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Local government deserves some praise

It is easy to nitpick what your local government is doing when you live in a city the size of Minot. Yes, there is going to be some degree of nepotism. That is why the city pays a solicitor, and they will advise a city board member to recuse themselves from a vote if there is a conflict of interest. We have a theory the complaints you hear are from the vocal 7% to 10% of the population, who will find something to complain about no matter how well things are going. They do not represent the silent majority that is content. Ultimately, if you don’t like it, run for office. It just ...

School board in a no-win situation

It is a hard pill to swallow when an elementary school your child attends is part of a discussion to be closed. No amount of savings will feel good about having your child attend a new school that is not close to home. No amount of savings will help elevate the anxiety felt the first time you load your child onto the bus going to their new school. For the school board making the decisions, they are in a no-win situation. On the other hand, closing any school, much less an elementary school is never an easy vote for a school board member. Serving on a school board is difficult. There ...

Doggie DNA test surprisingly accurate

Before moving to Minot, my family and I had an English Springer Spaniel, named Sawyer. At the very beginning of COVID-19 in April 2020, he suddenly became very ill. We thought he had gotten into the garbage and eaten something that he should not have eaten. We were wrong. He had a very ...

Let’s hear NDDOT’s intersection options

When the North Dakota Department of Transportation proposed building a $25.8 million roundabout at an intersection south of Minot, many local people turned out for a public input meeting in the Max community hall more than two months ago to air their objections to the proposal. The roundabout idea was met with almost no support from the area residents. Input coming from the public is important to projects. People need to have their voices heard, and those in charge of proposed or planned projects need to listen to them. In the case of the roundabout, the N.D. Transportation ...

Out with old year, looking ahead to new

Minot and others in northwest and north central North Dakota are going into the new year enjoying some of the mildest weather occurring in many years. During the past days we’ve seen children and adults outdoors in the warmer temperatures, riding bikes and walking, dressed in lightweight clothing instead of being bundled up in heavy winter garb. It’s an unusual season of weather — so far. What will come next — in weather and other aspects of life in 2024? Sixty years ago, The Minot Daily News noted in an editorial: “What will happen in 1964? On the whole we are in a ...

Christmas: A special time of year

The setting for Christmas in North Dakota is quite different than the setting depicted in the traditional Nativity scene of the first Christmas. That setting is a half-open stable where the Christ Child’s birth took place, with Wise Men from the East arriving on camels and shepherds who were in the field watching their flock by night. Our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is the setting for groups of family members and/or friends attending church services, enjoying a dinner feast on the table at home and exchanging gifts among each other. In an unscientific poll conducted by The ...