Jim Shaw

Fargo

Columnist at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead

Head MBB Coach at Fort Hays Tech Northwest 🐅

Articles

Shaw: With approval voting gone, Fargo needs a primary

4 days ago | inforum.com | Jim Shaw

Approval voting in Fargo was good while it lasted. Instead of city commissioners being elected with just 15% of the vote, the winners received about half of the vote. It’s shameful that the North Dakota Legislature abolished approval and ranked-choice voting for local elections. Many lawmakers said it’s damaging for cities to have this system. Of course, nobody can cite any specific damage from Fargo’s system.
Shaw: This could be the last time I ever see her

1 week ago | inforum.com | Jim Shaw

It was an emotional reunion five years in the making. A daughter meeting with her mother. The daughter, Anastassiya Andrianvova, lives in Fargo. The 74-year-old mother, Oksana, lives in Kyiv, Ukraine. They were hoping to get together in 2020, but then the pandemic hit. Two years later, Russia launched its brutal attack against Ukraine. Meeting each other was virtually impossible. “I can’t put into words how hard this family separation is,” Anastassiya told me.
Shifting perspectives: a reflection on cancer-specific quality-of-life metrics in cancer care economics

2 weeks ago | thelancet.com | Eva Gamper |Madeleine King |Jim Shaw |Outcomes Research

aDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital of Psychiatry II, Medial University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria bSchool of Psychology, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia cGlobal Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Bristol Myers Squibb, Lawrenceville, NJ, USA dDepartment of Health Economy, Norwegian Medicines Agency, Oslo, Norway eCenter for Health Technology Assessment and Center for Pharmacology and Drug Research and...
Shaw: Local residents fighting for our democracy

2 weeks ago | inforum.com | Jim Shaw

They come by the dozens every Friday in Fargo-Moorhead. Young people, workers and retirees. They come to passionately voice their displeasure with the direction of this country.
Shaw: Veto this frightening bill, and other thoughts from the North Dakota Legislature

3 weeks ago | inforum.com | Jim Shaw

Censorship and book bans must be stopped in North Dakota. Senate Bill 2307 would require public and school libraries in the state to hide “obscene” material from minors. Who is to say what’s “obscene”? What’s offensive to one person could be entirely appropriate for somebody else. This frightening bill is completely unnecessary. What is the problem legislators are trying to fix? There’s already a process in place at libraries to remove objectionable materials.
Shaw: Want to get rid of FEMA? Remember the 1997 flood

1 month ago | inforum.com | Jim Shaw

If you lived in the Red River Valley in 1997, you will never forget the massive flood that year. Grand Forks and East Grand Forks were walloped. The damages to those two cities amounted to more than $3 billion. Tens of thousands of people were affected. The Grand Forks area has since had a tremendous recovery, in large part because of FEMA. So, it's alarming to hear President Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem say they're looking to get rid of the agency.
Shaw: The unfair 60% rule, cowardly politicians and other thoughts

1 month ago | inforum.com | Jim Shaw

Once again, I strongly object to the North Dakota law that requires a 60% vote to pass school bond referendums. I bring this up because of the recent West Fargo election, in which building a new elementary school was defeated, even though 59% of the voters voted yes. How is it fair that 41% of the vote defeats 59%? By any other standard, an 18% margin is considered a landslide.
Shaw: More Reader Feedback

1 month ago | inforum.com | Jim Shaw

Just in time for National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day (really), here’s the latest edition of “Reader Feedback.” Often imitated, never duplicated, it’s a column about you, the readers. It tells you what readers are saying to me or about me in emails, on Facebook and in published comments. About 80% of the comments are wonderful. Here are some of them: From Jessie: “There are few voices that will stand the test of time. Yours is one of them.
Shaw: Hate in Bismarck

1 month ago | inforum.com | Jim Shaw

Bigotry, discrimination and hatred are alive and well in Bismarck. That’s clear after the North Dakota House passed a repulsive resolution calling on the Supreme Court to outlaw same-sex marriage. Fortunately, the Senate, bowing to pressure, rejected the resolution. The resolution would not have directly led to Supreme Court action, but the House made a frightening statement. Namely, that people who are gay are not welcome in North Dakota. Resolution sponsor Rep.
Shaw: One of many unjust firings in North Dakota

2 months ago | inforum.com | Jim Shaw

Donald Trump’s unnecessary mass firings are not only harming government services. They are causing severe pain to good people for no good reason. People like 32-year-old Graham Goodwin. Graham is bright and a hard worker. He received his doctorate in archaeology last summer and was hired by the USDA in Devils Lake shortly after that. “The job sounded stable and safe,” he told me. “It had long-term career potential.