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Letters to the Editor

Property taxes are great scam

Troy Johnson, Williston Well it’s that time of year again,  when we find out how much we owe renting our property from the county and the school. I worked 30 years to pay off my property, now once it’s finally paid off, is really, truly when you find out that you never own it. It’s the great scam that was brainwashed into us all these years. When your property is paid off.that should be it. BUT the county says you owe them for living here. Funny thing too — it never goes down. Notice on your taxes over 50 percent goes to the schools. The state has a school land trust ...

Parrhesia as a remedy for cancel culture

Andrew Allis, Granville I propose the use of parrhesia in 2023 as the remedy for cancel culture and the twin sins of apathy and cowardice that are proving the death knell of these United States and Western Civilization at large. Parrhesia is a Greek term for a type of speech that entails speaking freely, candidly, and clearly, not in any way veiling what the speaker is thinking and believes. This is direct and bold speech, specifically stated in the face of danger and for the common good, even at the risk of personal harm.  Thus parrhesia presupposes courage and the ...

Trump, abortion are what went wrong for conservatives

Dan Reinhard, Minot I know that the New Year lies ahead, that there are promises of a better day –yours for the asking. I am not certain about that however. We have been through Midterm elections where conservatives around the country wondered what went wrong –where was the Red Wave? The answers are simple. First of all, Donald Trump lost his bid to continue as President in the 2020 General Election. Do American voters remember when Trump attacked an insignificant TV network couple, Joe and Mika, regarding  their commentary opinions?  He did that as the ...

Opiate overdose awareness needed

Georgia R. Krein, Burlington I work with opiate abuse disorder clients. The number of fatal and non-fatal opiate overdoses in Minot and the surrounding area is phenomenal. There are many organizations working on opiate awareness, yet I feel overdoses are minimized or ignored in the news. I appreciate reading an obituary where the family has identified the lost loved one as having an opiate disorder. This keeps the problem real to those reading the obituary and makes overdose fatalities known. This happens more than anyone can imagine. Recently I visited Rochester Minnesota, and ...

Economy can cause tax relief to go wrong

James Maxson, Minot The next legislative session will be interesting to observe. Thanks to forces of nature beyond our control, North Dakota has been blessed with abundant oil and gas reserves. As a result, over the last decade, a substantial percentage of North Dakota’s tax revenues have been a result of its energy industry. We are being promised tax relief as a result. Who is against tax relief? Isn’t that like being against puppies?        Tax relief unquestionably will be overwhelming popular. What could possibly go wrong? Well, for those of us who are old and gray, ...

Regarding raises for public employees

Rilie Morgan, Horace Mercifully another election season is in the review mirror, and a big thank you goes out to all the people who ran for elected office. Congratulations, also, to those of you who were elected to serve the great state of North Dakota. The time to get to work for the citizens of this state is fast approaching, and there are many issues up for debate and consideration. Property Tax Relief, access to affordable childcare, and Income Tax Reform are just some the things bantered about during the campaign season. But one issue that needs sunlight, and cogent ...