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Good life is more than money

In one of Rob Port’s May writings, he indicated that former State Senator Roscoe Streyle was running for a seat in the legislature on the strength of a proposal to cut North Dakota property taxes by 50%. Having served on the Appropriations Committee, he was automatically seated on the interim Budget Committee. Besides that, his interest in money issues probably emanates from his banking experience. In recent years, the legislature has decided that the low tax burden in North Dakota wasn’t low enough. A 50% cut in property tax would put North Dakota on the street corner, hat in ...

Abortion needs resolution in Christian way

Abortion is practically none of my business except to observe that the rhetoric has escalated to a point that it has divided the country. But the whole thing has gotten out of hand. In Tennessee, they are arguing as to whether or not a 12-year-old girl, made pregnant by her father – the most hideous of sex crimes – should have an abortion. Well, in some states trigger laws are going to demand that she carry the pregnancy to term. This girl has one life and when she is 12 years old religious zealots are going to destroy that life by meddling in her right as a Christian to make ...

Exercise is good medicine for ND kids’ mental health

Today, more than ever, our children are struggling with their mental health. May was Mental Health Awareness Month, but the issue needs to be recognized all year long. We simply can’t ignore the problem any longer. Between the recent mass shooting events in New York, California and Texas coupled with the pandemic, leaders from federal agencies are sounding the alarm about a new phenomenon that they have deemed a “national youth mental health crisis.” COVID-19 alone has led to increased rates of depression, anxiety, substance abuse and suicidal ideation. Since April 2020, ...

Midnight rider’s place in history largely forgotten

"isten my children and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, on the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five…” These lines from the poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow are familiar to many of us. We learned about Paul Revere’s ride to warn the colonists that the British were coming. We also learned about the two lanterns in the steeple of the Old North Church, “one if by land and two if by sea,” to signal which of the two routes the British were taking. What many of us may not have learned about that famous ride is that Paul Revere ...

More complaining about taxes while awaiting refund

Even though he doesn’t stuff the envelopes, North Dakota Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus deserves credit for the efficient manner in which his department is serving the public. His turnaround time is just a matter of days while the Internal Revenue Service takes months. (If Commissioner Kroshus ever uses this compliment in a political campaign, I will deny that I ever said it – plead temporary insanity or something else believable.) For an agency that touches thousands of people, the Tax Department has been a well-managed unit of government for over 50 years. Among its ...

Heading down a dangerous path

North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer and a slew of other politicians and groups, quickly issued press releases after the Supreme Court Decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was officially announced on Friday. From Cramer’s release, “This ruling from the Supreme Court is a win for life and states’ rights. It is one of the most consequential decisions in my lifetime. In the last 50 years since the Roe v. Wade decision, millions of helpless babies have been murdered. Countless lives will now be saved and the fundamental principle of federalism is restored. This ...