On today’s Plain Talk podcast I spoke with one of the owners of the Lonesome Dove bar in Mandan. He had paid to have a mural painted on the side of his business – it cost him around $3,000 – but bureaucrats at the City of Mandan took exception. They told him his mural was…
Podcast: A Local Government’s War on Art
The City of Manadan put some local business owners through a “five month bureaucratic nightmare just so they could play art critic.” That’s what August “Augie” Kersten, a co-owner of the Lonesome Dove bar in Mandan, said on this episode of Plain Talk. After he paid an employee, who is also an artist, to paint…
Guest Post: Mandan’s Leadership Promotes Bland Irrelevance
This guest post was submitted by Raheem Williams, policy director for the North Dakota Young Republicans. North Dakota has developed an infamous reputation as one of America’s least desirable tourist location. The state has proposed a few solutions to draw in tourists – gimmicks such as the numerous redesigns of the official state logo and an expensive temple dedicated to a…
You Can’t Just Do Art Without the Government’s Permission
Recently I read an article from Reason about a pizzeria in Arlington, Virginia, which came under fire from local government because the mural they paid to paint on their business featured pizza. The mural included pizza because the business, you know, sells pizza, but apparently that’s against the rules. “Under Arlington County’s sign code, no…
#NoDAPL Protesters Block Railroad Tracks Near Mandan
It’s a “national day of action” for the #NoDAPL movement, but here in North Dakota it seems like every day we get new antics from the often unlawful, often violent protesters. Their latest antics have them targeting what they claim is a Dakota Access equipment yard in Mandan, and the protesters even went so far…
Mandan Park District Gave Parent Contact Info To Group Pushing Sales Tax Hike For Sports Complex
When Mandan resident Justin Gerhardt received a phone call on June 8 from a woman urging him to vote yes to approve a sales tax to fund a new sports facility in his community he wondered how the woman had gotten a hold of his contact information. “She stated that I had a child in…
City Of Mandan To Citizens Discussing Sales Tax Measure On Facebook: Shut Up
A couple of days ago. on March 24, the City of Mandan posted on their Facebook page some information about an upcoming vote to raise the sales tax to pay for new recreational facilities. Today the city has now announced in a new Facebook posting that they will not be allowing “political comments” on their…