MINOT, N.D. — The fight over the Davis Refinery, a crude oil project backed by Meridian Energy Group, has been an intriguing one to follow. In many ways it is a familiar story, pitting the energy industry and its desire for modern infrastructure against a political faction which would rather keep oil in the ground.…
Measure 1 Bans Lobbyists on the Ethics Commission, but a Measure 1 Lobbyist Has Applied Anyway
Yesterday I wrote about a lobbyist for the North Dakotans for Public Integrity – the local front group for the Hollywood activists behind Measure 1 – who wants to serve on the state ethics committee Measure 1 created. Governor Doug Burgum is currently accepting applications to serve on the committee. Greg Stites, who was a…
Just Admit You Made a Mistake Governor Burgum
“This is only an issue with a couple hundred people on social media.” That’s what Governor Doug Burgum reportedly told the Bismarck Tribune’s editorial board when the issue of the last-minute gutting of the powers of the Auditor’s Office came up. The exchange was mentioned in a column by Tribune publisher Gary Adkisson, who promises…
A Lobbyist on the Ethics Commission?
During the 2018 election cycle the air was thick with denunciations of lobbyists, with most of the smoke being blown by the North Dakotans for Public Integrity. That group was behind the successful Measure 1 campaign, and they’ve been long on hypocrisy since their inception. They have railed against the influence of out-of-state money in…
You Can’t Be a Journalist and an Elected Official
On the podcast today state Rep. Matt Eidson told me he’s going to do his best to do a good job both as an elected member of North Dakota’s legislature and a working journalist for the Grand Forks Herald and Prairie Public. I’m not convinced he can do it. I say that not to besmirch Eidson’s…
Plain Talk: Can You Be an Elected Official and a Reporter at the Same Time?
On this episode of Plain Talk, state Rep. Matt Eidson (D-Grand Forks) talks about how he plans to manage being an elected official as well as a reporter. Eidson has taken internships with Prairie Public and the Grand Forks Herald (owned by Forum Communications Company which also employs me), and says he’ll work hard to…
Thanks to Marsy’s Law Corporations Can Maybe Have Victim Rights Too
North Dakota voters made a grievous mistake when they, at the behest of a campaign funded by a California billionaire, approved the “Marsy’s Law” amendment to the state constitution. The fallout from that mistake continues to unfold in state courts. Earlier this year I wrote about a state Supreme Court decision in State vs. Strom…
Yes You Are, Republicans
My most recent Sunday print column was about the North Dakota Republican Party and the ways in which, fairly or unfairly, they seem to be losing the faith of the North Dakota electorate. My argument is that Republicans seem increasingly indifferent to how they’re perceived by the public. Last year voters approved Measure 1, a…
The Government Can’t Have It Both Ways in the War on Opiate Abuse
The State of North Dakota – and, separately, multiple political subdivisions of the state – are suing the pharmaceutical industry for its alleged contributions to the opioid epidemic. The politics of this are obvious. The pharmaceutical industry – like the tobacco industry, the target of a similar litigation not so long ago – is not…
Guest Post: Legislative Session Gave Insurance Department Resources, Authority to Make Things Better for North Dakotans
This guest post was submitted by North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread, a Republican first elected in 2016. It isn’t always easy to be transformative in state government due to the confines of certain laws, policies or financial structures. Change certainly happens, but often slowly. Yet, I am happy to report that with the close…