Tribune editorial: Mystery of missing man has closure (2024)

This is Up and Down, where we give a brief thumbs up or thumbs down on the issues from the past week.

Up

After five months of uncertainty, the family of Lloyd Liken has some closure. The body of the 81-year-old Bismarck man who went missing in November was found recently in a Wells County field, next to his vehicle. Authorities say no foul play is suspected. Liken's disappearance drew widespread attention due to an extensive search effort conducted by the family, friends, co-workers and volunteers. A public Facebook group that provided search updates and offered comments of support drew 6,500 members. The family issued a statement thanking the public for its "unwavering help." Liken's funeral is Tuesday at McCabe United Methodist Church in Bismarck. Daughter Lisa Monroe says everyone is welcome.

Down

Lloyd Omdahl didn't serve in public office for a long time, but he still left an indelible mark on North Dakota politics. The former Democratic lieutenant governor and longtime liberal columnist died earlier this month at age 93. He served in the governor's office with George Sinner in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They were the last Democrats to hold that office in what is now a deeply red state. Omdahl continued to weigh in on state political matters through his column North Dakota Matters, which was published in newspapers across the state for decades, including in the Tribune. He used it to give his take on public issues -- in a respectful and graceful manner -- and he often interjected humor to make his point. He also liked to poke fun at the job of lieutenant governor. He wrote in a December 1992 column as he was leaving office that he spent "five and a half years in oblivion" and that no one would remember him. He couldn't have been more wrong. As North Dakota Newspaper Association Executive Director Cecile Wehrman put it, "We’ll likely not see another so generous public servant for a long time."

Up

North Dakota oil and gas production took a big hit during the stretch of extreme cold in January, but it rebounded nicely in February. The state says natural gas production was up 12% and oil production was up 13%. And state Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms says the number of active wells is once again close to a record. He also expects the state's rig count to grow in coming months due to strong oil prices. It's a much rosier picture than the January report. And the Bakken oil patch in February also hit a new benchmark -- 5 billion barrels of oil produced. Together with other oil formations, North Dakota's all-time production is just shy of 7 billion barrels.

Down

It's not really a surprise, but more cases of chronic wasting disease in deer were confirmed in North Dakota last year. The state Game and Fish Department through its surveillance program documented 11 new cases, bringing the total since 2009 to 105. There's no hope of eradicating the fatal disease from the countryside. Game and Fish is instead working to try to keep it from spreading to new areas -- particularly in the eastern half of the state -- and to keep infection rates down in western areas where it is present. There were no documented cases in the east last fall, which is good news. But updated information on infection rates in the west likely won't be known until next year, under the state's rotational system of testing one quadrant of North Dakota each year.