Our Very Own North Dakota Poster Child

Almost three years ago and a recent college grad, I moved to New York City to work in the public relations industry. I had only been to Manhattan once before on a media tour for Miss USA 2006. Needless to say security guards, television appearances and big hair are not part of the daily grind in the city and I had no idea where to begin in planning my life there. In true Krueger family form the whole crew packed up for a ‘family vacation’ to the big apple to find me an apartment and help me to navigate the dreaded subway.

I use the term family vacation loosely. As it turns out, piling five Krueger’s together in one taxi is no vacation, especially when said taxi has no air conditioning… in June.

We did have a little fun amongst the arguing, uncomfortable heat and underlying tone of the weekend that dad clearly did not want me to move to this big, urban, concrete jungle. Here we are at a Yankees game… he even smiled!

I loved my time in New York and, on occasion, I find myself missing the city and the people I met there who made that chapter of my life so fulfilling; however, I know when I made the difficult decision to quit my public relations job and venture back to the Midwest, I was moving in the right direction.

As previously mentioned, my dad is an avid fan of North Dakota and bordering cities. In fact, we jokingly refer to him as the Poster Child for the state that we all, admittedly, adore. While we do love this part of the country, his enthusiasm trumps ours tenfold. Although he can appreciate an occasional trip to Florida and Arizona, only for a weekend and only to golf or enjoy Disney World. For the most part he loves nothing more than being in good old ND with those he cares about most.

After my first few years in the real world, I can see why my dad cherishes North Dakota, aside from the obvious reasons: family, friends and memories. He loves North Dakota for the quality and pace of life, for the economic security and for the feeling of community.

In the past month NBC affiliate Valley News Live and Womens Health Magazine reiterated what my North Dakota Poster Child father has been saying all along. I hate it when he is right.