East Grand Forks considers ordinances regulating camping, conduct in public spaces
The City Council is considering two ordinances, one for camping and another for conduct in parks.
https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/local/east-grand-forks-considers-ordinances-regulating-camping-conduct-in-public-spaces
EAST GRAND FORKS – The East Grand Forks City Council reviewed two proposed ordinances regulating conduct in public areas during its work session Tuesday night.
The City Council is considering an ordinance that would restrict camping in public areas and another ordinance that would spell out rules and hours for public parks. Both ordinance changes have been in discussion at a staff level for some time and would add a way for the city to regulate unwanted and unlawful activities, city staff told the council.
“We don’t have a huge issue here in East Grand Forks, but there certainly is a problem with occasionally camping in some areas where you're not supposed to be,” East Grand Forks Police Chief Mike Hedlund said. “We definitely have an issue with some of the Greenway areas.”
Those issues are most pronounced near the Greenway, but issues have occurred elsewhere in the city, according to Hedlund. The camping ordinance, similar to one recently passed by the Grand Forks City Council just last week, would set a maximum $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail for violations. Violations would also be considered a misdemeanor, similar to other provisions in city code and how city code is generally enforced, said City Attorney Ron Galstad.
The other ordinance, being brought forth by the Parks Department, would set hours at city parks from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., mirroring the hours of the Greenway. It would also spell out where motor vehicles could and could not go, which has been an issue.
“I see them driving down there (by the Point Bridge) all the time in places I don’t know if they necessarily need to be there,” Council member Dale Helms said.
Especially for the parks conduct ordinance, having proper signage is a top concern for the council.
“I think most of the time the people this is going to apply to are going to be younger kids who probably aren’t aware of most city ordinances,” Council member Ben Pokrzywinski said. “So if we can have something posted, even if it’s just a QR code, I think it would be helpful.”
Parks and Recreation Superintendent Jeremy King said that it was doable, and signs could be posted at the kiosks at the parks.
The fee structure was also of some concern. Hedlund said that the camping ordinance would likely be used as an educational and warning tool day-to-day, but that it allows for escalation if issues continue to happen. For the parks ordinance, making the rules crystal clear was Mayor Mark Olstad’s suggestion.
 
“Here it just says misdemeanor, should we mirror it like the (camping ordinance) we just looked at?” Olstad said. “I’m just thinking that someone who reads it (may not understand the penalty).”
 
The council will consider the ordinances for preliminary approval as soon as its June 3 meeting.
 
Grand Forks district to offer stoles to Native graduates next year; parent group still seeks beading on caps
 
https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/north-dakota/grand-forks-district-to-offer-stoles-to-native-graduates-next-year-parent-group-still-seeks-beading-on-caps








Grand Forks district to offer stoles to Native graduates next year; parent group still seeks beading on caps - Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, East Grand Forks news, weather & sports
GRAND FORKS – The Grand Forks Public Schools Native American Parent Committee voted Tuesday to formally ask district administration to consider allowing Indigenous students to wear traditional ...
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GRAND FORKS – The Grand Forks Public Schools Native American Parent Committee voted Tuesday to formally ask district administration to consider allowing Indigenous students to wear traditional beadwork on their graduation caps.
The meeting came after students were notified beadwork on their mortarboards would not be allowed at their graduation ceremonies this year. It’s a longstanding district policy that no adornments are allowed on graduation caps, but parents say students have worn Indigenous beadwork without issue in years past.
According to some in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting, the notification came too late for some families who had already begun beading their students’ caps – a prayerful cultural practice often done by older members of a family for their younger loved ones. Eagle feathers on graduation caps, allowed explicitly by state law, will still be permitted.
Assistant superintendents Catherine Gillach and Matt Bakke and Central High School Principal Jon Strandell were on hand for the meeting. Gillach said the district intends to introduce stoles for American Indian students next year that families may bead however they want. The district had intended to provide the stoles to families this year, but ran out of time to have them delivered.
Gillach emphasized that the district wants to find a way to celebrate and honor its Indigenous students’ cultural heritage, but that by hypothetically allowing some groups to decorate their caps and not others, the district runs the risk of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. At minimum, she said, the district will have to proceed cautiously.
“We don’t want to be the judge and the jury at the end,” she said. “Like this expression is OK, and this one is respectful, this is not.”
Chad Ward, Native American liaison for the district, said there’s nothing wrong with the stoles proposal, but that the district’s response to the issue has left many Native American families feeling like something important is being taken away from the ceremonies. He described the profound impacts of colonization and assimilation on Indigenous families, and that beadwork is an important way for many Indigenous people to practice their culture in their day-to-day lives. For many, it holds great significance to incorporate the beadwork into a day as important as a graduation.
“At the end of the day,” Ward added, “with all due respect, this is Indian Country.”
In an hourlong dialogue, Indigenous parents discussed the significance of beading the cap specifically.
Jayme Davis, a state representative from Belcourt, noted that many Indigenous families choose to bead the graduation cap because it is the symbol of graduation and the completion of a major milestone in the students’ lives, much more so than the stoles.
“Stoles don’t equate the visibility that the cap has. That for me, is the difference bet