By Lee Morris 

The old Methodist minister stopped Jodi Rae Ingstad to introduce his son to her.
“This is Jodi, the Blonde on the Prairie,” he said, referring to her weekly Valley City Times-Record column.
“I start reading her columns and I think, ‘What is this idiot talking about? Now this is stupid.’ And then I get to the end and I always learn something.”
From the pages of this newspaper, Ingstad’s words have amassed a global readership. In Louisiana, California, Afghanistan – they look at Barnes County through the window of her zany life stories. Like Ingstad herself, the tales are quirky and carry a message.
The 5-foot-3-inch blue-eyed 43-year-old, indeed blond, has released the first in what she says will be a series of books: “Life Is What Happens When You Dare to Leave Your Barn Door Open.” Mostly it’s a compilation of columns that have appeared on the Times-Record’s Community Page each Friday for the past five years. Her confident voice brims with humor.
The column’s success has brought Ingstad a nationally syndicated radio show and a healthy dose of local notoriety. Yet she says every time she sits down to write, she is still like a little girl filled with doubt.

For full story, see the 11/18/2009 edition of the Valley City Times-Record. 

To buy a ‘Blonde’ book ...
“The Blonde on the Prairie: Life Is What Happens When You Dare to Leave Your Barn Door Open” by Jodi Rae Ingstad, $14.95, is published by McCleery in Gwinner.
Proceeds from each book will go to causes fans can follow on Ingstad’s Web site, www.theblondeontheprairie.com, where the book can be bought.
The book is also for sale at MarketPlace Foods, Northwestern Industries and the Viking Room, all in Valley City.