MINOT, N.D. — North Dakota’s two major political parties, the Democratic-NPL and the Republican Party, hold their state conventions in the spring of election years. Usually, they occur about a week or so apart from each other around the end of March or the beginning of April, and several weeks ahead of the June primary balloting. Those are…
Capitalism produces a bit of wonder amid the cynicism
MINOT, N.D. — “What you’ve given me is the most profound experience I can imagine,” said the nonagenarian who had just been rocketed into space. Legendary actor William Shatner was characteristically eloquent in talking about the experience, made possible by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his space company Blue Origin. “I am so filled with emotion about what just happened.…
Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem needs to own these legal failures
MINOT, N.D. — I’m going to begin this column with some convoluted back story. Stay with me, because the point this leads to is an important one. This week, after years of litigation that reached the state Supreme Court, a district court judge in McKenzie County sided with the state’s oil and gas industry against…
Friday Mailbag: Vaccination choice, school dress-up days, oil pipelines, and innumeracy of the national debt debate
MINOT, N.D. — When I was a kid, I didn’t like the fall. It meant going back to school, and I much preferred the lazy days of summer. As a grownup, fall my be my favorite season. Yes, the weather gets colder, but there’s something refreshing about that bite in the air after a sweltering…
As important as vaccines are, we cannot abandon choice
MINOT, N.D. — A reader emailed me this week telling me he’d been spending some time thinking about the actions and statements of elected officials. Notably, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and North Dakota’s leadership, including Gov. Doug Burgum and the congressional delegation. “These elected officials espouse the benefits of, and even encourage, vaccines and then say it is up…
Stymied Democrats could find more success through moderation
MINOT, N.D. — As an article of faith, our liberal friends and neighbors believe that the American political system is rigged in favor of Republicans. Democratic presidential candidates consistently win the national popular vote, yet thanks to the Electoral College, we still elect Republicans to the White House with some regularity. In 2018, Democratic candidates for the…
North Dakota Republicans in wait-and-see mode on Trump running in 2024
MINOT, N.D. — “Senate Republicans, with a few exceptions, are hoping that former President Trump does not announce his intention to run again for president,” The Hill newspaper reports. That’s a big statement, if true, though the frustrating part of the piece is that it quoted not a single anti-Trump senator by name. I asked North…
ND Land Commissioner Jodi Smith ends tumultuous tenure with resignation
MINOT, N.D. — North Dakota’s Land Commissioner Jodi Smith has resigned, according to sources aware of the situation, as well as a news release from Gov. Doug Burgum’s office. The timing is interesting. Smith had just been appointed to a second term by the Board of University and School Lands in June. Continue reading…
Thank wind power for the ‘tough’ spike in heating bills you’re about to suffer
MINOT, N.D. — Consumers need to prepare,” Public Service Commissioner Brian Kroshus told the Bismarck Tribune. “It’s going to potentially be a tough heating season.” Gas customers, and specifically those who get their gas from Montana-Dakota Utilities which serves about 115,000 homes and businesses in North Dakota, may be paying about $170 more, on average, for gas this year. This isn’t…
Republican senator, charged with theft, doesn’t want to be associated with Bastiat Caucus
MINOT, N.D. — Last week I wrote a column Sen. Jason Heitkamp, a Republican from Wahpeton representing District 26 in Bismarck. Heitkamp called my editor about that column, complaining that I had associated him with the secretive Bastiat Caucus of very Trump-aligned Republican lawmakers. Heitkamp told my editor he doesn’t want to be associated with the Bastiat Caucus…