MINOT, N.D. — A new survey from North Dakota United, the state’s combined public worker and teacher union, finds strong evidence that teachers are feeling burned out. Why? A lot of the same reasons many of us are feeling burned out. It’s politics and the pandemic and shifting attitudes about compensation levels. On this episode of Plain…
China’s political aggression and human rights track record has to matter more than corn prices
MINOT, N.D. — An economic development project in Grand Forks has attracted attention because the company at the heart of it is Chinese. The Fufeng Group wants to build a corn-milling facility in Grand Forks, and they’re seeking some heavy investments from the taxpayers to make it happen. They want tax exemptions. They want infrastructure. The usual…
The ‘let’s go Brandon’ crowd clutches their pearls
MINOT, N.D. — In a hot mic moment, President Joe Biden got caught calling Peter Doocy, the White House correspondent for Fox News, a “stupid son of a b—-.” Suddenly, the “let’s go Brandon” crowd is all about civility. The president of the United States shouldn’t be talking that way to a member of the…
Plain Talk: Rep. Armstrong talks Biden’s first year, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, and China
MINOT, N.D. — I’ll admit, I wanted to use this interview to push Congressman Kelly Armstrong, a fellow baseball nut, to pass legislation to end Major League Baseball’s ongoing lockout. But I controlled myself. What kind of conservative would I be if I was pushing for that sort of federal intervention? Principles must trump emotion,…
Spouse of Grand Forks School Board member pleads guilty to meth charge
MINOT, N.D. — Last week Roberta Florence Hassett pleaded guilty to a charge of delivery of methamphetamine, a level B felony. She has been sentenced to six years in the corrections and rehabilitation system. She will serve 18 months before being eligible for parole. Hassett is the wife of Jackie Hassett, an elected member of…
A bizarre political attack precipitated by the 4-year anniversary of my dog getting lost
MINOT, N.D. — The North Dakota Republican Party has gotten a lot of flak over new rules requiring contributions to the party from candidates seeking the party’s endorsement. It’s pay for play, critics, including this one, have said. Though I don’t support the rule change, because I don’t think money is the best way to go about…
Trump knows vaccination resistance is slaughtering his political base
MINOT, N.D. — Believe it or not, I think disgraced former President Donald Trump does actually know how to do basic arithmetic. I think that’s why so much of his spat with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has centered on COVID-19 politics. DeSantis has raised his national profile during the pandemic, in part, by pandering to…
UND made the right call by halting new gender inclusion policy
MINOT, N.D. — The University of North Dakota was considering a draft policy that would have punished misgendering and allowed the use of even facilities as sensitive as locker rooms based on the declared gender of an individual. Now the institution isn’t. “As a result of the recent discussions and because existing policies already provide…
Friday Mailbag: Hot sauce, Rick Becker obsession, the stolen election lie, and mugshots
MINOT, N.D. — In most of the United States, according to a survey by Instacart, the most popular hot sauce is Huy Fong Sriacha. But not in North Dakota. We like to go our own way. Here, it’s Village Hot Sauce, though as the intrepid journalists at KVRR note , it’s not really hot sauce. It comes…
‘It makes me physically nauseous the extent to which they were pursuing a journalist’
MINOT, N.D. — A week ago I wrote about Tom Simon , a Williston-based reporter who had his cellphone seized by a North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent. The agent was investigating Simon for reporting on what was discussed in closed meetings of the Williston School Board. Simon has sources that put him in the know,…