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Letters to the Editor

ND’s small hospitals rely on Medicaid payments

Per Ostmo, Grand Forks There are 37 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the state of North Dakota. The CAH designation is designed to reduce the financial vulnerability of rural hospitals and improve access to healthcare by keeping essential services in rural communities. It is not uncommon for small rural hospitals to operate on margins of less than 1%, and nearly 50% of rural hospitals across the country operate in the red. New research from Chartis, a research institution that specializes in rural health, examined the impact that Medicaid has on rural hospital finance. The key ...

Congress must reject cuts to SNAP

Aunnah Shaw, Minot As a prior SNAP recipient and current social work student, I support increased funding and ethical reform. I’ve submitted two formal letters to U.S. Senators outlining systemic failures in Ward County. I’m willing to speak directly as someone with lived experience and academic grounding. Statistics alone don’t reflect what families actually face — we need policy shaped by truth. I urge lawmakers to increase — not reduce — SNAP funding. Policy must reflect real-life complexity, not dehumanized or incomplete data. Cuts harm children, destabilize families, ...

Honor Flight welcome meant so much

Gene Bailey, Minot This letter is in response to the Honor Flight returning from Washington, D.C., on Monday, the 28th of April 2025. I was holding back tears of joy. What a special homecoming. I want to thank each and every one of you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for coming out – all of Minot, Minot AFB and I’m sure others. It meant so much. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Tariffs equal taxes

Ron Schmidt, Tolna Where is an economics professor when we need one? Anyone ever hear of the Law of Comparative Advantage? Bees don’t make honey without flowers. Flowers don’t grow without water. There is little water in the desert. Hello anybody!!! Econ 101. P.S. How much stock does Trump have in Wal-Mart?

Tariffs applied to penguins

Wayne F. Fisher, Dickinson Apparently, Trump is applying a 10 percent tariff on an Antarctica island which is only occupied by penguins. Desperately, the Penguin Prime Minister of this Antarctic island is swimming across the Atlantic Ocean to plead with Trump for a better deal. What do the penguins export to our country or import from our country? Should we assume Sen. Hoeven, Sen. Cramer, and Rep. Fedorchak agree with this tariff? Reporters from newspapers, TV networks and magazines should be at the White House recording and reporting on this public meeting. Was the Penguin PM ...

ND can’t afford boondoggle budget bill

Nicole Donaghy, Executive Director, ND Native Vote, Bismarck As a North Dakotan who cares about our rural communities, I’m concerned about the House’s recently passed tax and spending bill. Touted as a “big, beautiful” solution, this 1,100-page boondoggle is anything but. It’s a massive giveaway to the wealthy that threatens to rip vital support away from rural communities. While a few short-term tax breaks like an increased child tax credit or temporary tip tax relief may sound positive, they’re just window dressing on a bill that, in reality, threatens Medicaid, SNAP, ...