News

Double CBD standards: laws for them, laws for us

September 7th, 2018

by Jacques Harvieux
jacquesthejock@gmail.com

BISMARCK - While local stores are being investigated for selling hemp-based CBD oil, an illegal product in North Dakota, the state’s only U.S. Congressman implies he uses the product on a regular basis.

In 2017, two stores were “raided” by police after owners admitted on television they sold CBD oil. One of the stores’ owners, Lonna Zacher Brooks, of Terry’s Health Products, a Bismarck health food store, was targeted by local police…

Power, poison, and pot

September 5th, 2018

Design by Raul Gomez

CANNONBALL, ND – A week before the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy began creating headlines around the world, 40,000 pounds of poison were spread across open fields, primarily on the Standing Rock Reservation. Instead of digging the rodenticide six inches into the ground – like the directions say – the poison, meant for prairie dogs, was scattered across 5,400 acres with a spoon and a bucket, killing bald eagles, buffalo, and other wildlife.

The incident is one of the worst…

Ruby red slippers found, yes, those slippers

September 4th, 2018

Dorothy's ruby slippers - Wikipedia

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Dorothy’s missing ruby slippers were never far from home.

Stolen from the Grand Rapids, Minnesota Judy Garland Museum in 2005, a pair of Judy Garland’s magical slippers went missing for 13 years, but agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered “The Wizard of Oz” iconic shoes from the 1939 film during a sting operation in Minneapolis this summer.

The recovered slippers are one of four pairs, and are known as the “traveling pair,” worth…

‘They drink your milkshake’

August 29th, 2018

Design by Raul Gomez

When Lloyd Ness’s cousin knocked on his front door, he didn’t need much sweet talk to sign an oil lease on family land. Lloyd Ness and his wife, Mary, read Samson Resources’ contractual fine print, received an attorney’s stamp, but put more stock in their good-natured cousin’s word as a trusted local farmer in Divide County. Slightly jaded from nodding donkeys and previous failed oil adventures, they didn’t expect much; wildcatters were a fickle bunch. But for a time, Lloyd…

Voting methods: butter knife or scalpel

August 27th, 2018

Fargo's City Commission approves admitting approval voting measure for the November election - photograph by C.S. Hagen

FARGO – Seven coworkers want different pizzas for lunch; three want cheeseburgers. Under the current voting system, burgers win.

Seem fair? Not exactly, said Jed Limke, the man who began the Approval Voting Army. On Monday, City Auditor Steve Sprague alerted the City Commission that approval voting passed inspection and will be voted on as an initiated measure this November.

The current voting system, called regular plurality voting, is a centuries-old system allowing voters to cast…

Cramer’s office threatens constituents

August 23rd, 2018

Summer protest outside of Congressman Kevin Cramer's office in Fargo - photograph by C.S. Hagen

BISMARCK – Mary Rennich and a handful of North Dakotans only wanted to listen, perhaps ask a question about healthcare if time allowed during a Republican press conference at the North Dakota Farm Bureau on Wednesday.

Instead of having their opinions welcomed, current Congressman Kevin Cramer’s campaign manager, Pat Finken, said they were on private property, and threatened Rennich and others with physical removal from the building if they dared say a word.

“I was incredibly…

Going, going, gone

August 22nd, 2018

Design by Raul Gomez

by Elyssa McCulloch
elyssa.McCulloch@uj.edu

If you have looked at a newspaper or talked to a group of farmers lately you may have heard the news about pollinators, honeybees especially. With the increase of agricultural land and the consequent loss of native plant life, pollinators have been having a hard time. Annual loss of honeybee colonies is now greater than 30 percent, and many native bee species are in decline. However with the awareness of the issue being raised, actions have been…

More than sparkly hats and little cars

August 22nd, 2018

Corn Palace Hillbillies, Mitchell, SD

Photos by Sabrina Hornung

The Midwest Shrine Association held their annual conference in Deadwood South Dakota last weekend. A total of 14 Shrine chapters were represented hailing from Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. El Zagal and Kem shrines were in attendance proudly representing their North Dakota chapters. Attendance for the summer conference usually ranges from between 2,000 and 2,500 Nobles and their Ladies.

The Shriners hosted two…

An enemy of the people

August 22nd, 2018

Heidi Heitkamp at rally - photograph by Raul Gomez

FARGO – A day after a Republican attack on her voting record, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp struck back against her opponent, saying current Congressman Kevin Cramer is irresponsible and is voting to hurt North Dakotans.

She slammed Cramer’s support for a Texas-led lawsuit that North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has brought the state into as dangerous. The lawsuit against the United States by a total of 20 states seeks to completely repeal the Affordable Care Act saying…

North Dakota Prosecutors Drop All Serious Charges against Chase Iron Eyes

August 22nd, 2018

Chase Iron Eyes, a 2016 North Dakota Democratic congressional nominee - YouTube screenshot

by the Indian Country Today Editorial Team

In what defense attorneys are calling a major victory for their client and for the water protectors of Standing Rock, North Dakota prosecutors have dropped all serious charges against former North Dakota congressional candidate Chase Iron Eyes in his case resulting from protests of the Dakota Access pipeline.

Iron Eyes, an attorney who works for the Lakota People’s Law Project, was facing a maximum of six years in state prison after his arrest…