Cavalier County
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Republican
Single Copy Volume 134
cavaliercountyextra.com
News Coverage
Copyright © Langdon, North Dakota
Langdon Area School & St. Alphonsus School have released their second quarter Honor Rolls, see Page 5 for list.
INDEX OPINION CHURCH COMMUNITY SPORTS AG PROF DIR PN CLASSIFIED
PAGE 4 PAGE 6 PAGE 7 PAGE 8-9 PAGE 10 PAGE 11 PAGE 12-13 PAGE 13
The 66th legislative session occurred in the spring of 2019; only a year ago did the gavel fall opening the whirlwind of lawmaking before adjourning in April. During those weeks in between, the decision for how to disburse the Legacy Fund earnings was decided for the 20192021 fiscal biennium by a committee headed by Republican Representative from District 29 Chet Pollert. The committee of 11 also has Democratic Minority leader Josh Boschee from District 44. The committee has been hosting forums across the state to gather input on how the interest of the Legacy Fund should be utilized or left untouched. Suggestions thus far have been to focus on the Red River Valley and the western portion of the state, assisting schools with the need to improve their facilities to improving tourism to more funding for research at the state’s universities. Suggestions that would have an impact on rural areas outside of the Red River Valley and major population areas have been limited. “That’s the issue. We have to try and figure that out so we can make it work for all,” Cavalier County Commissioner Stanley Dick said. As a county commissioner, Dick has focused on infrastructure during his time at the table. Cavalier County, with its agricultural-based economy, depends
on the roads that brings the ever increasing in size equipment to the fields. Dick also sits on the North Dakota Association of Counties (NDACo) Executive Committee. There, Dick and other county commissioners from across the state meet to discuss what the counties need. Executive Director of NDACo Terry Traynor explained that NDACo believes county officials are uniquely positioned to provide legislators with valuable i n p u t about the wise investment of Legacy Fund interest. “NDACo, as a collective representative of counties, can help coordinate that input, but it is the locally elected and appointed officials that need to have a voice in that decision,” Traynor said. “As county government is constitutionally created to be the service arm of the state - the 'boots on the ground' for the delivery of social services, public health, local transportation, law enforcement and pros-
2019 Year in Review: October through December The final three months of 2019 - October, November, and December- had a lot to offer readers- from local news like the Langdon Area School District and early winter storms to international and historical news. October began with bad news for LASD as the school’s campaign to garner enough support for a mill levy increase for building projects failed. LASD joined a growing list of school in need of updates to their facility that failed to meet the 60 percent of voter agreement. The biggest news to hit the October presses was the United States finalizing and entering into a trade deal with Japan. The minor trade agreement brings American agriculture onto equal footing with Canada and Australia in the Japanese market. October hosted the first big winter storm that would become a monthly trend for the winter. The storm began brewing on Wednesday, October 9 before dropping a staggering two feet of snow over Thursday and Friday. The storm was christened a winter cyclone by the National Weather Service in Grand Forks. The storm had a significant impact on not only the area’s day to day life but also on the Phase 2 City of Langdon street project. The project had been in its final stages with paving being the remaining task. Moore Engineering’s Andrew Aakre explained that the heavy moisture already in the soil coupled with
Monday, January 27, 2020
the heavy snow was a challenge. If the snow could be moved, he felt further construction was hopeful and be able to be finish. Sadly, this would not be the case. Two years of trouble finding a market followed by very poor harvest conditions brought an uptick in farmland sales. Local banks and well-known auctioneers that serve the area noted that the interest rates were down, providing those with the means to buy a good opportunity. November featured Burdett “Bert” Saxlund, a veteran of the Korean War, as one of the latest area veterans to participate in the Veteran Honor Flight. Saxlund shared his experience of the program along with some of his memories of the Korean War. American Legion Riders Post #98 hosted an EMT appreciation supper that also had a guest speaker. Chris South, a 25-year veteran of EMS, told the story of how he almost didn’t make it after attempting suicide. The presentation was called “Dead Inside”, and the reason Smith named it that was because that is how he felt. Two area veterans also shared their story. Jerry and Lisa Nowatzki owe their marriage to the Navy as it was during their time in service that they met. The Nowatzki’s explained how life in the military is different when both spouses serve or have experience as a service member. LASD found its way to the
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front page for a good and bad reason. The good reason was to celebrate Dustin Gilseth being named District FCCLA President. The bad news was that the school had deficit spent $1.2 million in three years. The Langdon City Commission had regular appearances in the Cavalier County Republican, but for the November 18 issue, they found space on the front page. The Commission had been reviewing city ordinance 6.0105 for most of the year with the ordinance making an appearance every few meetings. The ordinance garnered a lot of attention from area businesses and brought in over half a dozen business owners to petition the Commission to review and make changes to it. Cavalier County Memorial Hospital welcomed a new Chief Financial Officer, William Van Noy. Van Noy has extensive experience with rural facilities having traveled around the country as a consultant before settling in Langdon. The LASD Cardinals Football team achieved a new milestone. The team and coaching staff added another Class A football championship title to their record. The team beat Bishop Ryan in a stunning 42-14 victory on November 15 at the Fargodome. Osnabrock got their bin back. Jolene Halldorson opened Little Helga’s Barley Bin and Bakery to cont. on page 3
ecution, veterans services, weed control and many others - those responsible for this service delivery can help legislators understand local needs and their relationship to our state’s legacy.” With this in mind, finding suggestions to put forward during the legislative session in regards to the use of earnings from the Legacy Fund has become a focus for NDACo. The county official delegates at the annual fall conve n t i o n adopted a resolution identifying “infrastructure” as one important a r e a . H o w ever, the NDACo Board of Directors has directed the staff to work w i t h board leadership to develop a process to collect input from all counties and county officials to better provide meaningful guidance to the legislative study. “Most officials, state and local, I believe would agree that funding short-term, “operational” costs should be avoided,
and Legacy resources should be dedicated investments that reduce governmental (and, therefore, taxpayer) costs long-term,” Traynor said. “Every county official and, indeed, every citizen of the state needs to voice their thoughts, as this is ultimately the Legacy for all of us.” Pollert and Boschee have been taking in the comments and suggestions from the Legacy Fund forums. Boschee shared that during those forums, there are three consistent ideas. The biggest theme is to put some earnings back into the principle to grow the fund faster. “I think the earnings on the legacy fund - we should not spend all the earnings - maybe maximum 50 percent and that would be maximum,” Pollert said. The state, for the past few bienniums, has had to utilize Legacy Fund earnings to balance the books after estimates for state income fell considerably short. Here is where the two leaders have a difference of opinion. Boschee is supportive of using 50-75 percent of the earnings for projects that benefit North Dakotans. He believes the legislature should then put 25-50 percent of the earnings back into the principle to allow the fund to grow faster. This will provide more resources than many of residents of the state could have ever imagined. “I do believe we need to stop the practice of back-filling the budget with Legacy Fund earnings so that we give the appearcont. on page 2
Blumhagen to run for Mrs. ND McKenzie Blumhagen has been very busy over the past several months. The Cavalier County native currently holds the title of Mrs. Northern Plains, representing the entire rural northern area. She is running for Mrs. North Dakota, with that pageant taking place in April. “If I am crowned, I will continue to nationals that will be in Las Vegas in August 2020,” Blumhagen said. During the state competition she will be competing in an interview, swimsuit, state costume, evening gown, and onstage question. It will be during the interview that Blumhagen will be asked about her platform which is mental health and suicide preventionbased. “As Mrs. Northern Plains I have made appearances to speak about mental health and suicide prevention. I have visited our local youth group, IGNITE, and I am working with a mental health facility in Grand Forks to partner together on spreading
more awareness,” Blumhagen shared. Making her platform mental health & suicide prevention was a decision that she did not take lightly. Blumhagen explained that seeing that the number of suicides are rising is all the more of a reason to spreading awareness, knowledge, and opening conversation about this specific topic. “Especially amongst students ages 14-24. The suicide ratios are the highest amongst that age dem o g r a p h i c ,” Blumhagen said. So far, her experience in the pageant world has been wonderful. She shared that one of the challenges she faces is how to schedule appearances. Blumhagen explained that when making these appearances, she is experiencing self growth as well. “It is kind of a stretching experience that challenges me to tell people who I am and what I am about so that we cont. on page 3
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Legacy Fund earnings a pie everyone wants a piece of By Melissa Anderson Republican Editor
Turn to Page 3 for the latest from the Cavalier County Commissioners meeting.
Official Newspaper of Cavalier County Published since 1889