opinion

I disagree with some of Rand Paul’s more libertarian positions, especially on social issues. And I’m certainly not endorsing him or anyone else to be the Republican nominee for president at this time. But Sen. Paul of Kentucky did two things recently that won my favor. He showed...

Did you ever think you’d see the day when decrying low-income kids who get free school lunches would become a political battle cry, coupled with the suggestion that parents who sign up their kids for free lunches love them less than parents who send their children to school with...

I’ve been hearing a lot about the need to increase the amount of recycling that is being done. Yes, I agree, but at the same time I know that Beltrami County does a great job, better than a lot of counties. I know when Beltrami County went to including on our taxes the fee of using...

When I first became a reporter in 1945 for a Boston radio station, a veteran journalist commanded me: “Kid, when you’re on a good developing story, stay on it. Keep digging and updating.” But now the majority of the media, from print to digital, increasingly do not follow that...

In L. Frank Baum’s novel, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” the “wizard’ turns out to be a phony — just an old guy sitting behind a curtain, using his booming voice to spew nonsense in a vain effort to fool people. But now, a century after Baum’s fictional Oz, a real-life...

Chris Christie began his much-awaited remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington recently with an anecdote that seemed to portend some tough talk for his fellow Republicans. In his early days as governor of New Jersey, Christie recalled, a looming...

CPAC — the political convention that is to conservatives what ComicCon is to nerds — did not sort out the Republican field for 2016, but it did reveal something much scarier. Unlike most years when Republicans insist they should fight for ideals they never define, this time conservatives...

I thank Mike Olson for his reply (March 9) to Robert Moffit’s letter. I am also replying to Robert Moffit’s letter as I have not seen a letter as unfounded as Mr. Moffit’s in some time. It is not water that causes black bacteria to grow in fuel tanks, first of all. Problems...

I attended a hockey game recently at our local arena, and found myself once again getting a little emotional at the singing of the national anthem. In an age when it is vogue to cast stones upon national heritage I could not help but wonder how many visitors waited impatiently for...

During the March 5 House Oversight Committee hearing, former IRS official Lois Lerner invoked the Fifth Amendment...again. If it were not for being a part of the most “transparent” administration, one might think she had something to hide. But then again, in a liberal’s lexicon,...

Marshall “Eddie” Conway walked free from prison this week, just one month shy of 44 years behind bars. He was convicted of the April 1970 killing of a Baltimore police officer. Conway has always maintained his innocence. At the time of his arrest and trial, he was a prominent...

The "reset" with Russia had a brief, unhappy life. It began with then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presenting her Russian counterpart with a mistranslated reset button reading "overcharged." It ended with current Secretary of State John Kerry denying knowledge of the late, unlamented...

Bemidji may just have the next Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali, Amy Farrah Fowler or, dare we say, Sheldon Cooper waiting in the wings. And if we do, you can bet they got their start at the Headwaters Science Center.

The crisis in Ukraine highlights two truths about international politics: Some things have not changed since the end of the Cold War. And some things have changed a lot. What remains is the map.

Fr. Bill Mehrkens is one of the many good priests we have had in this area. I can't begin to mention all of them. Fr. Bill started the St. Philip's Clothing Depot, which is still very successful today. He also started Camp Corbett on Big Elbow Lake near Waubun. The camp is owned by...