MINOT, N.D. — Recently the editorial board of the Grand Forks Herald came out against HCR3016. That legislation, introduced by state Rep. Rick Becker (R-Bismarck), is a proposed amendment which would remove the mandate for 8 of North Dakota’s 11 public institutions of higher education from the state constitution. “Regardless of its declared intent, HCR…
Print Column: People Targeted by Gun-Grabbing ‘Red Flag’ Law Would Have to Pay for Their Own Defense
MINOT, N.D. – “You have the right to an attorney.” We’re all familiar with that phrase, a part of the famous Miranda warning that’s a staple of television and movies and, you know, actual police work. It’s formal recognition of the right to legal counsel from the Sixth Amendment. Thank goodness for it. Can you…
Print Column: To Reduce Abortions, Perhaps Less Focus on Lectures and More on Birth Control
Are pro-life Republicans interested in creating headlines or reducing the number of abortions? I’m pro-life, but I couldn’t help but be frustrated this week when the Republican majority in the North Dakota House of Representatives passed HB1336 on a 73-16 vote. That bill, sponsored by Rep. Daniel Johnston (R-Kathryn), would add to the list of…
Print Column: The Problem With Journalism and Politics Is Us
MINOT, N.D. — Between the BuzzFeed catastrophe and the Covington Catholic High School mess, I’ve been thinking a lot about journalism these past few days. This is a topic I’m not fit to weigh on, according to some. Not so long ago columnist Jack Zaleski wrote that I shouldn’t refer to my reporter co-workers as colleagues, which is an…
Print Column: This Is Why North Dakota Democrats Can’t Win Elections
MINOT, N.D. — Do you know what’s the worst? When some joker puts on an air of intellectual superiority and asks you if you know what the definition of insanity is, as if you’ve never heard that one before. You try not to roll your eyes as they tell you it’s “doing the same thing…
Print Column: North Dakota Is Just Months Away From Having No Full-Time Federal Judges
Minot, N.D. — This is an appropriate time, here in the middle of the longest government shutdown in American history, to talk about government dysfunction. Our political leaders can’t get their work done, and while the politicians and their surrogates are all busy throwing pies at one another over who is to blame for that,…
Print Column: Using the Legacy Fund to Eliminate Income Taxes Is an Idea Worthy of Debate
MINOT, N.D. — I’d very much like to live without income taxes. That’s not just a personal desire. One of the biggest challenges to stability and prosperity here are labor shortages and an economy too dependent on commodity-driven industries. Agriculture and energy are great, but it’s a challenge to ride those ups and downs. Eliminating…
Print Column: We Need to Legalize Marijuana, Not Merely Decriminalize It
MINOT, N.D. – Last year a ballot measure to legalize marijuana in North Dakota failed at the ballot box. Despite this outcome, many of our state’s politicians recognize there is a need, and an appetite among voters, for some further loosening of our state’s laws with regard to marijuana. Enter state Rep. Shannon Roers Jones,…
Print Column: It’s the Department of Corrections, Not the Department of Commerce
MINOT, N.D. — Recently I wrote a post on my blogcommenting on the emerging debate surrounding Governor Doug Burgum’s proposed transition of the Dakota Women’s Correctional and Rehabilitation Center out of New England and to the Missouri River Correctional Center in Bismarck. The men currently at the latter facility would be transitioned to the existing state…
Print Column: Heitkamp’s Angry Goodbye
MINOT, N.D. — This week Sen. Heidi Heitkamp said farewell with an address on the floor of the Senate. The timing was less than ideal. Delayed a week because of the passing of former President George H.W. Bush, Heitkamp ended up delivering her goodbye while her fellow Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, was in…