Minot needs a city manager, but that can wait

July 9, 2020

Finding a new city manager can wait. City council must first draft and sign off on a strategic plan so they, any potential new city manager, and everyone else (that’s us) know what direction the city is going. The topic came up at this week’s city council meeting, and there was both positive discussion and disagreement. Council member Carrie Evans: “Part of the problem with not having a strategic plan is it allows for the tail to wag the dog. It allows for an individual to come into a position like a city manager position, and if there is a void – there is no mission, ...

Congress needs to save cash

July 8, 2020

It might not happen often, but then once is too often. Believe it or not, some merchants don’t accept cash. Go figure. The American greenback has been welcome around the world for decades because it is solid currency. Yet, in our own country – today – American money is not good enough for some in business. There oughta be a law. And there could be soon. A bipartisan bill introduced last week by our own Sen. Kevin Cramer and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ called the Payment Choice Act would see to that. According to Cramer’s office, the bill would “protect customers’ freedom ...

Makoti Threshing Show provides everyone a good time

July 7, 2020

COVID-19 has been terrible to the world, the United States and North Dakota in so many ways. People sick, lives lost – all of us hurting in some way or another, mostly for each other. Locally, some of our most cherished events such as the State Fair and Norsk Hostfest have been canceled. While that is far less a big deal than the suffering people have endured, this hurts too. Ahh, but this weekend another of our favorite draws promises to please crowds despite the pandemic. July 10-12 the Makoti Threshing Show will go on. The threshing show is usually held in September, which can ...

Other countries must help stop Iran from nuclear capabilities

July 6, 2020

While the rest of the world was preoccupied with other things this spring and summer, Iranian leaders — despite a severe COVID-19 epidemic in their own country, were busy creating another threat. Iran has continued to increase its stockpile of enriched uranium, needed to build the nuclear weapons for which the regime has been aiming. Such stockpiling violates agreements Tehran has with numerous other nations. International Atomic Energy Agency officials said a few weeks ago that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile increased by more than 50% during the height of the COVID-19 ...

Has government gone too far in keeping us safe?

July 3, 2020

This Independence Day weekend, we Americans celebrate and renew our commitment to the values set forth in 1776 by leaders who felt it was important to explain why our ancestors no longer wanted to live under British rule. Why? Read the preamble to the Declaration of Independence. It is a clear explanation of Americans’ insistence on the rights of individuals: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness ...” ...

Be careful around fireworks this weekend

July 1, 2020

Fireworks are part of the Fourth of July. They are more available than ever in most areas. And this year, for obvious reasons, even some people who did not buy and set off their own pyrotechnics in the past may be tempted to use them to blow off some steam. Just so no one blows off a couple of fingers or puts out an eye. Virtually all types of fireworks can be purchased and used by consumers, even if they have to cut a corner or two of the law. Because so many communities have canceled Independence Day pyrotechnics shows this year, it will be tempting for many people to stage their ...