push you 

under when you’re trying to help. 

It’s thus better to avoid entering the water if possible 

and to follow the options for action in the order of this 

mnemonic: If the victim is close to the shoreline, reach a 

pole or branch to them; if they’re too far out to be reached 

with that kind of object, throw a rope or safety ring to 

them; if they’re too far away to rescue with these first 

two methods, row (or motor, killing the engine as you 

approach) a boat to get closer, and then reach, throw, or 

lift them from inside the watercraft; if the victim cannot 

be reached by pole, rope, or boat, or is unconscious/ 

distressed and thus unable to grab a flotation device, 

only then should you go into the water. Someone availing 

themselves to this final option should be a strong 

swimmer trained in lifesaving techniques. 


To predict a coming storm: Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; 

red sky in morning, sailors take warning 

Referring to the orange-red glow which appears at 

sunrise/sunset, this saying is so old and famous a 

variation of it is quoted by Jesus in the book of Matthew. 

A red night sky can mean that a high-pressure system 

(which brings clear weather) is moving in, or has moved 

in, from the west. This weather system traps particles in 

the air, which scatters the blue light of the sun, creating 

the reddish glow. 

A red sky in morning can signify that a high-pressure 

system is moving towards the east and a low-pressure 

system (which can bring wind, rain, and storms) is 

moving in from the west. 

This rule of thumb is most correct when you’re positioned 

at middle latitudes. Air quality and pollution can also 

skew things some. 

To effectively use a fire extinguisher: PASS 

Pull the pin in the handle 

Aim at the base of the fire 

Squeeze the trigger 

Sweep across the fire 

You’ve see fire extinguishers around so often, it’s easy to believe you’d just naturally 

know how to use one should the need arise. But while extinguishers are indeed 

fairly simple in design, it’s the kind of thing you can fumble around with in the 

literal heat of the moment. It’s thus worth familiarizing yourself with when and 

how to use one; the PASS acronym can help you remember the basics. 

To survive a bear attack: 

If it’s brown, lie down; 

if it’s black, fight back 

How you should respond to a bear attack depends on the 

kind of bear you’re dealing with. 

With a brown/grizzly bear, fighting back will often 

increase the ferocity of the attack, so you instead want 

to play dead, lying still with your stomach on the ground, 

and your hands protecting the back of your neck. 

With a black bear, you want to stand your ground, 

making yourself look as big and imposing as possible, 

and fighting back with blows to its face and muzzle. 


To collect yourself when lost: STOP 

Stop where you are 

Think about your situation 

Observe what is around you 

Plan your next actions 

When you’re lost, it can be easy to work yourself into 

a panic that only makes your situation worse. Instead, 

you want to STOP, which begins with literally stopping 

where you are (tell kids to “hug a tree”), as staying put 

can actually help you get found/back on track better 

than frenetically moving further and further afield. 

After you sit down, you want do some thinking — about 

when you first realized you were lost, what resources

for navigation/survival you have at 

your disposal, etc. Then you observe 

— seeing what in your environment 

might point you in the right direction 

or be used to send out a distress 

signal, and looking at a map to orient 

yourself. Finally, you formulate a 

plan, deciding whether you think you 

can retrace your steps or it’s better 

to stay put, and what your survival 

priorities are (see below) and how to 

obtain them. 

To assess your survival 

priorities: RULE OF THREES 

3 hours without shelter 

(depending on environmental 

conditions) 

3 days without water 

3 weeks without food 

In a survival situation, you have basic 

needs that have to be met to stay alive, 

but each is not equally urgent, and 

you want to prioritize the allocation 

of your energies appropriately: first 

getting out of extreme heat/cold; then 

finding a source of water; and finally 

figuring out how to find food. 

The fact that you can survive 3 

minutes without air is also sometimes 

thrown into the “Rule of Threes” 

mnemonic, but of course that only 

applies should you find yourself 

choking or underwater! • 


ON THE COVER | MIKE MORSE 

WRITTEN BY: EMMA VATNSDAL 


Life takes us in many different directions. 

For West Fargo musician Mike Morse, life has taken 

him from central Montana, across the U.S., across the 

world and back to Fargo. 

He's played at hundreds of small town bars in the 

upper Midwest, and is releasing his first album near 

the end of February. 

But this life hasn't always been so easy. 

"I started out really, really young," said Morse. "I stole 

my sister's guitar at about age 7 or 8, hid it in a hay 

fort, and learned how to play it. I took a few lessons, 

and before you know it, I'm on a school bus traveling 

the country with a bunch of guys that are 20 years 

older than me, playing rock and roll." 

Morse says, early on, his career choice wasn't exactly 

the path his parents would have chosen for him. 

"My dad is a retired microbiology professor, mom's a 

retired eighth-grade school teacher, and when I said 

'Oh, I'm going on the road in a rock band' they're like 

'no you're not.' It took some convincing, but sooner or 

later they're just like 'go'. 

Morse's talent took him all across the globe; from 

USO tours to Japan, Guam and Europe, to shows 

across the United States. 

But fame sometimes does come with a price. 

"My first gig, I was 13," said Morse. "And (the 

bartenders') main goal was to see how drunk they 

could get me. And I spent the next five or six years in 




the bottom of a bottle. To the point of throwing up blood, you know, 

bad, just bad." 

By his 22nd birthday, Morse had already been to treatment — that 

was seven years prior, at age 15, but the lifestyle he was living just 

wasn't conducive to sobriety. 

"I had this cool house gig in Kalispell, Mont.," said Morse. "I had 

the most killer gig in the state of Montana at the most cool place 

on Flathead lake. My landlord came over with a pint. We finished 

that off, I went to work, had a double shot at six bar stations at the 

bar I worked at, I did all of those and they brought me a shot after 

every other song." 

He eventually passed out on stage. 

"The reason I remember when I decided I was going to quit 

drinking," he said. "I woke up the next day and I had like 50 people 

at my house for a party, I could not get my head off the kitchen floor 

because that was the only cool place I could find to lay. And I'm like 

'I'm done. I'm never drinking again.'" 


That was March 6, 1991. "And I haven't touched a drop 

since." 

THERAPY 

For some alcoholics, the first go at quitting is rarely the 

last go. Couple that with a career in music that requires 

playing gigs at bars night in and night out, and it can be 

difficult to stay on the wagon. 

But nearly 31 years later, Morse has 

stayed on the wagon. 

"I mean your job is at the bar," he 

said. "And your job is partying with 

these people. But it's like, yeah, it's 

my therapy. I watch these people 

night in and night out and it's a 

constant mirror, reflector for me. So 

that's the way I look at it anyway. A 

lot of people can't look at it that way, I get that, but it's all 

about your mindset and how you perceive it. I was just 

ready to quit, I was done." 

Alcohol wasn't the only substance he struggled with over 

the years. However, he remains sober of all substances to 

this day. 

"I DID A TOTAL 180 FLIP 

TO COUNTRY," HE SAID. 

"AND I'VE BEEN PLAYING 

THAT EVER SINCE." 

– MIKE MORSE 

"I don't know if I just grew up or what, but now I kind of 

reflect that energy back into my music now," he said. "I 

mean I'm on to the next EP already. Actually, I'm on to the 

one after that. The next one is already written." 

SMALL TOWNS ON TWO LANES 

In the early '90s, Morse's art took a twangy turn. 

"I did a total 180 flip to country," he 

said. "And I've been playing that ever 

since." 

He's played, and lived, in nearly every 

region of the United States, until 

1996 when he wound up in Fargo, 

N.D. 

"I moved here from Texas," Morse 

said. "With 147 inches of snow, 

driving a Camaro — which was not fun." 

He left for a few years, before coming back to Fargo to be 

with his girlfriend, now wife. 

Morse played in a few bands around the Fargo-Moorhead 

area before sticking with one for 16 years. 



"Then the pandemic hit," said Morse. "And I was 

playing in my basement to the internet and then the 

band, they never came back." 

One thing led to another and soon Morse was on his 

way to Nashville to record his first solo album. 

"I don't write songs about drinking," he said. "I mean, 

I can't really. I have to write songs that are real to me, 

real life experiences, and that's not part of me." 

Morse's first album as a solo artist was released at 

the end of February. He says the songs are inspired 

by the small communities he's been able to play at in 

his years of music. 

"There's a song (on the album) that says, 'It's a little 

bit of hustle, a whole lot of chase. It's where you find 

humble, it's where leather meets lace.' Because, 

I mean, it really is. Rural America is not that easy 

anymore. Everything seems to be geared towards 

the city, but the real, honest, good stuff, to me, it's 

out there. They don't sugar coat it." 

The album is a love letter to rural America and the 

places and things he's seen at the end of those two 

lanes. 

"The funnest times I've had are those little Harvey, 

N.D., or Lake Ashtabula, N.D., or Webster, S,D.," 

said Morse, "Those are where I have the most 

fun and where they really appreciate it more than 

just playing where you're just kind of background 

music." 

But there's one song that is sure to pull at the 

heartstrings and cause listeners to reach for their 

tissues. 

"I lost my parents a few years ago," he said. "My 

mom was diagnosed with fast liver cancer. I mean, 

when they called me, they said they gave her 14 

days. She died 13 days later. But when my mom 

died, she told my dad to go through all her personal 

stuff and get rid of it. So he did. And he went home 

and started going through her chest of drawers, and 

in the very bottom drawer, tucked inside a sweater, 

were all the love letters that he had written my mom 

in college." 

Morse was given the same instructions that his 

mom had given his dad. 

"He said, 'When I die, I want you to go back through 


my stuff, cherish the memories but I want you to get 

rid of this stuff.' And I did, and sure enough in the 

bottom drawer there were those letters." 

He toyed with what to do with the letters for quite 

some time, and on the day of his father's funeral, he 

said his good-byes and stuck the letters inside the 

pocket of his dad's suit to be buried with him. 

"So there's a song on there called 'The Letters' that's 

all about that." 

And when it comes to The Good Life, Morse says he 

is living it. 

"The Good Life is being able to do what you wanted 

to do and not feeling like it's work," he said. "Even 

though it's bust ass. I'd rather die, starving, being 

happy doing what I'm doing than have all the riches 

in the world and hate it." 

You can find Morse all across the upper Midwest — 

dates and locations on his website mikemorselive. 

com. 

Find Morse's music on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, 

Pandora, or wherever you find your music. • 


north woodS 

HEArTY POT rOAsT 

Cook up this hearty pot roast with braised beef shoulder roast and chunky fresh 

vegetables in a savory gravy. 


COURTESY OF BEEFITSWHATSFORDINNER.COM 

INGREDIENTS: 

• 1 beef shoulder roast boneless (2 to 2-1/2 pounds) 

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 

• 1/2 teaspoon salt 

• 1 pound small red-skinned potatoes, cut in half, or into 

quarters if large 

• 4 medium carrots, cut into 2-1/2 x 1/2- inch pieces 

• 2 medium parsnips, cut into 2-1/2 x 1/2-inch pieces 

• 1 small leek, (white and pale green parts only), cut in half 

lengthwise then crosswise into 1-1/2 inch pieces 

• 1 cup beef broth 

• 4 tablespoons water 

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch 

SEASONING 

• 2 teaspoons seasoned pepper blend or garlic-pepper 

seasoning 

• 1 tablespoon minced garlic 

COOKING 

1. Combine seasoning ingredients; press evenly onto all 

surfaces beef shoulder roast boneless. Heat oil in stockpot 

over medium heat until hot. Brown roast on all sides. Pour off 

drippings and season beef with salt. 

2. Add broth to stockpot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover 

tightly and simmer 2 hours. Add vegetables; continue cooking, 

covered, 30 to 45 minutes or until roast and vegetables are 

fork-tender. 

3. Remove roast and vegetables; keep warm. Strain cooking 

liquid; skim fat, if necessary. Measure 2 cups cooking liquid 

(Add beef broth or water to cooking liquid to yield 2 cups, if 

necessary.); return to stockpot. Combine water and cornstarch; 

stir into cooking liquid. Bring to boil, stirring constantly; cook 

and stir 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture is thickened. 

4. Carve roast into thin slices. Season with salt, as desired. 

Serve with vegetables and gravy. 

TEST KITCHEN TIPS 

Cook until fork-tender. When fork can be 

inserted without resistance and releases 

easily when pulled out, the beef is done. 


KOMMERS ' 

Custom Knives 

WRITTEN BY: KRISSY NESS 


Whenever I think about how to make a knife, my mind 

wanders to a factory churning out knife after knife. But, while 

that may be how production knives get made, it couldn't be 

further from the truth for Kommer's Custom Knives. 

Russ Kommer is a native of Minnesota, but he spent many 

years living in Alaska. He is an avid hunter, which drew him 

to Alaska. "I was a hunting guide for many years, and one of 

the hunters had this couple thousand dollar knife on his belt, 

and it made me so mad," laughed Kommer. "I was out there 

making a living with a rifle and a knife, and I couldn't afford 

it." That's when he began making his own. 

For the past 25 years, Kommer has been making custom 

folding knives, fixed knives, fighting hawks, hatchets, and 

fancy kitchen knives. Twenty of those years, he worked out of 

his shop just outside of Fargo, N.D., and continues today. 

"I used to design for many companies, but then I retired," said 

Kommer. "I still do some designing for Columbia Knife and 

Tool, Fox America, Fox Italy, and my custom work." 

Kommer has made knives for Special Ops men and women, 

hunters, anglers, and your everyday folding knife. "I make 

everything from a wedding cake knife to a double-edged 

fighter knife for our military guys," said Kommer. "There 

is a purpose for every knife, and not every knife will do 

everything." 

Creating a knife is not something you can rush; it can take 40 

hours to a thousand hours. "People ask me how long it takes 

to make a knife, and I don't know, mainly because I don't want 

to know," joked Kommer. "I would probably not be making 

knives if I kept track." 



From start to finish, 

Kommer is precise 

and obsessive when it 

comes to the quality and 

look of each knife. His custom 

work is so exact that he requires 

tracing the individual's hand to ensure 

the fit is accurate and comfortable. Next, he 

draws a pattern and cuts that into Plexiglas. Then, 

the countless hours of grinding the knife into shape, 

placing the handle, and buffing and sharpening the piece 

take place. The finished product is always impressive and 

sought after. 

"I had a knife this fall that I had made, and this guy 

wanted it, he kept asking for it, and I told him I would 

make him one, but he just wanted that one; so needless 

to say - he got it," laughed Kommer. "If you want to sell a 

knife, wear it on your belt." 

Kommer is most known for his hunting knives, "I do a lot 

of hunting, so I like to make those kinds of knives," said 

Kommer. "It's my bread and butter." 

You can buy any knife off the shelf, but there is something 

exceptional about getting one made especially for you. 

“There is a purpose for every 

knife, and not every knife will do 

everything." – Russ Kommer 


"For some guys, the most precious 

thing they have is their custom 

knife," exclaimed Kommer. "It's 

personal." 

The passion for creating runs in 

Kommer's family. His nine-year-old 

granddaughter is known to help 

him around the shop. She even 

helped him design a production 

knife. "She drew a pattern on the 

back of a school project and gave it 

to me; then we modified it a bunch 

and I made it." 

To have the patience and detailed 

eye to create such beautiful pieces 

is something to admire. It is no 

wonder people are literally trying to 

buy the knife right off his belt. 

"Every time I got out with a knife 

on my belt, everyone says, 'Man, I 

want Russ's knife,'" Kommer said. 

"That's why I'm building myself 

a knife right now because I gave 

mine away." 

If you want to buy a custom knife 

from Kommer, you'll have to wait 

your turn, the waitlist is at least a 

year out, but it is definitely worth 

the wait. • 


LOCAL HERO | JOHN DALZIEL 


WRITTEN BY: MEGHAN FEIR 


Life can completely change in the blink of an eye. 

One moment your life is familiar, but a split second 

later, that familiarity feels a million miles away. 

During his 4 years in the United States Marine 

Corps, John Dalziel was deployed in Germany, 

Norway, Denmark and Honduras. But it wasn’t 

until he was deployed to Beirut that his life turned 

upside down. 

Oct. 23, 1983 seemed like a normal Sunday 

morning when Dalziel got out of bed, left to 

grab a cup of coffee and see some friends before 

getting to work. After visiting with a friend 

inside the barracks, he headed toward the 24th 

Marine Amphibious Unit Headquarters. Dalziel 

had walked about 200 yards from the barracks 

when a Mercedes truck housing 21,000 pounds 

of explosives went off in the headquarters of the 

U.S. 8th Marine Regiment’s 1st Battalion. Minutes 

later, another truck bomb took out the French 

barracks nearby. 

PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY: JOHN DALZIEL 

The catastrophes, claimed by Hezbollah, stole 

hundreds of lives. They resulted in the deaths of 

241 U.S. military personnel, 58 French military 

personnel, and six civilians. More than 100 others 

were injured. Of the 241 U.S. military personnel, 

220 were Marines, 18 were Navy sailors and three 

were Army soldiers. This harrowing tragedy was 

the highest death toll in Marine Corps history 

since World War II. 

Had Dalziel not left the barracks 10 minutes 

before, he would have been counted among the 

lost. 



PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY: JOHN DALZIEL – IMAGES L-R: 1 JOHN DALZIEL - USMC BOOTCAMP, 1981. 2 HIS FATHER, ROD DALZIEL - USMC. 

3 SITE OF BLT BOMBING - NEAR BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. 

“Everybody has that one defining moment. Beirut has 

been a pivot point for me on everything in my life,” 

Dalziel said. “The day we got blown up in Beirut was 

that defining moment that keeps coming around. 

It turned me into the man I became, the principles I 

adhere to. I just always keep coming back to the good 

and the bad.” 

Since that life-changing experience, some clarity 

emerged from the fog of devastation. From losing close 

friends and brothers in arms to dealing with the trauma 

it created for him and so many others, the bombings 

that caused so much pain also produced in Dalziel a 

resolute sense of purpose and commitment to serve 

and protect others from harm’s way. 

But for years, his commitment never seemed like 

adequate restitution. No matter how hard he worked, it 

didn’t heal the pain of losing so many comrades. 

A PIECE OF THE BARRACKS THAT HOUSED THE 1ST 

BATTALION 8TH MARINES THAT WAS BOMBED AT THE BEIRUT 

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON 23 OCT 1983 KILLING 241. 

“Why did I survive? Why did I walk out of the building 

10 minutes before it got blown up? Why did I survive 

when my friends and brothers in arms didn’t?” Dalziel 

said. “I just always kept coming back to Beirut.” 

DEALING WITH THE DEMONS 

From birth, Dalziel was taught Marine Corps morals. 

His father, Rod, was a former Marine and made sure his 

three boys and daughter knew life was about service. 

This prompted Dalziel and his two brothers to join the 

Marine Corps. 

“We volunteered, were in the Boy Scouts, did stuff for 

church—it was all about volunteering and giving back,” 

Dalziel said. “I come from a family of service.” 

While his family, friends and he have willingly risked 

everything for the good of their country, service often 

comes with a price. The trauma experienced after 

witnessing the horrors of violence, suffering, war 

and death often catapult many service members into 

struggles with survivor guilt and post-traumatic stress 

disorder (PTSD), two things Dalziel struggled with for 

years. 

“Prior to deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan, a part of 

me was like, ‘I hope I die there. I hope that I’m able 

to give the ultimate sacrifice to pay for the guys that 

died that Sunday morning,’” Dalziel said. “When I was 

struggling early on, I would lock myself up in a room 

because I didn’t want my wife and two boys to have to 

experience that. But at the end of the day, they still did 

because they were being shut off or I was being short. It 

caused more damage than if I would have just realized 

that it was an issue early on and just talked to them 

about it, but I didn’t.” 


PHOTO SUBMITTED BY: JOHN DALZIEL – BALA HISSAR FORT - AFGHANISTAN. 

The survivor guilt, immense stress, nightmares, 

flashbacks and pain experienced by Dalziel and other 

service members are not uncommon. In a 2017 study 

involving 5,826 U.S. veterans, 12.9 percent were 

diagnosed with PTSD. In another study done in 2014, 

87 percent of 3,157 U.S. veterans had been exposed to 

at least one potentially traumatizing event. 

PTSD is often paired with depression, putting PTSD 

sufferers at a higher risk of committing suicide. The 

Defense Suicide Prevention Office also states other 

risk factors, such as substance use, other mental health 

conditions, and relationship problems. 

According to the 2021 National Veteran Suicide 

Prevention Annual Report by the Office of Mental 

Health and Suicide Prevention, there was an average of 

17.2 veteran suicides per day in 2019. 

“I’ve had two really good friends who have committed 

suicide. One of my buddies committed suicide in 2017. 

He was in Army Special Forces, was a true American 

hero and had done multiple deployments. He had a wife 

and five kids, but he just couldn’t deal with the demons,” 

Dalziel said. “In 2021, one of my other close friends, 

Bruce Bennett, a former Marine, LA County Sheriff's 

Deputy and retired FBI Special Agent, took his own 

life.” 

Unable to fight their way out of the pain by themselves, 

highly trained service members often place more 

shame on their shoulders. Although PTSD is common 

among military service members, stigmas still prevent 

many sufferers from seeking help. Whether they’re 

worried they will be seen as “weak” or “crazy,” unable 

to perform regular tasks, or a danger to the very society 

they protected, the guilt, shame and affliction can be too 

hard for many to bear. 

After years of seeking help, Dalziel said that while 

he still gets occasional flashbacks, his PTSD and his 

management of it have improved greatly. 

“Every now and then I’ll have moments when you talk 

to somebody, you hear that song, or you get that smell 

in your nose,” Dalziel said, “but once a month we do 

hero workouts with a group of guys and gals who get 

together to talk about those who have paid the ultimate 

sacrifice. It’s helped me move forward because we’re 

keeping their spirit alive. You die twice; you die once 

when your body dies, and you die a second time when 

people quit talking about you.” 

To honor his friends and brothers in arms, Dalziel joined 

the Brady Oberg Legacy Foundation in 2017, as an 

ambassador for the mission, assisting in coordinating 

events and reaching out to veterans to show them 

they’re not alone. 

“I’m trying to do things to honor them and to get people 

to realize that there is help out there. It’s not a battle you 

have to fight for yourself.” 



PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY: JOHN DALZIEL – IMAGES L-R: 

1 FLAGPOLES WITH MEMORIAL. 2 MARINES AT THE MEMORIAL 

- US EMBASSY BEIRUT. 3 GENERAL MATTIS AND ALAT DALZIEL. 

While working with the FBI, Dalziel went overseas to 

Iraq and Afghanistan several times before setting foot 

on familiar soil yet again. 

In 2011, Dalziel willingly went back to Lebanon after 

being selected as the assistant legal attache at the U.S. 

Embassy in Beirut. 

NO MATTER THE COST 

After the devastation of the bombings, Dalziel’s 

purpose was clear: He needed to continue serving and 

protecting, no matter the cost. He went back to Beirut 

for the pull-out in 1984 before going to college to enter 

law enforcement. 

Dalziel worked for South Dakota’s Division of Criminal 

Investigation for 7 years before joining the FBI as a 

special agent. He was first assigned to the Chicago 

Division, and in late 1998 he was transferred to the 

Fargo Resident Agency. Besides working 18 months 

at FBI Headquarters and having several overseas 

deployments, Dalziel spent the majority of his 21 years 

in North Dakota. 

“When you tell people you’re in the FBI in North 

Dakota, their first question is, ‘There’s an FBI in North 

Dakota?’” he said. 

Dalziel worked on some high-profile cases during 

his time with the FBI, including the Dennis Gaede 

and Timothy Wicks case involving stolen identity and 

murder. 

“I went back to try to get some closure and retribution 

for what they, Hezbollah, did to the 241 of my brothers 

who died. I wanted closure,” Dalziel said. “On Oct. 23, 

2011, at 6:22 a.m., I was on the site of the bombing 

again. It was a surreal moment. You have a flashback 

to 1983, but it continues forward through time and how 

that single event has influenced those of us who have 

survived to protect, serve and keep going.” 

Dalziel was there for a year working with the Lebanese 

Internal Security Forces coordinating investigations of 

interest to both Lebanon and the U.S., but he also found 

time to complete another mission: convincing the U.S. 

ambassador to erect a Marine Corps flag right next to 

the American flag outside of the embassy. 

“I reached out to a few of my friends and put some 

money together to have the pole constructed,” Dalziel 

said. “Beirut is the only embassy in the world where 

the Marine Corps flag is flown 24 hours a day, 7 days 

a week.” 

Today, a memorial wall and the Marine Corps flag hang 

proudly in the U.S. Embassy in Beirut to pay tribute 

to the 241 marines who died in the 1983 bombing. 

Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general of the 

U.S. Central Command at the time, came to give the 

dedication. 

In 2016, Dalziel found himself in Beirut once more 


after being asked by the Marine 

Corps to be the guest speaker for 

the 241st Marine Corps Birthday 

Ball, the first ball since 1982, 

before the bombing. 

STANDING READY 

Like so many others and their 

families, Dalziel and his family 

have made immense sacrifices so 

he can follow his calling. He has 

missed out on special, everyday 

moments with his wife and two 

boys, his sons’ sporting events, 

family crises and celebrations in 

order to help ensure the safety 

and freedom of his family, friends, 

Americans and people worldwide. 

“The things we accomplished in 

Beirut, Iraq and Afghanistan are 

all a reflection of the total of the 

group effort. It’s all been for the 

purpose that without order there 

is chaos,” Dalziel said. “With what 

we’re doing with the Brady Oberg 

Legacy Foundation and veteran 

suicide—it all comes together 

through that one pivot point that 

Sunday morning in Beirut.” 

When asked what living the good 

life means to Dalziel, he simply 

stated a quote often attributed to 

George Orwell, Winston Churchill 

and Richard Grenier: “Men sleep 

peacefully in their beds at night 

because rough men stand ready to 

do violence on their behalf.” •

The Good Life – March-April 2022

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