A bill sponsored by Rep. Roscoe Streyle to change the way North Dakota fills Senate vacancies is getting all sorts of attention. There’s no question it was inspired by the politics of 2016. It’s been widely rumored that Senator Heidi Heitkamp may attempt a run for governor in that cycle (her Senate term doesn’t end…
The Outdoor Heritage Fund Doesn't Need Fixing, It Needs Repeal
This election year North Dakota had a titanic debate over a constitutional amendment – Measure 5, specifically – which would have diverted hundreds of millions of tax dollars into a slush fund for conservation interests. Deep-pocketed advocacy groups like Ducks Unlimited spent millions promoting their measure, but were soundly defeated after a ham-handed campaign netted…
Bismarck Tribune Backs Measure 3 To Change Leadership Of The University System
I am not hopeful that Measure 3 will get the approval of a majority of voters next week. After putting the constitutional amendment on the ballot the lawmakers who voted for it did very little to make an affirmative argument for it to voters. Meanwhile, the opponents of the measure have spent almost $100,000 (most…
LegitSlater: Pro-Common Core School Board Ranks Decorum Over Democracy
One interesting news item that slipped by, relatively under the radar, this past weekend was the implementation of a new rule on meeting decorum by the Bismarck School Board. The impetus for this rule may have been concerning enough, but what remains to be seen is what are the unintended (or intended) consequences of such a rule…
Glawe Column: Do North Dakota Leaders Share Blame For Homeless Man's Amputations?
Let me ask you something, not as North Dakotans, but as human beings: What is your reaction to the following headline? Man moves to North Dakota looking for work, ends up homeless and living in a dumpster If it’s that Wayne Williams, the subject of Lauren Donovan’s story in Tuesday’s Bismarck Tribune, should have planned…
No Subsidies For The Movie Industry In North Dakota
A group of filmmakers have announced a new project in North Dakota: A film about Teddy Roosevelt based on the book “Young Four Eyes.” But their ambitions go beyond the film, apparently. They don’t just want to make a movie. They want to start a movie industry in the state, and they say the first…
Former Senator Dorgan Writes Sequel To Novel Which Cast Oil Speculators As Terrorists
Since retiring from the US Senate, Byron Dorgan has been writing fiction. Or, given that his previous non-fiction books were ghost written, paying someone to write it for him. His first fiction novel, Blowout, was a depressing assemblage of left-wing conspiracy theories about the energy industry, featuring evil hedge fund managers who try to derail…
North Dakota Should Issue No Apologies For Lower Taxes
A bit of a kerfuffle has erupted between Minnesota and North Dakota over the North Dakota Chamber of Commerce running billboards touting the western state’s lighter touch when it comes to taxes and regulations. At least one Minnesota Official, a Moorhead city council member, reacted with anger and threatened support for flood diversion from his…
North Dakota's Oil, Coal Counties Get Top Ratings For Air Quality
North Dakota is a fossil fuel state, with strong oil and coal industries. And from the way environmentalists talk about the state’s energy industry, you’d also think that they were destroying our environment. Not so, it seems. Despite the oil activity and natural gas flaring in oil country, and despite the seven large electrical plants…
Taxing Online Sales Would Boost North Dakota Sales Tax Revenues By Less Than 1%
Senator Heidi Heitkamp recently used her first speech on the floor of the US Senate to call for a massive expansion of state taxing authority that would cost online shoppers billions upon billions in new taxes every year by allowing states to collect sales taxes from online retailers with no physical presence within their borders.…