Letters to the Editor

Re: “Saying no to factory hog farm,” Forum Editorial, published Sept. 8, 2016

September 16th, 2016

To the editor:

As candidates for the state legislature from District 22, we agree with the position of the Concerned Citizens of Buffalo regarding the proposed factory hog farm in their community. Our strong belief is that the issues raised by the Concerned Citizens are legitimate and pressing -- among these are risks to human health, the impact on the town’s water and air quality, decreased property values, adequacy of manure disposal, excess soil nutrient runoff, and interference…

To the editor

July 13th, 2016

In Chris Hennen’s recent column “With oil dollars all but gone, what did we get?”, the writer bemoaned North Dakota’s revenue shortfall and the benefits reaped from the state’s oil boom.

Hennen presented some facts and figures that I feel need some clearing up.

First of all, the Budget Stabilization Fund is not a rainy day fund. The state legislature established this fund in 1987 to offset any revenue shortfalls.

What Hennen is likely referring to is the Legacy Fund, a source…

Letters To The Editor

June 22nd, 2016

Pack the Commission, change to wards

To the editor:

With nearly a dozen candidates running for Fargo City Commission, some residents think Fargo should have a runoff election, so a candidate can get a decent majority of the votes.

I’d say “so what?”. Even with a runoff election, those who don’t like the two candidates who make it to the runoff ballot are forced to vote for someone they didn’t want on the ballot anyway. In effect, it doesn’t matter if someone gets 15% or 51%…

MARVIN NELSON: WELL PAST TIME?

May 18th, 2016

MARVIN NELSON: WELL PAST TIME?

To the Editor:

It was in mid-January that Doug Burgum, a Republican, announced his intention to run for the governorship. No Democrat had so declared, though Sarah Vogel, former Commissioner of Agriculture, was publicly making up her mind.

In an enthusiastic editorial of Jan. 21, HPR co-owner John Strand endorsed Burgum and suggested that Vogel go for a seat on the North Dakota Supreme Court instead. He also approved the idea, at least, of Democrats’…

AIR, COAL, WATER, AND CHEAP POLITICIANS

April 29th, 2016

AIR, COAL, WATER, AND CHEAP POLITICIANS

To the editor,

The history of North Dakota is a two-century litany of exploitation, from the earliest arrivals of Europeans on our prairies and rivers to the present.

With these reminders, I picked up my copy of the book “One Time Harvest,” published in 1975, which delved into the relatively nascent North Dakota lignite coal industry.

The title came from speeches by Governor Arthur Link contrasting agricultural productivity with fossil fuel…

Letters To The Editor

April 20th, 2016

The judicial system primarily acts to inflict punishment as opposed to rehabilitation.

To the editor:

The BCI's use of Confidential Informants is unwise and by definition holds the CI hostage to the performance of information leading to the arrest of persons with the use of search warrant's and quotas imposed on the confidential informant. I of course agree with the judicial need to prosecute offenders, however, it is impossible not to infringe on person’s constitutional rights when…

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

March 10th, 2016

To the Editor:

I was raised on our family farm near Buffalo, North Dakota. After college I served in the U.S. Army, worked in the Fargo Public Schools and eventually returned to my hometown of Buffalo about thirty years ago. I am a past Mayor of the community and am involved in our American Legion Post #10, the City of Buffalo Historic Preservation Commission, the Buffalo Community Club and the City Park Board.

The proposed Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, or CAFO, to be…

Letter to the editor: I don’t like the caucus system

February 4th, 2016

To the editor:

I don't like the Caucus system. Caucuses are archaic and exclusive and usually take place in the evening, when many people have to work, thus eliminating them from the whole process (no absentee voting in a caucus). It's also not nearly as representative as a Primary, where there is one vote for one person. For example, in the 2016 Iowa Caucus, at one precinct in Iowa City, Bernie Sanders had over 400 people choose him, while Hillary Clinton had just over 90 people choose…

Letter to the editor on corporate farming

January 30th, 2016

To the editor:

Corporate farming is not the future of agriculture in North Dakota. Local communities all across the country are fighting against corporate farms for good reason. Recently, the community of Buffalo, ND was blindsided by a proposed 9,000 hog factory farm, which will drastically worsen the economic, environmental, and social dynamic of Buffalo. These types of factory farms do not invest in local communities. They do business wherever they can get the best deal, which is…

Letter to the editor from Trana Rogne on the Diversion

January 24th, 2016

To the editor:

The Saint Paul District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has recently released a document touting the value of the Alternative Delivery plan, called the P3, for funding the FM Diversion.

The P3 funding is a private public partnership to fund projects that were not funded in the Water Resource Reform and Development Act of 2014.

Among the reasons stated in this document for using the P3 funding method are the following:

“It will save the federal government $400 million.”

This…