North Dakota lawmakers have voted to commence the early work of suing Governor Doug Burgum over some of his vetoes issued earlier this year, but when I used the word “suing” to Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner (R-Dickinson) yesterday downplayed it. “We have a difference of opinion,” he said. “We need a third party to…
Legislature Opts to Sue Governor Doug Burgum Over Vetoes
A meeting of the Legislative Management Committee today voted to proceed with litigation against Governor Doug Burgum over vetoes issued earlier this year, though there will be more meetings and votes before anything gets filed. “We need to make a statement that the governor was out of bounds on this,” Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner…
Stenehjem Protects the Separation of Powers
“All sides are gonna be pissed at Wayne,” a political friend texted me yesterday upon news of Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s opinion (see below) on the legality of some of Governor Doug Burgum’s vetoes issued earlier this year. “Nobody got everything they wanted.” That’s true. As you can see from this key excerpt, Stenehjem upheld…
Governor Burgum: Higher Ed Leaders Need to Feel More Fear
Forbes today has a very good interview with Governor Doug Burgum. The whole thing is very interesting and worth your time to read, but this exchange regarding education policy jumped out at me. In it Burgum, who has been saying some provocative things about education reform of late, suggests that people in higher education are…
North Dakota Superintendent Kirsten Baesler speaks from an education summit in Bismarck on June 8, 2017. Via Facebook
Video: Superintendent Baesler Says Burgum Skipping His Own Education Summit Was “Less Than Ideal”
Yesterday I wrote a post about some grumbling resulting from Governor Doug Burgum skipping a summit of education leaders he had convened in order to meet with the Trump administration in Washington D.C. on the topic of infrastructure. Last night on his television show Chris Berg asked Superintendent Kirsten Baesler, who was appearing live from…
Some Grumbling Over Governor Doug Burgum’s Absence From His Own Education Summit
Earlier this week Governor Doug Burgum announced that he’d be flying to Washington D.C. to meet with President Donald Trump on the topic of infrastructure. That trip is happening today. The problem? The trip coincides with an education summit Burgum has been touting for some time now. “Creating a clear path and connection between our education…
Josh Duhamel Says He Stays Away From Politics, but Remember When He Endorsed Governor Doug Burgum?
North Dakota’s own Josh Duhamel gave an interview ostensibly about his love of baseball, and selection as an ambassador for Major League Baseball’s All Star balloting, but he also had some comments about social media and why he steers clear of politics which were pretty interesting: Fox News: You’ve described having a love/hate relationship with…
If Governor Doug Burgum Wants His Main Street Initiative Taken Seriously This Is What He Should Focus On
Governor Doug Burgum has a column today in the Fargo Forum touting his vision for North Dakota’s downtown areas. I think he needs to realize that, at first blush, a lot of North Dakotans are going to be turned off by this push. For one thing a lot of citizens – most? – don’t do business…
Audio: Chancellor Mark Hagerott Says ND University System Has “Dilemma” Handling “Speed of Change”
“We have a dilemma here,” North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott told me during an interview on my radio show on Friday. That dilemma is North Dakota’s eleven institutions of higher education keeping up with the “speed of change,” he continued. He identifies part of the problem as a somewhat stagnant pool educators who…
Audio: Governor Doug Burgum Says We’re “Moving Towards an Era of Zero Tolerance” for Oil Spills
Recently North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum held a closed door meeting with representatives of the oil and gas industry to talk about pipeline safety. Because the meeting was closed to the public Burgum came under fire from the Bismarck Tribune. “When Gov. Doug Burgum took office we knew he would take a different approach to government,” the…
