Tag: Columns

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library once-in-generation opportunity for North Dakota

You can visit the George W. Bush Presidential Library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. It only costs $7 to get into both the Bill Clinton library in Little Rock, Ark., and the Gerald Ford library in Ann Arbor, Mich.

These presidents each had their faults, yet they still have libraries to honor them and serve as historical research sites.

Somehow, Theodore Roosevelt — a man whose face is on Mount Rushmore and is considered one of our greatest leaders — is among the American presidents without a library.

The North Dakota Legislature has tasked Dickinson State University with changing that.

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Time to fix DHS exit onto State Avenue

The other day, there was a three-car accident on State Avenue next to Dickinson High School.

I don’t remember exactly what day it was, but does that really matter? This happens far too often for it to be news.

Is it time for accidents like this to be a thing of the past?

A little crowdsourcing says it is.

Continue reading “Time to fix DHS exit onto State Avenue”

Democrats can’t afford to wait for candidates

The way things are shaping up, western North Dakota’s legislative elections are going to be one-horse races.

There is a little more than two weeks remaining until the April 7 filing deadline for party candidacy in the 2014 election and the Democrat-NPL party hasn’t had a single person announce their candidacy in western North Dakota’s five legislative districts — including the three that encompass much of The Dickinson Press’ coverage area.

If for nothing else than the sake of democracy, North Dakota Democrat’s need to get candidates lined up in the west and get them on the campaign trail.

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Questions aside, Trinity will be fine

Like many people in southwest North Dakota, I’m a Lutheran who is friends with a lot of Catholics.

For me, it goes back to high school when I met a handful of Trinity kids and found that, despite what us small-towners had heard, they weren’t the arrogant “big city” kids some thought they were. A few of those guys have become lifelong friends and, through them, I’ve met many other great friends and people along the way.

One of those guys woke me up Monday with a text message while I was laying in a hotel bed on vacation. He asked if I had heard about the fire at Trinity High School. He didn’t have many details but knew school was canceled. Wondering just how serious it was, we theorized it was something small — maybe an electrical fire — that could probably be dealt with. He had driven by and said the outside of the building looked OK.

So, I assigned the story to one of our reporters and got back to the last day of my vacation.

Continue reading “Questions aside, Trinity will be fine”

There’s no place like Watford City

Nothing in America compares to what’s happening right now in Watford City. It’s as simple as that.

As Williston gets the headlines and Dickinson sees the benefits of the Bakken oil boom while not having to deal with the truly dirty side of it, Watford City is stuck right in the middle of it all — “the epicenter” of the biggest shale oil play in American history, as McKenzie County Economic Development Director Gene Veeder put it.

Most of the talk about Watford City in the past couple years has been about the bypass to send Highway 85’s heavy truck traffic around the city. Lately, we learned of a company in Watford City improperly disposing of radioactive filter socks.

But to truly understand what’s happening on the ground, you have to sit down and speak to the city’s leaders.

Continue reading “There’s no place like Watford City”