Breaking News

Editorials

Sales tax revenue for gathering space should be a non-starter

Assuming that the City of Minot continues its effort to develop a gathering space in the downtown area as planned, the city council decision Monday night to change the desired location makes sense. By a 5-2 vote, the council decided to approach Trinity Health about acquiring its parking lot abutting Broadway, identified as Site 1. This came in the aftermath of long negotiations with property owners of parcels making up Site 2 (which a city poll revealed was more desirable than Site 1) were unsuccessful. Site 1 requires an agreement with only Trinity. The idea of continuing to ...

A new public health concern

A new public health scare has surfaced, and this one has nothing to do with e-cigarettes and vaping. Instead, it involves millions of people who take drugs to reduce the amount of acid in their digestive tracts. A very popular over-the-counter drug, Zantac, has been taken off the shelves by several big store chains, including CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens. Officials at those companies took the action after concern was expressed by federal health regulators. Some versions of Zantac, sold both over the counter and by prescription, contain a potentially hazardous contaminant, the U.S. ...

Congress should be able to focus on more than one thing at a time

Are leaders in Congress unable to walk and chew gum at the same time? That is, are they capable of multitasking on major issues? Some are speculating they are not. Recall that just a few weeks ago, in the wake of more mass murders, lawmakers vowed to debate steps to reduce the likelihood of such tragedies in the future. New limits on gun ownership, perhaps through “red flag” laws aimed at people deemed to be threats to public safety, were suggested. The White House weighed in, with President Trump suggesting such a discussion may be appropriate. Then came Ukrainegate, or ...

DEA has failed in effort to curb opioid epidemic

"We found that DEA was slow to respond to the significant increase in the use and diversion of opioids since 2000.” This week the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Justice released a summary of its look at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s pathetic response to the beginnings of a plague that affects virtually every part of the United States. A report from the inspector general concludes that DEA officials failed miserably in their mission to “enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bring to the criminal and civil ...

Changing gathering space site may be only way to save it

Tuesday’s technical review committee’s decision to recommend to the Minot City Council to move the planned downtown gathering space from its current proposed site to a different one might be the only way to save the project – assuming the council accepts the recommendation. The recommendation was to end negotiations with property owners in Site 2, located at First Street and First Avenue Southeast, and open negotiations with Trinity Health for Site 1, located along Broadway. Site 1 appeared to be the council’s top pick when discussions of a location first began for the ...

It’s time again for flu shots

What is the most serious respiratory illness threat facing Americans today? If you answered “e-cigarettes,” we commend you for keeping up with current events. But that is the wrong answer. The correct one is influenza. On average, about 8% of Americans contract the flu each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As many as 56,000 perish annually from flu or flu-like illnesses. There is no way to guarantee you will not get the flu — but there is a safeguard that will reduce the likelihood of that dramatically. It is getting an annual flu ...