Last week state Auditor Josh Gallion announced his re-election campaign. A number of the state’s prominent Republicans helped in that announcement, including Senator Kevin Cramer, Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread, and others. But buried at the end of my colleague Jeremy Turley’s article about Gallion’s announcement was this sentence: “A spokesman for Republican Gov. Doug Burgum,…
If You Support Refugee Resettlement You Should Support Trump’s Push to Give States and Cities a Say in It
At a rally in Minneapolis President Donald Trump touted a change in federal policy giving states and cities a level of veto power over refugee resettlement in their jurisdictions. Not surprisingly, given Trump’s polarizing nature, this change was met with no small amount of blowback. “Trump’s executive order requires state and local governments to consent…
Print Column: Suicide Is a Bigger Threat Than Shootings for North Dakota’s Kids
MINOT, N.D. — A majority of students in North Dakota, some 53%, attend a school at which there is a police presence. Far more students in our state, some 74%, attend a school that fails to achieve the student-to-counselor ratio recommended by national organizations like the American School Counselor Association. Those numbers are from a…
Plain Talk: ACLU of North Dakota Talks Cash Bail and Cops in Schools
On this episode of Plain Talk, Dane DeKrey from the ACLU of North Dakota talks about his group’s opposition to cash bail. They’d like to see the state use other methods to guarantee that defendants, released from jail pre-trial, show up in court. He also discusses his group’s opposition to the use of police officers…
Let’s Hope the NBA’s China Debacle Removes Our National Blind Spot From That Country’s Monstrous Abuses
I’ve never been enamored with America’s fascination with celebrity punditry. The bulk of it comes from the left, if or no other reason than because the politics of our entertainment and media industries lean so heavily that way. The right also has no problem becoming enamored with the blustery pronouncements of some famous person. I…
Josh Gallion Represents a Real Conundrum for North Dakota Republicans
Auditor Josh Gallion is in Bismarck announcing his re-election campaign even as I type these words. He’ll be making a follow-up announcement in Fargo later today, weather permitting. You can read his full press release below. Despite being young, by political standards, and just finishing up his first term, there was some hesitation on the…
Print Column: We’re More Affluent and Connected Than Ever, So Why Do We Feel So Alone and Unhappy?
MINOT, N.D. — “The average person in the U.S. has only one close friend, according to a study published in the American Sociological Review.” That’s something NBC News reported earlier this year. “One in four people have no confidantes at all,” they also reported, and some 75 percent of people say they’re unsatisfied with the friendships they…
A part of the 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests, the Tsuen Wan March took place on August 25, 2019. Studio Incendo
Our Nation’s Political and Business Leaders Don’t Have the Luxury of Ignoring China’s Suppression of Democracy Any More
A few days ago former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp wrote a column critical of the Trump administration’s approach to China. It wasn’t a particularly insightful piece, meandering as it did through the typical Democratic talking points on that issue. What was notable, actually, is what wasn’t in the column. Not a single mention, anywhere,…
Plain Talk: Why Do Americans Feel So Anxious? “It’s Not Trump” Says NDSU Professor
Americans are living at historically high levels of prosperity, but we also see increasing rates of problems with things like anxiety. About 20 percent of millennials say they are alone all or some of the time. Many of them say they have no real friends. “More and more people are taking anti-depressants and buying self-help…
What if North Dakota Gives Hollywood Incentives and They Treat Us Like They Did Georgia?
In an editorial over the weekend, the Fargo Forum made a case for North Dakota offering film incentives. This was occasioned by the recent work in Fargo on a film based there called “Tankhouse.” The company which owns the Forum (and which also employs me) is an investor in that film. “North Dakota has the means and…