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Council, administration did keep word on budget

The budget approved by the Minot City Council, which includes a minor reduction in property taxes to be paid to the city, is welcome news. This budget follows two years of tax increases, including a sizable one last year from which some are still reeling and which continues to be the impetus for public disappointment with city officials. Tax increases aren’t the only cause of the unhappiness of some in the community with city leaders, with the other reasons having been communicated clearly to the council and administration directly and through both traditional and social media. ...

Dakota Memorial School remodel will pay dividends

It’s obvious that a lot of thought and innovation went into the remodel at the Dakota Memorial School at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch. The remodel process took place, cost some $250,000 – funded by grants and donors – so that all 58 students were welcomed to an updated facility when they returned to class last month. The upgrades include remodeling to address the specific learning needs of young people who might have experienced trauma or have other special needs. Comfort and a sense of security were keys to the planning and are important to these youngsters. These factors ...

Minot bar sure to be missed by patrons

The days when one could stop by “The Riv” for a cold one on the way home from work on a Friday are long gone. Now, too, is the former Riviera Lounge itself, which succumbed to the 2011 flood. The Riviera, The Riv, or whatever name patrons chose to call the popular bar had a great following in its day. Now it is but a pile of bricks – which friends of the bar are carting off as a reminder of the good times they had there. Chris Lindbo, who purchased the bar after the flood, had tried to save it but no buyers came forth. So he was handing out bricks last week while the building ...

There’s a lot on the line in ‘One Brand’ city strategy

This week, the Minot City Council approved a contract with Visit Minot that allows for the appropriation of $300,000 in MAGIC Fund money toward development of a One Brand marketing strategy for 2019-21. A committee selected Odney as consultant on the project. For the sake of the future of the current council and administration, it better produce positive results for Minot. The inherent strategy is reasonable. Instead of several organizations creating Minot marketing campaigns and virtually competing with one another, tourism development organizations are – on the surface – ...

Trudeau scandal illustrates double standard

How Canadian voters react to revelations about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is up to them, of course. But the episode is one more demonstration of the hypocrisy demonstrated by liberal politicians who are always eager to use “the race card” in criticizing conservatives. Trudeau cultivates an image of being the new face of liberalism. At 47, he is still young, and that fact alone has helped his popularity. It has taken something of a dive this week, however, with news that well into adulthood, Trudeau apparently did not understand the offense many people of color take at whites ...

Change in gathering space funding would be a hard sell

It isn’t as if Minot’s city council and administration have had many easy efforts to win over public support for their proposals in the past few years. Angered by taxes and what many see as failed projects such as the downtown parking ramps, or else seen as slow or unnecessary projects, the mood of the electorate is notably skeptical. Skeptical positions, at the least, of many in regard to a downtown gathering space are also not uncommon, either because of the entire project concept or because of execution to date by the city. Tuesday night, city council member Josh Wolsky ...