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What Is victory in Operation Epic Fury?

National Columnists

Six days after the commencement of Operation Epic Fury, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce, in the context of the ongoing joint American-Israeli military campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran: "There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" In the same post, the president seemed to equate such "unconditional surrender" with "the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader" to lead Iran, which would enable the country to come back from the "brink of destruction" and emerge "stronger than ever." Just three days after announcing "unconditional ...

Minot was small railroad town in 1900

Local Columnists

In the summer of 1900, the city limits of Minot were confined to a modest area not that much larger than the original city limits established in the 1880s. On the east side of Broadway, the city was bounded by the Great Northern Railroad right-of-way to the north and by Fifth Avenue on the south; the eastern edge of town was Fifth Street. And north of the river east of Broadway, there were two blocks in the Oakland Park Addition to Minot. On the west side of Broadway, there were two blocks in the Watne Addition and the expansive Brooklyn Addition covering 160 square acres and divided ...

Bad vs. worse in politics

National Columnists

If you ever thought the President Donald Trump-led Republican Party is bad, well the Democrats are worse. The Democrats lack politically astute leaders, as well as vision and discipline. They seem incapable of being on offense and are always on defense where it is difficult to score points and win. Only 37 percent of Americans approve of the GOP while a mere 30% approve of Democrats. In the mix would be Trump's job approval ratings with Independents resting at just 28%. Geez! It begs the question: Who should be leading America? Democrats ruled in the 1990s, holding the White House ...

Prairie dogs are important

National Columnists

Last fall, I fell in love with prairie dogs on the American Prairie in Montana even though the hype for America's Great Plains pointed me to bison. As impressive as North America's largest land mammal is, the pipsqueak of the prairie piqued my interest and stole my heart, and I'm not the only one. Andy Boyce arrived on the American Prairie in 2018 as one of the Smithsonian's first folks hired onto their Great Plains Science Program. Like me, he arrived in Montana thinking of bison. Boyce is a research ecologist with Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology ...

Letter to the Editor: History preservation includes Indigenous people’s story

Letters to the Editor

As an Indigenous woman and a state representative from Mandaree, I was raised to understand that land carries memory. The hills, rivers, and plains of this region hold the stories of our ancestors. That is why I am troubled by the recent secretarial order issued by Doug Burgum, which has led to the removal and alteration of historical interpretation across our national parks. Our national parks are classrooms, cultural sites, and living archives of our country’s full history. Agencies like the National Park Service, operating under the United States Department of the Interior, have ...

What's going on with America's political parties?

National Columnists

As Donald Trump's Republicans look askance as he launches what looks to some like another long-term war in the Middle East, and as the anti-Trump Democrats hold up Homeland Security funding in what looks to some like prioritizing illegal immigrants over U.S. citizens, one is tempted to ask, what's going on with America's political parties? Something close to self-harm, you might answer. And yet it is apparent that the U.S. parties, the oldest and third-oldest in the world, are not in as much trouble as many old parties abroad. In Britain, both Conservatives and Labour are ...