The time is right for a debate about closing some of North Dakota's universities

Governor Doug Burgum is hinting at it.

He told the Grand Forks Herald back in May that, when it comes to the state’s public institutions, some North Dakotans “cling” too tightly to the “idea of location,” though he didn’t specifically say that any of the state’s universities should be closed.

Rep. Rick Becker, a rival of Burgum’s for the governor’s office and a potential U.S. Senate candidate next year, is also talking about it.

“Are we going to stick like Blockbuster did to the old model?” he asked, rhetorically, during a radio interview with me.

North Dakota has 11 institutions of higher education, eight of them mandated in the state constitution, with a total headcount enrollment of over 44,000 according to the most recent spring report.

Read more: http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/opinion/4295536-port-time-right-debate-about-closing-some-north-dakotas-universities