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Good news and bad for ND in seatbelt study

Congratulation North Dakota drivers. It seems we are getting better about buckling up. The bad news is we still rank near the bottom among all 50 states when it comes to using seatbelts. According to a study done by QuoteWizard, a lendingtree company, North Dakota ranked #1 for the highest increase in seatbelt useage, a 139% gain from 2000 to 2017. Despite North Dakota showing the largest increase in seat belt usage, it also has the 7th lowest seat belt useage rate in the country, 49.5 percent. So, we were terrible, we are getting better but we still have work to do. Researchers ...

Gun violence is no joking matter

An Oregon man is lucky his idea of testing the Second Amendment did not result in his death. Another man, in Ohio, may be about to learn amassing an arsenal, then talking about mass shootings, isn’t funny at all. What on Earth is wrong with these people and, sad to say, what appears to be a number of other Americans like them? Last week, in the wake of mass murders in Texas and Ohio, 20-year-old Dmitriy N. Andreychenko left his home in Oregon, drove to Missouri, and walked into a Walmart store carrying a rifle and another gun, and protected by body armor. While terrified ...

Law enforcement drone use possibly a slippery slope

This week the North Dakota Highway Patrol was granted a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate drones/Unmanned Aircraft Systems over people. The NDHP is the first highway patrol agency in the nation to be granted this waiver, which was approved for four years. The highway patrol has a solid case for the benefits the use of drones will provide. It will allow more efficient inspection and analysis of accident scenes. Drone use would also be useful for search and rescue operations and locating missing persons or fleeing suspects. Given North Dakota’s wide open ...

Hopefully City Hall isn’t kicking can down the road on gathering space

The decision by the Minot City Council to effectively continue pursuing the current plan for the site location for the gathering space, only extending the deadline to acquire property to the end of September, would seem to indicate that the City and property owners must be close to agreements. In choosing to maintain the course, the council rejected two other options: seeking to renegotiate with HUD to re-categorize the project to allow greater flexibility; or seeking an amendment to the HUD agreement to allow for a smaller project. The challenge of pursuing the current plan is ...

Good neighbors look after one another

A comment about hate crime that is both disturbing and in a way encouraging was made a few days ago by a woman who apparently was a victim of it. Police in Sterling, Ohio, are investigating an explosion that reduced a home to rubble. Fortunately, no one was injured — because no one was home when the blast occurred early Wednesday. The homeowners were staying elsewhere while repairs were being made at the home. Hate crime is suspected in part because racial slurs and a swastika were found painted on the home’s garage and other nearby property. The house normally is occupied by ...

The news is more than just sex trafficking and shootings

If all you remember about the news of last week is mass shootings, an alleged sex trafficker dying in jail and some nervous days on Wall Street, well, you missed out. Several local news items we reported last week bear repeating, with some congratulations extended to the individuals involved. As we reported, Jadyn Sandy from Velva High School received national recognition at the FBLA Awards of Excellence Program on July 2. Sandy competed in Business Plan and brought home eighth place. Sandy’s business, Star City Candle Co. LLC, designed and manufactured beeswax candles that are all ...