Blog

Thomas is a taller-than-average 17-year-old with brown hair you rarely see because it is hidden under a baseball cap. He is friendly, calm, and a devoted Philadelphia Eagles fan. He is easy to like and has befriended nearly everyone on…

Cliff and Marilyn Kraft have lived their entire lives with their faces turned towards Christ and their hands and feet working for Him. The Ranch mission captured Cliff and Marilyn’s hearts when they learned about the ministry through a speaker…

Logan stormed out of the classroom, fists clenched, his face flushed with frustration. He paced back and forth down the hallway, his breathing fast and shallow, fists repeatedly flexing. Erin, a residential treatment specialist, quietly followed him into the hallway,…

“I’ve been having conversations with God since I was six or seven years old. Regardless of what was going on in my life, I had almost daily conversations. I was so rebellious, yet God was never far from me.” —Ora…

When Audra* arrived at the Ranch, she showed very little emotion, self-isolated from her classmates and other residents, and was slow to engage in therapy. Her emotional detachment and indifference, often called “The Shield of Indifference” by behavioral and mental…

Hannah Keller, a Correctional Officer at the Southwest Multi-County Correction Center in Dickinson, ND, is a much different person than the angry 13-year-old who arrived at the Ranch 11 years ago. “I had a lot of aggression that I had…

“Mental illness is no different than a broken heart or a broken arm. It’s an illness of an organ (the brain), and it requires medical treatment and care.” — Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, former president of the American Psychiatric Association “We…

When I came to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch over eleven years ago, I attended a new employee training conducted by a seasoned Ranch staffer. She told us new folks, “This is hard work. You can’t do it alone. You…

Faith’s parents divorced when she was young, and her stepfather, the man she called “Dad,” died of a heart attack when she was 10 years old. As she and her mom both grieved, their relationship deteriorated. “Me and my mom…

Dottie and Jackie Nelson’s generational link to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch begins with Ervin Schumacher, Dottie’s father and Jackie’s grandfather. “Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is like family,” Dottie said. “It’s just in the blood. My dad wrote his…

Roger and Sandy Ploeger, West Des Moines, IA, are both retired from paid work, but they haven’t stopped using their talents for good. In addition to their ongoing support of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, they volunteer for several charities…

When Joy Ryan and I visited Trinity Lutheran Church in Tolley, ND, the members of the congregation had many stories to tell. It is a longstanding part of our history that the first real Ranch location was the Butt farm…

Sitting down with Fred and Jean Baue is like attending a marriage retreat. They laugh together. They listen to each other. And their respect and love for each other come through loud and clear in their words and actions. Fred…

Although he humbly attributes most of his accomplishments to persistence rather than brainpower, Dr. Jim Knutson is a soft-spoken, kind man, with a big brain. After growing up in Minot, ND, Jim earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the…

Forty-eight years after his stay at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, Mark French still recalls the lessons he learned and the people who impacted him. “I was at a fork in the road,” Mark said. “What I learned at the…

Concerned about children leaving the Ranch without follow-up care and a lack of community services to prevent children from needing residential treatment, Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch founded Dakota Family Services (DFS) in 2005. It has evolved over the years,…

em•pa•thy (noun): The ability to sense other people’s emotions and imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling. Many Ranch kids come to us in “survival mode,” focused on keeping themselves safe and making it to the next day….

Every business has to pay attention to finances, even nonprofits like Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. While for-profit companies aim to generate returns for shareholders, our responsibility is to steward every dollar for the benefit of the people we serve and…

Children who experience trauma, which includes every child at the Ranch, are constantly in a state of hypervigilance. Their world has not been trustworthy or predictable. Most haven’t had adult role models who are consistent and dependable. They don’t know if…

Natalie is a survivor. Her dad is dead, and she’s lived through a string of other men in her mom’s life. Several of those men molested Natalie. Mom has tremendous addiction issues and loves Natalie deeply. Those two things are…

When a child begins treatment at the Ranch, everyone who works with them must clearly understand their unfiltered reality. That understanding allows us to respond with love, care, and awareness. For that reason, Ranchers receive an “intake introduction” for every…

My dad was a great reader. As a child, I didn’t know how precious that was. His formal education stopped after 8th grade, but he kept growing the breadth and depth of his knowledge his entire 89+ years. Not everything…

The world lost a really good man when Dr. Brent recently passed away. I know he is with his heavenly Father. I first met Brent when I was being interviewed for the role of CEO at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. It…

Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is expanding its Minot residential programs to meet the needs of younger children. The only residential treatment facility that serves younger children in North Dakota is closing its doors and the Ranch is stepping up…