North Dakota’s Lieutenant Governor wants you to believe she is an “outsider.” Just scroll on any website. The banner ads will tell you. Repeatedly. My question, can you really be considered an “outsider” when you likely had the insider information about your boss’s – the Governor of North Dakota – decision to not seek reelection? The signs of inside information are everywhere. When Doug Burgum’s decision was announced, Tammy Miller had a spokesman respond to media inquires. Her spokesperson was Burgum’s spokesperson. The poll-tested, cliché-riddled political ads are a copy and paste ..read more

Don’t tell us it is a crisis when you’re guilty of squandering the latest opportunity to address conditions at the southern border. A bipartisan negotiation to address the humanitarian crisis is in limbo simply because Donald Trump and Republicans are afraid it might bolster up President Biden’s chances of reelection. They’ve shown their cards. It reads “party over country.” They can’t get out of their own way on this issue. It is deja vu. A decade ago, a bipartisan Senate-negotiated bill on the border failed to be taken up in the GOP-controlled House after it passed the Senate. They didn’t ..read more

Republican Representative Jason Dockter has been charged with a class A misdemeanor. Charges were brought because of his involvement with the Attorney General’s building and the cost overrun. These charges were brought by State’s Attorney Lad Erickson who received the criminal referral following a complaint I and others had filed with the Ethics Commission. Some of the responses from others in ND politics are pretty telling. “I wonder how many other lawmakers are nervous with this charge.” was a common response. The reason for that, the charge is for “speculating or wagering on official action ..read more

This week, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) named Fargo, North Dakota native, Libby Schneider as Chief of Staff to the organization. A big job for a big talent with political roots that run deeper than the elm trees which line the historic 8th Street South neighborhood in downtown Fargo where Libby was raised.  With over 300 staff, a budget over $325 Million dollars it’s a large corporation by any measure. But entering a 2024 election year where defending President Biden against a possible rematch with former President Donald Trump is priority number one, I’m not sure the stakes ..read more

One year ago, North Dakota boasted a single abortion clinic. This sole provider, the Red River Women’s Clinic, served over 376,000 women living throughout North Dakota’s 70,705 square miles. Access to abortion was already limited, but lately, we’ve seen there’s no limit to what rights may be taken away from women. On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court’s wrongheaded decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization threw 50 years of precedent out the window along with women’s right to abortion. It was a blow to women throughout the country as state trigger laws b ..read more

Following an abrupt reversal by the North Dakota Farmers Union (NDFU) on HB 1371 (the euphemistically named Freedom to Farm bill) after it had offered amendments to the bill, I was reminded of the philosophical dilemma of pragmatism v. principle as was illustrated by an old Calvin and Hobbs cartoon. I had always admired the NDFU’s principled stance against corporate farming. In 1932 the NDFU had won support for an initiated measure it placed on the ballot that prohibited corporations from owning farmland. It passed with a 56 percent vote margin. In the last 90 years, NDFU has been a staunch de ..read more

North Dakota Farmers Union President, Mark Watne’s letter to the editor raised concerns about the consequences for family farms of the proposed animal agriculture exemptions to the corporate farming law (HB 1371), euphemistically named the Farm Freedom Bill. As a fourth and fifth generation descendent of family farmers and who grew up on a diversified family farm, as someone who received his PhD in rural sociology and whose doctoral research involved the impacts of the structure of agriculture on rural communities, as a Farmers Union member, as a scholar and researcher of rural life while on ..read more

In 2015, the legislature’s Republican Supermajority passed a repeal of North Dakota’s ban on corporate ownership of dairy and swine production – the so-called “ham and cheese bill.” North Dakota voters petitioned to refer this bill to the ballot, and during the June 2016 primary elections, it was overwhelmingly rejected. 76-percent of North Dakotans, including a majority of voters in all 53 of the state’s counties, voted to uphold the state’s longstanding ban on corporate owned farms. One would think such a resounding rejection by North Dakotans would be the final word on the matter. Sadly ..read more

Mandatory minimum sentences, a term used to describe a set minimum amount of time that a judge must impose for a particular crime, have been a topic of much debate and criticism in recent years. Despite the growing body of research proving the inefficacy of mandatory penalties, North Dakota’s Attorney General, Drew Wrigley, remains committed to pushing North Dakota backwards by passing antiquated mandatory minimum legislation. Here’s why this matters: It’s A Huge Cost To Taxpayers Mandatory minimum sentences are incredibly expensive, both for the criminal justice system and for taxpayers. The ..read more

In her first video sit down interview with North Dakota media last week, U.S. House candidate Cara Mund made a lot of news.  Naturally, hearing her motivation to enter the race, her positions on the issues, and why her background and experiences qualify her to serve the people of North Dakota will get her ink. But something she said in that interview, which hasn’t gotten much play, quickly captured my attention. Frankly, it made me gasp, rewind the file and listen again.  I almost couldn’t believe that I had, indeed heard it right the first time. As a person who has managed and been ..read more