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Closer look necessary for health care bills |
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Tuesday, 02 February 2010 |
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Jim Unkenholz
Bismarck With so many issues being dealt with in the health care bills under consideration, it is hard to see what is good and what isn’t. Perhaps a focus on a few issues would help.
In the Senate version, changes to Medicare would:
• reward higher-quality care
• not reduce benefits
• lower premiums for most Medicare beneficiaries
• provide greater access to preventive care
• begin to close the “doughnut hole”
• make changes to the Medicare Advantage plans (in which the private sector has not managed more efficiently or produced savings for Medicare as it was supposed to)
We need to take a close look at what the health care bills actually state before judging them.
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Water woes should not be shoved downstream |
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Tuesday, 02 February 2010 |
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By Kay Kringlie
Valley City It was somewhat heartening to read the article in The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead on Jan. 29 quoting Sen. Byron Dorgan regarding flooding in the Devils Lake basin: “I have always insisted, I am not interested in transferring the problems from one region of our state to another.”
I wish Gov. John Hoeven and the state’s Water Commission and Health Department felt the same. Particularly alarming is the fact that the governor and his commissions continue to press for increased flows into the Sheyenne River from the Devils Lake outlet without a thorough study of the environmental impact downstream.
Obviously, such a study should have been done years ago, before the outlet was built.
But it is still not too late for that to happen, especially since increasing flows into the Sheyenne will have very little impact on the water level in the Devils Lake basin. But once that water, high in sulfates and other contaminants, is in Lake Ashtabula and the Sheyenne River, the damage could be significant.
The damage could be even greater than what Dave Glatt of the North Dakota Department of Health talks about: “diarrhea in small animals and intestinal problems for transient populations.” For Valley City, those “transient populations” include university students, hospital and care center patients, tourists, visiting sports teams and other visitors.
And it is important to keep in mind that Devils Lake does not get its drinking water from the lake but Valley City does take its municipal water from the Sheyenne. Important, too, is the increased flooding downstream and very likely harm from other contaminants.
We could easily be, in Sen. Dorgan’s words, “transferring problems from one region to another.” Let’s not transfer anything until we are sure what we are doing.
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Future of Dem-NPL already serving public |
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Tuesday, 02 February 2010 |
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By Rep. Ben Vig
Recently, I have read several articles from newspaper editors concerned with the future of the Democratic-NPL Party.
Well, apparently they haven’t been paying attention to the past few elections.
Over the past few election cycles, North Dakotans have elected young, Democratic-NPL legislators from across the state to represent them in the state Legislature, increasing the Democratic-NPL numbers in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Voters have elected younger legislators to office from Grand Forks, Fargo, Larimore, Minot and Towner. And I myself have been honored to serve the five counties making up District 23 in east-central North Dakota.
The Democratic-NPL is not only committed to shaping the future of North Dakota, but we also have dedicated legislators who are stepping up to serve their communities through public service.
So the next time you hear someone mention that the Dem-NPL doesn’t have a “farm team,” or a strong bench of candidates, you can remind them – it’s because we’re already serving in public office.
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Keep City Park bridge a traditional color |
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Friday, 29 January 2010 |
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By Carol Flatau
Valley City Does anyone else remember the unfortunate effect created a few years ago when someone or some committee decided that the Barnes County Courthouse looked way too plain?
Splashes of color were added to brighten things up and make it look more modern. So our beautiful historic building suddenly sported various window panels (or whatever they used) of orange or red or yellow or green, etc., to make the boring, classic white architectural gem appear more contemporary. The result was totally tacky.
Fortunately, whatever they’d added was removable. Before too long, without much (or any) fanfare, the building was back to its uncolored beauty.
The City Park bridge is what it is. It’s not boring or uninteresting to look at. It’s an old bridge that deserves a fresh coat of paint appropriate to its age and design. Please, stay traditional with the color.
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Hoeven taking credit where none is due |
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Thursday, 28 January 2010 |
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By Bill Couchigan
Grand Forks Gov. John Hoeven has always reminded me a little of the rooster that claims credit for the sunrise.
I’ve been watching him for years attempting to get credit for things he had nothing to do with.
His announcement for the U.S. Senate included reference to the Red River Valley Research Corridor implying somehow he had something to do with it.
But he didn’t. It was Sen. Byron Dorgan’s idea to build a Red River Valley Research Corridor and create world-class research in our state. Sen. Dorgan is the one who steered more than $600 million in federal funding to create that opportunity.
Hoeven and the state Legislature have spent a fraction of that amount and yet for years Hoeven has been flying around the state acting like it was his idea and his accomplishment.
That’s why even conservative blogger Rob Port has consistently said one of the problems he has with John Hoeven is he claims credit for things others have done.
At least the rooster that thinks he causes the sunrise doesn’t know any better. Clearly John Hoeven should have learned when he was young that you don’t take credit for the work of others.
Bill Couchigan
Grand Forks |
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Cramer wrong on health care |
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Wednesday, 27 January 2010 |
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Margaret Bitz
Fargo Now a candidate who doesn’t know the facts hopes to run against Earl Pomeroy in a race for a U.S. House seat.
Kevin Cramer claims he would start over on health care reform, making the new bill incremental. Mr. Cramer either doesn’t know or fails to recognize the current health care bill in conference committee is an incremental bill.
The GOP claims the bill would create a couple-of-trillion-dollar debt (not substantiated) while failing to acknowledge this is a decade-long bill in implementation.
It is the intransigence of the GOP that has created Congress’ failure to get anything done in D.C. – the ironic reason for the GOP’s win in Massachusetts.
Do we really need another GOP representative following the pied piper of right-wing talk-show personnel to keep Congress at a standstill?
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Program can lessen potential flooding |
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Tuesday, 26 January 2010 |
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Dick Monson
Valley City Nick Simonson’s column concerning wetlands was right on the money (“Wetlands are key in flood prevention,” Thursday). Wetland destruction and preservation is a timely topic in our state, especially as we come out of the flood of 2009 and ponder the coming spring weather.
Here is hoping we don’t have to haul that mountain of dirt at the landfill back into town. Wetlands enrolled in a conservation program help alleviate that potential flooding.
Last year the Natural Resource Conservation Service was allowed by Congress to expand wetland preservation and restoration within the new Farmable Wetlands Program. Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson worked hard with conservation groups to get this program expanded.
There is an annual payment based on soil productivity. The program is orientated toward small wetlands rather than whole fields and payments are often comparable or higher than cash rent. Check out the details on the Web by searching for “Farmable Wetlands Program.”
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