State Senator Kristin Roers (R-Fargo) is a cousin to state Rep. Shannon Roers Jones (R-Fargo). The latter Roers introduced legislation to decriminalize marijuana earlier this session only to see it defeated. That prompted the former Roers to resurrect it by way of floor amendment in the Senate. To give the legislation its “day in court”…
Print Column: Should the Legacy Fund Be Used Only to Grow Government?
MINOT, N.D. – North Dakota House Republicans have resurrected an idea to use Legacy Fund earnings as a way to reduce and eventually eliminate the state’s income tax. This is a unique idea among proposals for how to use the billions we’ve tucked away in that piggy bank in that it’s the only one which reduces the…
Plain Talk: ND Insurance Commissioner Seeks to Address Chaos Obamacare Has Caused in the Individual Marketplace
Absent reform at the federal level, there are only so many things states like North Dakota can do under the strictures of Obamacare to address real problems with access and affordability in the individual insurance market, but North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread is intent on doing what can be done. His office is touting…
Plain Talk: If We’re Concerned About Road Safety in North Dakota Why Are We Letting Driver’s Education Programs Go Extinct?
On this episode of Plain Talk Jim Keller, a high school math teacher and driver’s education instructor from Elgin, talks about the demise of driver’s education programs in our schools. He says there’s just a half dozen or so school-based driver’s education programs left in the state thanks to budget cuts. A bill to add…
Print Column: There Should Be Consequences for Refusing to Vaccinate
MINOT, N.D. – Over the last week I’ve published a print column and a podcast about the vaccination issue, noting the resurgence of communicable diseases like measles and the rise in the number of North Dakota parents opting their children out of vaccines. The response to these pieces was ugly. My inbox and social media feeds filled up with…
Plain Talk: Rep. Armstrong Says Demands for Full Mueller Report Are a “Political Stunt”
“Sometimes we hurt our friends more when we do these sort of things,” Rep. Kelly Armstrong said on this episode of Plain Talk. He was responding to a listener question about President Donald Trump’s proposal to shut down the border with Mexico. Armstrong says he opposes the move. “We need our trading partners in Canada…
Plain Talk: Sen. Cramer Says Even if Trump Were Being Crucified Democrats Would Want Rusty Nails
On this episode of Plain Talk, Senator Kevin Cramer answers listener questions including one on the Mueller report. He says Democrats will never be satisfied no matter how much of the report is released. “If we were to hang Donald Trump on a cross they’d be complaining the nails aren’t rusty enough,” he said. One…
Plain Talk: Republican Lawmaker Beclowns Himself by Objecting to Hindu Prayer, State Epidemiologist Talks Vaccinations
State Rep. Jeff Hoverson (R-Minot), who has styled himself as a champion of religious liberty, embarrassed himself by objecting to a prayer delivered by a Hindu spiritual leader at the 2019 legislative session. Also Jennifer Galbraith, an epidemiologist from the North Dakota Department of Health, talks about the rising number of parents who are opting…
Print Column: North Dakota Is Still Seeing a Rising Tide of Anti-Vaccination Sentiment
MINOT, N.D. – “Measles Count in US This Year Already More Than All of 2018” is a headline which popped up in my feeds this week. It was not an April Fool’s prank (a holiday feels a bit superfluous in the strange days of 2019). The headline is real news from The Associated Press. “The…
Plain Talk: More Than You Ever Really Wanted to Know About Pore Space
On a previous episode of Plain Talk, state Senator Jessica Unruh made the case for her bill (which has now passed the House and Senate and is currently in conference committee) address the issue of pore space and other issues important to the oil and coal industry in the state. On this episode Troy Coons,…