Articles written by Lloyd Omdahl
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 121
Cutting taxes starves public services
Looking at the tax cut proposals now being debated in the legislature, maybe it’s time to revert back to a territory. Apparently, we don’t want the state to accept the responsibilities of...
Should the CCC be revived?
Walsh County Record (Grafton) Editor W. Todd Morgan reminded us last week that June observed the 80th anniversary of the closing of the Civilian Conservation Corps, an organization of young men 18-20...
Stopping the slaughter in schools
We had free access to guns when I was growing up. Common gun sense ruled the country. There was seldom the kind of mass shootings of kids as we see occurring today. Ironically, the strongest...
Student debt: Fairness is the issue
The drumbeat for abolishing student debt is growing as students and former students feel the financial crunch of poor employment and increasing inflation. Forty five million (45,000,000) Americans...
Is there a children's mental health crisis?
May being Mental Health Awareness month, it seems appropriate for us to confront an issue that eludes our attention until it strikes home. It is odd that mental health has become a major problem in a...
The tombstone market becomes personal
Just when I was planning to get one, the tombstone market turned to dust and everyone has to wait for memorial stones because the supply line died before we did. All we can say to bereaved friends,...
The $8 billion temptation in legacy fund
Having served on the State Investment Board on behalf of Governor George Sinner, I have had a continuing interest in the $8 billion pot of gold accumulated in the state treasury from oil revenue. The...
Virginia warns dems of off-year sweep
The defeat of incumbent Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe in Virginia is a precursor of the 2022 election, when Democrats better expect that normal off-year shift against an incumbent president....
Many citizens should be impeached
Citizenship is a public office in which electors are blessed with certain rights and charged with civic responsibilities. Unfortunately, more people demand their rights than their responsibilities so...
Labor Day forgotten in North Dakota
We just celebrated Labor Day. No, we didn't. Labor was forgotten while most of us only noticed that we had a holiday and spent it lounging, fishing, swimming, sunning, camping, playing – everything...
The common good needs full support
To avoid the partisan recrimination that now permeates discussions, perhaps we need to go to a paradigm that gives us neutrality while stripping away the unreasonable passions of the day. In our...
Term limits challenge citizen competence
A committee of petitioners is proposing a constitutional amendment that would limit future North Dakota legislators to eight years of service. The proposal would “grandfather” in all legislators...
Abortion issue muddier than ever
Most of the state legislatures have terminated their business for the year, leaving the abortion issue unsolved, most likely because it is an unsolvable issue that straddles the secular and spiritual...
College enrollments continue declining
According to the National Student Clearinghouse, enrollment in higher education institutions continues to decline, dropping 5% this spring. The 5% represents 725,000 fewer students. According to the...
Need a broader view for legacy fund
While other armchair quarterbacks are surveying the work of the 2021 legislative session, the three most significant acts include $700 million in bonding for infrastructure, $70 million for “career...
Newspapers foster the sense of community
Because newspapers have been at the forefront of community building, we cannot talk about the precarious condition of the published word without considering this primary function of nurturing the...
Investment decisions not for the legislature
At the behest of Jamestown area legislators, a grand plan for a $60 million amusement park has been proposed to the legislature with a direct appropriation of $5 million and a $60 million loan from...
The bitter realities of growing old
After one week in first grade, my daughter came home with a conclusion about life: “Life is hard and then you die.” Fast forward that through job losses, divorces, chronic ailments and kids for...
Legislature casting eyes on huge Legacy Fund
After 10 years of waiting for the courage to tackle spending the $8 billion Legacy Fund, the present legislature has blossomed with more ideas than dandelions in an unkempt cemetery. Legislators and c...
The Brick: Enrollment equation is getting worse
When Professor Elwyn Robinson wrote his comprehensive history of North Dakota in the 1950s, he coined a phrase that stuck. He called it the “too much mistake” because Dakotans in the 1880s had...
Governor: Let's Talk About COVID-19
At this stage of the political campaigns, the votes are all determined so we should be able to discuss the COVID-19 without all of its political rhetoric. We have nothing to lose if we are open and ci...
Home committee takes on pandemonium
Chairperson Ork Dorken hadn't even rapped his Coke bottle on the table when Old Sievert burst into the community ZCBJ hall to join the town's 13 other electors for a meeting of the Community Homeland...
Measure #2 solves nothing in higher ed.
Proposing to double the size of the Board of Higher Education, Measure #2 threatens to burden the system more than help. This November 3 ballot measure has yet to be explained by its legislative...
Legislature trying to block amendment measures
Once again the North Dakota Legislature is trying to obstruct constitutional amendments proposed by petition of the people. At the present time, constitutional amendments initiated by citizens go stra...
Adult conversations need some adults
A few weeks ago, Senator Cramer suggested it was time to have an adult conversation about the national debt, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Once again, initial thoughts of the “haves” is...