MINOT, N.D. — A ballot measure campaign has been launched to amend North Dakota’s constitution to implement term limits. Some of the circulators of the petition to put the amendment on the ballot are falsely portraying it as term limits for Congress, but in reality, it would apply to the state Legislature and the governor. Is it needed?…
Great River Energy went from replacing coal with wind to signing up for more coal power
MINOT, N.D. —Earlier this year, Great River Energy reached an agreement with Rainbow Energy to sell Coal Creek Station, North Dakota’s largest coal-fired power plant, which, for decades, has helped power customers in Minnesota. But that agreement had to be approved by GRE’s 28 member cooperatives. That happened today. Approval required a supermajority, and that threshold was met.…
If wind is so much cheaper, why is your power bill going up?
MINOT, N.D. — Wind energy is cheaper than coal, and that’s why wind is ascendant on our energy grids while coal is in decline. This is what the wind industry and its various lobbyists and activists insist is true. But if it is true, why do our utility bills keep going up? The average price of electricity…
If electric vehicles are so great, why do they have to be mandated?
MINOT, N.D. — You folks all remember the time a bunch of state governments got together and mandated that a certain percentage of smartphones be delivered to retails for sale? Americans would never have adopted the iPhone if the government hadn’t forced manufacturers and phone dealers to make them available, right? Wrong. The government never…
The PRO Act aims to enrich unions by exploiting workers
MINOT, N.D. — There is nothing wrong with labor organizations or the concept of collective bargaining. Labor unions can serve an important function amplifying the voices of workers, generally, and providing important benefits such as counsel and other protections to individual workers. There is something deeply wrong with forcing Americans to be members of unions…
Lawsuit against North Dakota’s voter ID wasn’t about winning legal fees
MINOT, N.D. — It’s ironic that the greatest victory that can be claimed by the lawyers who filed suit against North Dakota’s voter ID laws is that the state has to pay for their legal fees. Allow me to give you the backstory. In 2018 North Dakota was home to one of the highest-profile U.S. Senate races in…
There’s a dog that’s not barking in District 24
MINOT, N.D. — In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventure of Silver Blaze,” everyone’s favorite Victorian-era detective solves the case of the missing racehorse by noting “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.” What did the dog do in the night? It didn’t bark. In District 24, home to the latest front in…
It’s not wind or solar that’s been keeping your air conditioner running right now
MINOT, N.D. — It’s been a hot summer, as is often the case in our part of the world. This week, in particular, has been a scorcher. We’ve all been leaning on our electrical grid to keep those air conditioners running and our homes and offices bearable. And guess which source of energy has been…
Bastiat Caucus launches recall petition for lawmaker who voted to expel sexual harasser from Legislature
MINOT, N.D. — Rep. Dwight Kiefert of Valley City has represented District 24 in the North Dakota House of Representatives since 2013. Earlier this year he was one of several lawmakers around the state censured over this support for the expulsion of former lawmaker Luke Simons of Dickinson after I revealed a years-long pattern of harassment of…
Do Native American voices only matter when they line up with goals of left-wing activists?
MINOT, N.D. — If you went only by the headlines, one could reach the conclusion that our Native American neighbors are united in opposition to pipelines, specifically, and oil and gas development, generally. Take, for example, a recent article by Rebecca Mitchell about a recent demonstration in Wadena, Minn., against the Line 3 pipeline replacement project. Paragraphs are devoted…