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Shop local: It’s an investment in ourselves

Dear Minot: Small businesses play a vital role in Minot’s economy, but more importantly, those independently owned establishments are a critical element of what makes our community special. We all know someone who either owns a business or is employed by a locally owned operation. The success of a thriving city – ours included — is directly tied to the success of its small business community, which provides the entrepreneurial spirit necessary for growth from within and the opportunities for residents and visitors to experience unique, one-of-a-kind establishments of all kinds. ...

COVID authoritarians deserve reckoning not amnesty

Toward the end of 2019, the whole world was watching as the people of Hong Kong took to the streets in protest of the Chinese Communist Party dissolving the last vestiges of the island enclave’s separation from the mainland government. People were beaten, arrested, and even killed, becoming a cause Celebre for many in the west who supported Hong Kong’s citizens’ fight for democracy and independence they had enjoyed for nearly a century. One person to take to Twitter to lend his voice to the cause was then Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey, causing an outraged response from the ...

Republicans have chance to end Trumpism

As Donald Trump’s star dims on the horizon, Republicans have a chance to restore order to our political system. Trump has been an aberration. He stormed onto the political scene and rallied a following before most people knew who or what he was. Because he won in the primaries, the rational Republicans had little choice but to accept him as their candidate. In recent weeks, he has lost some of his appeal. The January 6th committee has taken some shine off; he is still faced with numerous court cases; he lost half of the candidates he endorsed in the midterm elections; his ...

Legacy of Artemis and North Dakota in Space

The Artemis I rocket launched into space (Nov. 16), and is the next step to returning humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972. This mission will build the foundation for further exploration of the Moon, as well as lay the groundwork for sending astronauts to Mars by the 2030s. The Apollo program — the last NASA project to land humans on the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s — was a resounding success and cemented the U.S. as the global space leader. During a time of major conflict, it became a point of national unity and aspiration. Artemis, along with our space defense ...

FTX and the myth of billionaire altruism

The collapse of crypto wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and Elon Musk’s anarchic management of Twitter are two stories that have had ownership over a lot of headlines recently. One is being described as a danger to society and of our treasured “democracy” for leaning into free speech absolutism, while the other is described as a case of a smart but misguided young man getting so carried away with altruism that he created a Ponzi scheme. The story surrounding exactly how SBF and his polyamorous cohort of crypto-kiddies were able to con so many of the rich, famous and powerful is ...

Has tribal sovereignty become myth?

Before venturing into the deep water of state and Native American relations, I need to reassure North Dakota’s tribes that I am not an adversary but a friend. I believe we owe the native people reparations for taking their country, killing six million of their people and forcing them into reservations That being said, let us move into the question of tribal sovereignty, an idea that is over 200 years old. The federal government has declared that recognized tribes are sovereign entities within a government-to-government relationship. The word “sovereignty” suggests ultimate ...