Dustin Monke

Editorial: Keystone XL deserves answer, one way or another

President Barack Obama should go ahead and veto the Keystone XL pipeline. He wants to do it. His administration wants him to do it. His environmental activists want him to do it. Republicans (and some Democrats) don’t want him to do it. So what is he waiting for?

Well, if you believe Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., the president plans to put his veto pen to use in August when Congress is in recess.

“It’s an opportunity for him to do it more under the radar,” Hoeven told Forum News Service reporter Amy Dalrymple on Wednesday. Hoeven, the Senate’s most outspoken supporter of the pipeline, said he has sources who tell him Obama is finally ready to put his signature next to a veto he has long delayed.

That sounds about right. The president has kicked the can down the road on the Keystone XL issue since 2011, and there’s no way he leaves office without making a final decision on it. So why not now?

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Gas leak shuts down Dickinson restaurant, street for 2½ hours

Montana-Dakota Utilities workers dig a hole in an attempt to shut off a natural gas line Wednesday in the El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant parking lot in north Dickinson.

A popular Dickinson lunchtime restaurant was evacuated shortly after noon Wednesday and part of a busy street was blocked off as a precaution for about 2½ hours after a contractor struck a gas line near the corner of 15th Street West and Elks Drive.

El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant was evacuated and part of 15th Street West south of Prairie Hills Mall was blocked off by law enforcement after the line was inadvertently struck by a contractor with Denny’s Electric who was attempting to service an electric line.

Montana-Dakota Utilities spokesperson Mark Hanson said at 2:45 p.m. that the blowing gas had been shut off and the two-inch plastic line has been looped and repairs were underway in the El Sombrero parking lot. The gas had been blowing since about noon. No customers lost service because of the line break, however.
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Home prices fall in Dickinson, but not much

Buying a home in Dickinson is cheaper and less stressful than it was only a year ago, two of the city’s top Realtors said Friday.

Though the oil industry slowdown around Dickinson has led to lower average sale prices and more homes in the city being listed for sale, the overall residential housing market has remained strong and may be beginning to stabilize.

“They (prices) have definitely softened and buyers are now more cautious, so there’s more on the market,” said Ninetta Wandler, a longtime Dickinson Realtor. “But they’re not forced to buy yesterday. Before, if you had three houses to look at, you were lucky — and you didn’t have time to think about it.”

Compared to last year, there’s much more time for prospective homebuyers to think about a home purchase and to negotiate the price.

The average year-to-date sale price for residential property has fallen nearly 10 percent — from about $294,000 to $266,000 — according to the Badlands Board of Realtors’ market summary report for June.

Still, more than 84 percent of active listings last month were for homes priced above $200,000 — a decrease of only about 3 percent from last year — while more than half of the homes on the market at the end of June were listed between $250,000 to $400,000.

Don Paulson is trying to sell one of those homes in north Dickinson.

“I just want to downsize,” he said.

He may not have to wait long to do so.
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Looking into their future: Kids help break ground for new Dickinson middle school

Connor Brandvik, 10, stands with his shovel and hard hat after helping with the groundbreaking of the new Dickinson middle school on Tuesday afternoon. Above, Josh Gustafson with Mortenson Construction laughs as battles the wind while hanging a sign for the new middle school.

Connor Brandvik stood with head rested on the handle of his shovel Tuesday afternoon as he looked out onto a grassy fi eld where, two years from now, he’ll spend his eighth-grade school year.

The Dickinson 10-year-old was one of three children of Hagen Junior High staff selected to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Dickinson Middle School. Brandvik will be a sixth-grader at Berg Elementary School this year, but in the fall of 2017 will be among the fi rst group of students to enter the middle school.

“I personally feel really honored,” Brandvik said, still wearing his hard hat. “It just feels so good to be a part of something that’s really important.”

Staff members, Dickinson Public Schools offi cials and representatives of companies involved with the school’s construction met for the groundbreaking in what — for now — is a rural area in northwest Dickinson along under-construction 21st Street West between State Avenue and 30th Avenue West.

Within two weeks, construction will start on the school.

“It really is like field of dreams,” said Vince Reep, Dickinson Public Schools assistant superintendent. “If you build it, they will come.”
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A presidential race without any winners

Like me, you’re probably getting sick of hearing about a presidential election still 17 months away.

Maybe that’s because, so far, the options have been pretty bad. None of the candidates throwing their hat in the ring are in any way captivating or world-changing, and no one has put forward a true vision for our country’s future.

Longtime readers know I’ve never been Obama’s biggest fan. But I’ll always acknowledge his ability to be presidential when he absolutely needs to be, and I respect how he stands up for his ideals and vision — whether or not I agree with him.

Not one candidate — Republican or Democrat — has displayed a truly presidential quality the American people want and need as we gear up for what’s sure to be the most talked-about election in history. Some look good on paper, others on TV. A few speak really well and know how to fi re up their base.

But are any of them actually presidential material?

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