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By MICHELLE MCLEAN
Electric rates in Hillsboro must increase to keep pace with rising wholesale power costs, city commissioners learned Monday.
Missouri River Energy Services, the city’s supplemental power supplier, recommended a 20-percent increase spread over two years for both residential and commercial customers to keep the electric department from slipping deeper into the red.
Rates will likely go up January 1, 2008 — or it could be sooner.
“We’re deficit spending right now,” noted commission president Kevin Burg.
Through 2011, MRES calculated the city’s cost to buy and deliver power will rise from 2.7 cents per kilowatt hour to 4.21 cents per kwh. (more…)

It’s no small task doing business in small towns today, most local business owners grudgingly admit.
Still, they open the doors to business every morning at the same time every day.
Fighting the draw of encompassing city centers and dealing with a diminishing customer base are just two universal factors impacting retail businesses.
Omnipresent better describes the realities facing business owners in towns the size of Hillsboro.
Throw in the calamities that accompany curb and gutter replacement work outside your store and suddenly doing business with a smile on your face takes on new meaning, to say nothing of going about business as usual in trying to make ends meet.
This has been the scene all around Hillsboro, from the downtown business district to the I-29 group of businesses.
Jackhammers breaking apart decades-old sidewalks, curbs and gutters, all in front of your store, are hardly the stuff of marketing strategies.
Give credit to Hillsboro’s business owners, their employees and customers.
Because, despite the turmoil of the everyday construction, it has been business as usual all around town; “just watch your step,” everyone is cautioned. (more…)

Ken Nichols is expecting the months of June and July will pass quickly.
He’s hoping they will.
After 21 years in working for and with the NDSU Extension Service, the last 11 as a Grand Forks County Extension Agent working with production agriculture and the 4-H program, Ken Nichols expects little will come as a surprise as he takes over the office of Traill County extension agent.
Hired last month to replace the retiring Clint Gienger, Nichols started work in Hillsboro and Traill County on May 29.
But that’s not necessarily why the new Traill County extension agent is hoping June and July will fly by. (more…)

It has been said that “assumption is the mother of all screwups.” That has been particularly true about society’s response to a teen culture struggling on the ragged edge of drugs, alcoholism, sex predators, promiscuity, and a host of other threats.
The problem with adults is that we assume we know where the kids are, behaviorally and geographically. That’s an assumption that has brought many a parent to grief. After over 20 years of polling, I have become convinced that most of us don’t have a clue about the opinions and attitudes of those around us.
As we launched each poll, I always foreknew what kind of answers would be coming out of the computer. More often then not, I was wrong — just like many parents these days who think they know their kids. (more…)

District 20’s Legislative delegation — Senator Elroy Lindaas, Mayville; Rep. Lee Kaldor, Mayville; and Rep. Ole Aarsvold, Blanchard — wrapped up the record-setting 60th Legislative Assembly April 25. This final report offers a look at major issues addressed by North Dakota lawmakers.

Public Education
When the achievements of the 60th Legislative Assembly are finally assessed, clearly education funding will be of special note. Public schools, grades K thorough 12, will receive more than a $75 million increase when compared to the current biennium. Add to that more than $5 million of funds undistributed in the current funding period and our school will experience more than $80 million of new funds. (more…)

The session is nearing its end, but not easily. Differences between the Senate and House abound. There are some 70 or more bills in conference committee awaiting resolution.
These committees are comprised of three Senators and three House members. Typically, the minority party is represented by two members on the committee—one Representative and one Senator.
The most difficult bill just passed the House Wednesday morning. SB2032 is the interim property tax relief bill. It remained as the only direct property tax relief bill for the session. It has gone through some 40 iterations before coming to the floor for a vote.
The Democrats offered a minority amendment that would have run the relief through the school districts exclusively. The Republican version runs it through all tax subdivisions.
Other differences include a $16 million income tax break in the Republican version to address a so-called marriage penalty. We will continue to debate this provision and it will likely go to conference committee. Democrats were not satisfied that constituents were as concerned about income tax relief as they were about property tax. There will certainly be more about this issue in the coming days. (more…)

The Hillsboro Business Association, which pledged $2,500 last month to the Hillsboro Medical Center’s expansion and remodeling project, this week promised to give Hillsboro Community Partnership $250 toward its effort to save Union Block.
Hillsboro Community Partnership (HCP) is planning a fund-raising dinner buffet Sunday, April 22 at the Main Street Community Center, starting at 11 a.m.
This is for a good cause, said Bob Hebl, who encouraged the local business group to make the contribution.  (more…)

“Know thyself,” Socrates once said. Even though I missed that particular lecture, I accept the word of those who took the notes that day. He said it because there are some benefits to knowing ourselves. For example, if we knew ourselves to be aggressive drivers, we would carry an unusual amount of accident insurance. Or if we knew we had a weakness for chocolate cake, we would stock only custard. In other words, we could protect ourselves from ourselves.
It would be helpful if we could understand ourselves as a state. We would not go through the trauma of nursing great expectations of ourselves when history teaches us that great expectations are not us. And the best places to learn about ourselves as a state is the Legislature. (more…)

Much has happened in the Legislature this session. This past week has been filled with stories of pickle parties, oil tax cuts, budgetary bloating, SADD, and the “Promise” bill.
What do pickles have to do with the Legislative session? About $18,000 of ratepayers’ money was spent inappropriately by Workforce Safety Insurance (WSI), some of it, for a “Pickle” party to help motivate agency employees, according to a State Auditor’s performance audit.
The state auditor’s office reported their findings in a comprehensive audit, which indicated this expenditure of ratepayers’ money is part of a long list of problems with the agency. Dollars intended to provide incentives for companies to participate in safety programs was used for excessive raises to WSI executives. (more…)

Traill County, despite losing around 300 residents in the last six years, has moved up a slot on the state’s population ladder since its ranking of No. 17 in July 2000.
According to the July 1, 2006 Census estimates, Traill has climbed past Pembina County and is now ranked 16th in resident numbers.
Traill County had a population of 8,178 in the Census taken last summer, compared to 8,477 in the year 2000.
Pembina County in the last six years lost 679 people, dropping from 8,585 in the 2000 Census to 7,906 last year. (more…)