Tuesday I spent the most time I ever had in Mandan and likely the longest continuous period of time at local government meetings.

It started at 10 a.m. with the Morton County Commission meeting and didn't end until nearly 8 p.m. with the Mandan City Commission meeting. Admittedly there was a 45- minute break when I rushed back to Bismarck for lunch.

Morton County Commission meetings can be daylong affairs, though I usually only sit in on the morning sessions and skip the afternoon which usually deals with roads and planning. But on Tuesday I was bound and determined to find out what the commissioners were going to do regarding human resources.

While they discussed the situation at length in the morning, it wasn't until 5:20 they made a decision to put out a request for proposal for services. At times I thought the commissioners were trying to wait me and the Avitus Group's Brian Reinbold out, but having sat there for seven hours I wasn't about to leave until they made some sort of decision. Avitus is hoping to provide human resource services for the county.

Then I rushed across the street from the courthouse to the city administration building, sitting down just as the city commission meeting was getting under way.

Both meetings had about as many people in attendance as I've ever seen in the past two years. While Mandan City Commission meetings have been known to have full houses on occasion, Morton County meetings are usually fairly quiet affairs and there have been times when I'm the only audience the county commissioners have.

It was many of the same faces at both meetings. A group of about 15 protesters - property owners in opposition to a proposed Mandan annexation - found support from the county commissioners then marched across the street to sit in on the city meeting.

It was a long day in Mandan, mostly spent in the basements of local government buildings. At least no one ticketed my pickup for overtime parking.

Dueling laptops

Most people who have seen me working recognize my little while laptop computer. Taking notes with a laptop has been a staple of mine for the past decade. I can type a heck of a lot faster than I can write, and it's much easier for me to decipher my computer notes than it is to read my handwriting.

Anyway, Mandan News editor Sue Bartholomew, brought her own laptop to the Morton County and Mandan commission meetings on Tuesday.

My fingers more or less float over the keys creating little noise or distraction. Sue is a little more aggressive as she attacks the keyboard, pounding the poor little machine into submission.

It must have been an unusual sight and sound, the two of us sitting side by side taking notes on our computers clicking away on the keyboards. A matter of dueling laptops in the modern world.

Funding independence

The Burleigh County Commission, well-known penny pinchers, did come up with $5,000 for the Bismarck-Mandan-Symphony Orchestra's July 4th extravaganza planned for the Capitol Grounds.

In the past the commission has been hesitant to provide funds to a nonprofit group for these kind of activities. But being it's a celebration of this country's independence the commission usually comes through with the contribution.

Truck traffic

The Mandan City Commission failed to take any action on a petition it received from property owners along south 19th Street requesting that truck traffic be prohibited.

It seems the route is becoming a favorite for truckers who can avoid driving Main Street when seeking an east-west route and they're breaking the street up.

Most of the street is the responsibility of the county, with with just a short section being within city limits and paved. City commissioners, while sympathetic to the request, decided to ask city engineer Tom Little to work out the situation with the county before putting up signs.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 701-250-8255 or gordon.weixel@bismarcktribune.com.)