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 […]
At 11:14 Central Time, U.S. Senator John Hoeven cast the deciding vote in favor of Betsy Devos for Education Secretary. His vote created a tie in the Senate forcing Vice President Mike Pence to cast a vote. 51-50 and Devos is now leading our nation’s Education Department. Hoeven ignored what appeared to be a strong […]
Politicians have a practice they live by. If there is a position or news they know their constituents will not like, they will publicly release the information on Friday afternoon. In doing so, they hope people are already in the weekend mode, and the media will need to run the story on the inside page […]
Today the North Dakota House of Representatives defeated HB 1130. You may recall first reading about the proposal to “assess a fee” which was really a tax increase for private pay nursing home residents here on ND xPlains. The tax was included in former Governor Jack Dalrymple’s budget, and current Governor Doug Burgum supported the tax increase […]
This morning we learned from Senator Tim Mathern the Legislature has decided against Governor Burgum’s recommendation of requiring state employees to pay 5% of their health insurance premium. Though things can change before the end of the session, I doubt the insurance changes will become law. Why? Because it is the Legislature’s insurance benefit also. […]
Perry Miller I joined Perry Miller for happy hour in Wahpeton, ND. We couldn’t find the right atmosphere to suit our needs, so we went to his basement bar, turned on some tunes, and talked about politics. I challenge you to find a better happy hour special than free beer at Miller’s “Red Dog Bar.” […]
Yesterday the North Dakota House of Representatives voted against removing North Dakota’s ‘blue laws’ that prevent businesses from opening before noon on Sunday. The bipartisan change in HB 1163, introduced by Democratic-NPL Representative Pam Anderson, would have allowed businesses to decide when to open their doors. In North Dakota, we pride ourselves on limited government […]
Monday I had the privilege of guest hosting News and Views with Joel Heitkamp on KFGO and across the state. Friday’s Executive Order and the resulting protests needed to be talked about. People were feeling a little anxious about what was unfolding. When scheduling the show, I wanted to provide a real face to the impacts […]