Minot, N.D. — Members of North Dakota's Public Service Commission serve staggered six-year terms, meaning that one of the three members of the commission is on the ballot every two years.

This year, however, there are two PSC seats up for grabs. Commissioner Julie Fedorchak is running for re-election at the end of her six-year term, while Sheri Haugen-Hoffart, a Republican who was appointed by Gov. Doug Burgum to finish an unexpired term, is running per state law to have that appointment confirmed by the voters.

Challenging Haugen-Hoffart is Democratic-NPL candidate Trygve Hammer.

Both Hammer and Haugen-Hoffart joined this episode of Plain Talk to debate the issues in their race, from grid reliability and climate change to rail safety and pipelines. I moderated the debate, and asked the questions, along with my co-host Chad Oban, a former executive director of the Democratic-NPL.

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