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State needs more transparency on spills

The harshest critics of the oil and gas boom in North Dakota often cite production or transportation spills as a prime objection. Many have gone so far as to imply malfeasance on the part of energy companies and state officials. The State of North Dakota isn’t doing a great job at allaying either conspiracy theories or legitimate environmental concerns. According to an Associated Press report this week, state officials acknowledged that a 2015 pipeline spill of gas liquids, or “condensate,” at a western North Dakota natural gas plant that was first reported as just 10 gallons ...

County sales tax extension may require considerable campaign

If indeed Ward County voters are presented with the question of extending the county’s half percent sales tax beyond 2022, proponents should be prepared for an informational campaign about the merits of the measure. Currently, the tax is set to sunset at the end of 2022. The county is working to place the question on the June, 2020 primary ballot. The county asserts the tax would need to continue until construction bonds are paid off, at least until 2026, although the commission didn’t set a specific time frame for the extension. By June, various factors are likely to influence ...

Parking ramp roofs were always going to be completed

Critical local taxpayers voice a variety of complaints about the city’s two downtown parking ramps. Some date back to the original concept or the development deal that followed. Other criticism is more recent. Besides the fact that completion of the project, which included residential development atop the garages and ground-level commercial space, stalled due to market forces and an ongoing legal dispute with the project developer over compliance with an agreement, those who have utilized the ramps have voiced other reasonable worries. Among those more recent complaints are that ...

New fire station likely a project public will support

Public sector development can draw a lot of fire in the Minot community these days. From the completion of two under-utilized parking ramps to a palpable resistance to the idea of a downtown public gathering space (at least in its current configuration), there is skepticism and plenty of cynicism to go along with that. Not that taxpayers dubious of public projects don’t have good reason to question expenditures of public dollars. They do. Many of those most dubious about public sector developments or investments can cite examples going back decades of missteps on the part of the ...

ND State Fair right to reject tobacco-free day

For now, at least, the ND State Fair Board is right to pass on the idea of a tobacco-free day during the State Fair. Tobacco-free advocates with Minot’s STAMP, the North Dakota Health Department and Bismarck tobacco prevention coalition had asked the board in July to designate the Family/Military Day at the 2020 State Fair as tobacco free. The board took it under advisement but ultimately decided such a policy would be too difficult to enforce. And it is. The number of smokers is too great for the limited number of law enforcement officials who are free to police smokers at the ...

Respect for authority starts at home, school

Last week’s shooting of six Philadelphia police officers in service of a warrant might have made a stir on cable news for one evening, but by now it is all but buried. The same will be true in the next day or so when the weekend carnage report from places like south Chicago and other major urban areas might garner a brief reference, but otherwise will be considered business as usual. What has become “typical” gun violence in major cities barely qualifies as news anymore, and it’s a shame. The recent mass shootings permitted politicians and commentators to do what they seem to ...