MINOT, N.D. — This year the Columbia Journalism Review released the results of a national survey finding “the press” was the least trusted institution they asked about. They also asked respondents about Congress. You have to work at being trusted less than Congress. That term, though. “The press.” What does it mean? More on that in a…
Print Column: ‘Progressive’ Energy Policy Hampers Progress
MINOT, N.D. — It’s remarkable how many self-described progressives are against progress. Is it progress for hundreds of thousands of Californians to go without electricity in blackouts power company officials say may be necessary for at least the next decade? Our modern society, with all of its speed and convenience, is built on the back of…
Print Column: How Many Times Did North Dakota Cops Violate the Fourth Amendment?
MINOT, N.D. — By all appearances, cops in North Dakota are routinely violating the Fourth Amendment and its protections against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Let me give you some examples. Last year, in a case originating in Stutsman County, North Dakota District Court Judge Jay Schmitz suppressed, as evidence supporting criminal charges, some 500 pounds…
Print Column: Some N.D. Republicans Need to Find Their Moral Compass
MINOT, N.D. — Call me old fashioned, but I believe if you call someone a terrorist and that person isn’t a terrorist, you should apologize to that person. North Dakota state Sen. Oley Larsen, a Republican from Minot who a week ago claimed on Facebook that Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was an al Qaeda-trained terrorist, has a…
Print Column: Sen. Oley Larsen and Our Race to the Bottom
MINOT, N.D. — On Sunday night, I was in my kitchen cooking my kids some tacos when I saw that state Sen. Oley Larsen, a Republican from Minot, had posted a picture on Facebook. The caption of the picture claimed it shows Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democrat, in an al Qaeda training camp. The…
Senators Cramer and Grassley: How Congress Can Fix High Drug Prices
This guest post was submitted by Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Kevin Cramer. Grassley, Iowa’s senior U.S. senator, is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Cramer is North Dakota’s junior U.S. senator. Washington is consumed with wall-to-wall coverage of impeachment, Ukraine, and transcripts. Every question we receive from the D.C. press corps is about that.…
Guest Post: In Defense of School Resource Officers
This guest post was submitted by Josh Brown, a school resource officer working for the Bismarck Police Department and president of the North Dakota Association of School Resource Officers. As the President of the North Dakota Association of School Resource Officers (NDASRO), I feel it is my duty to the schools and first responder agencies…
Plain Talk: North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Got Individual Insurance Rates 20 Percent Lower, Here’s What He Wants to Do Next
Most North Dakotans get their insurance through some sort of group plan, usually through an employer, but our state is also a unique place. We have a lot of self-employed entrepreneurs, people like ranchers and farmers and other small business owners, and they’re responsible for purchasing their own insurance. The only news most of us…
Print Column: The Left’s Commitment to Wokeness Ends When It’s Time to Do Business With Communists
MINOT, N.D. — Not so long ago we here in North Dakota had a debate about refugee resettlement. Some of our elected leaders, including Fargo City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn and former West Fargo state lawmaker Chris Olson, wanted to collect more data on the social and fiscal impacts of refugee resettlement. They pushed for the state…
Plain Talk: Auditor Gallion Says Things Are “Cordial” With Governor Burgum Despite Campaign Announcement Snub
“Regardless of what you do…you’re going to have critics.” That’s what North Dakota Auditor Josh Gallion, a Republican who announced his re-election campaign last week, told me on this episode of Plain Talk. Gallion has drawn the ire of at least some of his fellow Republicans during his first term in office. After some aggressive…