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Letters to the Editor

Security oversight needed at missile silos

Dan Tyler, Stanley As an oilfield truck driver in the North Central region of North Dakota, I have witnessed recurring and concerning security issues involving airmen assigned to guard nuclear missile silos near Minot. These observations include airmen distracted by personal electronic devices for long periods of time, gear piled on dashboards to block direct sunlight but obstructing visibility, and, in some cases, airmen who appear to be asleep while on duty. Even more troubling is that during these lapses, service and launch hatches left open expose critical systems and ...

Hear constituents or let them vote

Vicki Voldal Rosenau, Valley City The scheming in Bismarck to spend public money for private-school tuition should have ground to a halt on Jan. 6. That’s when the release of a new statewide poll confirmed what many folks already knew: By an overwhelming majority, the people of North Dakota do not want their tax dollars paying for private-school vouchers. North Dakota United sponsored the DMS Research poll, which surveyed 600 North Dakota voters and showed 68 percent opposing the idea. Moreover, the polling showed 67 percent of voters do support increased state funding for ...

Curbing emissions offers benefits

M L Berg, Minot In the middle of 2024, Senator Hoeven spoke out against ‘radical environmentalism.’ Earlier that year, former Governor Burgum, in a televised interview in connection with a conference, referred to the topic of climate change, as, in effect, a fad. We know climate change is, in fact, not a fad, but a function of physical and chemical processes in nature intensified by the release of tremendous volumes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere due to human activity. As for Senator Hoeven’s ‘radical environmentalism,’ it should be remembered that there was ...

DoD nominee lacks qualifications

Bob McNamara, Upham To be honest I don’t believe our senators, nor most of the others, really care about the defense department. They care far more about the money the DoD brings into ND via two significant air bases and other units than they do the military itself. I’d also say senators love to tell you how they have such a solemn duty to advise and consent; mostly when the opposite party is nominating. When it is their party they more often tend to just nod their head for nominations. There is now a great opportunity for our senators to show themselves. Pete Hegseth has been ...

Resident shares fond memories

Cherie (Lyson) Mergel, Minot I would like to thank everyone who has put pictures of the Christmas house (from years ago) with comments on Facebook. I do not have Facebook but a lot of my friends do and they show me. I have many fond memories of that place as I grew up in it and I am presently living there now. My cousin comes over and puts decorations up every year. I hope to have it decorated as long as I live here. My Dad (Lloyd Lyson) started decorating this house in 1952. We had moved up from a basement to the house. He did it for 50 years. There was 2 years that he never ...

Couple contributed to ‘magic’ of Minot

Duane Brekke, Minot I am frequently asked how Minot got the name “The Magic City.” I feel a big part of that came from our service clubs. Many of these service clubs had couples and singles who gave many hours of volunteer time to the club of their choice. Just recently we lost a wife of a Minot couple who were Sertoma volunteers for years. Kay and Dale Mattern were caring volunteers for the Sertoma and La Sertoma Oak Park “Christmas Lights” drive-through. They took their jobs seriously and greeted each car with a genuine smile and necessary information, or just friendly ...