North Dakota News
Other than a brief moment last Saturday night, I was off the 'Net for most of last week and was forced to turn to The Forum to stay in touch with world events. Compared to the quick, immediate reporting of Andy Carvin and the rest of Twitter, the coverage of Gustav and other national events was a bit frustrating, but I was pleasantly surprised with the subject matter of the stories that they are covering. For example:
- Life Preserver or Anchor? - A two-part series on payday loans and their affects, both positive and negative, on North Dakota consumers. Sunday's article included an overview of payday lending, while Monday's introduced an initiative that would use the funds from the Bank of North Dakota and credit unions to provide a payday loan alternative. Supplementary online material included video of a congressional hearing about payday lending in Indian Country and of Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner who provided small self-employment loans to alleviate poverty, speaking at Concordia College.
- Many Teens Sharing Pornographic Images - A story about teenagers using their cell phones to send naked pictures of themselves to others. One terrifying aspect of young people distributing these pictures is that the pictures are easily passed along and will be around for a very long time; a second is that those who send and have these pictures are disseminating and possessing child pornography. As Moorhead policeman Lt. Tori Jacobson told the reporter, "Right now, if an 18-year-old wants to have sex with a 17-year-old, that's OK, but as soon as he takes a picture of her, that's child pornography." Unfortunately, this is not simply a local issue but a national trend.
- Resources Can Help Stretch Dollars - A financial advice column that focused on how a mother of four could try to make ends meet after leaving her abusive spouse. Liz Weston, the columnist, provides an excellent list of resources for families struggling financially.
- Families in Economic Bind Turning to Public Libraries - An article that notes that more people are turning to public libraries to fulfill entertainment needs and save money. This is good news for public libraries since their funding often depends on visits and circulation. And for legal aid programs who are looking for outreach avenues, this makes public libraries an even more valuable partner.
If you are interested in keeping an eye on stories like these, or the news in Fargo, North Dakota, you can either add The Forum to your news reader or follow it on Twitter. - K
