After one week in first grade, my daughter came home with a conclusion about life: “Life is hard and then you die.” She had homework. Fast forward that through job losses, divorces, chronic ailments and famiy tragedies for 60 years and we are on the cusp of old age. She was right. We have ...
It’s time for some spring cleaning - literally and figuratively. First, the easy parts. The City of Minot’s annual spring clean up week is fast approaching. The 2021 event is scheduled for May 3-7, with the household hazardous waste collection event to be held on May 7-8 at the Public ...
Just over a year ago the COVID-19 global health pandemic began the public health and economic crisis that infected almost 30 million people in the U. S. alone and took over 540,000 American lives. In North Dakota over 100,000 of our just 762,062 population were infected and 1466 fellow North ...
ust when the legislature was ready to break open the $8 billion Legacy Fund egg, an organization called WalletHub came out with a study that demeaned North Dakota’s ability to innovate, perhaps suggesting that we weren’t a very good opportunity for major venture capital investment after ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed daily life. North Dakotans continue to work toward herd immunity, a phase when more than 85% of residents become immune through exposure to the virus or immunization. Vaccinations provide a safe and effective solution to reach herd immunity ...
This past week, oil and gas industry leaders, government officials, and other leaders in the energy world from North Dakota to Saudi Arabia gathered virtually for the annual CERAWeek conference. For years, industry representatives have gathered to tout their achievements and voluntary ‘green ...
It’s been just over a year since the first positive coronavirus test was reported in Ward County. We’ve come a long way in the past 12 months, and we’ve learned a great deal about dealing with COVID-19 and its effects. We’ve learned that COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate, and it ...
In assuming my role as interim president of the former Minot Area Development Corporation and now in serving as the president of the newly formed Minot Area Chamber EDC, it is clear we have an opportunity in front of us that can be a game-changer for our state and region. In October 2020, we ...
It seems immoral to have North Dakotans selling their lives for $7.25 an hour. It wouldn’t even be that high if the federal government didn’t set the minimum wage at $7.25. The Legislature passed up the opportunity to start rolling the minimum wage up to $15 an hour by 2027. The ...
What is happening in women’s sports right now is a perfect example of why it’s important for citizens to speak out on sociocultural issues. Too many have acquiesced to the immense social pressure to either affirm or stay silent on the issue of transgenderism because they don’t want to be ...
I meant to write this several months ago, but a late hand clap is better than none at all. I want to thank you for your leadership at the Minot Police Department since you became chief more than a year ago. Particularly your comments on two very important public health and safety issues last ...
It was a Thursday, the day for my 5-percent senior citizen discount at Marketplace Foods. As I filled my cart, my mind wandered to a favorite subject — politics. Huh? Yup, there it is again. That ever-pervasive subject that keeps trying to permeate our everyday lives. But at the risk of ...
As a reformed authoritarian, I have become more aware of women and women’s rights. It’s like being “saved” a second time because you are consumed with guilt over the mistreatment of women in your past. As a rationalization, I must point out that many of us were raised in authoritarian ...
Would he agree to quit publishing those six books that his foundation, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, has nixed? Would he re-release them in an edited form, deleting or changing the offensive pages and illustrations? Or would Theodor Geisel be mad as hell that the foundation was messing with his ...
When Minot was awarded $74.3 million as part of the Housing and Urban Development National Disaster Resilience competition, one of the projects in the city’s action plan was relocating Central Dispatch and City Hall away from a potential flood zone and into an existing building in downtown ...
Socialism really took a beating during the recent campaign when the word was used to condemn every public work except the space program. That wasn’t on earth so it didn’t count. People who didn’t have a clue of the real meaning of socialism were scampering across the prairie like ...
Though it passed the North Dakota Senate 43-3, here’s hoping the House gives SR 2271 —I call it the Secret Election Act — the visible death it deserves. This under-the-radar bill attempts to maintain the integrity of the Electoral College for presidential elections. However you feel ...
Coming from a small town family, the day came when I thought my city-raised son ought to experience the macho sport of shooting gophers. So one sunny day I got out my trusty J.C.Higgins shotgun and announced that we would reduce the number of predators in the land. He responded with a ...
The North Dakota House this week passed, by a narrow margin, a bill prohibiting state and local governments from enacting facemask mandates. Big mistake. Minot Rep. Jeff Hoverson said the bill prevents ”unelected, wealthy bureaucrats who are robbing our freedoms and perpetuating lies” ...
The big question on everyone’s mind is when will things get back to normal and what exactly will that mean? No one has a crystal ball, but as a practicing physician and a health care administrator, I foresee North Dakota taking a big step toward normalcy once we’ve built a herd immunity. ...