Editorials

Concerns about non-certified "teachers" in North Dakota public school classrooms are valid and should not be dismissed simply because of a teacher shortage. But that appears to be the agenda of the North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board despite thoughtful objections...

The initial reaction among North Dakota's leading elected officials to a new air quality standard promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is so over-the-top as to border on apocalyptic. It is more sky-is-falling Chicken Little rhetoric than credible critique.

Dickinson State University was looking for a volunteer to serve as its interim president. The State Board of Higher Education found perhaps the best one in North Dakota for the job. On Tuesday, the board appointed Jim Ozbun as interim president of DSU a day after D.C. Coston announced...

The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead If alcohol sales are to be permitted in the Fargodome at North Dakota State University football games, the best option is a beer garden that keeps beer out of the stands. That appears to be the choice of the Fargo Dome Authority; and it looks like...

The Jamestown Sun hands out these bravos this week: * Bravo to those who donated to Elks Camp Grassick, a camp near Dawson, N.D., that provides a summer camp experience for special needs children and adults. The annual Runnin' O the Green donated $20,000 to Elks Camp Grassick,...

The reluctance of railroads to share information about the condition of their bridges is curious. It does nothing to moderate railroads' "bad neighbor" reputation, and certainly does not serve the cause of public safety. A Minnesota Public Radio investigation (Forum, July 27)...

In the latest iteration of the never-ending saga of selecting a new nickname for the University of North Dakota, President Robert Kelley capitulated (yes, that's the right word) to the lunacy of the social media universe and added a sixth name to a list of five that had been agreed...

It's a we-told-you-so moment. North Dakota's abortion bill was a doomed stunt in 2013 when the Legislature passed it and the governor signed it. It did not survive review by a federal judge based in Bismarck. And last Wednesday, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling...

As mentioned before in this space, the Herald's editorial board sincerely hopes that UND/North Dakota does not wind up as the permanent nickname for the University of North Dakota. But also as mentioned before, a great many people vigorously disagree.

Franklin Roosevelt authorized the forced incarceration of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. As Supreme Allied Commander in that war, Dwight Eisenhower presided without protest over a rigidly segregated U.S. Army. "I am not, nor ever have been, in favor...

The next Honor Flight for veterans of World War II and the Korean War likely will take off this fall. If a fall date doesn't work, the flight will be scheduled for spring. Support from Fargo-Moorhead and surrounding communities has been good, but more funds will be needed before the...

The best thing that can happen to Democrats is for outspoken, outrageous Donald Trump, the New York billionaire, to dominate the Republican presidential primary season. The Donald is in classic form these days, insulting Mexico and Mexican-Americans while trying to make a case about...

The Stark County Commission and its state's attorney solved a problem before it became one Monday by allowing the county's deputy recorder to sign same-sex marriage licenses after county recorder Kathy Schwab expressed her unwillingness to doing so based on her belief system. Schwab,...

Years ago, North Dakota teachers' salaries ranked among the nation's lowest, but school districts seldom had a hard time filling vacancies. Today, while salaries score much higher on national rankings, some schools get few or no applications when openings arise. What's going...

Unless the summer weather pattern shifts quickly, the U.S. Northern Plains, North Dakota in particular, will be plagued by smoke from forest fires in Saskatchewan for much of the summer. The raging fires cannot be put out without help from Mother Nature, and to date she is not cooperating....