Letters to the Editor | December 12th, 2016
To the editor:
As one of 14 recent active candidates for the recently-vacated Moorhead Ward 2 City Council position, I want first to express my pride that so many good and decent residents stepped up to offer their talents and abilities for public service. The duties are surely great, the stress is undoubtedly heavy, and the pay is minimal for the hours necessary to represent the post with positive effect, all while best weighing public financial, economic and safety priorities.
That said, I believe Monday night's expected narrowing of the candidate list, which was spelled out to the letter in an email to all of the candidates, was botched by the Council. The citizens of Ward 2, as well as the candidates stepping forward for service, were not given their due diligence. We as candidates were informed that the Council would be culling the candidate list to three on Monday, and the face-to-face interviews would take place before the public next Monday. That didn't happen.
The candidate was chosen by hand vote, against advice from City Attorney John Shockley. He suggested another week to research the finalists, which were never even chosen. There was no vetting nor interviews, as we candidates were led to believe. Additionally, candidates never received a follow-up explanation email or phone call of any sort the day after the quirky decision was made.
Was there a cabal, a collusion of like-minded Council members to simply place their "chosen one?" I was not even in favor of Council members choosing the newest member, as opposed to a vote of the citizenry, but played along with the rules as they were presented. I am not upset I was not chosen. I am upset that the protocol we were led to believe was city law, was simply rolled into the ditch for a more convenient, lazier alternative.
I personally cannot fathom hiring an employee without an interview, let alone someone tasked with representing more than 42,000 residents of the "Best Small City in America" by NerdWallet.com last year. But that's what the City Council did. Moorhead citizens and my fellow Council candidates deserve better.
Not a single resident of Ward 2 voted for the newest Ward 2 Council member. That doesn't ring of democracy to me. Not even close.
-Daniel Haglund Moorhead, Ward 2 resident of 25 years
April 18th 2024
April 18th 2024
December 10th 2023
January 18th 2023
January 15th 2023
Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.com A midnight wedding ceremony at the Clay County Courthouse in Moorhead on August 1, 2013 was more than a romantic gesture. Eighteen couples made history on that day by exchanging vows in the…
By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu On March 11, 2024, we celebrated the 121st birthday of bandleader Lawrence Welk. He was born March 11, 1903 in a sod house near Strasburg, North Dakota, and died on May 17,1992. The…
Saturday, May 117 p.m., gates at 5 p.m.Outdoors at Fargo Brewing Company610 University Dr. N, FargoWisconsin’s finest export, The Violent Femmes, started out in Milwaukee in 1981 as an acoustic punk band, and they’ve been…
Is this a repeating pattern?By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThere’s a quote circulating around the world wide web, misattributed to Sinclair Lewis: "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a…
by Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comAccording to my great-grandfather many years ago, my French ancestors migrated from Normandy to Quebec to Manitoba to Wisconsin to Minnesota over the spread of more than two centuries, finally…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com In this land of hotdish and ham, the knoephla soup of German-Russian heritage seems to reign supreme. In my opinion though, the French have the superior soup. With a cheesy top layer, toasted baguette…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.com It is not unheard of for bands to go on hiatus. However, as the old saying goes, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” That is why when a local group like STILL comes back to…
Now playing at the Fargo Theatre.By Greg Carlson gregcarlson1@gmail.comPalme d’Or recipient “Anatomy of a Fall” is now enjoying an award-season victory tour, recently picking up Golden Globe wins for both screenplay and…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com There’s no exaggeration when we say that this year’s Plains Art Gala is going to be out of this world, with a sci-fi theme inspired by a painting housed in the Plains Art Museum’s permanent…
By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By John Showalter john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…
JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…
__300x100.jpg)
Dismissing the value of small towns for the future of our nation is a mistakeBy Bill Oberlanderarcandburn@gmail.comAccording to U.S. Census projections, by the middle of this century, roughly 90% of the total population will live…