MINOT, N.D. — Much like many other parts of our nation, here in North Dakota we’ve had a raging, years-long debate about voter ID requirements and election fraud. Republicans have promoted reasonable reforms to North Dakota’s balloting process, which, absent the need for registration, is probably the most convenient method of voting in the country.…
Friday Mailbag: Cable News, ‘Silence Is Violence’ and the NDGOP’s Anti-LGBT Resolutions
MINOT, N.D. — Welcome to your Friday, and what has regrettably become an occasional mailbag column. I apologize for that, things got hectic for a few weeks, but I’m doing my best to respond to all of you individually, if not in this column. Before we get to this week’s feedback, did you know the…
Guest Post: Anti-Wind Sentiment Is “Right On”
This guest post was submitted by Perrie Schafer, the CEO of Mandan-based Environmental Services, LTD. and a board member of the Lignite Energy Council. Having worked in the North Dakota energy industry as a business owner for the past 37 years, I take issue with many of the conclusions former Public Service Commissioner Tony Clark…
Guest Post: I Got Arrested, and I Learned Some Things
This guest post was submitted by Dustin Gawrylow of the North Dakota Watchdog Network Last weekend, I experienced something no American should experience. Namely, I was thrown in jail for 48 hours due to a brotherly skirmish that I did not start. I do not want my brother to experience what I went through, so…
Plain Talk: Sen. Cramer Says Trump’s Tweet About Fisher Industries Border Wall Controversy Is ‘Only Mildly Interesting to Me’
“I don’t know what got into the president,” Sen. Kevin Cramer said when asked about the situation on this episode of Plain Talk. “It’s only mildly interesting to me, to be honest,” Cramer added, noting that he hasn’t spoken to the president or any White House staff about the situation. Click to continue reading…
Plain Talk: Why Did Trump Hire John Bolton? “He Liked Watching Him on the News Shows,” Sen. Cramer Says
“He liked watching him on the news shows.” That’s what Sen. Kevin Cramer said on this episode of Plain Talk, responding to a question about why President Donald Trump would have hired John Bolton, a Fox News contributor before joining the Trump administration, in the first place. Bolton is currently peddling some salacious stories about…
Plain Talk: House Minority Leader Josh Boschee Makes the Case for a Special Session
Does North Dakota need a special session? House Minority Leader Josh Boschee, a Democratic lawmaker from Fargo, thinks so. He is one of a group of Democratic lawmakers who are requesting a special session to address the impacts of the coronavirus. One major issue Boschee would like handed is some $1.25 billion in federal funding…
Can Businesses Be Sued for Trying to Be Good Samaritans During the Coronavirus Pandemic?
Both North Dakota and the nation are grappling with the task of returning our society to some semblance of normal while still keeping in place appropriate measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic. On this episode of Plain Talk, Arik Spencer from the Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce talks about some protections his organization feels…
Plain Talk: “To Say That Money Buys Elections in North Dakota Is a Little Bit Insulting to the People of North Dakota,” Says Burgum
On this episode of Plain Talk, Gov. Doug Burgum addressed criticism he’s faced for spending millions, much of it his own money, on promoting his preferred slate of candidates in the North Dakota Republican Party’s recent primary election. Some have started using the nickname “Boss Burgum.” State Rep. Rick Becker, R-Bismarck, referred to Burgum’s efforts…
Plain Talk: ‘It Definitely Got Weird,’ Beadle Says of Hotly-Contested State Treasurer’s Race
The political parties didn’t hold their traditional biannual state conventions. The candidates were constrained in their ability to campaign in person. All of the voting was done by mail. The President of the United States endorsed in a down-ballot primary race for a sleepy executive branch office with little influence over actual public policy. This…