A recent spat between State Board of Higher Education members and a couple of university presidents over tuition policy for out-of-state students illustrates exactly why Governor Doug Burgum’s proposed changes to university governance are such a bad idea. If you haven’t been following along, recently South Dakota announced that they would be granting in-state tuition…
Alternatively, More Conservatives Should Join the News Media
Yesterday, in response to consternation among media types over the demise of conservative news and opinion magazine The Weekly Standard, I argued that if “mainstream” media types were so concerned about it they ought to try hiring more conservatives. I received a lot of feedback on that post through various mediums, and one consistent and well-made…
The News Media Should Hire More Conservatives
There is a lot of consternation of late about the demise of The Weekly Standard, a right-of-center publication founded by Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes and owned by Rupert Murdoch from its founding in 1995 until 2009 (right around the media mogul purchased the Wall Street Journal). The Standard is hardly the first ideologically-driven publication…
Prisons Aren’t Jobs Programs
Governor Doug Burgum’s executive budget his ignited several debates over policy and spending across the state. Perhaps one of the most heated so far is the proposed relocation of the Dakota Women’s Correctional and Rehabilitation Center, a prison facility for female inmates current located in New England, North Dakota. On one side of the debate is…
This Time Anti-Discrimination Activists Hope to Bring Evidence of Discrimination to the Legislature
For going on a decade now Democrats have brought to North Dakota’s biannual legislative session an anti-discrimination bill aimed at protecting homosexual/transgendered citizens from discrimination. It’s been the same bill, over and over again, to the point where some (including this observer) have questioned how serious Democrats are about passing the bill. Did they really…
Print Column: Heitkamp’s Angry Goodbye
MINOT, N.D. — This week Sen. Heidi Heitkamp said farewell with an address on the floor of the Senate. The timing was less than ideal. Delayed a week because of the passing of former President George H.W. Bush, Heitkamp ended up delivering her goodbye while her fellow Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, was in…
Rep. Rick Becker: What I Learned by Watching 30 Minutes of the Last State Board of Higher Education Meeting
This guest post was submitted by state Rep. Rick Becker, a Republican representing District 7 in the Bismarck area. A few days ago I read that the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) was considering allowing college presidents to offer out-of-state students the in-state tuition rate. Because this touched on two bills I…
NDGOP State Committee Votes Against Endorsing Legislation to End North Dakota’s Open Primaries
Tonight the North Dakota Republican Party voted against a resolution endorsing legislation aimed at ending North Dakota’s open primary system. Here’s the vote tally, per the party: 19-Yes 29-No 8-Absent/Not Voting The resolution would have needed 29 “yes” votes to pass, so it wasn’t particularly close. The issue was brought to the state party by District…
Governor Burgum and a Republican Lawmaker Want to Exempt Military Pay and Pensions From State Income Taxes and It’s a Solid Idea
North Dakota has thousands and thousands of military members, both active duty and retired, living in our state. North Dakota has a chronic labor shortage. North Dakota is also one of just eight states which still fully taxes military pay to retirees. Governor Doug Burgum, along with state Rep. Shannon Roers Jones (R-Fargo), each aim…
Julie Fedorchak: Wind Projects Save Xcel Customers Millions
This guest post was submitted by Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak. In a recent article, Rob Port claimed that the PSC gave the go-ahead to Xcel Energy “to inflate power bills” here in North Dakota to meet “green energy” goals in other states. While that’s certainly a provocative lead, it’s false on both accounts. First…