This guest post was submitted by Fargo attorney Mark Western It’s Groundhog Day yet again. Over the weekend, the Twitter-verse has been upended yet again with the President’s incendiary statement admonishing four Democratic members of Congress to “go back” to where they came from. While some have interpreted this as a taunt to go back…
Plain Talk: As Many as 175,000 North Dakota Could Seek Pardons for Marijuana Convictions
“We could be looking at upward of 175 to 179 thousand who have this issue.” That’s what Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said on this episode of Plain Talk, referring to a streamlined process to allow those with minor convictions for marijuana-related crimes to apply for pardons. Stenehjem sits on a constitutionally-established board which makes recommendations…
Guest Post: Bismarck Doubling Traffic Fines Will Undoubtedly Invite Legal Challenges
This guest post was submitted by Fargo attorney Mark Friese The Bismarck Tribune reports Bismarck City Commissioners will seek to impose traffic fines with double the financial penalties otherwise provided by law. If approved, this elitist, twice-as-expensive approach would arguably apply to all categories and types of traffic violations. There are hundreds, but to illustrate,…
Controversy Over Pay for Absent Legislators Is Much Ado About Not Much
If you wanted to be critical of North Dakota lawmakers for rubber stamping pay for colleagues who are absent during the legislative session I think that’s probably valid. Anyone who watches the floor sessions of the Legislature can see how routine the votes are to excuse absences and thus authorize pay. But you have to…
Ballot Measure Legalizing Recreational Marijuana in State Constitution Submitted to Secretary of State
Back in May a ballot measure, proposing an amendment to the state constitution legalizing recreational marijuana, was submitted to the Secretary of State’s office for approval to circulate. It was then withdrawn with the organizers saying they needed to fix the language. Which was a good thing because language looked like it was something slapped…
Plain Talk: Trump Says So-Called “Fake News” Is “Dangerous” and “Not Free Speech” but He’s Absolutely Wrong
“I don’t think that the mainstream media is free speech either, because it’s so crooked, it’s so dishonest. So to me, free speech is not when you see something good and then you purposely write bad, to me that’s very dangerous speech, and you become angry at it,” President Donald Trump said at the recent…
Organizer of Referendum Petition Campaigns Says They Don’t Have Enough Signatures Yet
A citizen-led organization calling themselves Audit the Swamp has begun gathering signatures to refer three pieces of legislation, passed by the Legislature earlier this year, to the statewide ballot. They want to block legislation appropriating money to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library project in Medora, excluding lawmaker emails to state agencies from open records requests,…
Plain Talk: Senator Cramer Says of HR1044 “I Not Only Supported It I Championed It”
“I not only supported it, I championed it.” That’s what Senator Kevin Cramer said of HR1044, called the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019, on this episode of Plain Talk. He was responding questions from listeners upset about his support for the legislation, but Cramer says it’s a good bill. He says it would…
Guest Post: Ethics Commission Front-Runner Has Corporate Ties to Large State Government Contracts
This guest post was submitted by Dustin Gawrylow, executive director of the North Dakota Watchdog Network There has been a lot of debate over the Ethics Commission that is currently being created in North Dakota as a result of the passage of the Measure #1 in 2018. Sixty-eight North Dakotans (including this writer) applied for positions…
These Fargo Elected Leaders Are Dodging Accountability and It Stinks
This post might seem like an intensely local issue, important only to people who live in Fargo, but as you read this remember the same tactic could be deployed by your local leaders. Around the 4th of July holiday Fargo Park District executive director Joel Vettel – a well-known face in the community after a…