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Let’s recommit to protecting ND workers

As many of us enjoy this Labor Day holiday, we should take a moment to reflect on the workers who have helped North Dakota continue its rapid growth, evidenced by a double-digit increase in the first three months of 2023, which is nearly triple the national growth rate. But amid the state’s economic booms, the safety of our workers remains a concern. Since October 2022, 28 people in North Dakota have suffered fatal workplace injuries in incidents that investigators later defined as preventable. In many cases, their deaths involved being struck by moving or falling equipment and ...

Immigrants from Mexico helped build ND’s economy

With rural antagonism against immigration from Mexico prevalent in North Dakota, it is time to recount the days when the sugar beet industry relied on Mexican labor to exist as an alternate crop for farmers. The idea of raising sugar beets preceded the mechanization that eventually occurred. As the sugar beet farms grew through the ‘30s and ‘40s, domestic labor could not keep up with the demand and it took thousands of Mexican immigrants to come to North Dakota to do the job.  Whole families – including the children – worked long hours in the heat to bring in enough money ...

More ND weekly newspapers go under

With the closing of the Ness newspaper chain in northeastern North Dakota, seven weeklies died a tragic death on August 4 when, after 100 years of publishing, the owners had no offers to buy the papers. Communities losing papers included Fordville, Hatton, Pembina, Edmore/Adams, McVille, Michigan and Larimore. Because no-one offered to buy any of the papers, other weeklies in the state are being forewarned that they have investments that may not be redeemed in the market.  The fate of these seven papers was predictable. With the decimation of the rural farms and communities, ...

Before signing tax repeal petitions, think about this

The Pied Piper is back, hoping that taxpayers will sign petitions to place a repeal of the property tax on the ballot in 2024. Repealing the property tax was soundly defeated 10 years ago, attracting only 25% of the vote. Since nothing has changed since 2012, local governments are being forced to go through the cost of informing citizens a second time. As the primary sponsor of the move, U. S. Senate candidate Rick Becker of Bismarck alleges that the state has so much money that it could be used to replace the property tax. Moving money in itself is beyond Becker’s simple ...

Hurrah for ND socialism’s outstanding success

Even though many North Dakotans have been bad-mouthing socialism in recent years, two North Dakota socialistic institutions have refuted this knee-jerk reaction to faulty economic theory. With record profits, the North Dakota Mill and Elevator – largest in the United States with a gross annual business of $800,000,000 – demonstrated that socialism works. It wasn’t too long ago that a state senator from Minot made it a biennial legislative issue to sell the Mill and Elevator.  Because the Mill and Elevator has been so successful management was able to hand out $25,000 ...

Police serve to keep society accountable

July 14 was the last day Police Officer Jake Wallin went to work. And it terrified the loved ones of police officers all across the country. Jake was killed in the line of duty as he struggled with others to bring order to the streets of Fargo.  Jake and his fiancee, Winter, had just bought a house together with plans to share their lives for years into the future. Winter didn’t know that she would get her last hug when he went to work that Friday morning. While few police officers get killed in the line of duty, they know that a look behind any door may be their last. The ...