MINOT, N.D. — In 2021 the Atlanta Braves won the World Series. Among those receiving a ring? Scott Davis from right here in North Dakota. Davis spent years serving our state as the commissioner of Indian affairs. He’s in the private sector now, helping private organizations with their outreach to Native American communities, and some…
Plain Talk: The Uvalde shooting, and a proposal to cut North Dakota’s property taxes in half
MINOT, N.D. — Terrible news from Texas. Another mass shooting, this one taking the lives of 21 people, 19 of them school children. My Wednesday co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the shooting, the reaction, and the exhausting debate we have after every one of these incidents on this episode of Plain Talk. Also, Roscoe…
Plain Talk: This sec. of state candidate says he’s focusing on the integrity of North Dakota’s elections
MINOT, N.D. — Marvin Lepp would like to be North Dakota’s next secretary of state. He’s running as a Republican, though he said on this episode of Plain Talk that the office “really ought to be nonpartisan, and he’s running on election integrity. He said he got more involved in politics in recent years during…
Plain Talk: Dem sec. of state candidate says ‘election integrity’ is Republican code for ‘voter suppression’
MINOT, N.D. — Jeffrey Powell is an administrator at Mayville State University and the Democratic-NPL candidate for secretary of state. He was endorsed by the party’s executive committee (he made a late decision to run so didn’t attend the party’s state convention in Minot) and in November will be facing off against one of two…
Plain Talk: On the midterms and the fight for the NDGOP in North Dakota’s legislative primaries
MINOT, N.D. — This year’s primaries, from local legislative races to the national midterms, are in many ways a referendum on the influence of disgraced former President Donald Trump and his movement’s ongoing influence on the GOP. What did we learn after this week’s primary elections? And the fundraising numbers we’re seeing in North Dakota’s…
Plain Talk: Lawyer talks about fight over haze regulations, Fargo commission candidate talks about campaign
MINOT, N.D. — When it comes to regulating air quality — both in terms of health and cosmetic measures like visibility — North Dakota, by all applicable measures, does an excellent job. We have some of the cleanest air in the nation. Ours is one of only four states to have never violated a federal…
Plain Talk: NY Times reporter previews new book, and a discussion of the political implications of ending Roe
MINOT, N.D. — On Jan. 6, 2021, as rioters were infiltrating the U.S. Capitol building, New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin was in the building with many of our national leaders, such as Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Kevin Cramer. He and co-author Alexander Burns tell that story in a new book, just released this…
Plain Talk: Nobel laureate says Biden canceling Keystone pipeline was ‘symbol’ that led to higher gas prices
MINOT, N.D. — When President Joe Biden, as one of his first moves in office, canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, it was “a symbol” for the oil and gas industry that the political situation would be hostile to them in the coming years. That lead them to curtail their investments in new production capacity, something…
Plain Talk: Landowners want a better deal on the Midwest Carbon Express pipeline
MINOT, N.D. — Carbon capture and storage is a big deal for North Dakota. Not just because our state’s economy is dominated by commodity-based industries — energy and agriculture — that emit a lot of carbon, but because the geology under our feet lends itself to storing captured carbon. There are billions in investments lined…
Plain Talk: A conservative North Dakota lawmaker talks about her struggles with the culture warriors
MINOT, N.D. — Sen. Jessica Bell, a Republican from District 33, has a lengthy track record of reliably conservative policy making in the North Dakota Senate, which includes her consequential work to save a coal-fired power plant that employs, directly and indirectly, thousands of her constituents. Yet the delegates at the NDGOP’s local district convention…