Year in Review: Relive Bismarck-Mandan’s Top Local Stories of 2014

For the seventh year running, a mechanical engineering student out of NDSU organized an impressive Christmas light show at his Bismarck home. In 2014, the show featured a 13-minute show set to a variety of songs, and over 30,000 lights (7,000 more than 2013).

By far one of the most controversial posts of the year, Devils Lake High School came under fire for banning girls wearing tight pants and the questionable decision to illustrate the point by showing clips from 'Pretty Woman', where the main character is a prostitute.

Predictably, the backlash was strong. The situation even gained national attention, with outlets like Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, and others picking up the story.

One of the best things to do around the holidays is pile the family into the car and drive around town to see all the Christmas lights. We were able to get our hands on a map of some of the best around Bismarck-Mandan, and the response was incredible!

Anyone who resides in Bismarck-Mandan knows there are a ton of great things about living here. But what exactly are they? This video perfectly sums it up.

Bismarck is rapidly growing bringing in lots of new restaurants and hot spots to hang out and grab a bite to eat. Back in July, a number of Bismarck restaurants made a national list featuring must-visit eateries in each capital city.

Just when you thought Bismarck couldn’t get any bigger, a family of new residents decided to pick an unconventional area in town as their home back in May.

For the 16th year in a row, the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train steamed across the country to raise awareness for a great cause.

The train rolled through North Dakota, visiting Hankinson, Enderlin, Carrington, Harvey, Minot and Kenmare and offered free concerts from Home Free and Kira Isabella, as well as seasonal festivities from a brightly lit boxcar-turned-stage.

Those of us in North Dakota have a hidden secret from the rest of the nation – this is a great place to live.

Although this post is from 2013, it really struck a chord with our audience again this year. While there are many things that are great about living in North Dakota, we narrowed it down to 10.

Ever wonder what North Dakota looks like from space? Wonder no more.

Back in June, Barack Obama became the first sitting president to visit an Indian reservation since 1999, when he made an appearance on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation for its annual Flag Day celebration.

In this post, several members of the tribe shared their thoughts about the historic visit.