On this date in 1889, North Dakota officially became a state.  One of its major historical accomplishments since then was being the state in which I was born.  For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure, it’s a beautiful, if stark, place, with miles and miles of miles and miles.  If you’re looking for a place where there’s elbow room, you could do a lot worse than my home state.

Over at IMAO, they have an article named “Fun Facts About North Dakota”.  Here’s my favorite:

Bismark, North Dakota features a statue of Lewis & Clark’s Indian guide Sacagewea. She’s depicted gazing westward toward the country she helped open, while the baby strapped to her back is shown giving the finger eastward to the country that forced his mom to live on a reservation.

So let’s raise a toast with our frosty Hamms beer (From the land of sky blue waters), and toast my favorite state, North Dakota.