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Reflecting on the Minot I believe in, and looking ahead

I want to take this opportunity to wish every Minot resident a happy new year. It’s been a challenging year, to be sure, but it’s also been a year full of successes for our community as a whole. As 2022 unfolds, we’re planning to take some time to reflect on those success stories and to share with the community our vision for the upcoming year. As we have done for the past few years, we are planning the annual State of the City event. While there are many details yet to be worked out, the event is scheduled for Feb. 18. After holding an online video mayor’s address in 2021 due ...

Should Legacy dollars be invested in North Dakota?

Having served on the State Investment Board on behalf of Governor George Sinner, I have had a continuing interest in the $8 billion pot of gold accumulated in the state treasury from oil revenue. The Fargo Forum and KX Television have been looking for a smoking gun in the State Investment Board, wondering if North Dakota is being well served by consultants that have worked for the state for two decades. Because the financial agreements between the Investment Board and the consultants are exempt from the North Dakota open records law, the search has been slow and cumbersome. Some of ...

Making New Year’s resolutions for others is fun

The week between Christmas and New Years is pretty relaxing for me. The kids are home, all the planning and prepping is complete, and aside from a couple returns, the shopping is thankfully over. Leftovers make for a few easy meals. Things slow down enough to allow for some moments of introspection. Maybe that helps us with the opportunity to make a New Year’s resolution. Periodic resets like resolutions are good. Whenever we can take a step back and reassess our routine, we are provided an opportunity to make a change for the better, and to pull ourselves from the inertia of a ...

Community had no tree for Christmas

"We had no town Christmas tree this year and I want to know what happened,” Orville Jordan raged at the December meeting of 12 electors at the Homeland Security Committee in the Community Hall. “Well, I designated a committee of two on December 16 to get a Christmas tree even though it was already late,” Chairman Ork Dorken explained. “Did they stop at the Last Watering Hole over to Durgen and spend the last two weeks stupid drunk,” Madeleine Morgan, the Billings flash, said accusingly. Just then, Holger Dankse broke through the door and proudly shouted: “Look, I ...

Tradition can come in many forms

Christmas is upon us. It’s the time of year in which we commonly remember and participate in a variety of customs and traditions. These are wonderful things, our traditions, and they should be celebrated whenever possible. Not only during the various holidays of the year, but more commonly in our life’s routine. In this context, the traditions I’m referring to are not only the peanuts and the orange I found in my Christmas stocking every year as a kid, or the trail of jelly beans the Easter Bunny placed from my kids’ bed to their Easter baskets lined up in the living room; ...

Please, please get vaccinated against COVID 19

Dear Friends and Neighbors: Most of us take healthcare for granted. Like the water we drink or the electricity we use, we can’t imagine it not being there when we need it most. Next year, Trinity Health celebrates 100 years of Making More Possible for the communities we serve. It’s been a privilege to be a reliable partner, caring for you and your family whenever you’ve needed us, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status or political philosophy. For the last 21 months, Trinity Health has fought courageously against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Like many other ...