North Dakota on the right track

In a recent letter (Nov. 15), Brad Mills condemned the progress that our state is making, once again reiterating that Mills and other Democrats would rather see North Dakota in the despondency of the late 1980s than admit that North Dakota is on the right track. It seems they would rather replace the partisan barriers that hinder this state’s continued growth than work together to move this state forward.
He and many other critics ignore the fact that this state is indeed making great headway. We are coming out of those stagnant years of the 1980s as evidenced by North Dakota’s economic growth. In fact, under Gov. John Hoeven’s leadership, the state’s economy has grown
50 percent, or nearly $1 billion a year, since 2000. Incomes and wages in the state continue to increase faster than the national average, and a record $120 million tax relief package will help North Dakotans to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks. This past session, a cap was also placed on tuition increases to help slow that trend.
As the state progresses, our smaller communities are also seeing the positive effects as both the traditional and renewable energy industries develop in our rural areas. In addition, renewable energy ventures are offering North Dakota’s farmers more value-added agriculture opportunities than ever before.
As long as a majority of North Dakotans don’t contract the negative, partisan attitude that the Democrats are continuously trying to spread, this state’s future holds numerous possibilities for an even more prosperous future, much of which is thanks to the groundwork laid by Gov. Hoeven’s administration.
- Jim Strege, from The Forum