MINOT, N.D. — Ostensibly, environmentalists don’t like fossil fuels because they’re bad for the environment. From extraction to emissions, they say they want cleaner energy. So it’s ironic, then, how often environmentalists invest themselves in opposing efforts to make fossil fuels cleaner. For instance, North Dakota is putting a lot of support behind carbon capture technology even…
Alexander wept
MINOT, N.D. — Like many observers of these times, I am fond of blaming the rising tides of acrimony in the world on social media populism. Mass communication has been democratized, and everybody from the history professor at the local university to that cranky bigot who lives down the street has an audience. And, worse,…
Auditor Josh Gallion says his office will be auditing North Dakota’s election systems
MINOT, N.D. — Auditing elections has become something of a rallying cry among die-hard Donald Trump supporters convinced that President Joe Biden only ascended to the office because of fraud at the ballot box. Pillow impresario Mike Lindell has led a bizarre and high-profile national push to reveal what he claims is election fraud though, so far, he’s failed to produce…
A North Dakota court decided to believe a cop’s lie instead of clear video evidence
MINOT, N.D. — The proliferation of cameras — from smartphones wielded by the general public to dash cameras and body cams used by the cops themselves — has been a when it comes to accountability for law enforcement. The cops haven’t always liked it. They’ve resisted body cameras in the past. We often see evidence…
Otter Tail announces plans to sell ownership stake in coal-fired Coyote Station near Beulah, North Dakota
MINOT, N.D. — North Dakota’s largest coal-fired power plant, Coal Creek Station, got a reprieve this year. The plan had been to close the plant, and replace it with wind turbines, but Great River Energy, the current owner, agreed to sell it to another company that will continue to operate it making use of carbon capture technology.…
It’s no time to kneel before the mobs
MINOT, N.D. — “Hostile school board meetings have members calling it quits,” a national Associated Press report tells us. The article details the travails of local elected officials as they deal with the convulsions attendant to a strident, social-media-driven wave of angry populism. The issues are myriad, and the people pursuing them are unreasonable. A Wisconsin…
Will Biden wag the dog in Minnesota?
MINOT, N.D. — The Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan has been an utter calamity. The American public has watched desperate Afghans fall from our departing airplanes. We see an al-Qaeda kingpin traveling out in the open, with a Taliban escort, for the first time in a decade. We see courageous women bravely protesting the incoming fundamentalist regime. We have video of the Taliban…
Why are we still fighting about masks?
MINOT, N.D. — “I’m curious after reading your last column what specific study you find credible that masks are effective,” a friend asked me recently. My answer? I don’t care much about what studies say. I’m sure that statement will earn me much disdain from the anti-mask crowd who are spending hours and hours of their lives…
Astroturfing left-wingers blowing smoke about gerrymandering under the guise of nonpartisan politics
MINOT, N.D. — With the census counts completed, the State of North Dakota, like every other state in the union, will begin the process of redrawing political boundaries to keep them in line with shifting population realities. A group of left-wing activists in North Dakota has set out to poison the well in this process,…
My last first day of school
MINOT, N.D. — In November, I’ll mark my 21st year as a father. This week, I’ll take the youngest of my children to his first day of kindergarten, which will be the last time I take one of my children to school for the first time. I’ll admit to having a hard time with this.…