Plain Talk

The North Dakota Republican Party, the dominant force in our state's politics, is deeply divided. If anyone was hoping that primary night, which saw that divide driving the debate in legislative competitions across the state, was going to resolve things they're in for a disappointment.

Republicans across the state voted, and the NDGOP remains about as divided as ever.

We talked about it on this episode of Plain Talk. First Jim Poolman, former insurance commissioner and former vice chairman of the NDGOP, joined Wednesday co-host Chad Oban and I, then Pat Finken, a long-time veteran of state politics and head of the Brighter Future Alliance, chimed in.

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Minot, N.D. — Shannon Roers Jones is a state lawmaker who is currently halfway through her second term representing Fargo-area District 46.

She's also a candidate for mayor of Fargo, and she has been, arguably, the most visible candidate thanks in no small part to a political mugging her father got from the Fargo's city commissioners, including two of her opponents in the mayoral race.

On this episode of Plain Talk, Roers Jones talks about what it would be like serving as a mayor and lawmaker (she hasn't decided if she'd do both if elected mayor), the claims that her mayoral duties, if elected, would clash with her career duties (she works for the family business, Roers Construction, as her day job), and what she describes as "media bias" in the local coverage of this race.

"The Forum has chosen to publish only negative stories and only negative letters," Roers Jones claims, referring to the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, the flagship newspaper for Forum Communications, my employers.

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Inflation is a real problem. It's making us poorer. Your wages aren't being cut, but the cost of living your life is growing faster than what you earn.

Fuel prices are up. Utility bills are going higher. Groceries cost more. Hell, everything costs more.

But the subject of inflation is a lot more complicated than what's presented by the politicians and the pundits. On this episode of Plain Talk, Dr. David Flynn, a professor of economics at the University of North Dakota, discussed what's causing inflation, and what can do about it.

One of the hardest parts of talking about this subject is that there's many different causes that necessitate many solutions. Interest rates are part of the solution, but then so is trade policy. How can we ease supply line snaggles? How can we shorten supply lines? How can we make our economy more nimble so that it can respond to change without necessarily driving up prices?

And how do we drive the wage-price spiral? Where higher cost wages drive higher-cost goods and services which in turn creates demand for higher wages again? Earning more money is good, except it doesn't mean much when the cost of living is growing about as fast.

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In 2019, state Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, a Democrat from Fargo, introduced a red flag bill. It would have created a judicial process through which guns could be taken away from people exhibiting troubling behavior.

I was among the many critics of the bill, and it failed decisively, early in the session, in the House.

But is there merit to the idea, if not Hanson's specific bill?

She joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss it with me along with Wednesday co-host Chad Oban. We talked about how we can set up a process to get guns out of the hands of dangerous people while simultaneously ensuring the process isn't abused, or that it doesn't deny responsible gun owners their rights.

We also had a lengthy discussion about gun politics, which like so many hot-button political issues are another front in America's endless culture wars.

Chad and I also discussed the threats made against myself and my family recently, which I've written about, and our predictions for the outcome of the state's upcoming June primary vote.

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We live in a political environment where it seems everyone is trying to undermine the public's trust in our election laws.

From the right are baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen. From the left are claims, such as the one made by Democratic Sec. of State candidate Jeffre Powell, that when politicians talk about election integrity it's a "code word for voter suppression."

State Rep. Michael Howe is seeking the NDGOP's nomination for Secretary of State, and he argues that he way through this food fight is transparency. "People want to know more about their elections. And rightfully so," he said on this episode of Plain Talk.

There is "a lot of misinformation out there," and the way to combat it is to be "open and transparency."

Asked about the election conspiracies promoted by former President Donald Trump, Howe, who said he voted for Trump in both 2016 and 2020, said that Joe Biden won the election and that he's confident votes in North Dakota were counted accurately, though he said he couldn't speak for what happened in other states.

Howe also discussed claims from his primary opponent, Marvin Lepp, that North Dakota's voting machines are outdated and insecure. He expressed support for enhancing reporting requirements for political candidates and committees in North Dakota. He talked about improving the aspects of the Secretary of State's job that have to do with business filings and land management.

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"We can't get enough school counselors."

That's what Congressman Kelly Armstrong had to say on this episode of Plain Talk. We've all be talking about how we can make our school after in the wake of another horrific tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, and much of that has been focused on proposals that would make our schools seem like prisons, with more law enforcement on campus and more restrictions on building access.

Armstrong mentioned that he recently had the opportunity to spend some time in Israel. "I don't want our children to have to go to school like they have to," he said.

While saying he wouldn't support any new restrictions on gun sales or ownership, he said there are things we can do to help. Like hiring more school counselors. Or making some reforms to the juvenile court system that continue to protect the privacy of juvenile criminal records but don't restrict their utility in background checks for gun transactions.

Also on this episode, Mike Hopkins, the CEO of Bakken Energy, gives an update on his company's hydrogen hub project. They're in the process of obtaining asserts from the Dakota Synfuels Plant, which processed coal into fuel, and once they have possession they're going to get to work using North Dakota natural gas to make hydrogen while using the state's advantageous geology to store the carbon that process produces.

Bakken Energy has entered into an agreement with the tribal government of the MHA Nation to get gas from oil development on their lands, which would help mitigate North Dakota's lingering problems with flaring, an issue that's been particularly acute on tribal lands.

In addition to the supply side of his business, Hopkins also spoke about the emerging markets for hydrogen, and how his business will serve them.

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Governor Doug Burgum is spending big to influence the North Dakota Republican Party's legislative primaries.

The people on the pointy end of that stick, namely the Bastiat Caucus wing of Trumpy populist candidates, don't like that so much, and they've even come up with some dubious legal arguments claiming it may be illegal.

Are they right? Almost certainly not. But even beyond the legalities, is what Burgum doing kosher from just an ethical point of view?

I discussed it on this episode of Plain Talk with my Wednesday co-host Chad Oban.

We also hit on the state of some of those legislative races around the state - it's not looking so good for the Bastiats but District 8 is still a battleground - and touched on some upcoming conversations about gun control we're going to have on the show.

Also on this episode, Cody Schuler, the new advocacy manager for the ACLU of North Dakota, joins to talk about his job and what issues his organization will be prioritizing going forward, with abortion being a big one given that the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to overturn the Roe v. Wade precedent.

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Minot, N.D. — In 2021 the Atlanta Braves won the World Series.

Among those receiving a ring? Scott Davis from right here in North Dakota.

Davis spent years serving our state as the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. He's in the private sector now, helping private organizations with their outreach to Native American communities, and some of that work has been for the Atlanta Braves.

That team has a Native American-themed nickname, and those have been controversial. Davis has been working with the team to find common ground and support from Indian Country, and for that work the team gave him a ring.

Davis talked about what it was like to receive that honor on this episode of Plain Talk. He also spoke about a major new initiative he helped broker between the Braves and the 7G Foundation, an organization that works to mold the next "seven generations" (that's where the name comes from) of Native American leaders through education and sports.

The Braves will be hosting the Native American All-Star Baseball Showcase at Truist Park from July 16 - 17. High school baseball players of Native American descent from around the country will participate.

Davis says it's a way for baseball to find new talent, and fun opportunity for Native American players. He thinks the major league teams, including the Braves, are going to find some prospects at the game. Players interested in participating can register at the 7G Foundation website.

You can read the full press release for the game here.

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MINOT, N.D. — Terrible news from Texas. Another mass shooting, this one taking the lives of 21 people, 19 of them school children.

My Wednesday co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the shooting, the reaction, and the exhausting debate we have after every one of these incidents on this episode of Plain Talk.

Also, Roscoe Streyle, a Republican primary candidate for the state House in District 3, discusses an idea he has to cut the state's property taxes in half.

Would it be permanent relief? How do we keep local governments from back-filling the state's relief with new tax hikes? How do we ensure that our schools and other local services continue to be adequately funded?

Streyle answers those questions, and also discusses what it's like to be running in a contested legislative primary in a divided North Dakota Republican Party.

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Minot, N.D. — Marvin Lepp would like to be North Dakota's next secretary of state.

He's running as a Republican, though he said on this episode of Plain Talk that the office "really ought to be nonpartisan, and he's running on election integrity.

He said he got more involved in politics in recent years during the debates over pandemic-era policies like business closings and mask mandates, and when he was thinking about running for office, decided secretary of state seemed like a good fit.

He didn't seek the NDGOP's endorsement at the party's state convention earlier this year because he said his is a single-family home - he works in auto service and his wife is a homemaker - and it was a decision that was a difficult one to make.

How can our elections be better? Lepp says North Dakota's election machines are running on antiquated software. He said there are questions about the mobile hotspots election workers use. He also said he's spoken to poll workers who told him that the company which manages North Dakota's election machines was able to remotely log into them to fix a firmware issue, something he feels raises security concerns, though he admitted he hadn't verified this claim.

Does he think President Joe Biden won the 2020 election? Former President Donald Trump and his movement have made that a litmus test question for Republicans nationally. "He won in North Dakota," Lepp told me, referring to Trump. As for elsewhere, Lepp said he's "not sure" because there are "too many" questions lingering.

Lepp also spoke about the non-election portions of the secretary of state job, including managing business filings and serving on important state boards such as the State Industrial Commission and the Land Board.

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