Questions before granting a $14.5 million tax incentive

Let me say at the outset, that I’m a supporter of tax incentives and TIF districts. The TIF district approved for the Big M building was an outstanding use; we the taxpayers would have owned and paid for the demolition of that building had it not been saved through use of a TIF. Sometimes the

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The Best Band You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of Is Playing a New Year’s Eve Show in Minot

When it comes to music, calling any band the ‘best’ is likely to start a debate, maybe even an argument. I’m not looking for either; I was looking to get your attention. If you’ve made it this far, I got it, so I’ll get to it. The genre is Rock/Americana. The band is the Social

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Army Corps greenlights $2.2 billion plan to stop coastal Louisiana from washing away

The Corps of Engineers working to restore the natural, delta-building characteristics of the Mississippi River. Southern Louisiana is one of the most man-made environments around because for hundreds of years, we’ve been diverting and containing the lower river. It’s an expensive, ambitious project with the goal of righting past wrongs. It’s also not without risks

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Fargo/Drekker’s Brewhalla Proving Breweries are Big Economic Development Engines

Fargo’s Drekker Brewing is making a move uncommon in the bar business; they’re making room for competitors. The concept is called Brewhalla, and it’s a lot more than a brewery. It’s a food destination, a market, a brewery, and a hotel, and more. It’s also built around the idea that when competitors of the same

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Can an entire football division survive on the backs of the Dakotas and Montana?

When it comes to FCS College Football, the season-ending drama is consistently featuring the same teams. This season is no different. Last weekend’s games resulted in NDSU and SDUS advancing to the championship game in Frisco, Texas. Many formerly competitive teams in the division have opted up. It’s a circumstance that has many asking how

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Politicians use hostility for the news media to escape accountability

It’s become popular to gang up on the news, especially when the work of professional journalists results in something we dislike. The ‘fake’ news label has become so common that for many among us, there is no one left to trust. Rob Port provides commentary on the unfortunate trend of elected leaders blaming media for

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RAWA: If Not Now, When?

Biodiversity on the prairie is on the decline; threats to it are rising. More than 115 species are at risk of extinction. RAWA stands for the Recovery of America’s Wildlife Act, and according to Ricky Klaverkamp, writing at News Dakota, it’s an important bill for North Dakota and the time to act is now, before

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Poutine should be on the UN’s cultural heritage list

What makes a place? A strong argument can be made for the food eaten there as a big contributor, and when it comes to their culinary heritage, our Canadian neighbors are making the case that poutine deserves an honored place and recognition from UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It invites the

Read & Share   sourced from: Brandon Sun

REPUBLISHED: Election Night Fireworks, An Apology, and a Tip of Hat to the Keepers of Democracy

Given the enormous distrust that has developed in our elections over the past several years, this article from The Minot Voice archives seemed worth revisiting. And once again, my experience voting in this year’s election mirrors my past experiences. For those of you working our elections today and throughout the early voting process, you have

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Election day is over and guess what?

Tom Dean is a 75-year old physician who practices medicine in rural South Dakota. The virus is raging through his community; it claimed his father and ten others in the local nursing home. It all has him wondering what it will take to bring us together? Read his full commentary on The Washington Post.

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Support for Socialism Unites North Dakota Leadership

As the 2020 election is approaching, America appears to be deeply divided. Finding bipartisan consensus is becoming uncomfortably difficult. In North Dakota, however, we have apparently achieved consensus on one important issue. That is the benefit of socialism. North Dakota, at the state level, has been a one-party state since 1994. During that 26 year

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Public Comment on Minot Joining the Dakota Access Amicus Brief

Government — at the local, state, and federal levels — works best when those making decisions on issues hear from those who are impacted. And at a Special City Council meeting today,  the City of Minot through possible action of the Council may weigh in and speak up the ladder — into the federal court

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If the City doesn’t, who will? And if nobody does, then what?

The question of a City Hall relocation is on tonight’s City Council agenda. Item 7.5 asks the Council to act on the staff recommendation to drop the Big M building and chase the former Wells Fargo building for the City’s future home. I have a lot of questions I’d like answered before I act on

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Musings on the melting pot

I recently attended a conference in Chicago where one of the featured speakers was a well- regarded demographer from the University of North Carolina. According to his research, for the first time ever in the USA, children in the first grade with brown skin, outnumber children with white skin. By his definition, children with brown

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Can we admit we’re part of the problem?

Reasonable people should at least agree in concept that some degree of control should be exercised by the federal government at the Mexican border. The Mexican border is ground zero for immigration. Canadians appear to be content with high taxes, socialized medicine, expensive booze, expensive gasoline, and less than balmy weather. We should hardly blame

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

Are there works of literature, music or pop culture which somewhat describe current events in our nation’s capital? Could it be Dante’s Inferno? Could it be Alice in Wonderland? Could it be To Kill a Mockingbird? Could it be The Crucible? Could it be The Emperor Has No Clothes? Is it like watching One Flew

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