FARGO — We all have our favorite kinds of weather, but is there a certain range of weather conditions that is actually the healthiest? There may not be a good answer to this question. The human body emerged from the African steppe tens of thousands of years ago and promptly adapted to live in Ice Age Eurasia. Since then, humans have settled into every landmass and climate on Earth and have usually done fairly well. We live in climates that are tropical, arctic and everything in between, including the very wet and the very dry.

Certainly, some climates are more suited for human comfort than others, but our highly adaptable bodies and brains can adjust to almost anything. It is not clear that being comfortable has all that much to do with surviving, at least as a species. As our species begins to make plans to inhabit the moon and the planet Mars, it remains to be seen if we will be able to adapt to these vastly different situations.

John Wheeler is Chief Meteorologist for WDAY, a position he has had since May of 1985. Wheeler grew up in the South, in Louisiana and Alabama, and cites his family’s move to the Midwest as important to developing his fascination with weather and climate. Wheeler lived in Wisconsin and Iowa as a teenager. He attended Iowa State University and achieved a B.S. degree in Meteorology in 1984. Wheeler worked about a year at WOI-TV in central Iowa before moving to Fargo and WDAY..

BY: MICHAEL ACHTERLING

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota delegates to the Democratic National Convention unanimously endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris during a virtual meeting on Tuesday.

The announcement from the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party comes two days after President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race and endorsed Harris as the presidential nominee.

A delegate tracker from The Associated Press showed that Harris had enough support by Tuesday morning to make her the Democratic presidential nominee.

Kylie Oversen, chair of the North Dakota delegation, said in a statement the Biden-Harris administration has accomplished more for rural America and North Dakota than any other administration in recent memory.

“Investments from the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act have been life changing for communities across our state and region,” Oversen said in the statement. 

She also cited the Biden administration’s investments in clean water infrastructure, broadband expansion and rebuilding roads and bridges.

“The Biden Harris administration has also prioritized investments in rural health systems, rural electric cooperatives, food security, and infrastructure in our tribal communities,” she said. “We are grateful for President Biden’s generational and transformative leadership.”

Oversen also said Harris has been fully vetted on the national stage and demonstrated her ability to lead in Biden’s administration.

“Her commitment to reproductive justice and improving maternal health outcomes is especially important to me,” she said. “Our delegation looks forward to a fair, orderly process to nominate our next ticket for president and vice president, and we remain committed to maintaining Democratic leadership in the White House come November.”

Oversen added the delegation expressed its gratitude to Biden for his “decades of compassionate public service.”

“Biden’s decision to pass the torch to a new generation of leadership comes from a place of humility and true patriotism,” she said.

The Democratic National Convention will be held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.

To the editor,

There is a history of confined animal feeding operations ruining the environment in many states. The new

Riverview Dairy

operations set to enter the eastern part of North Dakota near Hillsboro and Wahpeton should be looked at through the eyes of how we want our livestock industry to expand.

Twenty-five thousand confined dairy cows is huge. Yes, they have state of the art waste disposal systems — or do they? What about flooding? Not unheard of in the Red River Valley. Additionally, the water required for these animals may seem fine but what about in a drought? Do you want to compete for drinking water with cows? Aquifers are being depleted for ag use already.

Twenty-five thousand animals hooked up to machines. Not grazed. Not good.

Workers will be temporary and not connected to the communities. Their money will be sent out of state/country. The money from Riverview will be sent out of the state. Riverview has multiple dairies in other states. Most inputs will be bought wholesale and not locally.

Ag Commissioner Doug Goehring said this LLP can do business without the change to our corporate farming law in the last legislative session. However, they sure are being subsidized by support for infrastructure stemming from other legislation piggy backed on that change in our anti-corporate farming law. A law that was meant to support local farmers to expand by accessing capital from other sources. This dairy will finish the small dairy opportunities in North Dakota using money meant to support them.

Karen Anderson
Warwick, North Dakota