MINOT, N.D. — We’re all in campaign mode right now, but just a couple of months after Election Day North Dakota will have a new legislative session. Lawmakers at that session will be hearing about two competing tax cut plans. One would flatten the state’s income tax brackets, and eliminate the tax for most of…
Plain Talk: A local candidate sounds off, and Cramer talks Jan. 6 texts, funding bill, gun tracking, and more
MINOT, N.D. — In North Dakota, we elect a lot of people. That’s not a bad thing, but sometimes once you get down to the bottom of your ballot, past higher-profile candidates for state and federal office, you begin to see some names you might not be very familiar with. Names that are often all…
Plain Talk: Secretary of state candidates debate election integrity, voting, transparency, and more
MINOT, N.D. — Election integrity is a hot-button issue. Rancor continues around the outcome of the 2020 election, with many claiming that, at least nationally, former President Donald Trump was cheated out of another term in the White House by fraud. North Dakota election officials have been flooded with open records requests from people seeking information to…
Plain Talk: Are term limits really what’s right for North Dakota?
MINOT, N.D. — It’s been a circuitous route to the ballot for a ballot measure implementing term limits for North Dakota’s lawmakers and governor. State officials maintain that the signature collection process behind it was riddled with fraud, but the state Supreme Court put it on the ballot on a legal technicality, finding that the…
Plain Talk: In second debate, Democratic-NPL ag commissioner candidate says vote for the Republican
MINOT, N.D. — Work around politics long enough, and you’ll hear everything. Including a Democratic candidate for statewide office saying you ought to vote for the Republican. Fintan Dooley, who was endorsed by the North Dakota Democratic-NPL this spring to take on three-term Republican incumbent Doug Goehring for agriculture commissioner, says you ought to vote…
Plain Talk: Gov. Burgum says North Dakota’s baby boom is driving a need for new child care policy
MINOT, N.D. — When I began my writing career 20 years ago, North Dakota had an aging, shrinking population. Our young people were leaving. New people weren’t moving here. When we debated education, much of it was focused on what to do about declining enrollment. School closures and consolidation were a sad reality. Things have…
Plain Talk: In first debate, attorney general candidates clash over crime, marijuana, and more
MINOT, N.D. — If there’s one thing we learned from the first debate between North Dakota’s candidates for attorney general, it’s that they disagree on a lot. Drew Wrigley, a Republican, is the incumbent attorney general, having been appointed to finish his predecessor Wayne Stenehjem’s term by Gov. Doug Burgum. Wrigley is now running to…
Plain Talk: Cramer talks Russia, student loan forgiveness, Mund and Becker
Minot, N.D. — Prominent North Dakota Democrats made a real “mess of things” when they took the extraordinary step of jettisoning their U.S. House candidate, Mark Haugen, in favor of independent candidate Cara Mund. That’s what Sen. Kevin Cramer said on this episode of Plain Talk. “They were very presumptuous about Cara,” Cramer added, arguing…
Plain Talk: Cara Mund, Rep. Kelly Armstrong square off in first U.S. House debate
Minot, N.D. — For the first time, incumbent Republican Rep. Kelly Armstrong and independent challenger Cara Mund faced off in a debate. On this episode of Plain Talk, with questions coming from former Democratic-NPL Executive Director Chad Oban and myself, the two candidates found areas where they agree, and areas where they disagree. Listen below, or…
Plain Talk: What do you think of this proposal exempting most North Dakota households from income taxes?
MINOT, N.D. — Last week a group of Republican leaders from the state’s legislative and executive branches got together and announced a new plan to flatten North Dakota’s income taxes . The state currently has five tax brackets that obligate every North Dakotan earning income to pay a progressively higher rate based on how large that income…