This guest post was submitted by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum Since this historic journey began with the first case of COVID-19 being confirmed in North Dakota on March 11, we have learned much about this insidious disease. We have learned that it spreads quickly and without regard for borders. We have learned that it…
Plain Talk: Burgum Talks About the Greta Thunberg Mural Controversy, His 2020 Challenger, Energy, Agriculture and Trump
“Art is art,” Gov. Doug Burgum said of controversy in Bismarck over a mural of activist Greta Thunberg. “Art is free speech.” On this episode of Plain Talk, he also discussed what he described as our “broken energy market,” which is contributing to the financial woes of a major coal-fired power plant owned by Great…
To Reinvent Education in North Dakota, Let’s Take Existing Universities Out of the State Constitution
North Dakota’s public university system already has eleven institutions, with the location and function of eight of them mandated in our state’s constitution. They are named there because when the politicians drafted the constitution, they were busy doling out government jobs to their districts. In addition to the eight universities, the state constitution also mandates…
ND Gov. Doug Burgum Went to a Swanky Party at Jeff Bezos’ House With Bill Gates This Weekend
“Gov. Burgum was in D.C. on personal business as a guest of his longtime friend Bill Gates at the Alfalfa Club dinner,” Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki told me. “No tax dollars or state resources were used.” Continue reading…
North Dakota Officials Aren’t Taking Enough Credit for Traffic Safety Improvements
While monitoring the body count for our state’s highways is important (it’s a bit morbid to put it that way, but it is what it is), it needs to be put in the context of how much traffic there was on the roads. Continue reading…
Print Column: North Dakota Opened Its Arms to Oil Workers, Why Not Refugees Too?
MINOT, N.D. — The Trump administration has given the states and local governments the ability to opt-out of federal refugee resettlement. The feds, or the private groups doing resettlement for the feds, haven’t always been cooperative. City and county governments, not to mention school districts and social service organizations, have often found themselves struggling to…
Governor Burgum Tells Trump Administration That North Dakota Will Continue to Accept Refugees
Last month President Donald Trump’s administration issued an executive order asking that state and local governments consent, in writing, to refugee resettlement before it happens. This afternoon North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum’s office issued a press release announcing that our state will continue to accept refugees. “We are grateful for the administration’s consideration of states’…
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection port of entry near Carbury, North Dakota. Photo via Google Street View
Let’s Not Make It Harder for Our Canadian Friends to Visit North Dakota
Last week Governor Doug Burgum sent a letter (see below) to U.S. Customs and Border Protection urging them not to limit the hours of three ports of entry along North Dakota’s border with Canada (map). The hours of operation for the U.S. side of the crossings at Antler, Carbury, and Maida are 9am to 10pm.…
North Dakota Attorney General Asks for Law Enforcement Investigation Into Commerce Department Audit Findings
In September, Auditor Josh Gallion’s office released the report of an audit of the North Dakota Commerce Department. You can read the full report at the link above, but this is a summary of the findings: In a response included in the audit report, the Commerce Department agreed that funds were not used in the…
Mayor “Discouraged” City Government Will Have to Start Holding Meetings Which Are Accessible to the Public
I like Minot Mayor Shaun Sipma, though I’ll admit I was more enamored with him when he was candidate Sipma pushing for reforms in city government. Since becoming mayor, he’s spent far too much time serving city government as opposed to those who elected him. In particular, Sipma seems in the thrall of city manager…