Support legislation that reflects ND values

February 18, 2023

Rev. Ellery Dykeman and Denise Dykeman First Lutheran Church, ELCA Rev. Kathy Hintz Senior Warden All Saints Episcopal Church The Rev. Kim Becker Northwest Regional Coordinator Episcopal Diocese of North Dakota Rev. Rachel Simonson Lutheran Campus Ministry, MSU Rev. Natasha Woitzel-Kolles and Jared Kolles ELCA Rev. Janet Mathistad ELCA (retired) All Minot Rev. Kim Gifford ELCA Burlington Stephanie Fournier Hope Lutheran Surrey Bishop Craig A. Schweitzer Western ND Synod-ELCA Bismarck The Right Rev. Thomas C. Ely, ...

Bill is more seatbelt harassment

February 18, 2023

Ross Hausfeld -, Minot This week our State Senate passed Bill 2362 — an expansion of mandatory seat belt coverage to all passengers of a motor vehicle and more pertinently, granting police power to initiate traffic stops solely for failure to comply. Currently in North Dakota it is law to wear your seat belt in the front seats but an officer may only ticket you incidentally in the course of a traffic stop for a different reason. Now of course with every discussion regarding this topic I have to preface my statements with this: I wear my safety belt and I do so all the time. I ...

ND authors oppose censorship

February 18, 2023

Taylor Brorbym Salt Lake City, Utah The following North Dakota authors, poets, and essayists join me in strong opposition to HB 1205, SB 2123, and SB 2360: Byron L. Dorgan, Heid E. Erdrich, Louise Erdrich, Melanie Hoffert, Martin Keller, Chuck Klosterman, Debra Marquart, Kathleen Norris, Jennie Shortridge, Sarah Vogel, Larry Watson, Clay S. Jenkinson, Lonna Whiting, Dr. Michael Yellow Bird. These bills are unconstitutional, will result in censorship, and violate the freedom of speech for all North Dakotans. They threaten public librarians with criminal charges and imprisonment for ...

Begging for change in WSI oversight

February 18, 2023

Kirsten Reile, West Fargo The purpose of this letter is to bring attention to a very broken system. My husband, Oak Reile, sustained a traumatic, life changing injury while doing his job in May of 2020. Our family is requesting an investigation into the operation of Workers Safety Insurance (WSI) of North Dakota, as the need for change to benefit the residents of our state is long overdue. North Dakota is one of a few states in the country that is monopolistic. This means that they bar the sale of worker’s compensation insurance by private insurers. North Dakota employers must ...

Legislature wants to relieve us

February 18, 2023

Dan Rice, Fargo The North Dakota Legislature is proposing and approving a trove of bills that could eventually lead to the elimination of these state and local government entities, among others: 1. The ND Board of Higher Education 2. The ND Department of Public Instruction 3. The ND Board of Social Work Examiners 4. The ND Board of Medicine 5. Your local school board 6. Your local city council 7. Your local county commission 8. Your local library board This legislature knows better than any of these ...

Use Legacy money to build real legacy

February 18, 2023

David Schwalbe, Bismarck North Dakota has a legacy of public enterprise to develop and ensure the future of our rural economies through wise nonpartisan investing. Our elected officials have become dangerously frugal, now relying on foreign and out of state corporate investors to mill our farm commodities and refine our natural resources. This frugality is costing the state and taxpayers billions in lost revenue. The Fufeng corn crushing plant near Grand Forks was one example of the disturbing trend of foreign countries taking over the US food supply. Stopping the plant’s ...