Category: Uncategorized

Note: This is a re-run of something I wrote seven years ago today, September 11, 2011. Yes, it has been a long ten years. On August 29, 2001, I sat beside my wife’s bed as she looked up at her doctor, exhausted, pale and gaunt after two years of unrelenting chemotherapy, and said “No more. … Continue reading September 11 Thoughts

Lest we let the threat of an oil refinery beside Theodore Roosevelt National Park slip from our minds as we go about our busy fall lives, here’s an update on where things stand right now. Meridian Energy has started dirt work at the site beside I-94 on the road into the park, flouting the attempt … Continue reading Conservation Groups To Refinery: “Cease And Desist!”

A couple of weeks ago I wrote here about the proposed new bridge over the Little Missouri State Scenic River north of Medora that is being shoved down our throats by a megalomaniac county commissioner who wants to spend up to $20 million of our gas tax dollars on a “Bridge to Nowhere.” At the … Continue reading Comment Now On The “Bridge To Nowhere”

In the halcyon days of the 1970s in North Dakota, when the state was a quieter, kinder, friendlier, more thoughtful place, the Legislature passed a bill, and the Governor signed it, designating the Little Missouri River as our state’s only official State Scenic River, and creating a commission to look out for it. The Little … Continue reading The Halcyon Days Are Gone

If you read The Bismarck Tribune Tuesday morning, you read Amy Dalrymple’s pretty good story about Monday’s marathon Little Missouri Scenic River Commission meeting.  I’m going to write more about that later. I’ll just say, for now, be careful what you wish for. What I want to write about today is one of the things … Continue reading “Honest, Officer, I Thought I Owned That Land.” Wrong.

There is news this week on several fronts involving threats to the North Dakota Bad Lands. There are some long documents to read. Here’s a summary. More when I get done reading them. THAT DAMN REFINERY First, Meridian Energy’s proposed oil refinery near Theodore Roosevelt National Park. You probably read that the Dakota Resource Council … Continue reading Of Refineries and Bridges

I wrote here a couple weeks go about the beginning of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, created by Congress in 1947, and about the proposed oil refinery that threatens it, a refinery that has now been issued a permit by the State of North Dakota to build the dang thing. It’s been seventy years since Congress … Continue reading Who Wants To Invest In A Refinery? Here’s How You Can Do It.

Wait a minute. Wait A Minute! WAIT A MINUTE! What the heck is going on here? The North Dakota Legislature raised your taxes, and everybody’s cheering! The cheerleaders? Republicans: Gov. Doug Burgum, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger. Democrats: Senator Heidi Heitkamp, Tax Commissioner candidate Kylie Overson. The chant: “A victory for North … Continue reading Republicans Raising Taxes In North Dakota? Yep. They Did That. And The Democrats Cheered.

My day started out okay this morning. My pillbox told me it was Thursday—it’s always nice to know what day of the week it is right away in the morning.  I got my belt through most of the belt loops, and got my shoes on without untying them. The sun was shining through the kitchen … Continue reading “I So Declare It!”

Just 24 days ago, Will Gardner, the Republican Party’s nominee for North Dakota Secretary of State, announced he was dropping out of the race after news stories surfaced about him being arrested (and convicted) for peeking in windows at women’s dormitories at North Dakota State University. You might have been a bit hasty there, Will. … Continue reading Hold On A Minute There, Al, The Peeping Tom Just Got 54,000 Votes