Free Republic

A new version of the Little House on the Prairie is in the works for television. Anonymous Content, Paramount Television, and Friendly Family Productions are developing a one-hour dramatic series adaptation of Little House on the Prairie based on the bestselling novels by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Anonymous Content and Paramount Television Studios will serve as co-studios on the project. Little House on the Prairie, based on Wilder’s novels, aired for nine seasons on NBC From September 1974 to May 1982. Starring Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert, Karen Grassle, and Melissa Sue Anderson, the historical Western drama revolved around a family living...

Once upon a time, prairie was the primary ecosystem in Indiana, but in the last 200 years, almost all of it has been plowed under for agriculture. Today, less than 1 percent of original, native prairie remains. The Nature Conservancy has been working to convert 7000 acres of row-crop farmland back into diverse prairie for the last 20 years. There are now over 750 species of plants and 250 species of butterflies on the newly restored chunk of prairie, called the Kankakee Sands Nature Preserve. Most of the native plants and insects were able to find their way back “home”...

A division of the American Library Association voted unanimously Saturday to strip Laura Ingalls Wilder's name from a major children's literature award over concerns about how the author referred to Native Americans and blacks. The Association for Library Service to Children says the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award will now be known as the Children's Literature Legacy Award. Wilder, who wrote the Little House book series, was the first recipient of the award, which was established in 1954 and intended to honor books published in the U.S. that have had a big impact on children's literature. The Little House series was...

America's long war on fossil fuels is destroying the famed American prairie. According to a report by the Organic Consumers Association, 95% of the 240 million acres of prairie land that once blanketed the middle of our country, from Texas to North Dakota, already is gone. Only isolated pockets of prairie tall grass, some 35 million acres set aside for soil and wildlife conservation, remain. And that — largely in the Great Plains — is at risk of being destroyed. Among the factors most responsible for this tragic loss of our prairie heritage is the federal renewable fuel standard, a...

For years, Naropa has battled some 150 persistent prairie dogs over 2.5 acres of prime real estate on its Nalanda campus. One side wants to build more classrooms, the other more tunnels. Davis recalled one of her professors asking, "I wonder what we'd do if we ever got termites?"

Falling in and out of Love/Amie by Pure Prairie League.

This is our heritage. This is what they want us to toss into the garbage.

LITTLE HOUSING CRISIS ON THE PRAIRIE. BY SUSAN SCHORN - - - - Laura and Mary got up early the next morning, for Pa was arranging the financing that day. They rode across the prairie in the covered wagon for a long time. Finally, they stopped. "Here is where our house will be!" Pa said. Laura and Mary hurried to look. All around them stretched the prairie. For miles and miles, there was only grass and prairie hens and wild creatures. "Where is the school?" Ma asked. "Where is the golf course?" Mary wondered. "Where will the tax base come...

Students said they won't attend the next school dance if a high school principal's plan to crack down on dirty dancing at school functions is enforced. Not only has Prairie High School Principal Jason Perrins canceled a winter dance, but he wants students to sign a contract and take a training class before they can go to future dances. But his plan is not sitting well with many students. Perrins said dirty dancing at school dances has been a problem for a few years now and the students have been warned, but he said at homecoming a few weeks ago...

TORONTO — The bearded imam in traditional robe is railing against pop-culture idols, warning Muslims to protect themselves from the evil influences of prime time. “‘American Idol,’ ‘Canadian Idol,’ I say all idols should be smashed,” Baber tells a small congregation sitting on the floor of a makeshift mosque. “‘Desperate Housewives’? Why should they be desperate when they’re only performing their natural womanly duties?” Rayyan, a gorgeous young woman in a headscarf, looks bemused then whispers to her mother “Hey, did you tape last night’s episode?” The scene is from the first episode of the CBC comedy “Little Mosque on...

Earth, wind & fire CHADRON (AP) -- A number of homes sustained damage Friday night as a wildfire burned across the south side of this Panhandle community. “I can’t tell you the amount, but it is clear it’s significant,” said Aaron Sanderford, a spokesman for Gov. Dave Heineman. There have been no reports of injuries, Sanderford said. Conditions deteriorated rapidly in this town of 5,600 on a day when as many as five wildfires, fueled by temperatures in the 100s and low humidity, charred portions of three counties in northwestern Nebraska. While the majority of the damage was sustained from...

WALNUT GROVE, Minn. - A 31-year-old woman was found dead in a Walnut Grove apartment when Redwood County sheriff's officers responded to an assault report yesterday afternoon. Authorities say the woman apparently had been beaten, but an autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death. The victim's name hasn't been released. A male suspect in the case was found hiding in a wooded area and is being held in Redwood County Jail pending a court appearance.

It's been a quiet week in St. Paul, Minnesota, our hometown. The mayor turned on his police lights to halt a fleeing citizen after a fender-bender. The Senate Tax Committee is turning everything to mush. Bodies so naked they don't even have skin are on display at the Science Museum of Minnesota. We welcome the world-class actors who will be cruising down Wabasha Street this evening for the opening of the movie version of "A Prairie Home Companion." This is a pretty big deal for St. Paul — not like the high school wrestling tournament, but pretty big all the...

Off for Thanksgiving week, back with an Earth Observatory three-fer. Click each picture for the article about it. On the nature side, I saw an owl on Saturday as twilight approached. Probably only the third live wild owl sighting of my lifetime. Number one: the Algodones dune field in California, which has starred in many Hollywood movies (not just Star Wars). I'm sure that the dune-walking sequence in "Kung Fu" was shot here, and many, many westerns. Number two: the Sand Hills of Nebraska. Sand Hills from the ground (I couldn't find a high-quality Sand Hills picture, but nature photographers...

Tallgrass Prairie Acres Purchased in Minnesota POLK COUNTY, Minnesota, August 1, 2002 (ENS) - Two conservation groups have teamed up to buy 450 acres of virgin tall grass prairie to protect habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. The parcel is part of a 1,080 acre tract purchased by The Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land (TPL). The project is the first phase of a 2,800 acre protection effort involving the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and private landowners. Located in northwest Minnesota in Polk County, the land will create...