May 16th, 2014
The difference between this year’s Red River flood predictions and the resulting flood was substantial enough for residents to wonder “What happened?”
Forecasters predicted at one time that the crest could exceed 40 feet; however, they continued to lower their predictions partially due to snowfall later in the season and the resulting prolonged melt. The Red River peaked a little over 33 feet.
As a result of this difference, costly preparation for a flood that was forecasted to…
April 24th, 2014
A new, forthcoming report from the AFL-CIO on workplace-related deaths in 2012 in the United States shows North Dakota leading the nation, by far, in the number of deaths per 100,000 workers. The report entitled “Death on the Job” is compiled with preliminary numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the U.S. Department of Labor and it ranked North Dakota dead last, 50th out of 50 states with 64 workplace-related deaths in 2012, up from 44 in 2011 and 30 in 2010. North Dakota…
April 17th, 2014
Minnesota medical marijuana supporters hoping the state would join the nationwide trend towards legalizing some form of marijuana may be in for a letdown, but hope is still there.
The Minnesota Legislature is currently on Easter break and following that break, sponsors of various medical marijuana bills stuck in committee will push for full votes on the measures in the House and Senate. If it…
March 6th, 2014
“No Keystone XL Black Snake Pipeline will cross Lakota Lands. We will protect our lands and waters and we have our horses ready…” Bryan Brewer, President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe
In mid February, the Keystone XL Pipeline, or the Black Snake found some stronger adversaries. “It poses a threat to our sacred water and the product is coming from the tar sands and our tribes oppose the tar…
January 9th, 2014
Right before the end of the year, our region received what many consider to be an important wake-up call to the dangers of the oil boom in North Dakota. The state has been making national news constantly for all the economic benefits the boom has produced but for once we saw in raw, vivid detail what could be the downside.
The train derailment and subsequent explosion of a 106-car BNSF train carrying crude east…
December 19th, 2013
After years of waiting, relief is coming to Fargo cable customers. Midcontinent Communications, out of Sioux Falls, S.D., recently announced it will enter the Fargo market, supplanting Cable One as Fargo’s lone cable franchise. If, as is expected, the City of Fargo’s Cable Review Committee approves the franchise agreement crafted between the two parties, installation of the expansion will begin in the spring of 2014. Services would be provided in phases over four years.
Why the…
November 7th, 2013
By Rick Abbott
For Winona LaDuke, it’s personal.
A proposed 610-mile pipeline would bring crude oil close to her Minnesota home. That’s part of the reason why she’s now speaking out about what she says are dangers caused by North Dakota’s burgeoning oil business.
A recent report by the Associated Press brought to light nearly 300 pipeline spills in North Dakota since January 2012 that were not reported to the public. These were part of 750 undisclosed oil field “incidents”…
October 17th, 2013
By Sean Coffman
As part of the 63rd Legislative Assembly of North Dakota, Senate Bill 2252 was submitted to augment civil liberty protections. In February of 2013, the bill failed to pass the Senate by a 21-26 vote. Had it passed as originally drafted, SB2252 would have amended the state policy against discrimination to include sexual orientation.
“SB 2252 would have provided lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender…
August 8th, 2013
Train’s “Marry Me” provided an appropriate soundtrack as the clock ticked toward midnight on August 1 and dozens quietly trickled into a Clay County courtroom.
A sheriff’s deputy on duty said he’d never heard music in the courtroom before. But for a night of firsts that was a trivial aside. Shortly after midnight, 18 gay and lesbian couples became some of the first to exchange vows under Minnesota’s new law that made it the latest of 13 states to allow same-sex…
July 11th, 2013
A former congresswoman who has turned tragedy into activism dropped by Fargo last Wednesday with her astronaut husband to promote “common-sense steps” to curb gun violence.
About a hundred people gathered in downtown Fargo’s Atomic Coffee to hear from Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head more than two years ago at a meet-and-greet in Tucson, Ariz., and her husband Mark Kelly, who flew on four space shuttle missions. The short visit was one leg of a weeklong “Rights and…