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Letters to the Editor

Shutdown reinforces need for nest egg

Kevin Nelson, Minot My grandfather was born in 1883 and homesteaded near Makoti in 1912. In that era, farmers saved seed from the crop in order to plant the next year’s crop. Grandpa said that he always saved an extra bin so he could plant again if he had a crop failure.This may not have been a common practice, but having a “nest egg” to cover unforeseen events is a good idea. We never know when something unforeseen, and expensive, may occur and having something set aside to avoid having to borrow, or do without, is a good idea. The concept of a nest egg seems to be ...

Proud Americans, not terrorists, join rally

Jerry Ness, Nome After being told by House Speaker Mike Johnson that the crowd would consist of anti-American, Hamas supporting terrorists, we were filled with trepidation and concern. Our minds were filled with scenes of violence and debauchery. Maybe Central Avenue would be ablaze. Perhaps the bakery would be being looted by crazy people scooping up glazed doughnuts and long-johns. I had visions of farmers throwing soybeans at local law enforcement. Our hearts were filled with fear as we descended the hill past the Bubble. Imagine our surprise when we found a large, calm, and ...

Parks impacted by federal shutdown

Lillian Crook, Bismarck So here we are, November 2025. The National Parks in North Dakota are shut down, including Knife River Indian Villages and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the only national park in the United States named after a President, whose birthday was in October. No visitor center, no rangers, some restrooms, which we can only hope someone is stocking with toilet paper. 25% of the National Park Service staff have been fired since January 2025. Look it up. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been reading lots of stories about the grand opening of the Theodore ...

Ranchers right with beef checkoff fight

Steve Fallgatter, Driscoll It comes as no surprise that the constitutionality of North Dakota’s Beef Commission Act has landed in court. Ranchers who choose not to pay dues to the Stockmen’s Association have been advising the legislature for a decade or more about their dissatisfaction with the law’s preferential treatment of certain select groups, yet the legislature has ignored them. It would have been so easy to amend and correct the century code, yet here we are, to no one’s surprise. The first mistake out of the gate was to assign oversight and governance of the state ...

Total fealty to Trump ignores North Dakotans

Bob Ostmo, Wahpeton What in the world is wrong with our Congress? The house of representatives has been home collecting their salary for a month. My calls to representative Fedorchak’s office have been met with platitudes of how she values transparency and claims of how she is working for the people of North Dakota. What I see is total fealty to Donald Trump. Our soybean farmers have lost their market. Our rural hospitals are threatened by closure. Our taxpayers have been robbed to fund endless lawsuits by this president. Our universities have been deprived of research ...

Youth, businesses unite to honor veterans

Robyn Stoner, Minot The cadets of the Civil Air Patrol Magic City Composite Squadron have boots on the ground, hanging posters at Minot businesses to promote Wreaths Across America. As I’ve walked alongside them to offer a boost of confidence and clarification when needed, I’ve been deeply moved by the graciousness of our community’s small business owners. These young cadets entered shops nervous to speak and unsure of responses — and left with smiles, uplifted by the kindness of business owners who thanked them for stopping by. I’ve watched these kids grow in confidence ...