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Don't Be Hating on North Dakota, Fool!

National Geographic in for a world of hurt after dismissive article

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 15, 2008 1:27 PM CST

(Newser) National Geographic is under fire for an article perceived as (gasp!) anti-North Dakota. Headlined "The Emptied Prairie," the piece refers to the state's "irreversible decline" and  "sense of things ebbing." No less a personage than North Dakota's governor, John Hoeven, has lambasted it as shoddy journalism, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

In the magazine's January issue, wistful photos of decaying barns accompany commentary on the slow fading away of the state's communities. But North Dakotans say their home is prospering, and run-down farmhouses are old news. "Pick any state, find an abandoned building or house or a car sitting in a field, take a picture and say that represents the state—come on," gripes Hoeven.

North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven  delivers his budget address, before members of the Legislature, at the Capitol in Bismarck, N.D., Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006. Hoeven wrote to National Geographic's editor in chief yesterday, criticizing an article about the state in the magazine's January issue. (AP Photo/Will Kincaid)
North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven delivers his budget address, before members of the Legislature, at the Capitol in Bismarck, N.D., Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006. Hoeven wrote to National Geographic's editor in...   (Associated Press)
A prairie dog pokes his head out of a burrow along the Lewis and Clark Trail in North Dakota, in July 2002. North Dakotans, possibly including prairie dogs, have a beef with National Geographic magazine.
A prairie dog pokes his head out of a burrow along the Lewis and Clark Trail in North Dakota, in July 2002. North Dakotans, possibly including prairie dogs, have a beef with National Geographic magazine.   (KRT Photos)
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