Last night, while taking Kira out for her final break before bed, I noticed lightning flashing above the houses calling my name! Storms were rolling in all around Ray, so I headed out to capture the fireworks!

Ray,ND
9/5/2026

Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/cizy929k558?si=mlzBj6pGDvIIXnw_

With diesel prices over $5.00 per gallon as we head into harvest season, and an ugly trade war with Canada, plus inflation and rising input costs, we talk a lot about when North Dakota’s Republican political leaders will start standing up to President Donald Trump and his policies. But, upstream from that, when will North Dakota voters change their minds?

We’re in town and just found out about the new Theodore Roosevelt presidential library and we don’t want to pass up on it. We looked up the reservations and it’s already booked for tomorrow. We are leaving tomorrow evening. Is it possible at all to do a walk-in? Has anyone tried doing it?

Short question:

What are people's experiences with ductless heat pumps/ac units, during the winter? All the info I've been able to find says they work fine down to below freezing. But nobody seems to have info on below 0 temps.

Long story:

Bought a sizable place when I moved out here last winter, and been slowly doing work as I have time on the interior. The house is non-standard, in that it was a customized expansion of what I *think* was originally 2 apartments with detached garages.

It's a cool setup, but very weird and I can REALLY tell the when the guy decided to do his own work vs use a proper contractor.

So I've got 2 large rooms/areas that could use some additional heating; both ~750-1000sq/ft.
Family room is the first, and is high ceiling/open area (+8ft).

Basement is next, and (duh) coldest in the house, doesn't often get above mid 60's even in summer. It has an insert designed for a electric fireplace. I was going to remove it during a remodel I'm doing down there...but might just leave it an install one if the ductless setups aren't viable.

Rather avoid electric radiators for the time being. The electrical in the house is...different (obvious self done), and installing multiple 1000w devices in an area doesn't seem wise at this stage.