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Letters to the Editor

Property taxes are not local

Kevin Glatt Bismarck We all have heard it – property taxes are a local issue. If property taxes are a local issue, why is it that ND State Law dictates how and when property is assessed and equalized? Why does state law mandate when local budgets are deliberated and the format and content of the budget hearing notices? Why is it that state law sets mill levy limits (how much can be taxed) and dictates how the money can be spent? Why does state law prescribe what is on the county property tax statement, when it is to be sent, and the deadlines for payment? How come state ...

Let doctors practice without legislative interference

By Rep. Liz Conmy Fargo After my first week as a Representative in the North Dakota legislature, I found myself spending the weekend with an IV in my arm at the hospital in Hettinger. It wasn’t the legislature’s fault. Not feeling well while visiting my son’s family in Bowman, I came to Hettinger’s West River Health Services clinic — 40 miles away and open on a Saturday. From the minute I walked in the door, my medical treatment was equal to any I’ve previously had, which includes Mayo, Essentia and Sanford. In session last week, I had the honor of serving with ...

Americans can’t trust government officials

Gary Berube Mandan In 1954 Congress added One Nation under God to the Pledge of Allegiance and in 1956 Congress made IN GOD WE TRUST the national motto of the United States. There is hope; we can trust God. It is very apparent we cannot trust anyone else. Our own government raiding private residence without any notification, two attorneys arrested using guns to protect their property, classified documents being stored in private garages by an individual not authorized to have them or to declassify them, billions of your tax dollars sent to FAA and nobody knows what the money was ...

Weather-ization is a program worth supporting

Perry Lundon Devils Lake A recent news story noted the extreme temperatures we experience in an average North Dakota year. It is not uncommon for us to see a temperature range of 140 degrees from the hottest day of summer to the coldest day of winter. These conditions can be difficult to deal with, especially if you live in an older home with inadequate protection against weather extremes — such as old windows, minimal insulation, or a furnace you can’t count on. So, it left me scratching my head when, just this last September, a North Dakota legislative committee voted ...

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 ...