From family farms to family-owned diners, hardware stores, and insurance companies, there is a long tradition across the Northern Plains of passing on passion for a special line of work from one generation to the next. It turns out that the passion for the medical profession is no exception. While national surveys find fewer than half of today’s doctors would recommend the same path to a young person, we found many notable exceptions - and their physician offspring - in our region. In the first installment of a series, we explore these medical family bonds and the ways in which the profession is changing.