Earlier this year State Auditor Josh Gallion’s office dropped a report which detailed some unfortunate goings-on at the North Dakota State College of Science. Among the findings was that Vice President Tony Grindberg – a former Republican state Senator and current member of the Fargo City Commission – had failed to disclose a conflict of…
Two West Fargo students embrace during a walkout protest against gun violence in March, 2018. Colton Pool photo via Twitter
Exaggeration and Hysteria Are What School Shooters Want
Defending gun rights is “Defending the indefensible,” writes my friend and fellow columnist Tony Bender. His column is his usual exercise in tautology – these dummies are dumb because they’re dumb, he’s saying of the people he disagrees with. Yawn. But in his section lashing out at me for a column I wrote last month he…
Guest Post: Justin Trudeau Shouldn’t Resign but He Should Change His Tune
This guest post was submitted by Fargo attorney Mark Western Today, the internet is gripped by the hysteria of knowing that the Prime Minister of Canada wore a black-faced costume in 2001, and also appeared blackfaced at some point in the 1990s. As a matter of war and peace, this is not. But it is…
The Government Shouldn’t Depend on Revenue From Putting People in Jail
My jaw hit the floor at least twice over the course of two paragraphs while reading this piece from Grand Forks Herald reporter Adam Kurtz. First, there’s this: The Grand Forks County Commission heard from David Bostwick of HDR Architecture, a firm in Chicago hired to conduct a needs analysis of the Grand Forks County…
It’s Ridiculous That the Army Corps Won’t Take Responsibility for Failing to Address Trespassing by #NoDAPL Protesters
The violent protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline cost the State of North Dakota nearly $40 million. That dollar figure is based on what it cost to have law enforcement, first responders, the National Guard, and various state/local agencies address the situation. There were a lot of factors at play during the protests but one…
Kaleb Booker, Daniel Bye and Vladimere Olson face criminal charges after law enforcement in Grand Forks said they found nearly 400 hash oil vape pods and more than 2 pounds of marijuana in their vehicle during a traffic stop Grand Forks Herald photo
North Dakota Marijuana Activist Warns Against Using Marijuana Vaping Products
Last night David Owen called me and said he wanted to speak out about the dangers of marijuana vaping products. Owen is one of the organizers behind Legalize ND, a citizen group which backed a ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana in North Dakota last year. His group is readying another proposal for the ballot…
Should There Be an Age Limit for Holding Elected Office?
Former President Jimmy Carter, 95 years old next month, was asked during a recent town hall at the Carter Center in Atlanta whether he would consider running for president again. Carter was defeated by Ronald Reagan in 1980 after serving only one term in office. He is technically eligible to run again, and indeed former…
Plain Talk: Senator Cramer Says Obama’s Iran Deal Partly to Blame for Attacks on Saudi Oil Facilities
On this episode of Plain Talk, Senator Kevin Cramer and I discussed the recent attacks on Saudi oil facilities. Iranian equipment was used in the attacks, but the country is denying involvement. Cramer, who said he’s “read the classified CIA brief on the evidence,” said it’s his “sense” Iran was behind the attacks. “Any deniability…
Print Column: If Democrats Want to Re-Elect Trump, They Should Impeach Kavanaugh
MINOT, N.D. — I’m not a very demonstrative person. Still, I laughed right out loud when I read the excuse House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) had for not pursuing the impeachment against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. I scared my dog, Molly, even. “We have our hands full with impeaching the president right…
State Rep. Rick Becker (R-Bismarck) speaks at the Shall Not Be Infringed gun rights rally at the state capitol in Bismarck on September 15, 2019. Via Facebook
North Dakota Democratic Party Official Says She Was Threatened After Heated Gun Rights Debate With Republican Lawmaker
Over the weekend, a crowd of pro-2nd amendment folks gathered at the state capitol in Bismarck for an event called the “Shall Not Be Infringed Rally.” Unfortunately, some of the online discussion about the rally got a little ugly, as online discussions are wont to do. Ondine Baird, an official in the North Dakota Democratic…