One of the innovative things the State of North Dakota has done during the coronavirus pandemic is work with a Fargo-based developer ProudCrowd to create a contact tracing app. Contract tracing is an epidemiological technique aimed at tracking where an outbreak is happening and who it is happening to so that policies can be targeted.…
Coal Creek Station Isn’t Being Replaced by Natural Gas, It’s Being Replaced by About $1 Billion in Wind Subsidies
MINOT, N.D. — The close of Coal Creek Station, North Dakota’s largest coal-fired power plant, would be socially and economically devastating for the central part of the state. If it closes, schools and businesses will also close. Communities around the facility will wither. It’s an ugly reality. To gloss over that reality, certain people prefer…
For Some Unfathomable Reason, Trump Has Endorsed a Qanon Conspiracy Enthusiast With a Penchant for Racial Jokes in North Dakota’s Treasurer Race
What might have been a hyperlocal, in-the-weeds, intraparty struggle now, suddenly, has a national spotlight. Continue reading…
North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Candidate’s Residency Requirement Under Scrutiny
MINOT, N.D. — Across the state, North Dakota voters are receiving and filling out vote-by-mail ballots for the June primary election. For partisan statewide races, those ballots will decide which candidates will represent each political party on the November ballot. In the race for insurance commissioner, there’s not much drama. Neither Republican incumbent Jon Godfread,…
Great River Energy’s Decision to Close Coal Creek Station Is Based on an Estimated $1 Billion Subsidy From the Taxpayers
MINOT, N.D. — Minnesota-based Great River Energy gave North Dakota’s economy a firm kick in the teeth recently with its announced decision to close Coal Creek Station. That’s the state’s largest coal-fired power plant, employing hundreds of people directly and driving commerce that employs thousands indirectly. Publicly, Great River Energy officials have been making sorrowful noises about…
Heitkamp Endorsing Biden, After She Voted Against Kavanaugh, Makes Her a Resounding Hypocrite
MINOT, N.D. — I’m not convinced that former Vice President Joe Biden did anything particularly untoward to Tara Reade. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know Reade worked as an aide in Biden’s Senate office and now says he sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s. You can read a timeline of her…
What Happens to the Innocent Mr. Dittmer?
MINOT, N.D. — On the evening of Friday, May 8, a 23-year-old man named William Scott Dittmer Jr., a resident of Casselton in rural Cass County, was arrested for fatally shooting a 50-year-old neighbor. The news media did their jobs and reported on the arrest. Mr. Dittmer’s mugshot was published and widely circulated in the region.…
Plain Talk: Former NDGOP Chairman and Burgum Supporter Says the Governor Is “Using His Wealth” to Punish the Legislature
Gary Emineth is a long-time activist in North Dakota politics, and at one point served as the chairman of the North Dakota Republican Party. He was an outspoken supporter of Gov. Doug Burgum’s 2016 campaign, but he sees problems in Burgum’s decision to spend big money defeating other Republicans in primary races. Two of Burgum’s former…
Hey Democrats, Coal Communities Don’t Want Training Programs, They Want You to Quit Destroying Their Jobs
MINOT, N.D. — I like Sen. Merrill Piepkorn, D-Fargo. I really do. Every interaction I’ve had with him has been pleasant. But his recent letter to the editor, headlined “The future of coal is dim,” was so blithely condescending toward North Dakota’s coal workers and their families it borders on parody. It reads like the sort of…
Friday Mailbag: Is the Care19 App Even Working? What’s With This Paywall? Why Do You Support Hate Speech?
MINOT, N.D. — TGIF, my friends, and welcome to another Friday mailbag. How are things for you as we slowly, with much political and social rancor, inch our society back toward something approaching normal? The other day I paid $0.27 per gallon for gasoline. No joke! Click to continue reading…