MINOT, N.D. — Kansas, a very red, very Republican state, just voted, in a landslide, to maintain status quo protections for abortion. Meanwhile, in Congress, there was a vicious debate over the last week over who hates veterans. In Michigan, Democrats backed a pro-Trump, election conspiracy Republican in a primary against a GOP incumbent that…
Plain Talk: ESG investing could downgrade North Dakota’s credit rating
Minot, N.D. — The ESG movement in venture capitalism – the acronym stands for “environment, social, and governance” – is a threat to North Dakota’s economic well-being, but not just in the way you might be imagining. Our state’s primary industries — energy and agriculture — are also carbon-heavy industries, which is why our state…
Plain Talk: Sen. Kevin Cramer talks Fufeng controversy, PACT Act, same-sex marriage, and more
MINOT, N.D. — As the controversy over a corn milling plant near Grand Forks, and the Grand Forks Air Force Base, to be built by a Chinese company whose leader is a member of the Chinese Communist Party, continues to unfold, Sen. Kevin Cramer sees the need for legislation to address the matter. Federal officials…
Democratic-NPL chairman talks about pro-life candidate controversy, 2022 cycle
MINOT, N.D. — Last week the North Dakota Democratic-NPL saw some internecine conflict over their U.S. House candidate, Mark Haugen, who is pro-life and supports the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Patrick Hart, the chairman of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL, joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss the challenges of managing the disparate points of view…
Plain Talk: North Dakota has slashed the time it takes to permit a carbon capture project
MINOT, N.D. — I suspect that many in the general public, when they hear about carbon capture, think of it as some pie-in-the-sky thing. Something that’s being developed. That’s in the work. Not really something that is, as yet, a practical part of modern industry. Except, the state of North Dakota just permitted its first…
Plain Talk: Attorney General’s Office identifies rogue employee who deleted emails
MINOT, N.D. — Last week, in response to an open record request filed by myself and others for emails, Attorney General Drew Wrigley announced that his office wouldn’t be able to satisfy those requests in full . An employee, who was not a supervisor or attorney in his office and who had no authority to do so,…
Plain Talk: A North Dakota gas station owner responds to President Biden’s accusations about prices
MINOT, N.D. — President Joe Biden is putting the blame for high gas prices on gas station owners. “My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril,” he wrote in a tweet posted before Independence Day. “Bring down the…
Plain Talk: Supreme Court decision may bolster North Dakota’s carbon capture projects says industry leader
MINOT, N.D. — America’s industry, from power production to agriculture to manufacturing, needs “to be governed by policymakers not lawsuits.” That’s what Jason Bohrer, president of the North Dakota Lignite Energy Council, said on this episode of Plain Talk. He sees the recent Supreme Court decision in North Dakota v. EPA as a boon not…
Pro-life Democrat running for U.S. House says he takes a ‘whole life’ approach to abortion issue
MINOT, N.D. — Believe it or not, there is such a thing as a pro-life Democrat. There are pro-choice Republicans too, of course, but on this episode of Plain Talk, it was Mark Haugen, the Democratic-NPL candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, who is staunchly pro-life, who we were speaking to. Haugen’s party leaders…
Plain Talk: Wrigley will certify ND’s bipartisan (you read that right) abortion ban ‘in a matter of hours’
MINOT, N.D. — You couldn’t possibly have missed the news that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the Roe v. Wade precedent which held that it was unconstitutional for state governments to ban abortion. The ruling was unambiguous. “The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion,” the court ruled .…