Talk:North Dakota

This page states that the Badlands lie in North Dakota, which doesn't seem right. Because they aren't mentioned on South Dakota I think that the two got mixed up.

The badlands are in both states. They run from the South Dakota-Nebraska border at least half way up North Dakota. South Dakota (and Wall Drugs) have done a better PR job.

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"Bordered on the north by Canada..."

Wouldn't it be better to state which specific Canadian province(s) it borders? - Lee M 00:13, 30 Sep 2003 (UTC)

Done it. - Lee M 00:23, 30 Sep 2003 (UTC)

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Wondering how to edit this State Entry?
The WikiProject U.S. States standards might help.

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The French-Canadian trader La Vérendrye was the first documented explorer of the area, leading a party to the Mandan villages about 1738.

This has me confused. If La Vérendrye was the first explorer of the area, who built the villages? Ben Arnold 00:48, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC)

First explorer that wrote stuff down. Is it really necessary to spell it out and qualify the man as a European? It can't be that confusing. --Alexwcovington (talk) 07:24, 23 Apr 2005 (UTC)

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Editor;

Since the above was spun a bit I will provide a different context. Out migration does not exist. Macro changes in number of births and deaths are causing many regions and areas to "loose" population. However, society has shifted to a completely different model based on new efficiencies in the workforce that require humans to be in close contact with other humans - knowledge centers - also known as cities. Jobs now are continuing to become more and more based on information and knowledge than on resources of the land. The resources of the future are in our minds, to tap those resources we need to be close to the source - other humans - cities. Rural areas in any developed country of the world or emerging countries like India and China are experiencing the same thing. Society is changing, the way we work is changing and it requires us to be near the resources we need to tap. Just as the gold rush to California, or the homestead rush to the great plains, those settlers were rushing to the resources...its no different today.

Thanks for contributing your opinion. First of all, let me say that that sort of thing is supposed to be here and not in the article.

If this was a simple issue of people moving from rural areas to cities, North Dakota would be doing just fine. North Dakota has cities. You might not call them cities, but they're there. And they're connected just the same as anywhere else.

In the modern age of information technology, there is little distinction between Mumbai, Arviat, or Minot as far as trading knowledge goes. But North Dakota has just as many telemarketing centers as anywhere else.

Looking at the demographics, we see across-the-board declines in population in rural areas, and in the cities, a major drop in under 18s, very slight boost in the 18-to-25 demographic, a slight drop in 25-to-65s, and a large boost in the 65+ demographic.

What can be gathered from this is that the birthrate is dropping, the adult population is dwindling, and the farm kids are getting to college and getting the hell out of Dodge.

The real issues are highly complex, with heavy social and economic factors. Do North Dakota's children appreciate the almost chokingly conservative political atmosphere? The lack of meaningful employment in virtually any skilled field? "No" has been the overwhelming response.

You may call that societal restructuring but it's plain to see for anyone that cares that something needs fixing in North Dakota. --Alexwcovington (talk) 19:22, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)

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I have made an initial proposal for a Wikiproject on North Dakota. I would invite everyone to comment on it. --Alexwcovington (talk) 02:48, 12 May 2005 (UTC)

Constitution trivia

Demi added:

• A conflict exists between the state consitution and the U.S. Constitution. The North Dakota Constitution specifies only that members of the legislative and judicial branches swear an oath of office, while the U.S. Constitution specifies that members of all three branches must.

Can you provide

1. references to article and section of each
2. some reason why this is of encyclopedic interest?
   

Gene Nygaard 06:54, 15 May 2005 (UTC)

In accession to the United States, North Dakota concedes the supremacy of the federal constitution, thus no conflict exists. The situation could be best described as a legal (not not prractical) technicality, as all state officers swear an oath to the constitutions of North Dakota and the United States. --Alexwcovington (talk) 08:17, 15 May 2005 (UTC)