It takes imagination to look at a new, mostly recreational-based technology and make a connection to its use in the coal mining industry, but the Technical Group at North American Coal’s Falkirk Mining Company did just that. Their vision helped the Falkirk Mine become the nation’s first surface coal mine to operate a survey drone…
North Dakota Law Enforcement Being Disingenuous About Potential For Armed Drones
Earlier this week an article by Justin Glawe, a former Grand Forks Herald reporter who now writes for many different national outlets, raised some eyebrows. Glawe’s study detailed some carefully changed wording in legislation passed earlier this year which allows law enforcement in North Dakota to put non-lethal weapons on drones. That story has been met…
Now Legal In North Dakota: Armed Drones
Over the 2013 and 2015 Legislative sessions here in North Dakota we had a debate about the use of drones by law enforcement. Specifically, whether or not cops should have to get warrants to use drones to spy on citizens. Ultimately the proponents of the legislation won over the objections of law enforcement and economic…
State House Passes Limitations On Law Enforcement Drone Use
Last session a bill to address law enforcement use of drones failed after it ticked off law enforcement officials and cheerleaders for the drone programs at the University of North Dakota. This time around the bill, again introduced by Rep. Rick Becker (R-Bismarck), did better after some amendment. “Some in law enforcement felt it targeted…
Glawe Column: Drones Issue Doesn't Get Coverage It Deserves From ND Media
Williston once again was given the Wild West treatment last week. This time with an evangelical twist courtesy of a local pastor and Charlie LeDuff, author of the longest obituary in American literature. If I were from North Dakota this is where the indignance would begin, but I’m not and it won’t. While LeDuff fell…
North Dakotans Get Mixed Messages About Privacy From Drones
Late last month I wrote an article for WatchDog.org about the development of the drone industry in North Dakota and the privacy concerns surrounding it. For that article I interviewed Rep. Rick Becker, a Bismarck Republican, who saw legislation he proposed last year get steamrolled by concerns that it might hinder North Dakota’s bid to…
Drones In North Dakota Make Big Headlines After Conviction
Farmer Rodney Brossart, whose case made big national headlines when the Nelson County Sheriff called in a US Border Patrol drone to help with his arrest, was convicted recently. Not for the original crime of cattle rustling which brought law enforcement to his doorstep but rather for his standoff with the cops. The conviction, like…
North Dakota Now Home To America's First Drone Conviction
In the spring of 2012 North Dakota became home to America’s first arrest in which law enforcement used a drone. Now that arrest of Rodney Brossart has resulted in America’s first conviction involving a drone, something many may consider to be an ignominious achievement. Rodney Brossart, the farmer from North Dakota, was arrested after being…
The Proponents Of Drones Want You To Stop Calling Them Drones
According to this report in the Grand Forks Herald the proponents of the coming drone mission in North Dakota – state political leaders and the University of North Dakota have teamed up to push the state as a sort of national testing grounds for them – want you to stop calling the unmanned flying objects…
Guest Post: Why I Voted Against The Drone Bill
Technology has enhanced our lives in so many ways. As citizens we have access to volumes of information that a mere decade ago would have been unthinkable. But with our extraordinary advance in technology also come significant privacy concerns. Emergent technology in the form of drones, satellites, smartphones, etc. has made it easier for both…