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Letters to the Editor

Right to Read defends freedom

Janet Anderson Burlington Right to Read ND is a nonpartisan group of parents and citizens dedicated to defending North Dakotans’ right to access information freely and without discrimination. We believe in safeguarding the freedom to read and ensuring library and school collections reflect our communities’ diversity. We trust teachers and librarians to curate collections responsibly. For the past two months, we’ve fought against SB 2307, which threatens free speech, removes local control, and criminalizes teachers and librarians. Despite strong opposition from 150 North ...

Silence over hurtful actions speaks volumes

Catherine Benton Grand Forks I watched and listened closely to the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing for SCR 3013. As the hearing wrapped up, Senator Luick claimed not to know a single legislator with the intent to harm others. Yet, how can they ignore the pain caused by singling out an entire community? How can they justify sending a resolution to the highest court in the United States, declaring that same-sex marriages are such an abomination that the Supreme Court “got it wrong”? This resolution sends a clear message: the LGBTQIA+ community does not deserve the right to ...

Legislators are attacking public schools

Vicki Voldal Rosenau Valley City Our North Dakota public schools are under attack. The attackers are the pro-privatization legislators who are pushing for a radical change to our state’s educational system that will have dire consequences, especially for small and rural communities. Forcing all taxpayers to fund private and charter schools would drain public resources. Worse, it would drastically damage North Dakota’s small-town way-of-life, and likely force the closure of small public schools that serve as the hearts of our communities. Some privatization promoters are ...

Stop diverting tax dollars to private schools

Kaye Carlson Grand Forks Our public tax dollars should fund public education — not private and religious schools. Yet, some North Dakota legislators continue pushing unconstitutional voucher schemes and Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) under the misleading banner of “School Choice.” These efforts threaten to strip funding from our already underfunded public schools, which currently educate 90% of our children. Charter schools have a high failure rate, and private schools lack the accountability and oversight required of public institutions. Diverting taxpayer money to elite ...

Congress must safeguard democracy

Board of the Red River Valley League of Women Voters Randilyn Dombek, president, Board of the Red River Valley League of Women Voters, West F; Denise A. Dykeman, president, Board of Plum Valley LWV, Minot; Kim Lee, president, Board of Bismarck-Mandan LWV, Bismarck; Barb Headrick, president, Board of League of Women Voters of North Dakota, Fargo. On the 105th anniversary of its founding, February 14, the League of Women Voters sent a letter to Congressional leadership regarding the state of our democracy, signed by every state chapter and the national board. The League of Women Voters ...

Let’s opt out of Daylight Saving Time

Shirley Starke, Valley City How wonderful that North Dakota might get rid of Daylight Saving Time! The unseasonably warm weather we’ve had since February might be pleasant, but it forebodes a miserable and even deadly hot summer. Arizona got rid of its extra hour of heat in 1968, and its people are very, very happy with their choice. Because we are so far north, our afternoons are much longer than Arizona’s, so we have even more reason not to add another hour. We don’t see cool evenings until nearly ten at night. Daylight Saving Time was created to save energy, but now that ...