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Letters to the Editor

Education savings accounts are bad idea

Jeffrey J. Ralph, Wahpeton North Dakota is one of very few states with no private school vouchers and no charter schools, and as a result, our public education system is among the best in the country. Despite this, private school voucher advocates try every legislative session to siphon public dollars from public education and send them to private schools. This session is no different. This session, lawmakers are touting “education savings accounts” as the hot new thing in education. But North Dakotans are smart, and we know if public funds are used to send kids to private ...

Bring Ten Commandments back into schools

Marlene Kouba, Regent HB 1145 is now in the Legislature and relates to the posting of the Ten Commandments in schools in North Dakota. I support that bill and encourage it be passed. When I first started teaching school, a copy of them was posted in each rural school and public schoolrooms. I never taught them as they were not in the curriculum but they were there for anybody to see. I still have a copy if anyone is interested. Some say it is against the law but what law? The First Amendment to the Constitution says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of ...

Family grateful for Trinity’s services

Cathy and Ken Haarstad, Minot We as a family are grateful. Very grateful. Our adult daughter with disabilities was hospitalized last summer after she fell ill with diabetes, pneumonia and staph infection. She spent weeks on a ventilator and required lung and other surgeries, an infection control specialist and respiratory, speech, physical therapy, skilled nursing and medical care at Trinity Hospital. She spent another two months at Trinity Nursing Home. Today her lungs are clear. Her blood sugar is well-controlled, and she no longer has a tracheostomy and feeding tube. She has her ...

Legislature failing on property taxes, school funding

Steve Moen, Minot After watching the smoke and mirrors dog and pony show in Bismarck it is obvious that the legislature has no intention of reforming the unfair property tax. No mention was made concerning the unfairness of this tax that severely burdens poor taxpayers while letting many rich taxpayers off the hook with little to no taxes. Nothing was said about the state totally funding K-12 education, which is mandated by the ND Constitution. If education isn’t funded by the Legislature all the legislators need to be charged with violating their oath of office and be fined, ...

Legislation creates roadblock to democratic process

Amy Jacobson, Executive Director, Prairie Action ND, Fargo The people of North Dakota deserve better than HCR 3003 – a proposal at the state legislature that would undermine our rights and our civic powers as citizens. This resolution, like last year’s Measure 2, is an attack on our ability to shape our future through citizen-initiated ballot measures. It’s designed to silence us by raising the voting approval threshold for constitutional amendments to 60%, making it far harder for everyday North Dakotans to be heard. Ballot initiatives serve as a vital tool for citizens to ...

Security oversight needed at missile silos

Dan Tyler, Stanley As an oilfield truck driver in the North Central region of North Dakota, I have witnessed recurring and concerning security issues involving airmen assigned to guard nuclear missile silos near Minot. These observations include airmen distracted by personal electronic devices for long periods of time, gear piled on dashboards to block direct sunlight but obstructing visibility, and, in some cases, airmen who appear to be asleep while on duty. Even more troubling is that during these lapses, service and launch hatches left open expose critical systems and ...