The COVIC-19 virus is sweeping through North Dakota like an 1880 prairie fire, disabling thousands and killing hundreds. While the virus is 20, 50, or 100 times as deadly as it was in March when we took to social distancing and masking, we have not escalated our protection commensurate to the ...

It’s something of a relief when the political season comes to an end, locally, statewide, and nationally. The campaigns last for months, and it’s easy to let yourself be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that is disseminated leading up election day. But the election results ...

For Democrats, this is a shot over the bow. Just because Joe Biden won the presidency doesn't mean a new wave of liberalism is sweeping through the country. It was a stand-off election with Republicans holding on to governorships and legislatures. Joe had no coattails for Democrats running ...

When the U.S. Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787, the delegates came thinking their job was to amendment the Articles of Confederation. When they begin to think about the problems with the Articles, they disregarded the convention call and set about building a stronger ...

The search for a new city manager will take a key step next week, with the three finalists in town for in-person interviews. The months-long search produced 50 applicants, and that list was reduced to semi-finalists by GovHR USA, the recruiting firm hired by the City. The city council met last ...

March 13, 2020, was the last day of "normal" for many North Dakotans. Within days we saw schools close, employees sent home, and changes to our most basic routines. As we learned terms like social distancing and PPE, we were slowly becoming aware of how our lives were being altered. We watched ...

COVID-19 is a pandemic, and a pandemic only ends when in combination with natural immunities, vaccines or effective treatments are developed, collectively leading to the threat being reduced. We cannot end the pandemic, but we can take steps to protect ourselves, our loved ones, as well as ...

At this stage of the political campaign, the minds have been made up and the voters speaking so we should be able to discuss the COVID19 without all of its usual political rhetoric. We have nothing to lose if we can be open and civil about the subject. The time is past when we should have had ...

The election of 2020 is over. It’s probably been over weeks ago but we had to go through the closing formalities. That being said, it seems safe to start talking about the concept of democracy without provoking the vitriolic partisanship that pervaded the election season. Without being ...

We need your help. Do you know someone who deserves to be recognized as our community’s Citizen of the Year? We bet you do, and we’d love to have you share their story with us. As part of the 2021 State of the City event, we’re seeking nominations for Minot’s Citizen of the Year. ...

America was founded on Christian principles,” it has been claimed. Very few dare contradict this claim because people think you have to be an atheist to doubt it. Being an inquiring soul believing in truth, I thought the claim needed examining so I put my 29-book document of Christian ...

FALL…it is my favorite time of year! I love the leaves’ changing colors, the crunching sound they make under my feet while outside enjoying the day. Football is FINALLY back on airwaves, and in some areas, our kids are back on the field. The air is cool, and the sweatshirts are back! ...

For a variety of reasons, Measure #1 doubling the size of the Board of Higher Education is a bad idea. Four management organizations say that eight-member boards are more effective, more efficient than 15-member boards. The North Dakota Board of Higher Education is presently the right size ...

It doesn’t seem like that long ago since the Minot City Council approved the 2020 budget, and, yet we’ve already approved the 2021 budget. And, like every year, we thank members of the public for being part of the process. We were happy to hear from members of the community, as the ...

As you may have recently heard, plans are continuing to move forward for a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center in Minot. This project traces its roots back to funding through the National Disaster Resilience Competition grant that was awarded to the City of Minot in 2016 by the US ...

Chairperson Ork Dorken hadn’t even rapped his Coke bottle on the table when Old Sievert burst into the community ZCBJ hall to join the town’s 13 other electors for a meeting of the Community Homeland Committee. Pulling his mask down below his chin, he cursed in a string of 4-letter words ...

Just days ago, our country learned of the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg is an iconic symbol in the ongoing fight for gender equality in our country. She started her legal career at a time when few women were in the field and excelled, through grit and ...

Proposing to double the size of the Board of Higher Education, Measure #1 threatens to burden the system more than help. This November 3 ballot measure has yet to be explained by its legislative sponsors so it’s merits are still a mystery. Playing in the background we have a 80-year gripe ...

We’re no strangers to natural disasters here in Minot. The details of the 2011 flood and other natural disasters and accidents in our community have been well-documented through the years. But so have the overwhelming examples of support our community has received in those times of ...

Measure No. 2 on the November ballot has been proposed by the Legislature to make the proposal and adoption of amendments to the state constitution so expensive that ordinary citizens will be ruled out of the process. At the present time, the constitution provides for citizen-inspired ...