A resource for residents of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota who have lost a loved one to the coronavirus. The Virtual Family Assistance Center for Minnesota and the Dakotas offers information and resources that we hope will help you during this time.
Despite challenges, parents still focusing on the gifts of this time in life 8:00 am, Feb. 16, 2021 ×
Justin and Taylor King welcomed daughter Sydney in August 2020. Photo courtesy of J Lynn Photography
Becoming a parent for the first time is stressful. You don’t know what you’re doing, you’re sleep deprived and terrified that you’ll somehow make a grave mistake while trying to figure out how to keep your new little baby safe and happy and fed.
Now imagine becoming a parent for the first time during a global pandemic.
For some local parents, the experience has proven challenging in a number of ways, but they are doing what they can to take it all in stride and just deal with the issues the pandemic and being first-time parents throw at them.
ND Children’s Cabinet to meet Feb. 16 in Bismarck and by teleconference
SPECIAL TO DEVILS LAKE JOURNAL
DEVILS LAKE . – The North Dakota Children’s Cabinet will meet on Tuesday, Feb. 16, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CT, at APT Solutions, 2900 E. Broadway Ave., in Bismarck. Due to COVID-19, cloth face masks are required for meeting attendees. Social distancing and other health and safety practices will also be followed. The public can also join the meeting by calling 701-328-0950, conference ID: 318 338 032#.
The agenda includes an update from Lisa Bjergaard, director of the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Division of Juvenile Services, on the recently formed Juvenile Justice Commission, which is gathering information on various child welfare issues.
By Doug Barrett
Feb 7, 2021 12:28 PM
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell to 779,000 last week. That’s the lowest in two months but still a historically high total that shows that a sizable number of people continue to lose jobs to the viral pandemic. Before the virus erupted in the United States in March, weekly applications for jobless aid had never topped 700,000, even during the Great Recession.
The services sector, where most Americans work, operated in January at the highest level in almost two years. The Institute for Supply Management reports that activity in the services sector climbed to a reading of 58.7% in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, up a full percentage point from the December reading of 57.7%. The January performance represented the eighth straight month of growth after sharp declines last spring when the economy was leveled by a global pandemic.