Yards Are Not Enough: The Importance of the Public Realm

Just before the recent snap of cold weather landed in Texas, I zipped my son into his sweatshirt and marched him to the car. It was time for our daily “outside time,” and I had decided that today would be a little different from our normal walk around the neighborhood. Ten minutes of driving later,

Read & Share   sourced from: Strong Towns

Counterpoint: The Electoral College Must Be Reformed

For an alternate viewpoint, see “Point: The Electoral College Protects Minority Views and Discourages Fraud.” How we elect our presidents has never been more broken — and that’s saying something for an Electoral College system subject to more proposed constitutional amendments than any other topic. We urgently need popular vote elections that treat every voter equally

Read & Share   sourced from: Inside Sources

Point: The Electoral College Protects Minority Views and Discourages Fraud

For an alternate viewpoint, see “Counterpoint: The Electoral College Must Be Reformed.” The Framers of the U.S. Constitution designed a unique system to choose our president in 1787: the Electoral College. More than two centuries later, it remains an invaluable institution that helps safeguard us against the tyranny of the majority and vote fraud. Back then,

Read & Share   sourced from: Inside Sources

Ballot measure resolution a roadblock to democratic process

The people of North Dakota deserve better than [House Concurrent Resolution 3003](https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/69-2025/regular/bill-overview/bo3003.html?bill_year=2025&bill_number=3003) — a proposal at the state legislature that would undermine our rights and our civic powers as citizens. This resolution, like last year’s Measure 2, is an attack on our ability to shape our future through citizen-initiated ballot measures. It’s designed to silence us by

Read & Share   sourced from: North Dakota Monitor

Making Property Taxes Fair Again: A Reform Plan for North Dakota

North Dakota’s property tax system might not be a typical dinner table topic, but its complexity impacts every homeowner. A recent proposal aims to address frustrations with the current system, introducing bold reforms like an 8-year rolling average for assessments and a focus on taxing usable square footage for primary residences. The author argues these

Read & Share   sourced from: The Dakotan

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Ethics and the One-Party State: A Mission Not Yet Accepted

The reluctance of the North Dakota State legislature to accept the recommendations of the newly formed ethics commission should not be a surprise except to the most naive among us. Organizations historically have not been known to reform themselves. Elected officials having hubris is about as surprising as ducks having webbed feet. The relaxed conflict

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The Sacred, the Profane, and the Bully Pulpit

Editor’s Note: This commentary has language not worthy of a Sunday or any Sunday places. You’ve been alerted. In May of 2020, at the height of our COVID isolation, I went deeper in. I walked into the North Dakota Badlands with a friend. At the time, I was still serving on Minot’s City Council. Beyond

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Port: The culture war bills are back at North Dakota’s Legislature

North Dakota is no stranger to legislative drama, and this session is no exception with bills that wade deeply into the murky waters of religious and social policy. Among the more contentious proposals, House Bill 1145 seeks to mandate the display of the Ten Commandments in all public classrooms, while others aim to resurrect blue

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Why should elected officials care about ethics when we don’t?

Ethics in North Dakota politics are raising eyebrows as lawmakers reconvene in Bismarck. Key figures like Rep. Jason Dockter, recently convicted of a misdemeanor over a questionable lease deal, continue to hold office despite calls for accountability. Similarly, other instances, such as lobbyist ties or ethical missteps at the University of North Dakota, emphasize the

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum

Port: Minot’s city manager wants to block access to public employee personnel files

Government transparency in Minot looks to again be on the agenda. Harold Stewart, the City Manager, wants to keep personnel records under wraps — that’s the message he delivered at a City Council meeting on the upcoming legislative session late last year. And that’s an issue that has caught the interest of columnist Rob Port.

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum

Our opinion: The time has come for free school meals for all in North Dakota

North Dakota is on the brink of a pivotal decision that could transform its school cafeterias into hubs of equality and nourishment. A recent poll reveals a whopping 82% of residents support providing meals to all school children, echoing efforts already underway in neighboring Minnesota. As food insecurity rises and school lunchrooms carry the weight

Read & Share   sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

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A Fireside Chat on American Turbulence

The country is in a period of transition from the leadership of one incoherent old man to another incoherent old man. Rather than obsessing and speculating about what the eventual results of that transition may be, at least football fans have something to distract their attention. Will Diploma Mill State beat Deadbeat A&M in the

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5 North Dakota stories to watch in 2025

Many of the state’s biggest stories from last year — including those related to taxation, abortion and incarceration — remain unsettled. State leaders could reignite public discussion of these issues as early as the 69th legislative session, which starts Tuesday. Here are five state government stories we’ll be watching this year: Property taxes The ballot

Read & Share   sourced from: North Dakota Monitor

It is Time to Preserve the Remaining Wild

The Maah Daah Hey National Monument proposal seeks to protect about one tenth of the 1.1 million acres of the Little Missouri National Grasslands. A modest request to preserve our expansive Badlands.  The proposal (found here) tells a more proportional story that  recognizes the ancestral lands of indigenous people of ND. We owe them that

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How humanities classes benefit students in the workplace and combat loneliness

In a world obsessed with tech and science, the humanities are quietly taking a back seat, and that’s a loss we might not recognize until it’s too late. With a 24% drop in humanities majors since 2012, the pressure to focus on so-called “practical” degrees is palpable. But dismissing subjects like literature, history, and philosophy

Read & Share   sourced from: The Conversation

What can a unified Republican Party agree on?

In Wyoming, there’s division in the ruling Republican Party. Sound familiar? The same could be said for North Dakota. So read the commentary linked below from Wyoming File and then replace Wyoming with North Dakota. It will be pretty accurate, but it won’t be personal. Maybe that’s a pathway to political reconciliation — it’s almost

Read & Share   sourced from: WyoFile