North Dakota governor angry about National Geographic article: UPDATED

From this month's National Geographic Magazine:

Slope County just to the south has a little over 700 people and a county seat of 24, Amidon. The only other town, Marmarth, was once a railroad head of 1,300 and now has 126 souls. Patti Perry, the economic development officer of the community, has lived here all her life and is third generation. She sits in the town's bar and café and tries to explain. "The hardest part of living in a declining town," she offers, "is trying to figure out how to stop it. Things happen so slowly, you really don't notice at first—-five leave one year, then six the next—-and you wake up one day and wonder what happened here."

I've been to Marmath, which is located on US Route 12 a few miles east of the Montana border. Yes, it's a small town, but to me it seemed like a lot more than 126 people lived there. But clearly Marmath's best times are in the past. National Geographic mentioned that Marmath "was once a railroad head." Well, the picture I took shows the former train station of Marmath--not only has it been moved away from the railway, it clearly needs some serious fixing up.

The title of the article is "Emptied Prairie." Here is some more:

North Dakota is among the windiest states in the Union and one of the coldest south of Alaska. Twice the legislature has considered changing the name to simply Dakota to shake the chill from its image. The state's population has stabilized at around 600,000 thanks mainly to the growth around its cities—Fargo, Grand Forks, Mandan, and Bismarck. But out on the land, the population has relentlessly bled away. So there is money and prosperity and the numbing sense that comes from living in a vanishing world.

Does that make you want to move to North Dakota? Or invest there?

Enter the state's governor, John Hoeven.

From the Bismarck Tribune:

Earlier this week, Hoeven sent a letter to Geographic editor Chris Johns, saying the feature on rural North Dakota in the January issue was "way off the mark." The story and photo package, titled "The Emptied Prairie," focused on abandoned homes and a landscape where, author Charles Bowden wrote, "American assumptions about the land proved to be wrong."

In his letter, Hoeven encouraged Johns to revisit North Dakota and write about "the fact that North Dakota is a growing 21st century state with a bright future."

"What's interesting about it is North Dakotans have just said 'OK, enough of these stories, let's set the record straight this time instead of just lying back and taking it,'" Don Canton, a spokesman for Hoeven, said today. "The problem is, (the feature) lacked context."

The article caught the attention of ABC News. "World News Tonight" will air a piece about "Emptied Prairie," and the governor will give his side of the story.

Dakota: Beyond the Weather has more, including the complete text of Hoeven's letter.

As for the Peace Garden State, I highly recommend visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The Little Missouri River flows through it, just as it does in Marmath.

UPDATE 6:10 PM CST: I'm waiting for the ABC World News Tonight video to appear online, but the show's segment took the side of North Dakota over National Geographic, although anchorman Charlie Gibson, tounge in cheek I think, countered Gov. Hoeven's claim that North Dakota is a "warm" state.

The segment ended well for North Dakotans--the residents of the Peace Garden State were named this week's "Persons of the Week" by Gibson.

Thanks for the link: Say Anything

Also, Rob of that blog has his take on the National Geographic article here, with a graphic focusing on a topic I covered in my Kansas series, population drain on the Great Plains.

Related post:

My Kansas Kronikles: A 39 post series

Technorati tags: travel byways photography photos history North Dakota ABC News National Geographic John Hoeven