As Legislators head back for the second half of the 65th Session, people across the state are left looking at an abysmal budget situation. In media across the state, we often see lines reading, “The North Dakota budget slump due to low commodity prices…” doesn’t tell the whole story. Now we see politicians and their […]
After a weekend of outraged North Dakota citizens questioned the ill-advised two-year wind development ban, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee sent SB 2314 back to committee for further changes. Some thought the four committee members who voted for shutting down wind development to help the coal industry had been persuaded by the phone […]
When is enough, enough? – Senator Dwight Cook Cook introduced the amendment to ban wind development for two years. During the committee debate, Cook basically admits he is trying to close the door to wind development because of the coal industry struggles. Though he went on to say, “I’m as much as a free […]
Breaking news out of Bismarck this morning regarding the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. By a vote of 4-3, the committee has recommended a “DO PASS” on SB 2314 after amendment. The amendment, offered by Senator Dwight Cook of Mandan, would place a two-year moratorium on wind energy development. That is right, no new […]
Senate Bill 2298 would raise taxes on customers who shop online in North Dakota. The tax hike is introduced by Senator Dwight Cook of Mandan who is the Senate Finance and Tax Committee Chair. In a purely strategical move, the Senate co-sponsors include the Vice Chair of Finance and Tax, Senator Brad Bekkedahl, and committee […]
(The following was submitted by Kevin Teigen in response to U.S. Senator John Hoeven’s support for Betsy DeVos to lead the Department of Education.) If you measure political success by margin of victory in elections, Sen. John Hoeven is one of the best politicians in the country. Just months ago, he garnered 78.5 percent of […]
It is time we addressed gerrymandering of political districts. Over the weekend, the Washington Post published an article describing how this practice is negatively impacting our democracy. I encourage you to take a moment and read it. Before I get into what has happened in North Dakota under Republican control, I want to assure you this isn’t […]
This week Roll Call ran two pieces on Congressman Kevin Cramer. The first article stated, “North Dakota Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer held the most town halls among members of Congress in 2016 — 164 to be exact.” The article goes on to say it’s made possible because Cramer holds his “town halls” over the radio. People can just […]
(The following was submitted as a guest post by Perry Miller of Wahpeton, ND. Miller expands on a conversation we had when he was a guest on “Happy Hour in the Heartland”. The audio of that podcast can be heard above.) Why do people belong to political parties? Is it because our parents did? Our […]
Two bills have been acted upon this week that show the Legislature has very little concern for our Tribal relations. One, a change to oil taxes that lowers the tax rate again. The other, allowing our state to respectfully recognize the Tribes within our borders by displaying their flags in the Capitol. One passed the […]