National articles

Shelley Lenz, right, Democratic candidate for North Dakota governor, meets local voters during a picnic in June at Lincoln Park in Grand Forks. At left is Sheryll Weisenberger. (Forum News Service file photo)

Dem-NPL Gov Candidate Doesn’t Want to Be Called a Democrat, Stumbles on Mask Mandate Question

- 33 mins ago - ,

Dem-NPL Gov Candidate Doesn’t Want to Be Called a Democrat, Stumbles on Mask Mandate Question

- 33 mins ago - ,

MINOT, N.D. — If a candidate demands a mask mandate, shouldn’t they be prepared to tell you what the consequences would be for violating it? Democratic-NPL gubernatorial candidate Shelley Lenz isn’t. Monday I guest-hosted the “Jay Thomas Show” on WDAY AM970 and had nearly an hour-long conversation with Lenz. I like Lenz. I think she’s an…

NDUS Chancellor Mark Hagerott addresses a committee during the 2019 legislative session in this Herald file photo. (Sydney Mook / Grand Forks Herald)

- September 19, 2020 - ,

MINOT, N.D. — I’ve been writing about higher education for a long time, and when it comes to budgets and how our state’s universities react to them, there are two simple truths. Any budget increase will be treated as a cut because it wasn’t as large an increase as the universities requested. Any actual cut…

North Dakota Democratic Party Chairwoman Kylie Oversen. Photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald

Democratic-NPL Says NDGOP Legislative Candidate Is Ineligible Because He Lives in Wyoming

- September 17, 2020 - ,

MINOT, N.D. — Earlier this year the Democratic-NPL stubbornly refused to acknowledge that one of their candidates for statewide office, Travisia Martin, who was running for Insurance Commissioner, was ineligible for the ballot. Despite clear evidence that Martin had cast a ballot in Nevada in the 2016 election — something that, if done legally, requires residency in…

North Dakota Voters First organizers haul nearly 37,000 signatures into the state Capitol Monday, July 6, for review by the Secretary of State's Office. (Adam Willis / The Forum)

Are North Dakotans OK With Companies Paid to Collect Signatures for Ballot Measures?

- September 16, 2020 - ,

MINOT, N.D. — I much admire my friend Tony Bender as a writer, but there’s no escaping the fact that he is a profoundly partisan thinker. For Tony, if Republicans are for something, then that something must be harmful, and there isn’t any need for a more thorough analysis than that. You can see how…

Officers with the Mitchell Police Division escort Reed Bender from the Monday evening meeting of the Mitchell Board of Education. Bender was removed from the premises after he refused to put on a face mask at the meeting, which is in violation of a district mandate that states all people on Mitchell School District property to wear a mask. Bender was not arrested and no charges have been brought against him at this time. (Erik Kaufman / Republic)

How Much Violence Are You Willing to Use Against People Who Won’t Wear Masks?

- September 15, 2020 - ,

MINOT, N.D. — Monday, a man at a public meeting in South Dakota was frog-marched out of the venue by police officers for refusing to wear a mask. As the ugly and bafflingly political divide over masking grows, I think we have to ask ourselves how comfortable we are with that image. Because the path we’re on?…

Despite the headlines, experts are skeptical of study linking Sturgis to over 260,000 cases of COVID-19

Despite the Headlines, Experts Are Skeptical of Study Linking Sturgis to Over 260,000 Cases of COVID-19

- September 14, 2020 - ,

MINOT, N.D. — There is a faction in the news media that would like the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, held in South Dakota last month despite the ongoing pandemic, to be the “superspreader” event researchers at San Diego State University have said it was. Bikers are a largely white, mostly male and quite Trumpy demographic. They’re…

Third-grade students listen to their teacher, Mrs. Rheault, read a book to them on their first day of class on Tuesday, Sept. 8, at S.G. Reinertsen Elementary School in Moorhead. Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum

Burgum Should Heed Dems’ Call for Pandemic-Expanded Workers Comp

- September 12, 2020 - ,

MINOT, N.D. — Our top priority in the coming months, aside from the overall task of combating the spread of COVID-19, is keeping our schools open. We’re just a week or two into the school year, depending on where you live, and already we’re seeing outbreaks in some areas. This was inevitable — in-person schooling…

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, left, visits with Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., during a 2014 tour of housing needs in Indian Country. Special to Forum News Service

ND’s ‘moderate’ Democrats Want You to Pay to Listen to … Julian Castro?

- September 10, 2020 - ,

MINOT, N.D. — Most North Dakotans don’t trust Democrats. This wasn’t always the case. A dozen years ago, the state’s delegation to Congress — Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, along with Rep. Earl Pomeroy — was comprised entirely of Democrats. That changed right around the time Barack Obama was elected to the White House.…

Dr. Shelley Lenz stands in the examination room of State Avenue Vet Clinic. (Linda Sailer / Forum News Service)

Pay Attention to Shelley Lenz

- September 9, 2020 - ,

MINOT, N.D. — North Dakotans on the left side of the political spectrum have had a tough couple of weeks. They’ve had to suffer through the uncomfortable spectacle of one of their candidates for statewide office, Travisia Martin, getting disqualified. The Democratic-NPL fought to keep Martin on the ballot, leaning on the goofy legal machinations…

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