MINOT, N.D. — “The election was fair, as fair as we have seen. We simply did not win the election, as Republicans, for the presidency,” Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota told ABC News during a recent interview. Not so long ago saying such a thing would not be an act of courage. But in today’s…
UND hasn’t earned the trust to implement a controversial gender inclusion policy
Minot, N.D. — Back in October this column brought to public light a draft gender inclusion policy at the University of North Dakota. Among other things, the policy would punish students or university employees who intentionally use the wrong pronouns. It would also grant transgender students the right to use all university facilities, including bathrooms and even…
If North Dakota can’t spend rental assistance money prudently, then we shouldn’t spend it at all
MINOT, N.D. — The State of North Dakota received $352 million in funding through the federal government’s Emergency Rental Assistance program. The money was intended to help renters who had fallen behind during the pandemic, but now the state is set to return about 42% of that funding, or $149 million dollars. Why? The state…
Sen. Cramer, you can’t fight hypocrisy with hypocrisy
MINOT, N.D. — During a recent appearance on the Larry Kudlow show on Fox Business, Sen. Kevin Cramer, rightly, decried Democratic efforts to federalize elections. “[Democratic Majority] Leader Schumer wants to bring up the voting rights bill which is just an absolute fake crisis that they’re trying to create so they can open up the…
Port: The ‘You Betcha’ guy has tapped into a underserved market
MINOT, N.D. — Why are we so divided? It’s a question we’re all grappling with. What drives the culture war? Why does it seem like so many Americans are living their lives in different reality bubbles? Perhaps we have an answer from an unlikely place: The comedic stylings of a washed-up local football star turned…
Coal Creek Station sale a victory for reality over politics
MINOT, N.D. — Regulators in Minnesota have cleared the last regulatory hurdle standing in the way of the sale of Coal Creek Station, North Dakota’s largest coal-fired power plant. The state’s Public Utilities Commission, eschewing demands from political activists to nix the sale, instead cast a unanimous 5-0 vote to approve it . That’s a remarkable turnaround.…
School districts should have to report bad teachers
MINOT, N.D. — The Crosby Journal has an excellent and eye-opening report about a teacher who has managed to bounce around school districts in western North Dakota for more than a decade despite some deeply troubling on-the-job behavior. What sort of problems are we talking about? According to the Journal, which obtained these facts through open records…
Believing lies about political violence isn’t just a problem for the right
MINOT — “Less than half of GOP say 1/6 was very violent,” reads a somewhat misleading Associated Press headline . Though technically accurate, a more nuanced description of the results is less distressing. The poll, commissioned by the AP, indicates that 71% of Republicans admit that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was at…
The darkest day of the year
MINOT — In our part of the world, which is to say the northern part of the northern hemisphere, we saw, this week, the darkest day of the year. The winter solstice. The day when the North Pole reaches its furthest tilt from the radiance of the sun. It’s a dark day. A cold day.…
An apology to Mike (or maybe it was Matt)
MINOT — Years ago, when I was a talk radio host, a regular staple of my broadcasts was a call-in from some guy in Fargo who always wanted to talk about China. This guy. This Mike. Or maybe Matt. I honestly can’t remember. Anyway. He was frustrating. Continue reading…