Weather Mod in a Cloud of Secrecy | Letter to the Editor

As originally published in the Minot Daily News on May 23, 2020

Weather Mod Letter to the Editor, submitted by Keli Anderson Minot and published in the Minot Daily News

Weather modification is a hot topic right now, because of the current ballot measure to decide its fate in Ward County. I am voting no because I have several issues with the project.

One is the secrecy around who decides when and where cloud seeding flights take place. The board chairman talks to two people from the community when planning flights. One is a Ward County commissioner and one is from the county at large. These names are kept secret!

Another problem is the excessive number of flights. I have seen real world (not studies or numbers based on hypotheticals) statistics showing there has been no significant increase in our rainfall in the last 50 years. Instead of just focusing on hail suppression which would mean flying only when there is a severe forecast with clouds likely to bring hail, every little cloud we see gets seeded.

That is when the project becomes excessive and out of control. That is when Weather Modification loses its purpose as something for good. The excessive nature of the project creates an atmosphere rife with overspending, questionable benefits, and cronyism.

There is too much going on that we can’t influence, and we have no voice. Let’s eliminate this one. Make your voice heard with a no vote on weather modification.

Did County Tax Payer Funds Get Used Illegally?

Minot Daily News Senior Staff Writer Jill Schramm investigates Ward County’s Weather Modification program and gets viewpoints from both sides. The opposition is made up of farmers, business owners, and citizens of Ward County while the supporters are mostly out of county weather scientists, pilots, plane owners, and program beneficiaries.

Ward County voters to decide future of weather modification

Ward County’s Weather Modification Program Makes MILLIONS for Some

Since 2006, Ward County has led the nation for taxpayer money spent on convective cloud weather modification, with over $4.2 million dollars! We have been funding this program for over 40 years and have nothing to show for it except higher taxes and lower rainfall rates.

$4.2 Million and We Still Get Hail | Letter to the Editor

How much tax money will we spend before we realize we still have draught, we still have hail, and we’re still spending money that could be used elsewhere instead of weather modification/cloud seeding in Ward County, North Dakota?