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…
Elections, Not Political Deal Making, Should Earn Democrats Control of Committees
North Dakota Democrats hold just 22 seats out of 141 in the state Legislature. Because of this, during the regular legislative session, Democrats chair no committees. In fact, they don’t really have enough elected members of the Legislature to even cover all committee assignments. That’s as it should be. If Democrats want to control committees…
Don’t Let Local Property Tax Hikes Be Automatic
“City property taxes are going to go up.” That’s what Blake Crosby, executive director of the North Dakota League of Cities, told me during a radio interview this week. His argument is that lawmakers dabbled in property tax policy, implementing buy downs of local property taxes funded by statewide surpluses, but did so without an…
Why Shouldn’t We Have Free Speech in Church?
The Trump administration has been signaling their intent to roll back what’s called the Johnson Amendment. Essentially federal policies which prohibits 501(c)3 non-profit groups, including religious organizations like churches, from endorsing candidates. “Free speech shouldn’t stop at the door of our churches, synagogues and places of worship,” Vice President Mike Pence said at the annual meeting…
Audio: Cities Representative Said Legislature Had No “Exit Strategy” From Property Tax Buydowns
“City property taxes are going to go up.” That’s what Blake Crosby, executive director of the North Dakota League of Cities, told me on air yesterday. “It depends on the particular city,” he added, “but generally speaking yes they’re going to have to.” He blamed the Legislature for the increases. He said that state lawmakers…
There Was Never a Bust: North Dakota’s Oil Industry Is More Efficient, More Resilient Than Ever Before
“A Shale-Oil Boomtown Climbs Back From the Bust” That was a headline from the Wall Street Journal over the weekend. It was an article, focused on Watford City in McKenzie County, describing about oil jobs and oil activity rebounding. The rebound is very good news, and a story worth telling, but I take issue with describing the…
How About We Don’t Judge People by the Color of Their Skin?
Earlier this week I wrote about the controversy surrounding a Fargo high school named after former President Woodrow Wilson. My colleague Jim Shaw wrote a column saying Wilson’s name should be removed from the school because he was a racist and a bad president. Which are true things. He was a racist. He was also…
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…
Audio: Davis Refinery Spokesman Says You Won’t Be Able to See Facility From Theodore Roosevelt Park
Earlier this week I wrote about opponents of the Davis Refinery project – which would be the first greenfield crude oil refinery built in the United States in something like 40 years – claiming that the facility would be too close to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. “An oil refinery has no business at the doorstep…
State Senator Tom Campbell Apparently Polling Ahead of Potential 2018 Run
State Senator Tom Campbell, a Republican from Grafton, has long made it clear that he’d like to move up the political ladder. He flirted with a gubernatorial run in 2016, though ultimately stayed out of the race. In December, when Congressman Kevin Cramer’s name was in the mix for an appointment in the Trump administration,…
