Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is not ‘progress’ for everyone in Medora; North Dakota Monitor, April 30, 2026

JACK ZALESKI, NORTH DAKOTA MONITOR; THEODORE ROOSEVELT PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY IS NOT ‘PROGRESS’ FOR EVERYONE IN MEDORA

[Kip Currier: This is a thought-provoking article about the Theodore Rosevelt Presidential Library that will open its doors in Medora, North Dakota on America's July 4th 250th anniversary. In the 1990's, on a driving trip from Pennsylvania to California by way of the Interstate 94 northerly route I had never traveled, I visited this area set amid the ruggedly beautiful Theodore Roosevelt National Park. After a day of sightseeing in the park, I also attended the charming outdoors-staged Medora Musical show, mentioned in the piece. I vividly recall seeing a pronghorn antelope calmly walking among the sagebrush not far from the open amphitheater at sunset's twilight as the actors sang and danced on the stage. Medora was a sleepy high plains town then that now appears both excited and nervous about the changes a presidential library are likely to bring for the community and surrounding area.

The author of this article makes an important point about the inherent tensions between "progress" and historical preservation, the ways of life that are changed when communities grow and adapt in ways that benefit some and harm or upset others. I recall visiting Moab, Utah, the doorway to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks in 1988 when it was a faded mining town, whose uranium employing-mine had closed in 1984, displacing 25% of the population. Locals in 1988 told me the town had been talking with some firms about how to raise the profile of the town and make it a premiere tourism destination. Some years later, I again visited Moab and was stunned to see how it had changed into a "mountain bike red rock-riding" community with a vibe and look like Aspen or Vail. Yes, progress had occurred. But what had also been lost when the off-the-beaten-path Moab of the 1980's that I had experienced became the well-trodded now-chic Moab of the 1990's? Who had been displaced? What history and voices had been paved over or silenced?

I can't help but think, too, that the debate about "progress" and "ways of life that are being lost or changed" in Medora, North Dakota has resonance for the debates and changes going on right now about AI's "promise and peril" impacts on our communities and world. Yes, there's a sense of excitement about AI by some. But there's also a palpable atmosphere of concern, uncertainty, and even anger among others about these new technologies. And the data captures this polarized AI mood in the U.S., as borne out by Pew Research Center findings.

• Who will benefit from AI?
• Who won't?
• What will be gained from AI and what will be lost?
• Whose voices are we not listening to -- or perhaps even acknowledging -- and need to hear? 
• In what ways will AI "progress" impact both the economic and geographic environments, as in the Medora, North Dakota region?
• What AI structures and safeguards do we need to put into place to provide more balance of stakeholder interests?
• How will AI impact our minds, souls, and physical well-being, in positive and negative ways?

In the vein of this opinion piece about the T.R. Presidential Library, AI is not going to bring "progress" for everyone. So what are we going to do -- or not do -- about that as individuals and societies?

The largest chapter in my Ethics, Information, and Technology book (2025), published by Bloomsbury, is the AI chapter. The book examines a number of thorny AI case studies (e.g. AI used for mental health treatment purposes as well as AI-leveraged data employed by gambling companies), tackles "hot AI ethics topics" like AI and copyright law and the roles of AI and robotics for military purposes, and presents many questions for further consideration and discussion. It also identifies a range of stakeholder perspectives and approaches to these new "disruptive technologies".]

[Excerpt]

"The cheerleading for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library at Medora, N.D., has overwhelmed the muted, but passionate concerns and objections among long-time Badlands residents. Few want to be seen as being against the library and the progress it promises for North Dakota’s premier tourist destination, but their definition of “progress” is not the same as the project’s well-funded advocates. A recent column in a local weekly newspaper reveals the depth of their sense of loss...

That being said, an April 9 column in the Golden Valley News of Beach, N.D., revealed a sense of sadness and loss that has not been sufficiently acknowledged in the hoopla since the library was proposed. Carol Tescher Obrigewitch is no stranger to Medora. She is a member of a ranching and rodeo clan with deep roots in the Badlands. 

The name Tescher is synonymous with the ranching heritage of Little Missouri River country. Her weekly “Merrily Along” is a delightful mix of family, history, and astute and informed observations. So when her column headlined “Progress?” was published, she was writing from the heart about the changes wrought by the library. She’s not happy, and her unhappiness is shared by a lot of long-time Medora citizens who choose not to speak out.

Also, it has not gone unnoticed that of the 18 listed members of the Library Foundation Board of Trustees, only four have roots or residences in North Dakota and only one of the four lives in western North Dakota. 

Here are representative excerpts from Tescher Obrigewitch’s column:

“Medora is definitely not historic anymore. The powers that be have totally removed or rebuilt anything that was historic…

…“In this little town, they have installed roundabouts and made major changes to streets and walkways. They have built hotels, torn down historic places that were there before TR ever thought about coming west…

“…I had to go by the old Custer Trail Ranch, which they tore down. I just closed my eyes. It hurt my heart.

“I believe in preserving history so future generations understand how people once lived.

“…but this ‘progress’ thing has gotten out of hand.”

The columnist’s candor and hurt won’t stop or alter the character of the mega-change under way in Medora. That horse is out of the barn, and (as she says) the “powers that be,” local and otherwise, are too deeply invested to rein it in."

THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS AND THE GREATNESS OF HUMILITY; New Yorker, February 19, 2017

Sarah Larson, New Yorker; 

THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS AND THE GREATNESS OF HUMILITY

"The new Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, is highly motivated to make this library, and all libraries, a favorite object of the people. Hayden is the first person of color, and the first woman, to lead the Library of Congress; she is also the first actual librarian to lead it since 1974. Her predecessor, Dr. James Billington, a distinguished Russia scholar appointed by Ronald Reagan, was beloved for his intellect but criticized for mismanagement; he neglected, for many years, to appoint a chief information officer, which was required by law, and he also didn’t use e-mail. Hayden, a former head of the American Library Association, revitalized and modernized Baltimore’s twenty-two-branch Enoch Pratt Free Library system. President Obama nominated her, in 2010, to be a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board, and, last year, to become Librarian of Congress...

Like many librarians, Hayden is a big believer in the rights of all people to educate themselves, and in the importance of open access to information online. (This inclusive spirit has become more urgent nationally in recent weeks: see “Libraries Are for Everyone,” a multilingual meme and poster campaign, created by a Nebraska librarian, Rebecca McCorkindale, to counter the forces of fake news and fearmongering.) In September, Hayden gave a swearing-in speech in which she described how black Americans “were once punished with lashes and worse for learning to read.” She said that, “as a descendent of people who were denied the right to read, to now have the opportunity to serve and lead the institution that is our national symbol of knowledge is a historic moment.”...

I thought of the drafts of Lincoln’s first Inaugural Address that a curator in the Inaugurations exhibit had shown me. Lincoln had originally ended his speech with a challenge to the South: “Shall it be peace or sword?” William Henry Seward had suggested an edit that pushed Lincoln toward a more conciliatory tone, and the phrase “guardian angel of the nation.” Lincoln turned that into the sublime “better angels of our nature,” an appeal to our common humanity. Our greatest President was also, possibly, our greatest reviser—a cutter and paster who questioned his imperfect ideas, accepted input, made them better, and kept all of his drafts, so that history could learn not just from his speeches but from the workings of his mind. The contents of the library, like Hayden herself, often directed my attention to the systems by which progress is made and recorded."

Life’s Work: An Interview with Greg Louganis; Harvard Business Review, July-August 2016

Alison Beard, Harvard Business Review; Life’s Work: An Interview with Greg Louganis:

"You’ve described yourself as extremely shy, yet you’ve become something of a spokesperson for LGBT causes. How did you make that transition?

My mom always taught me, “Make everywhere you go better because you were there.” It’s funny, because I just got an e-mail from my sixth-grade teacher, who asked, “What happened to that shy little 12-year-old that I used to teach?” And you know what? That boy is still here. It’s just that I’m more comfortable articulating and sharing my thoughts and feelings now. But it’s not a mantle you pick up overnight.

Why are you a mentor and not a coach?

My coach, Ron, was also a mentor. He would meet with us and map out the calendar, saying, “OK, what are the major competitions and what are our goals—diving-related or not?” He coached us as individuals. There is less of that now. So when I meet with athletes, some of it’s about diving or communication breakdowns with their coaches, because I don’t see the dives the same way they do. They’re thinking about the mechanics and the positioning, while I see the athlete holding on to stress and forgetting to breathe. So I’ll say, “Put a breath right here and everything else will fall into place.” But most of it is about what goes on outside the pool. What are their career aspirations? Where do they see themselves in two to five years? Are they taking action steps to pursue those goals? I take a more holistic approach."