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There’s still plenty to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day has long been the traditional day when families and friends gather for dinner and a time to give thanks. But this year’s Thanksgiving Day here in our local area, state and across the nation will be different as people are being advised not to gather in large groups for that big dinner with all the trimmings but just with a small number of immediate family members at home. Restaurants and other places have altered their plans to still offer ways for people to enjoy the day with a meal. Some traditional events have been canceled due to the pandemic including the ...

Welcome new Minot city manager Harold Stewart

It’s official. Minot has a new city manager. Harold Stewart was hired as city manager when the council met at a special meeting on Friday. He’ll begin work on Dec. 28. “My family and I are excited about the opportunity. We are grateful for the confidence of the council and community to give me the opportunity and I look forward to being there,” Stewart said via a phone connection. Following a selection process, Stewart was one of three finalists for Minot’s city manager position. Currently, city manager for Warrensburg, Missouri, a city with a population of 20,168 ...

Shutdowns are a last resort

With the coronavirus coming back strong, a number of governors have already ordered new — or rather, renewed — steps to combat the disease. Most are reluctant to mandate widespread business closings, however. There are very good reasons for that. Our economy may not be able to withstand another blow like that earlier this year. A truly impressive comeback has occurred. At last report, the U.S. unemployment rate had decreased to 6.9%. That is a remarkable demonstration of the economy’s basic strength. Numbers can be deceivingly comforting, however. That 6.9% in reality means ...

Winter will arrive soon enough

Our winter certainly hasn’t acted like it yet. Every day with no snow drifts or sub-zero temperatures is a bonus at this time of year. There’s been numerous years when winter arrived in October, even early October, which effectively added several more weeks to the coldest season of the year. We’ve had years when freezing rain and snow came early and it resulted in roadways, especially rural gravel roads, being precariously icy until relief came from warming spring temperatures. There’s been winters when city streets have become so choked with snow that they were reduced to ...

National security is above politics

American presidents need to hit the ground running, especially when it comes to national security. We have too many enemies in the world to let our guard down for even a few hours. President Donald Trump continues to challenge results of the Nov. 3 election through court challenges. That is both his right and entirely understandable. It does not appear that the president’s attorneys will be able to prevail to the extent needed to mount a successful challenge to the election. Unless something entirely unforeseen by anyone occurs, Joe Biden will become president on Jan. 20. Trump ...

Nursing homes need even more attention

Thankfully, we have learned — at the cost of tens of thousands of possibly preventable deaths — that COVID-19 finds nursing homes to be good hunting grounds. At one time earlier in the epidemic, more than half the nation’s deaths from the disease in many state were among residents of long-term care facilities. Extraordinary steps taken to protect nursing home residents have paid off. By Saturday, a total of 245,495 Americans had perished from COVID-19. More than one-fourth of them were in nursing homes. That certainly is better than the rate last spring — but it is not ...