I owe it to my wife and mom that I have developed an interest in ancestry. I’ve always wanted to trace my family tree, but thought I didn’t know enough about my family to learn anything of substance, but the women in my life convinced me otherwise, and I’ve recently been discovering interesting ancestors. It’s been doubly enjoyable because I’m a history nerd, and the stories behind several of my ancestors have alerted me to chapters of history that I previously knew nothing about. One such example is the story of the Ruddell family.

Troy Larson

Troy Larson is a father, author, and photographer originally from Minot, North Dakota, now residing in Fargo.

Despite a denial by Moorhead police Lt. Tory Jacobson in February, 2015, news coverage since that time suggests the murder of NDSU Student Tom Bearson is becoming a cold case. Although they continue to diligently work the case, Fargo-Moorhead police have exhausted many of their leads. Although the metro police solve murders and missing persons cases with impressive consistency, the news coverage reminded me that occasionally, they come up empty.

Troy Larson

Troy Larson is a father, author, and photographer originally from Minot, North Dakota, now residing in Fargo.

Did you know North Dakota is home to an ancient impact crater? Geologists, and many in the oil industry, have known about Red Wing Crater for decades, but I didn’t know anything about it until I searched “North Dakota impact craters” on a whim one day and discovered a fascinating story.

Troy Larson

Troy Larson is a father, author, and photographer originally from Minot, North Dakota, now residing in Fargo.

A few years ago, a controversy arose over a film clip from 1928. The clip is bonus material from the DVD release of Charlie Chaplin’s silent film The Circus, and comes from footage shot outside Grauman’s Chinese Theater during the 1928 premiere of the movie. Irish Filmmaker George Clarke found what he thought was a prochronism in the clip — a woman appeared to be talking on a cellphone at a time when cellphones could not exist. The internet exploded, with many theorizing the woman was a time traveler, talking into a cell-phone-like device, and others asking how that’s possible since there weren’t any cellphone towers in 1928.

Troy Larson

Troy Larson is a father, author, and photographer originally from Minot, North Dakota, now residing in Fargo.

The best science fiction movies make use of real life locations, carefully chosen for their architectural style, to emulate the future. A diverse array of styles have represented the future over the years, frequently determined by the story and the tone of the movie. Dystopian visions of the future are often populated with modern architecture — the buildings of Mexico City served this purpose for Total Recall, many of them perfectly constructed with lots of 90 degree angles and minimal decoration. Utopian science fiction has made frequent use of contemporary structures of metal and glass. Art deco, gothic, and any number of other styles frequently crop up, too.

Troy Larson

Troy Larson is a father, author, and photographer originally from Minot, North Dakota, now residing in Fargo.

On Saturday, March 28th, 2009, I went to take photos of the Red River in Fargo. We had been fighting the rising river for weeks by that time, and we were in the final stage of the flood fight, waiting for the crest, predicted to be 42 to 43 feet. If I remember correctly, the crest was predicted to come the following day, but it ended up cresting the same day I took these photos.

Today, I went out and duplicated a few shots for your “then and now” viewing pleasure.

Troy Larson

Troy Larson is a father, author, and photographer originally from Minot, North Dakota, now residing in Fargo.