GRAND FORKS – Some of David Jackson’s relatives in the South have a difficult time figuring out why he chose to stay in Grand Forks after retiring from the military service, he said.

Jackson, who served in the U.S. Air Force for 26 years, was born and raised not far from Fort Worth, Texas. He retired from active duty as a senior master sergeant at Grand Forks Air Force Base in 2017, and – along with his family – chose to make Grand Forks his home.

“Our relatives don’t understand it,” he said, “because they’ll see pictures of me in waist-high snow in the driveway. They say, ‘Why would you want to live somewhere where you need a special machine to clear snow off a driveway?’”

Jackson then has to explain the rationale for putting down roots in northeast North Dakota.

During his military c

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