For the first time in a decade, the Turtle Mountains area welcomed international college students for a tour hosted by the Minnesota chapter of the Fulbright Association. Mike Dorsher, Ph.D., outgoing president of the chapter, coordinated the event that included students from the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic, representing countries such as Cameroon, Germany, Iran, Mexico, and South Korea. The group of 21 attendees included Fulbright alumni, spouses, and professors, none of whom had visited this part of North Dakota or had farming backgrounds. 🌾🚜
The tour featured agricultural and climate change experiences, including a visit to Gene Siercks’s farm in Souris, where the students saw canola fields for the first time. They also took a kayaking tour of the North Dakota-Manitoba boundary waters and conducted water clarity readings at School Section Lake and Lake Eramosh, providing baseline data for future comparisons.
The group visited Bottineau, including Dakota College and Turtle Mountain Community College, where they discussed the formation of a North Dakota chapter of the Fulbright Association. They also attended a workshop at the International Peace Garden, bringing together peace studies professors from various universities. Highlights included a treasure hunt for sculptures, an organ performance at the Peace Chapel, and discussions on peace studies.
Dorsher’s tenure as president concluded with this tour, but he expressed optimism for future visits to the Turtle Mountains, citing the formation of the North Dakota Fulbright chapter. Dorsher, a former Fulbright scholar and professor emeritus of journalism, looks forward to the chapter’s growth and continued engagement with the area.
Original Story and Photo Credit: Semisch, M. (2024). Fulbright scholars visit Bottineau, Turtle Mountains. Bottineau Courant. https://www.bottineaunewspaper.com/online-edition