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Newspaper Archive of
Golden Valley News
Beach, North Dakota
April 1, 2021     Golden Valley News
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April 1, 2021
 
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Page Golden Valley News April 1 , 2021 Legislature removes ACT requirement By Alexandra Kautzman NDNA Education Foundation BISMARCK —— High school jun- iors in North Dakota will not be re— quired to take the ACT college entrance exam due to legislation adopted by the Legislature. Senate Bill 2141, introduced by Sen. Donald Schaible, R-Mott, passed with a unanimous vote in the Senate and an 88-3 vote in the House. Sen. Kyle Davison, R-Fargo, said the bill gives more options for students when applying for schools and scholarships. “We’re just trying to give schools more flexibility,” Davison said. Stanley Schauer, director of as- sessment of the Department of Pub- lic Instruction, said removing the mandate opens pathways for stu— dents, including those who want to enter the workforce right after grad- uation. For a majority of juniors, testing will look the same as in pre- vious years. North Dakota schools use an ac- countability system that measures students’ academic progress. Dis- tricts have the option to use the ACT instead of the North Dakota State Assessment in high school. Students from districts that utilize the NDSA as the accountability tool had to take both assessments by law. ' Students from ACT districts would take the test as normal. The DPI reports that in the 2020- 12021 school year, 59 districts chose to use the ACT for their accounta- bility tool. This equated to 67% of juniors in the state. Schauer said this number has been on the rise: Beulah Public Schools Superin- tendent Travis Jordan said he would “We’re using this as an opportunity to sort of study how students did with or without ACT scores and asking if our standardized, test scores are still necessary. There’s actu- ally a national movement of stepping away from the requirement.” Lisa Johnson, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs in the NDUS like to see less emphasis on college entrance exams overall. He said there should be more focus on the student as an individual. “I think we put too many eggs in our test score basket when our kids are trying to get into college, espe- cially when they have so many tal- ents, abilities and passions that aren’t measured by a test,” Jordan said. “I think kids are more than a test score.” Lisa Johnson, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs in the NDUS, said it is still too early to tell how the bill could affect higher education. Since ACT testing was canceled last March due to the pan- demic, universities have temporar- ily waived their score requirement for admissions through summer 2022. “We’re using this as an opportu- nity to sort of study how students did with or without ACT scores and asking if our standardized test scores are still necessary,” Johnson said. “There’s actually a national movement of stepping away from the requirement. We’re certainly exploring that but also just using this as a period of study to examine what we might want to do as a pol— icy going forward.” The bill received mixed reviews. One concern is families not being able to afford the test. While the state would still cover tests that are used for accountability, students whose school uses the NDSA would have to pay $70 if they wanted to take the full ACT. Schauer said cost shouldn’t be a problem since the test has a fee waiver process for low-income families. According to the ACT website, students who meet one or more indicators of economic need, like being enrolled in a reduced- price lunch program, are eligible. “We have heard that from some schools but I don't think cost is going to be a huge issue,” Schauer said. “I think sharing more about the program could alleviate some of those concerns.” While it is no longer required by law, Johnson still encourages stu~ dents to take the ACT if it is avail- able. She said the test score goes beyond admissions and is utilized for class placement and scholarship eligibility. “At present, so many scholarship opportunities are tied to ACT scores that I just wouldn’t want a student to inadvertently place themselves at a disadvantage,” Johnson said. North Dakota Senate ashes out recreational marijuana bill By Richard Volesky Editor/Reporter BISMARCK — The North Dakota Senate has overwhelmingly voted against House Bill 1420, which would have legalized recre- ational marijuana in North Dakota. Vocal opposition to the bill and against marijuana in general pre- ceded the 37—10 rejection on March 25. Sen. Diane Larson, R-Bismarck, said she has seen negative effects on the brain from marijuana use and be— lieves it is Wrong for North Dakota. “It's a wrong thing to pass some- thing that we don’t like, just so that we don’t get something we don’t hate,” she said, reflecting the general expectation that no legislative provi- sion for recreational marijuana likely would invite a new initiated measure that could open the door to marijuana even wider. North Dakota voters surprised lawmakers in 2016 by approving medical marijuana. In debate over HB 1420, Sen. Robert Fors, R-Larimore, kept his comments short and to the point: “Get off the pot and vote no.” Proponents from the House and Senate pushed for the bill as a way to avoid legalizing recreational mari- juana through a ballot measure. Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo, car— ried the bill to the chamber and said it would be a way to regulate and make marijuana safe to use. “I think that this is something over which we can allow some con- trol, and I think we were elected to make responsible choices,” she said. Sen. Kristin Roers, R—Fargo, said this bill would have ensured mari- juana for sale would not be laced with other drugs or substances. “The issues that come out of marijuana re- ally have come from it being a tainted product,” she said. HB 1420 had passed through the House by a vote of 56-38, with vocal opposition from representatives bringing up similar comments as heard on the Senate floor. Seat Belt (Continued from Page 1) People who opposed the bill said that making seat belt use a primary offense would infringe on the free— dom for drivers to choose not to wear one. Rep. Bob Paulson, R-Minot, asked the House what protections would have to be made next. “Is it the proper role of the government to protect us from ourselves?” he asked. “Perhaps motorcycle helmets should be mandated.” Rep. Jared Hagert, R-Emerado, was the only representative to speak in favor of the bill on the floor. “It makes a lot of sense to have every— body buckled up in that vehicle,” he said. SB 2121 joins two other failed seat belt bills from the House, HB 1156 and HB 1257. HB 1257 would have allowed- those over 18 to be exempt from wearing a seat belt, and HB 1156 would have allowed those making deliveries to be exempt from wear- ing a seat belt. Current law makes failure to use a seat belt law a secondary offense, meaning you must be pulled over for something else before you can be fined for not wearing a seat belt. . Additional copies of the Golden Valley News are also available at: - Beach Food Center _ '- Golva Grocery - Golden Valley News Office, Central Ave., Beach Have something that may be newsworthy that you’d like to share or sub- mit to the Golden Valley News or the Billings County Pioneer? We won’t know about it unless you tell us, and we welcome submitted news items! It’s easy. Just give us a call, e-mail your item and a phone number, or mail a photo and the text that goes along with it. Golden Valley News/Billings County Pio- neer: PO. Box 156, Beach, ND 58621 (701) 872-3755; goldenandbillings@gmail.com Sen. Dick Dever, R-Bismarck, said he would vote against the bill because he thought the people should decide whether recreational mari- juana should be legalized. “I trust the people to make the right decision,” he said. “If I could offer an alternative to this bill ‘ How about we have a delayed con- stitutional resolution that would just put the idea on the ballot?” Church converting restaurant By Jane Cook Reporter A church will soon be opening in a former restaurant in Beach. The building, which last housed a Chinese restaurant, was pur- chased by the New Life United Pentecostal Church, which is based in Dickinson. The new church sub- mitted an application for condi- tional use at the location, and the Beach Zoning Board will hold a meeting on April 19 at 8:15 a.m. for comment. The request is to condi- tionally allow a church in commer- cial-2 zoning. Pastor Joseph Hostetter has been holding Bible meetings in the Beach Community Center for about four years on Tuesday evenings. Approximately 15-20 members cur- rently attend the sessions. Hostetter grew up in western Pennsylvania before moving out here in 2014. He lived in South Heart for a year before moving to Golva, where he resided for four years. He then moved to Beach a year ago. He met his wife in North Dakota and the two have been mar- ried for three years. He has been a licensed pastor for two years. The building was purchased in November 2020, and remodeling began the first of this year. “We’re hoping to have it open sometime in July, but at this time we’re not exactly sure when,” Hostetter said. When it does open, he plans to , have a Saturday service, inviting members from Dickinson to it as well as anyone who would like to come and see what this new church is about. Afterward, there will then be a meal for everyone and time to mingle with the members of the congregation. Farmers Union donates to food bank JAMESTOWN — For a second time in less than a year, Farmers Union Enterprises (FUE) teamed up with North Dakota Farmers Union (N DFU) to donate 36,000 pounds of pork ribs to the Great Plains Food Bank in Fargo. The donation is part of a giving spree that saw a total of 180,000 pounds of ribs distributed to food banks in South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana and North Dakota. In May, Farmers Union delivered 150,000 pounds of pork ribs to food banks in the five—state area. The donated pork ribs are from Redwood Farms, one of several busi- nesses owned by FUE — the divi- dends of which help fund Farmers Union state organizations and Na— tional Farmers Union. Redwood Farms supplies premium pork prod- ucts to high-end restaurants in New York, Chicago and other cities across the US. DSU intends to hold .in-person spring commencement DICKINSON — Dickinson State University intends to celebrate grad- uates with an in—person spring 2021 commencement ceremony Saturday, May 15. Graduates and their families from spring, summer, and fall of 2020, as well as spring of 2021, are invited to participate in the ceremony which will be held outdoors at the Biesiot Activities Center in Dickinson. “Graduation is a time-honored ac- ademic tradition that recognizes a milestone accomplishment,” said Debora Dragseth, provost and vice president for academic affairs at DSU. “The Office of Academic Af- fairs is delighted to be able to host a commencement ceremony that will allow our graduates to gather out- doors with their family and friends in the beautiful Biesiot Activities Cen— ter.” More details regarding the cere— mony and reception, ticketing for the event, and live broadcast information will be shared as soon as they are made available. —— I Guard (Continued from Page 1) administered traditional and later the BinaxNOW COVID-l9 tests to in- clude support at mobile testing sites state—wide. Guard members have conducted response planning and deep cleaning at long—term and con- gregate living facilities. Soldiers and airmen have also trained civilians in the use of BinaxNOW testing, as- sisted in the administering of COVID—19' vaccines, and aided in the design of prediction models which help guide response and assisted with contact tracing. Guard members have also aided in the transportation of test specimens and provided other sup— port to the state laboratory in Bis- marck and administered vaccines to its force in accordance with CDC tiered COVID-l9 Vaccine rollout recommendations. Also, Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, North Dakota adjutant general, has co-led the state’s Unified Command during state’s response to the pandemic. The North Dakota National Guard’s other state and federal mis— sions continue despite the pandemic. The Guard recently conducted wild- fire and flood response exercises, welcomed airmen home from over- seas duty, mobilized and deployed 70 soldiers to the national capital region, as well as 150 soldiers in support of the Presidential Inauguration. About 988 individual North Dakota soldiers and airmen have served on COVID-l9 response duty. About 240 remain on COVID-19 duty. Drought — (Continued from Page 1) can see the bottom of.” Kempenich said some timely rains can change this, but as it starts to warm up it is still concerning. “N0 creeks in our area are run- ning,” he said. “If you don’t have water lines out in your pastures you are going to be struggling this year.” Kempenich said the water issues and hard ground he has seen show markers that it will be a tough farm- ing year. “Timing is everything in the (agri- culture) business,” he said. “You get a few timely rains and it might be a normal year.” NORTH DAKOTA OIL AND NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY 2020 STATE STATE BUSINESS PRODUCT . 3462* BILLION SHARE OF STATE GBP" 'rr * NDSU: 2019;Pexmieum"Industry's contribution to Norm NDPEIROLEUMFOUNDAIION STATE EMPLOYMENT 59,100" TOTAL JOBS SHARE OF STATE 0;, PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT" ..-a.-----..——.-.._----.-.-. ué._-au-¢n-..---a---—--¢----n-.-. Q' 7-.- ADVANCING THE STATE WAGES PAID $45 BILLION SHARE OF STATE? What we've learned over the last decade is that the North Dakota oil and natural gas industry is incredibly resilient. Regardless of market conditions, it continues to be a major force in our state's economy. “MSTATE 8: LOCAL GOVERNMENT PAYMENTS INDUSTRY.REPORT ‘IIIIII’ $38 BILLION $22 BILLION PAID SINCE 2008 o reiterate sumsorsms », REVENUE“ 50 — Dean Bangsund, Research Scientist NDSU NORTH DAKOTA PETROLEUM FOUNDATION POSSlBlLlTlES NDPETROIEUMFOUNDAIIONORG @ $7.7 MILLION FOR TRANSPORTATION FOR'OUTDOOR HERITAGE FUND r [g $31.6:MILLI0N‘ IN'errrenrouE-TIME FUNDING “WDEA: 2020 Oil and Natural Gas Tax Revenue Report @NDPEIROLEIJMFOUNDATION