Your account does not include highlighter on images.
Searches Highlighted on Image
National Sponsors
| February 4, 2021 Golden Valley News |  |
|
©
Golden Valley News. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 1 (1 of 6 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
February 4, 2021 |
|
|
Website © 2024. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader 
|
283 GT
SMALL TOWN PAPERS “0005
779 00-00-00
927 W RAILROAD AVE
SHELTON, WA 98584-3847
Football signings
Beach High School students Blake Van Horn,- Tyson Mat-
tern and Kyle Sarsland have signed scholarships to attend
Dickinson State University next fall. (Courtesy Photo)
Bill seeks more transparency
in political advertisements
By Dylan Sherman
NDNA EducatiOn Foundation
BISMARCK While candidate
campaigns, political action commit-
tees and ballot measure sponsors
have to disclose their donors over
$200, independent expenditures do V
not have as much transparency with
their donors.
Ellen Chaffee, a board member of
North Dakotans for Public Integrity,
is part of the movement to pass HB
1451, which would require inde-
pendent expenditures to disclose do—
nations of over $200.
“[Independent expenditures] may
relate to a candidate or campaign, but
it has not got any conjunction with
the actual candidate,” she said.
Chaffee said any group working
to oppose a citizen-initiated measure
is considered an' independent expen-
diture group.
HB 1451 would bring independ-
ent expenditures into the same dis—
closure requirements that are already
required for candidates, political ac—
tion committees and ballot measure
sponsors.
“Part of the philosophy of this bill.
is that if you are not willing to be ac- .
countable for what you are doing
then we don’t want you influencing
our voters,” she said.
North Dakotans should know
.who is trying to influence their votes,
said Chaffee, especially if it is some-
,one from out of state.
“If you don’t know who they are,
you can’t think of what their motives
;or hidden agendas might be,” she
said. “A lot of people in North
Dakota are deeply offended when
gsomeone from out of state tries to in-
:fluence our votes.”
With current law, the only disclo-
sure is the name of certain groups
:who have paid for advertisements,
:Chaffee said.
‘ “Many of these organizations
come up with these lovely names and
they lull us into thinking that their
Ivalues are the same as ours,” she
said. ‘
The amount of independent ex-
penditures made in an election cycle
depends on what ballot initiatives are
being voted on, Chaffee said.
Since 2012, the number of inde—
pendent expenditures has varied de-
pending on ballot measures, with
2014 seeing 117 different filers and
2020 seeing only ll,according to the
North Dakota Secretary of State
campaign finance records.
In 2014 the 117 different filers
spent over $11.6 million in North
Dakota, the most spent in the last 10
years, according to the records. In
2020 spending only reached about
$350,000, but Chaffee believes that
is because there were not as many
controversial ballot measures.
“At the state level it's a roller-
coaster, because it all depends on if
there are ballot initiatives that year,
and if they are controversial,” she
said.
While the bill’s sponsors are De-
mocrats, Chaffee said she believes it
is a bipartisan issue, as independent
expenditure groups support liberal
causes as well. “All sides can use
this, which makes revealing the
sources all the more significant,” she
said.
Karla Rose Hanson, D-Fargo
(District 44), agreed. “The public
should know who is spending money
to influence the outcomes of our
elections,” she said, and making in-
dependent expenditures transparent
fits with policies already in place in
North Dakota.
“This would create consistency
with how political candidates, polit—
ical parties and political action com—
mittees all have to report who makes
donations totheir campaigns,” she
said.
Rep. Jason Dockter, R-Bismarck
(District 7), chairs the Political Sub—
divisions Committee, which will
consider the bill. He hadn’t exam—
ined it yet, but he said last week that
more transparency in political spend~
ing would be beneficial to all in
North Dakota. “It doesn’t matter if it
is a Republican or Democrat issue,
it's just transparency for the public,”
he said.
Once the bill has been vetted dur—
ing its hearing, Dockter said he will
‘ know whether the bill could be ben-
eficial for North Dakota or if it needs
amendments.
“Hopefully in ‘this committee
hearing we can find out if there is a
constant problem and find out
where these resources are coming
from,” he said.
Dockter said as North Dakota is
still a rural state it can be influenced
by other states, but North Dakotans
are not excited by that prospect.
“Typically, in North Dakota we
frown upon outside money coming
into the state,” he said.
Customer Service Is Our
Number One Priority
Because we’re a local independent bank, we’re able to respond quickly
and efficiently to our customers’ needs. We have many great products
and services, and the experience to back them. If you’re not
, banking with us now, we invite you to give us a try.
AccuWeather's team of long-
range forecasters are growing more
confident of the weather pattern that
will unfold across the US. in the
c0ming months.
“It looks like we’re going to have
a very interesting spring," Ac-
cuWeather Senior Meteorologist
Dave Samuhel said.
So far, Old Man Winter has not
had an extended stay in the contigu-
ous US. with just glancing blows of
Arctic air and periodic snow, as op-
posed to it being brutally cold with
frequent winter storms. Temperatures
in Boston, New York City, Pittsburgh,
and Cleveland have averagedaround
3 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.
Some residents of the Northeast
may have been under the impressiOn
that a stormy winter was in the cards
following a mid-December winter
storm that unloaded the heaviest
snowfall in years. However, most of
this snow melted within a week as
warm air quickly returned to the re-
gion.
Arctic air has occasionally chilled
the nation‘s heartland, but so far tem-
peratures since the start of December
have been averaging well above nor-
mal. Even in Minneapolis, which ex-
perienced blizzard conditions shortly
before Christmas, temperatures since
Dec. 1, have averaged around 7 de—
grees F above normal. Another sign
of the absence of sustained cold:
Great Lakes ice coverage is well
below normal for this time of year.
A new, nationwide weather pat—
tern is expected to unfold toward the
latter part of February.
"Another period of colder weather
and more snow can return to the
northern tier of the nation later in
Spring weather may not be arriving early this year for the northern part of
the United States, ac-
cording to AccuWeather. (Courtesy Graphic)
February and March,", said Ac-
cuWeather Lead Long-Range Mete-
orologist Paul Pastelok.
Samuhel elaborated on this,
adding that “parts of New England
could have some of their worst
weather yet to come later on in Feb—
ruary and into March. We’ll likely be
piling the snow 0n right through at
least March and even into early April
before it finally starts to feel like
spring."
Not only is a delayed start to
spring weather shaping up for. the
Great Lakes and the Northeast, but
also across the northern Rockies and
into the Pacific Northwest. '
“The last two weeks of January
featured an ease up in the intensity
and frequency of storms in the North-
’ west,”’Pastelok said. “But the start of
February, both in frequency and in—
tensity, we’ll see an uptick.”
“Strong winds, heavy rain, moun-
tain 'snow and flooding [are predicted
to] return to the Pacific Northwest,”
he added. This could lead to more
than six extra weeks of winter for
some of the northern Rockies fol-
lowing Groundhog Day.
As colder air settles across the
northern tier in March, the southern
half of the US. will see a prolonged
'spell of milder weather. It may even
begin to feel like spring as early as
mid- to lateFebruary for places like
Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles
with no signs of cooling down in
March. I
The zone between these regions is
in the crosshairs for some destructive
weather after the official start of as—
tronomical spring, which arrives on
March 20. ‘
“With the cold air to the north and
the warm air to the south, there will
be this clash of those air masses. Se—
vere weather could be a big prob-
lem," Samuhel said.
Extreme Meteorologist Reed Tim-
mer could have a busy storm-chasing
season come spring, especially com—
pared to the below-normal severe
weather season the Plains experi-
enced in 2020. ,
"I agree with the AccuWeather ex-
perts. It’s going to be a late start to
the severe weather season, but it’s
going to be incredibly active," Tim-
mer said.
Library foundation board elects new members
MEDORA The Theodore Roo—
sevelt Presidential Library Founda—
tion has elected three new trustees to
its board.
They are: Victoria Chambers, the
founding marketing director of Alde—
vron, a Fargo—based biotech' com-
pany; Eric Jolly, president and CEO
of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foun—
dation and former president of the
Science Museum of Minnesota; and
Vaughn Williams, former Stanford
University trustee and partner at in-
ternational law firm Skadden.
“Victoria, Eric, and Vaughn are
leaders aligned with the mission, vi—
.sion, and values of the TR. Library,”
said Cathilea Robinett, chair of the
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Li-
brary Foundation. “They bring expe-
rience in science, education, and law
to this visionary project.”
Chambers, Jolly, and Williams
have each been elected to a three-
year term, and are eligible for re-
election in 2024.
At the end of 2020, the Theodore
Roosevelt Presidential Library
Foundation received Congressional
approval to acquire the land for con—
struction of the library. The
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Li-
brary Conveyance Act of 2020 di-
rected the US. Forest Service to sell
the land, shifting oversight of the
project from federal to local control.
The Library Foundation previ-
ously announced Sn¢hetta won a
competition for the design architect
commission. North Dakota firm
JLG has been selected as the archi-
tect of record and JE Dunn has been
selected as the construction man-
ager.
Committee hears proposals to lower prescription drug costs
By Brayden Zenker
NDNA Education Foundation
BISMARCK The Senate Human
Services Committee heard testimony
on three bills aimed at getting North
Dakota consumers access to lower
prescription prices.
“Most of. us have never heard a
good explanation of why the same
drug a few miles across the border
[in Canada] sells for 40%, 30% or
sometimes even 20% of the price we
pay in this country,” said Sen.
Howard Anderson Jr., R-Turtle Lake
(District 8), who introduced all three.
The first of the three, SB 2170,
would create a system to set payment
rates for prescription drugs based on
international prices, specifically the
price of those drugs in Canada. The
bill would compare prescription drug
prices in America to prices in Al-
berta, British Columbia, Ontario and
Quebec. After comparison; the low-
est price would be used as reference
rate, or maximum rate, for con-
sumers. ‘
“This is an issue that has contin-
ued to grow in the minds of our
members,” said Josh Askvig, state di—
rector of AARP. “For the last five
years, I have not gone to an event
where somebody hasn’t asked me
about prescription drug costs
According to Askvig, the bill “al-
lows states to ‘import’ the drugs’
prices instead of the actual drugs.”
According to the National Academy
for State Health Policy, the average
savings on prescription drug costs
would be around 75%.
In North Dakota the average costs
of prescription drugs increased by
57.8% from 2012-2017. In 2017, ac-
cording to the State Health Access
Data Assistance Center, 31% of
North Dakota residents stopped tak-
ing prescription drugs because of
cost.
Michael and Marilyn Worner,
Fargo residents and retired educators,
spoke in favor of SB 2170.
“This year my wife and I will de-
clare $22,000 in medical costs when
we file our income tax,” Michael
Worner said. “This represents over
30% of our total income. Our pre-
scription drug costs are a major part
of this expense and cause us constant
concern.”
Worner suffers from dry eyes, a
condition that he said cannot be
treated using over-the-counter med-
ications. The medication Worner’s
eye doctor prescribed him costs
$1,700 for a three-month supply.
After insurance, Worner’s out-of-
pocket cost is around $120.
“About two years ago, when I
talked to my doctor and informed
him that I was having difficulty pay-
« ing for the expensive medication, he
suggested that I use only half of the
prescribed medication daily,” Worner
said. “This is one method I use to
save money — by rationing my
drugs.”
Worner has started buying the
Golva Medora Beach
872-3656 623-5000 872-4444
“5 “Til? wwW.fsbofgolva.com
medication out—of-country. He said a
three-month supply of the drug costs
$60 versus $1,700 in-country before
insurance.
“A point of interest is that the
medication that I purchase from an-
other country is manufactured in
Waco, Texas,” Worner said. “In my
opinion, this is not right. Why can
someone purchase a prescription
drug for $60 when I am paying
$1,700 for that same drug?”
Peter Fjelstad, senior director of
state policy for Pharmaceutical Re-
search and Manufacturers of Amer-
ica, testified in opposition to the bill.
“This kind of legislation will not
benefit patients and can jeopardize
the competitive market that works to
drive down drug prices,” Fjelstad
said. ‘
According to Fjelstad, price con-
trols threaten the development of
new medications because it reduces
the incentive for pharmaceutical
companies to invest in research and
development.
“It is not the right path forward to
help ensure that North Dakotans
have access to affordable medi-
cines,” Fjelstad said. ‘
SB 2209 and SB 2212 would es-
tablish a wholesale prescription drug
importation program with Canada to
lower costs. The two bills are essen-
tially the same except the program
would be run by N.D. Board of Phar-
macy under SB 2209 and the ND.
Department of Health under SB
First State Bank
ATM in Beach Medora lobby
2212.
Roger Roehl, a Mandan resident,
testified in favor of the bills.
“Five years ago, I nearly lost my
life to leukemia, but it wasn’t be-
cause of the disease, which Was
under control. It was because my
wife and I couldn’t afford my med-
ication,” Roehl said.
Under Roehl’s Medicare insur—
ance plan, his monthly medication
cost was $2,400. Roehl said he was
not able to afford the medication.
After consulting with his oncologist,
Roehl was told he would have ap-
proximately three and half years to
live without the medication. Roehl
later discovered he would be able to
get his medication from Canada for
$690 per month.
“What good is a life-saving drug.
if you can’t afford to buy it,” Roehl
said. “It’s a shame Americans have to
turn to foreign countries for afford-
able prices on life-saving drugs but if
that will help consumers like me, I
support it.”
Aside from the medication Roehl
takes for leukemia he is also now
taking insulin, after side effects of
COVID—19 elevated his blood sugar.
“I support anything you guys can
come up with to help us out. We defi—
nitely need some assistance because
we’re not getting anywhere on our
own,” Roehl said.
Costs
(Continued on Page 6)