Plain Talk

Even if North Dakota voters approve Measure 4, a constitutional amendment that would disallow taxes on real estate values, our state and its elected leaders will still need to figure out how to replace the roughly $2.4 billion in revenues those taxes generate very budget cycle. We're going to pay for it. The question is how. Neal Messer, a farmer, businessman, and commissioner in Stark County, joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss what that problem might look like from a local level. One upshot? Property owners may still be stuck with a property tax. "It does open the door where we could tax property based on square footage," Messer told us, though he added that the measure itself is "not very well written." "The challenge is five years from now," he added, pointing out that Measure 4 obligates state lawmakers to replace the revenues from property value taxes, but only at four years from now. Messer argues that, thanks to things like inflation, the cost of something like paving a road is going to cost more in five years than it does today, and yet Measure 4 would pin the Legislature's obligation for paying for local government eternally in 2024. Messer also says he's worried about giving big companies and out-of-state landowners a big tax break by eliminating the tax on property values. He pointed to Marathon Oil, which pays a big tax bill in his county that in turn does a lot to fund local schools, but would be able to keep that money in their out of state headquarters should Measure 4 pass. There are also wealthy, out-of-state landowners who would benefit as well, he argues. "Bill Gates doesn't need another tax break." Also on this episode, my co-host Chad Oban and I discuss why I was wrong about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz being bad pick as runningmate for Vice President Kamala Harris. Want to follow Plain Talk? Click here for an archive of past shows and for information on how to subscribe, or just search for the show wherever you get your podcasts, including on YouTube.

The emergence of Vice President Kamala Harris as the top-of-the-ticket candidate for Democrats, nationally, has created an undeniable wave of enthusiasm among our liberal friends. North Dakota's Democrats are no different. "There's a new pep in our step," state Rep. Zac Ista told my co-host Chad Oban and I on this episode of Plain Talk. Ista is a Democrat from Grand Forks and the House Minority Leader, and he had some very pragmatic things to say about the chances Democratic legislative candidates have on the ballot this year. Ista pointed out that Democrats already elected to the Legislature have been punching above their weight. They have only 16 seats in the state Legislature, but saw over 50 bills sponsored by Democratic lawmakers passed. He also praised his party's candidate recruitment efforts. Acknowledging that Democrats have struggled to fill all of the legislative races in past cycles, particularly in western North Dakota, he said his party has filled 80% of the races this cycle. Still, even if Democrats win every race they have a candidate in, they couldn't take a majority in either chamber of the Legislature. It's not mathematically possible. "We don't have enough candidates on the ballot," Ista said, but he does see an opportunity for Democrats to make up some ground. But that will require those candidates to get out into their communities and prove they're something more than "someone with a D in parentheses behind their name" on the ballot. Ista also said he's opposed to a constitutional measure that would abolish property taxes, which will almost certainly be on the ballot in November. Asked why voters should trust lawmakers to address the property tax problem meaningfully, given that it's an issue that has rankled voters for decades, Ista said that while dangling "carrots" in front of local governments to inspire them to lower property tax burdens, "we have to get more serious about talking about sticks," he said, referencing possible caps on property tax increases. Also on this episode, Oban and I talk about the controversy former President Donald Trump has created around Kamala Harris's racial background, and who Harris might choose as vice president. Want to follow Plain Talk? Click here for an archive of past shows and for information on how to subscribe, or just search for the show wherever you get your podcasts, including on YouTube.

Rep. Kelly Armstrong, who is currently in the midst of a campaign to become North Dakota's next governor, has had a long career in public service. On this episode of Plain Talk, he told my co-host Chad Oban and I what his proudest moment has been from that career (so far, he's still a young man in political years). He said it was helping his hometown, Dickinson, build a new baseball complex. It was a reminder that Armstrong's track record of public service didn't begin in elected office. In fact, that's probably true of most of our elected leaders, even at the highest levels of government. We can be cynical about politics. We're certainly given good reason to be much of the time. But there's something nice in being reminded that political careers often start with public service at a granular level. Unfortunately, much of what we discussed on this episode is the sort of thing that justifies our cynicism about political leadership. Armstrong expressed frustration about the House of Representatives going out on recess without having completed the appropriations process. "I don't think Congress has done a budget in 25 years that's an actual budget," he said. "I get frustrated because we're pretending like we're doing something," he added. Armstrong also weighed in on the presidential race, saying Democrats are enjoying a "sugar high" around their new candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, while acknowledging that the rollout of Sen. J.D. Vance as former President Donald Trump's running mate has been rocky. Armstrong also talked about what his priorities in Bismarck might be should he be elected come November, and one of them is the state's budget. "Our growth in spending has been pretty significant since 2012," he said, and while much of that was "necessary" when it happened, it may be time to curb the growth. Want to follow Plain Talk? Click here for an archive of past shows and for information on how to subscribe, or just search for the show wherever you get your podcasts, including on YouTube.

In 2018, North Dakota voters approved a ballot measure creating the state Ethics Commission. The commission was implemented in 2019, and that first year, it received just 2 complaints. There were 3 in 2020, 9 in 2021, then a spike (right around election time) in 2022 to 14. There were 14 complaints again in 2023, and so far in 2024 (another election year) the number has spiked to 25 as of July 25. Those numbers came from Rebecca Binstock, the executive director of the ethics commission, who joined this episode of Plain Talk to advertise the fact that the commission is currently accepting applications for new members (find more on that in their press release).  "Any North Dakota resident can serve on the ethics commission," Binstock told us, though there are some exemptions. For instance, if you're currently an elected official, or in a leadership position in a political party, you need not apply. But Binstock also discussed with my co-host Chad Oban the fact that the Ethics Commission has become much more visible in North Dakota politics, and governance, and what it does, and what it should do, are becoming increasingly important questions. "Ethics commissions alone do not create ethical government," Binstock told us, adding that it also requires a robust news media, and an engaged electorate. The Ethics Commission gets the most attention from its complaint process, where members of the public can allege unethical behavior by state officials that is then reviewed by the commission, but Binstock argued that some of its other missions, such as educating state and local officials about ethics policies and promoting more transparency, are as, if not more, important. She also discussed the commission taking a larger role in enforcing state campaign laws. Want to follow Plain Talk? Click here for an archive of past shows, and for information on how to subscribe, or just search for the show wherever you get your podcasts, including on YouTube.

Many Republicans are trying to argue that President Joe Biden opting to end his re-election campaign, and the subsequent consolidation of Democrats behind the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris, was a "coup." Was it? My co-host Chad Oban and I discussed it on this episode of Plain Talk, where we were also joined by Trista Keith, a now-former member of the Dickinson State University nursing faculty. That faculty has resigned, and the administration at DSU has moved on, opting to use personnel from Mayville State University to provide instruction to its nursing students. Craig, who came on the program to rebut claims made in our previous interview with North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott, said she and her fellow nurses resigned because the credit hour requirements in their contracts were untenable. Hagerott, echoing claims made by DSU President Stephen Easton (who has also resigned though remains in his position as higher ed leaders work on finding a replacement), also claimed that the program was costing a half-million dollars a year to graduate just 16 students. Keith acknowledged that the program's graduation numbers were down, but attributed that to a blip from the COVID-19 pandemic. "It's completely unfair not to take COVID into consideration," she said. She said the pandemic scared a lot of prospective students away. "Nobody wanted to become a nurse," but she said things have been recovering, noting that the DSU program had 60 incoming students. She also said she was "disappointed" in Hagerott's comments, saying she expected that "someone int hat leadership position" would "get the other side of the story." "I've never spoken to the chancellor," she said. Want to follow Plain Talk? Click here for an archive of past shows, and for information on how to subscribe, or just search for the show wherever you get your podcasts, including on YouTube.

When President Joe Biden announced an end to his re-election campaign, Adam Goldwyn, chairman of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL, participated in a call with his counterparts from around the country that resulted in a unanimous endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to replace the incumbent at the top of the party's national ticket. "There was overwhelming support for her in that group," Goldwyn told me and my co-host Chad Oban on this episode of Plain Talk. Responding to complaints from Republicans that Biden was pushed out undemocratically after Democratic voters around the country cast their primary ballots for him, Goldwyn said, "there was no cigar-filled back room." "Nobody pushed President Biden out of anything," he said, adding that the party's convention process is now "open" and that the delegates "could vote for anyone they want." Goldwyn says he senses a lot of enthusiasm from Democrats after the shake-up. Also on this episode, Chad and I discuss how Harris's ascendence may impact the race, what she should do to win a national election, and who her running mate might be. Want to follow Plain Talk? You can search for the show wherever you get your podcasts, listen to new episodes on YouTube, or click here for an archive of our episodes and to find subscribe links for some of the most popular podcasting services.

Dickinson State University, one of the North Dakota University System's four-year institutions, has been thrown into chaos by a labor dispute with a group of nursing faculty. First the faculty, after rejecting a new contract aimed at tamping down what DSU President Stephen Easton too much spending on a program that produces too few students, chose to resign en masse. Then Easton himself tendered his resignation alongside a lengthy statement in which he defended his approach to the dispute. "The simple reality is that, though we love DSU Nursing and want to help it survive, we cannot spend over half a million dollars in compensation expenses for 16 Registered Nurses," he wrote in that statement posted on DSU's website. "That does not work financially." "We're not going to be held hostage by 7 contract-rejecting faculty," Mark Hagerott, chancellor of the university system, said on this episode of Plain Talk. Hagerott told guest co-host Corey Mock and me that "the focus is on the students" who are set to resume classes for the fall semester in approximately five weeks, and said that Eason, who continues to serve as president until the State Board of Higher Education chooses a new leader, is still negotiating with the former nursing faculty to find a new contract. The chancellor noted that East was trying to apply the same standards for credit hours and instruction that apply to the rest of the faculty at DSU. "Seven people didn't sign their contract," he said. "Everybody else is moving forward." Will the DSU nursing program survive? And what will happen to the students currently enrolled in this program if the impasse continues? Hagerott said his expectation is that the program continues, and that if need be current students could be served by faculty at some of North Dakota's other public institutions. He also said he's had preliminary conversations with at least one state lawmaker about finding funds to help those students with scholarships to smooth over any hardships from that transition. Also on this episode, U.S. House candidate Julie Fedorchak joined to reflect on the Republican national convention she just attended in Milwaukee. "You could hear a pin drop when he was recapping the assassination attempt," she said of former President Donald Trump's speech accepting the convention's nomination. "You could see the weight on him," she continued, noting the less bombastic tone Trump struck during the address. She said it was "electric" in the convention hall, and that Trump's "drill baby drill" comments about expanding domestic energy production got the "loudest" reaction from the audience and was "music to my ears." Want to subscribe to Plain Talk? Search for the show wherever you get your podcasts, or click here for more information.

Sandi Sanford, chair of the North Dakota Republican Party, joined this episode of Plain Talk from the GOP's national convention in Milwaukee, where, she said, "the security plan changed drastically" after the attempted assassination of the party's presidential candidate Donald Trump. Republicans have been focused on unity at this event -- two of Trump's top rivals during the primaries, Gov. Ron DeSantis and former ambassador Nikki Haley, endorsed him in speeches at the convention -- but Sanford acknowledged to my co-host Chad Oban and I that this may be a heavy lift. "People know that what we're dealing with in North Dakota with the different factions," she said, initially calling the populist wing of the party the "far right" before correcting herself and describing them as "grassroots." The NDGOP delegation to the national convention wasn't necessarily behind Gov. Doug Burgum potentially being Trump's running mate (Burgum himself was passed over for a delegate slot by the NDGOP's state convention), but Sanford said she felt the delegates were "really confident in Donald Trump and his pick" "It gets dicey," she said of intraparty politics. "It can get cruel," but Sanford said her job is to keep the factions united. "I'm bringing people together." Sanford also addressed a visit to the North Dakota delegation from Matt Schlapp of the American Conservative Union (the organization which puts on the Conservative Political Action Conference). In March, Schlapp paid a nearly half-million settlement to a man he allegedly made unwanted sexual advances toward. "My delegation wanted to hear from CPAC," she said, adding that Schlapp was "on a speaking circle" addressing several state delegations. Also on this episode, we discuss how the assassination attempt on Trump might impact the rest of this presidential election cycle, and whether Democrats will replace incumbent President Joe Biden. Want to subscribe to Plain Talk? Search for the show wherever you get your podcasts, or click here for more information.

Gov. Doug Burgum has gone through a "transformation." That's what reporter Stephen Rodrick said on this episode of Plain Talk. He spent a lot of time in North Dakota for a profile of Burgum published recently by Politico. He wrote that the governor has been "rebranding" on his way to a potential place on former President Donald Trump's national ticket. That means that Burgum has, along the arc of his political career, but a lot of different things to different people. What Rodrick found, talking to people who knew Burgum during times in his life, is that many of them feel that many who liked him in the past perhaps feel differently now. "They all had love for him at a certain point," he said, even those who today might be fairly described as Burgum's enemies. "His transformation over the past 3 or 4 months if baffling," Rodrick told my co-host Chad Oban and I. And how will Burgum be received on the national stage if he is Trumps VP pick? Rodrick thinks observers will be surprised. "They're going to be like, 'wow he really didn't want anyone who has his own level of national charisma.'" Also on this episode, Oban and I discuss April Baumgarten's story about North Dakota First Lady Katyrn Burgum's primary ballot getting rejected because of a handwriting mismatch. Burgum World isn't offering anything in the way of an explanation for why that happened, which leaves an information vacuum that could be filled with some not-so-great conclusions. Want to subscribe to Plain Talk? Search for the show wherever you get your podcasts, or click here for more information.

Senate Majority Leader David Houge, a Republican from Minot, says that if voters approve a ballot measure eliminating property taxes, state lawmakers will be left with a mess. He said that the legislature's appropriators will be tasked with making big spending cuts. He said that members of the taxation and finance committees will have to find new ways to bring in revenues. He also said that reserve funds would likely have to be tapped to make up the roughly $2.6 billion in revenues property taxes generate for local governments every budget cycle. But in 2012, voters rejected a similar ballot measure to eliminate property taxes, in part based on promises from lawmakers that they would fix the problem. My co-host, Chad Oban, asked Hogue why voters should trust them this time around. "We have tried other things that haven't necessarily worked," he said, but this time he sees more willingness from his colleagues to implement things like caps on taxation. We also spoke with Hogue about his recent letter to the editor, which he co-authored with House Majority Leader Mike Lefor (R - Dickinson), making the case for carbon capture in North Dakota. He likened the debate over the opposition to the Summit Carbon pipeline to the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, pointing out that in both instances, the opposition said the pipelines were unsafe. "The idea that the pipeline is dangerous, I reject that," he said, going on to point out that capturing and sequestering carbon in North Dakota has many benefits for the state's agriculture and energy industries, though he also acknowledged that Summy Carton Solutions, the company behind the project, has made some mistakes. "They lowballed some landowners," he said, and acknowledged that Summit may have been too aggressive in using a state statute that allows surveyors to go on private land without permission. "That was a misstep as well," he said, though he added that since Summit has "corrected" a lot of its mistakes. Want to subscribe to Plain Talk? Search for the show wherever you get your podcasts, or click here for more information.