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March 14, 201 9
Golden Valley News
OPINION NEWS
Totheednor
To the editor:
The Cambridge dictionary defines
ethics as “a system of accepted be—
liefs that control behavior."
We voted every single one of our
representatives into office, so why do
they think we’re stupid? We also
voted for Measure 1 by a vast major-
ity, so why do they continue to fight
it? Democrats, Independents and Re—
publicans, despite their differences,
overwhelmingly decided that corrup-
tion was something they didn’t want
in their state, that it was something
worth fighting, so why don’t our rep-
resentatives feel the same way?
I can think of a few reasons, but
I’ll leave that to you. What I will say
is that our government is more bro—
ken than any of us previously knew
if our elected representatives can bla-
tantly ignore our voices. Has the
democratic system really fallen so
far that we as citizens can success-
fully amend our constitution, only to
find our government willing to pass
unconstitutional legislation such as
HB 1521 to stop us? Even worse,
they seem much more motivated to
pass bills doing away with the ballot
initiative process entirely than they
do to institute an Ethics Commission
that the people wanted.
If this is the point that we are at,
the "fall of Rome" if you will, then
so be it. I will go kicking and
screaming, calling my legislator day
and night, reminding them that we
support SB 2148, and that they are in
office to serve us. I hope you will do
the same. To answer my first ques-
tion, perhaps they think we are stu-
pid for having elected them and the
laugh is on us.
Carl Young
Bismarck
Roosevelt-project would
benefit future generations
To the editor:
Rarely in our history have the
citizens of North Dakota been of-
fered such a global opportunity as to
become the home of the Theodore
Roosevelt Presidential Library.
As one of our nation’s greatest
presidents, Roosevelt carried unique
ties to our state. We would be fortu-
nate to have the history, research,
recognition and especially the
tourism that would come with the
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Li-
brary.
In my past role as CEO of the
University of North Dakota Foun-
dation from 2002-2012, I was part
of the largest philanthropic effort in
the history of our state, the $325
million North' Dakota Spirit cam—
paign, QEQNP: Notably. 70. percent
of the 325 million committed came
from donors outside North Dakota’s
borders. Those donors were prima-
rily former citizens who wanted to
invest not only in the future of
UND, but also in the state which
gave them the education and values
that would guide their future suc-
cess. r
I can personally attest to the Leg-
islature’s commitment to the ND.
Higher Education Challenge Grant.
It provided the impetus toward the
finish line of the Spirit Campaign as
a matching fund incentive for in-
vestor donors. It was critical that
donors knew the citizens of North
Movie 'Fargo'
premiered 23
yearsago
By Merry Helm
Dakota Datebook
On the weekendof March 20,
1996, the movie “Fargo” pre-
miered at the Fargo Theatre.
It went on to be nominated for
best picture at the Academy
Awards that year, and news agen-
cies descended on Fargo to cover
the history—making night.
The scene outside the theater
was as quirky as the movie itself,
as news people from around the
country were bedazzled by a trac—
tor pulling a wagon full of people
dressed in farmer-plaids and caps
with earflaps. Inside, hundreds
watched themselves on the, big
screen, as they became part of
Oscar’s ceremony coverage.
Farther into the evening, the
theater’s direCtor made a plea for
financial support forthe building’s
renovation. By this time, enthusi—
asm had even gripped a jaded New
York reporter; dressed in a sweep—
ing, black trench-coat, slapped
a $10 bill on the stage and ex-
horted everybody to follow his ex-
ample.’
While the movie failed to get
the best picture award, it definitely
put Fargo on the map so to
speak.
(“Dakota Datebook” is a radio
series from Prairie Public in part—
nership with the State Historical
Society of North Dakota and with
funding from the North Dakota
' ‘ ics Council. See all the
flow Datebooks atprairiepub-
licorg, or subscribe to the “Dakota
Datebook” podcast.)
Dakota would be their “partners” in
this philanthropic investment.
I am deeply appreciative not only
for the financial commitment of
Melani and Rob Walton, but also for
the time, talent, and passion they
have demonstrated toward the
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Li-
brary project. I serve on the board
of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora
Foundation (TRMF) which has also
passed a unanimous resolution in
support of the library and museum.
Make no‘ mistake, TRMF stands
with donor's like the Waltons, and
the legions of volunteers prepared to
make the Theodore Roosevelt Pres—
idential Library a signature of our
great State, of‘ North Dakota.
'As citizens of North Dakota, I
encoilrage us to, idinflqssiherin sup:
port of the Theodore Roosevelt
Presidential Library proposal, seek-
ing $50 million from the state with
an accompanying $100 million pri—
vate sector match. I am confident
the matchvwill be swiftly met. What
other state? in the country has such
an impactful public/private partner-
ship opportunity before them? I be—
lieve the return on investment
economically, in stature, education
and other immeasurable ways will
be felt for generations to come.
Tim O’Keefe
Grand Forks
" lunar?“ m wv
What We Think
Many in Bismarck Be on lookout at
ignoring our voices mi|e marker 13
The weather in recent weeks has helped point out how quickly road con-
ditions can change.
The ground drifting of snow is something southwestern North Dakota
hasn't seen in a long time. Chances are - unless there's a
significant amount
of melting - we could see more snow slithering across area highways and
roads yet this season.
It may very well be that one of the worst locations on Interstate 94 in
southwestern North Dakota are the bridges just west of mile marker 13.
The lay of the land, plus the bridge rails and barriers, tend to contribute
to
drifts that fill in along the barriers whenever there's a strong north
or north-
west wind and some snow to blow around, especially on the eastbound lane.
There's also a low-maintenance Golden Valley County road under the
bridges, but that doesn't appear to be the problem. The problem may not
en-
tirely be Mother Nature either. After all, she came first, and Interstate
94
came second. Rather there appears to be some design issues at play. It may
be that snow fences or eventually a tree planting on the north side of the
highway would help.
There's been at least one crash at the bridge in recent years, and
appar-
ently another one in recent days. We've not been able to confirm the
cir-
cumstances of that incident in recent days due to the lack of an official
report. After that incident, there was at least one other close call in
which
a semi—truck ended up barreling through an unusually high drift between
the
eastbound bridge's north and south barriers.
Until there's a remedy for the situation at these bridges - or until
the June
sun guarantees that the drifts will be gone beware near mile marker 13.
Motorcycle Meme
Rep. Dan Ruby, R—Minot, left a
picture on the desks of other repre-
sentatives ahead of a contentious
seat belt bill, SB 2060, which would
have tightened the state seat belt law
and increased the fine for non-com-
pliance from $20 to $50. The photo
showed a motorcycle cop pulling
over a car with the caption, “When a
cop on a motorcycle gives you a
ticket for no seat belt, you realize it’s
not about safety.” Ruby, a motorcy-
cle rider himself, said he hoped the
stunt “might have some impact” on
the floor vote, but he said he didn’t
expect the bill to pass anyway. He
was right, as after 40 minutes of pas-
sionate debate, the bill failed 38—54.
Mather-n Mulls Measure 1
“It’s drawing 'in more power to
elected officials,”and “people al—
ready have lowering trust of govem-
ment,” Sen. Tim Mathem, D—Fargo,
said in opposition to SCR 4015. The
resolution would amend the Consti-
tution to raise the voting require-
Capitol
Chatter
By Diane N_ewberry and Bilal Suleiman
North Dakota Newspaper Association
ments for citizen—initiated measuresi
to 60 percent of the vote, among?
other stricter requirements. If passed,E
SCR 4015 would go to a vote of the
people during the next election:
Mathem is the primary sponsor of a:
bill that would implement Measure;
1, a citizen-initiated measure which;
passed last November with 54 per—
cent of the vote. Mathem sent out a}
press release March 6 declaring that
the senate resolution would “silence
the people” and “take their voice
away.”
Public Notices .
Among such big legislative top-,5
ics as taxes and ethics, some bills.
don’t get much notice. HB 1117,:
which awaits the governor’s signa—_
ture, is one of those bills. It would,
require instruct that all legal notices
required by law to be printed in a:
newspaper must also be published
on a statewide legal notices website
Public and legal notices from across:
the state can be found at ndpublic—
notices.newzgroup.com.
Recreational marijuana entering another way
N.D.
All states in the Union except four,
including North Dakota, have annual
legislative sessions. But we wait until
we have enough business for a session
or problems go to Washington to be
solved. ,
By the time the biennial crowd hits
Bismarck, conflicts have multiplied and
the Legislature takes on the appearance
of a Roman coliseum in which scores
of conflicts run concun'ently until the
last gladiator falls. In this short spaCe,
we can comment on only a couple.
As you may recall, a couple of years
ago the voters approved marijuana for
“debilitating medical conditions” in-
cluding cancer, glaucoma, immune de-
ficiency, hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease,
agitation of Alzheimer‘s, PTS* and un»
known 'b'the’rs buried in‘ me srrratn
The Legislature is now entertaining
bill to add more ailments so the list of
eligible users includes everything ex-
cept acne and toe fungus. (Those will
come in the next session.) If we keep
adding to the list, we will soon have
recreational marijuana through the back
door. Everybody has acne or toe fun-
gus.
While the medical profession is still
deeply concerned about the long~term
impact of chronic use, laypeople are
rushing to get an easy fix. Adequate re-
search of long term impact is not avail—
WANTED:
Looking for
Valmar or
Gandy
seeders to
buy, most
models.
Call Paul
a 763-286-2037
Harry Stephenson died
in 2005 at the age of 93.
In 2018, he helped
update the meeting
room of the. Cavalier
Public Library.
Harry left a gift in his. will 10
provide resourer for mmmunilim m nnrttwtrst Nmtlr
Dakota. The fund he created gins trul llmusands of dollars
in granh tut protons m Cavalier and the surrounding an.“
' every year. Ilia lard gift will last forever.
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Furmdntiun at,
1‘01 ~55h2h4til it )‘in‘ a tire, tin-r,lidrirlriri. in?
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hark“ irritant 1m Wilfrid 01’ Ni 0th- Drrwtnns rrr'utc' thrir
uteri unique
plan anal taugmnr’ the lime rtjitirturr ,tyrrrr‘rtrtimrss in: their
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NORTH DAKOTA
COMMUNlTY
FULIN’DATIIJN *
Matters
By Lloyd Omdahl
able because the marijuana craze is so
new.
(*PTS has been included to make
legislators eligible for eight weeks after
each session.)
What is a legacy?
Then there is the diversion of oil
taxes to something called the Legacy
Fund which the Legislature put in the
North Dakota Constitution to protect
them from being wasted by less intelli-
gent legislatures down the road,
Even though cleverly called a
“legacy” fund, it was not intended to be
so. The Legislature saw this, flood of
money coming into the state treasury
and didn’t want to explain why certain
state needs were being neglected.
Before the oil money came, the
Legislature could always claim that it
didn’t have the money for anything but
heating the Capitol, and that at 62 de-
grees. Vifrth money pouring in, the ar-
gument was lost so they had to get rid
of it some way. Presto: a Legacy Fund.
“Legacy” suggests that the money
will eventually be used for something '
that will benefit the state for decades to
come. Last session, the Legislature took
$200 million to balance the state
budget, this after cutting the income tax
and oil taxes.
Getting an education on boards
Even though higher education was
removed from the political arena 80
years ago, the political branches of gov-
emment (legislative and executive)
have still not accepted the fact that the
Board of Higher Education is an inde—
pendent nonpartisan branch. Conse-
quently, every session of the legislature
comes up with a new idea for running
the institutions.
So far this session, we have a three-
board plan and a two-board plan, both
to replace what we now have which is
the one-board plan. By going to a
multi-board plan, we would be aban—.
doning the dream of a unified system of
higher education. But this has been ac—;
complished with every institution offer
every course that every other institution
is teaching.
The govemor hoped that a three’
board system would make higher edu—
cation more nimble, nimble meaning
more responsive, more creative, more
energetic, etc., all of which would be
frustrated by the authority given higher
education in the constitution.
Then there was the short-lived pro—
posal to try privatizing institutions — put
them up for bids and see what happens.
The sponsor of that bill will not be back
in the next session. A
If men were angels
In Federalist Paper 51 James Madi:
son concluded that “if men were angels,
no govemment would be necessary.”
In North Dakota, if all legislators and
public officeholders were angels, we
would need no ethics commission. But
they’re not so we do.
1,300,000 barrels of oil ,
950,000 eyeballs on newspapers
Yes, every day some 1.3 million barrels of oil are
produced by North Dakota’s 15,000-plus wells. That’s
more than Alaska, more than Califomia, and more
than Oklahoma. Estimates are that more than 475,000
readers are looking through a newspaper.
Ready for the slick part? Most readers have
two eyes. That means there are more than
950,000 eyeballs scanning the pages of
North Dakota’s finest dailies and Weeklies.
If you‘re already a reader of North Dakota newspapers. good for you! And
il‘you‘rc a
l North Dakota advertiser, remember your best customers are
keeping an eye out for you. Both ot’them, in fact.
Mar kmrr‘u:
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