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County home rule offers local control

Last week, the Walsh County Record carried an advertisement for a county treasurer, setting out qualifications as follows: Candidates must have a proven track record of being proficient and accurate with numbers and professional and courteous transactions… A background in finances, business, or accounting would be beneficial, as well as a familiarity with spread sheets and word processing software. Because Walsh was the first county to adopt home rule, it was ready to take advantage of a vacancy in an elective office. From the job description, it looks like counties with home ...

COVID: From a pandemic to a joke

COVID has taken the United States – and especially North Dakota – from a pandemic to a joke that would be funny except so many people died needlessly in the transformation. The problem all started when the national administration lacked cognitive flexibility – the ability to recognize new facts and respond to them. Any rational person would recognize COVID was a national problem requiring a national solution. Federalism in this crisis was badly outdated by the national economy, society, communications and entertainment. We had grown up to become full-fledged national ...

The magic in Minot is very much alive

Every time the City of Minot seeks public input on recognizing residents who go out of their way to help the community, we’re reminded of the countless selfless acts that often go unnoticed. At last week’s State of the City event, we honored Eric Locken as the Citizen of the Year. Eric has worked in many ways to help families in need and put books in the hands of elementary students, among other good deeds. Eric exemplifies what we wanted in a Citizen of the Year, and we were happy this week to make a $1,000 donation from Farmers Union Insurance in Eric’s name to Project BEE. ...

Rape victims deserve speedy justice

As discussed in last week’s column, rape is a crime in which victims are traumatized for life and the perpetrator experiences none of the pain and shame. The lives of the victims are shattered; some never recover. The consequences are so serious that even though I believe in the sanctity of life as a Christian principle, I would not want to live in Texas where the government has decided to increase the punishment by putting a bounty on any woman opting for abortion. Is it the proper role for the Christian anti-abortion folks to decide through the courts or state legislatures to ...

Haunting bugle call dates to Civil War

"Taps” is the famous, haunting bugle call that we have come to recognize as the sound of honor, dignity, and respect when saying farewell to those that served in the military. It is a tune that consists of only 24 notes; a tune that dates back to the Civil War. You may have heard this story of its origin. In 1862, the Union and Confederate Armies of the Civil War were engaged near Harrison’s Landing in Virginia. During the night, Union Army Captain Robert Elliscombe heard the moaning of a wounded soldier on the battlefield. Not knowing whether the soldier was one of his own or a ...

Join us at the State of the City on Feb. 18

At the City of Minot, we’re in the midst of final preparations for the annual State of the City event. The State of the City is scheduled for Feb. 18 at the former Cognizant building located at 2000 21st Avenue NW. The building is now owned by the Minot Public School District, and is scheduled to become the city’s second public high school in the coming years. The State of the City is open to the public, with my speech scheduled to start about 12:30 p.m. You can also join us for lunch; the cost for the noon lunch is $15. All other portions of the event are free. Tickets for ...