How many more?

People often question my judgment for vacationing in Mexico during our cold North Dakota winters. They question how safe it is to be in Mexico because of the murders down there by the various competing drug cartels. The persons in the Mexican drug culture, from my perspective, seem to be killing each other and for

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So, you’re pissed about your City taxes going up? Me too

Sometimes, maybe the best you can do is to make everyone angry. With three months on the job as a member of City Council and now a budget under my belt, that’s my ‘lesson learned’ at this point. And boy was that budget a doozy. If you’re not familiar with what’s coming your way, I

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Oh Canada, Our Funny Neighbor to the North…

After a week in British Columbia, Canada, it is hard to believe we won’t need to build a wall to keep the Canadians out of the USA. Canada has socialized medicine. Canada has sales taxes that are roughly twice as high as ours. Canada has higher income taxes than us. Canada has higher gasoline taxes

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Cold Feet on the Eve of Budgeting for Recycling

I wonder what would happen if those of us in government made a deal with the taxpayers and citizens; here’s the framework: as our part of the deal, we in government offer to be smart and resourceful with our dollars and spend them as an investment in a worthwhile outcome. In return, we the taxpayers

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A 17-pound walleye is swimming in Lake Sakakawea

Every spring Game and Fish wardens trap fish on Lake Sakakawea and harvest their eggs for the fish hatchery. This year, trapped in those nets was a behemoth walleye. Mike McFeely writes of the tale that’s documented with pictures.

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum

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Help Grand Forks streets pass ‘Coffee Cup Test’

Grand Forks Mayor Mike Brown has taken up the general mission of ‘doing it better’, and one of the first places he’s starting is on the roads in Grand Forks. And an accidentally created litmus test is his newest tool. It’s one part of a larger commentary where Mayor Brown provides a little direct communication

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On health care and everything else, the path to compromise is available

Contrary to most, I was not surprised that Congress has failed to repeal and replace “Obamacare”. “Repeal and Replace” has been the unifying slogan of the Republican party since 2009. That slogan may have become fact except for one minor detail. Like the Democratic party, the Republican party is merely a coalition of various diverse

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It’s Time to Raise the Gas Tax

WIth roads and bridges in need of repair, Rob Port with the Say Anything Blog becomes an unlikely proponent of an increase in the state’s gas tax. Read his arguments here.

Read & Share   sourced from: Say Anything Blog.com

In Crookston, Housing and economic development organizations combine

The challenges and methods for dealing with those challenges of cities across the region is strikingly similar. Job creation and economic growth are challenges that nearly every smaller community deals with, and in Crookston, MN, they’ve been managing those efforts from two different organizations. But a lack of resources and overlapping missions forced them into

Read & Share   sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

Grand Forks recruitment campaigns are overdue

The news on this topic is just above. Basically, the political sub divisions around Grand Forks are combining their efforts to frame the region in a more positive light. And the effort got the attention of the Herald’s editorial staff. In short, they like the idea.

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Claims that renewable energy threatens the stability of the US power grid is ludicrous

A common argument heard in North Dakota is the need to maintain coal-fired power plants because of their ability to provide the basic baseline power needs of the electrical grid. That we would attach ourselves to arguments that defend an industry important to our state is not surprising; I would say it’s a natural reaction.

Read & Share   sourced from: Quartz

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Our economic future depends on storytellers

Heard a good story lately? It’s kind of a trick question, because if you did, you may not even know it. Storytelling is a time-honored art form, but we’re just now discovering the relevance it has to what we think, who we trust, and how we act. And our ability to spin a yarn may

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Let’s get started on rail relocation

One of the reasons The Minot Voice focuses on news from other areas is because it’s rare that a community like Minot confronts a wholly new and unique problem. Whatever our challenge, and we have plenty, there are good odds that some community somewhere has faced a similar challenge. And the more we read around,

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The questions that come to mind from a courtroom squabble

I was out of state on vacation the week of July 4th. Upon my return, it was interesting to note an unprecedented media controversy involving the Ward County State’s Attorney’s office and Judge Stacey Louser. As a former Ward County Assistant State’s Attorney and a former criminal defense lawyer (including murder, attempted murder, and manslaughter),

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When it come to flood protection in Scotland, a wall makes a nice canvas

With $330 million as our local cost for flood protection, there’s no distance too far to look when it comes to searching out good ideas that may tie into the project in some way. And though this idea isn’t directly related to saving life and property, it may be a way to enhance the project.

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The Time Is Right for a Debate About Closing Down Some of North Dakota’s Universities

Rob Port at Say Anything Blog comments on a growing group of people talking about the need to reform and reevaluate the way and where of how North Dakota does higher education. His reform concept — close down a few of the state’s colleges and universities. That argument will no doubt trigger a debate, which

Read & Share   sourced from: Say Anything Blog.com