Plain Talk

For about a century, North Dakota has had a ban on corporate farming. This is to say that if you want to run a farming or ranching business in our state, you can only do it with family members who are no more distant in relation to you than first cousins. But there has been a push, in recent years, to ease up on the ban, particularly in the area of animal agriculture. The argument is that allowing business structures that aren't just between family members would open up new worlds of capital for investment in agriculture businesses here. Rep. Paul Thomas, a Republican from Velva who is a fourth-generation farmer, is backing House Bill 1371 in the current legislative session in Bismarck, and it would corporate farming in animal agriculture such as swine, dairy, and poultry. Yet in 2015, the legislature passed a similar bill. The North Dakota Farmer's Union successfully referred it to the ballot where it died with more than 75 percent of North Dakotans voting it down. What's changed between now and then to make Thomas think his bill has a chance? "The biggest landscape change is the development of soybean crush plants," he said on this episode of Plain Talk. Thomas says. Soybean plants will be a big source of animal feed, which will increase interest in animal agriculture in our state. He also argues that the current corporate farming ban isn't doing much to protect farming in North Dakota. "If we want to be a food desert let's keep doing what we're doing," he said. Responding to criticism of his bill coming from NDFU President Mark Watne, who argues HB1371 would hurt family farms, Thomas says the decline in the number of dairy farms in North Dakota is "the only argument I need to make." He notes that in 2009 there were 193 dairy farms operating in th e state. Today, he claims, there are only 37. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk are published? Subscribe - it's free! - on the podcast service of your choice.

Two state officials joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss a couple of the more complicated and political thorny issues North Dakota's legislature is taking up this session. Rep. Zac Ista, a Democrat from Grand Forks, talked about his opposition to an income tax plan being touted by Gov. Doug Burgum and Republican lawmakers. He said the plan may pull revenues away from needed spending areas, like child care and mental health, and also argued that the cut is a "giveaway" to the wealthy. It's that last point I wanted to debate with him and my co-host Ben Hanson. Also, a bill under consideration would start a pilot program aimed at capping prescription drug prices in North Dakota, using prices set in Canada as a reference point. The bill would put this program under the administration of the Insurance Commissioner's office. Jon Godfread, a Republican and our current commissioner, said that would be like trying to "force a square peg into a round hole." He expressed skepticism that this bill would be effective, and he's also concerned about the tax dollars the state would spend defending it in court. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Subscribe - it's free! - on the podcast platform of your choice.

The Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives is an exceeding slim majority. All the more so because, in many ways, the members of that majority are divide against themselves. Can these House Republicans govern effectively? Congressman Kelly Armstrong joined this episode of Plain Talk to answer that question. "We all have to talk to one another a lot more," he said. He also pointed out that many of the Republicans in the majority are finding themselves in a position they haven't been in before. "Just about half of the Republican majority has never been in the majority," he said. "They've never seen regular order," he added, referring to the traditional way bills were introduced, worked in committee, and then brought to the floor for a vote in years past. Armstrong also answered questions about his priorities in the new Congress, how the House can fulfill its oversight role without it getting lost in salacious politics, and his potential committee assignements. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Click here to subscribe - for free! - by way of your preferred podcast service.

Should sports betting be legal in North Dakota? Should a lawmaker who works for a company that also has a huge health insurance contract with the state also be on a board that approves the contract? And is it a good idea to require that some small school districts share superintendents? We talk about all those issues on this episode of Plain Talk. Rep. Matt Ruby, a Republican from Minot, talks about the superintendent issue. It's his bill that would require districts with low enrollments to share superintendents. He says that the small districts make up just 40 percent of total K-12 enrollment, but are paying 90 percent of the superintendent's salaries. In this interview, he responds to some of the common criticisms of the bill. Also. Rep. Greg Stemen, a Republican from Fargo, talks about his proposal to legalize sports wagering in the state. He says he'd like North Dakotans to weigh on this one way or another - his resolution would lead to a statewide vote - at which point the legislature can, if voters approve, work on implementing it. Stemen also responds to criticisms he received from Sen. Kyle Davison, another Fargo Republican, over his appointment to the PERS Board. Stemen works for Sanford Health, which also has a contract to provide health insurance to tens of thousands of state employees that's worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The PERS Board oversees that contract. Stemen says he's talked to Davison about his concerns, and would recuse himself from any vote concerning Sanford, but has confidence he can serve public employees, and his constituents, well on the board. Finally, co-host Ben Hanson and I discuss the debate over an income tax proposal that would eliminate the tax for most North Dakotans. Is it a good idea? Or just a handout to the wealthy? If you want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish, please click here to subscribe - it's free! - on your favorite podcast platform.

Tammy Miller went from being the CEO of a major, Fargo-based corporation, to the COO of Governor Doug Burgum's administration, and now to Burgum's Lt. Governor, tasked with presiding over the state senate this legislative session. She joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss that transition, her past asperations for public office, and how she can serve the state of North Dakota and Burgum's administration. Also on this episode, co-host Ben Hanson and I discuss Burgum's state of the state address from earlier this week, the early intrigues of the legislative session, and the headaches surrounding the rapid growth of charitable gaming in North Dakota. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Click here to subscribe - it's free! - on the podcast platform of your choice.

For the first time in decades, the North Dakota Senate has a new chairman of its appropriations committee. Why does that matter? The chairs of the appropriations committees in the House and the Senate are in charge of reconciling all the spending the legislature is trying to do in the next two-year budget cycle with the amount of revenue the state expects to collect. The two people who hold those positions are probably the most powerful politicians in North Dakota that you've never heard of. In the Senate, third-term Sen. Brad Bekkedahl, a Republican from the Williston area, is taking over the job from Sen. Ray Holmberg, one of the longest-serving public servants in national history, who opted not to run for re-election this cycle. On this episode of Plain Talk, Bekkedahl spoke with co-host Ben Hanson and me about taking over that job. One of the most pressing issues before this session is a choice lawmakers will have between yet another property tax reduction plan, and a big income tax cut - an elimination of the tax for most North Dakotans - that has been touted by Governor Doug Burgum. Burgum "makes a very compelling case" that his tax plan is "a better way to get relief into the hands of the taxpayers," Bekkedahl said, though he added that most taxpayers probably feel more burdened by their property tax bills than the income tax. What his committee makes of those proposals will be up to the committee. Bekkedahl is also taking over this job after voters approved eight-year term limits for state lawmakers. "We'll live through this," Bekkedahl said, though he added t hat he doesn't "think it's going to be good for the state." He praised Holmberg and other long-time lawmakers for the institutional knowledge they brought to the legislature, and he also pointed out that the voters were already doing a pretty good job of sending new people to the legislative chambers every election cycle. What does Bekkedahl make of North Dakota getting a new lieutenant governor just as a new legislative session is going to begin? "I was surprised by the timing of the announcement," he said, noting that outgoing Lt. Governor Brent Sanford worked well with the legislature, but he was very positive about incoming Lt. Governor Tammy Miller too, noting that she's "proved herself well' both as a member of Burgum's cabinet and a businesswoman. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Click here to subscribe - it's free! - on your favorite podcast platform.

Should children in North Dakota have access to surgery and other types of treatment that can change their birth gender? If a bill that will be introduced in the 2023 session of the legislature is passed, such treatments would be prohibited. State Rep. Brandon Prichard, a Republican from District 8 who is sponsoring that bill, joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss it. The bill doesn't make these treatments a crime. Rather, it allows civil lawsuits from children or their parents who feel the law was violated. Prichard said a separate bill he hopes to co-sponsor, which he expects will be introduced by Rep. Lori Vanwinkle of District 3, would provide a criminal penalty. Why both? A criminal penalty is "very reliant on the state's attorney prosecuting it." He said that "bias among prosecutors" may lead to the law not being enforced, so he wanted to provide a civil remedy. Why the need to prohibit this sort of gender-affirming treatment for children at all? Prichard spoke of a drive to "corrode the innocence of children," though he wasn't clear about how often this sort of thing is happening in North Dakota. The "ability to access those records is very limited," but said the information is irrelevant to him. "Even if there isn't a single example of the surgeries happening in North Dakota, it wouldn't change my strategy," he said. Also on this episode, co-host Ben Hanson and I discuss the on-going controversy over the Fufeng corn milling plant in Grand Forks, and the recent efforts (or, more accurately, lack there of) by the federal government to bring clarity to the matter. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk drop? Click here to subscribe on your favorite podcast service. It's free!

North Dakota legislators begin writing budgets and making law in January, but first the meet in December for an organizational session. New lawmakers get sworn in, committee assignments are doled out, and lawmakers get some training on how the legislative process works. Part of the organizational session is also a budget address from Governor Doug Burgum. On this episode of Plain Talk, Burgum joined me, and my new Wednesday co-host Ben Hanson, a former lawmaker himself, to discuss the executive budget he just delivered to lawmakers. Burgum answered questions about a flat-tax proposal he's made for the state's income taxes, which would eliminate the tax entirely for most North Dakotans, and discussed why he didn't propose a total elimination. Also discussed were ways his budget seeks to address one of the state's most chronic economic challenges, which is workforce shortages. Burgum is proposing to address that, in part, with investments in increasing access to child care, an expense that keeps many North Dakotans at home with their kids instead of seeking a career in the labor markets. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Consider subscribing - it's free! - on your favorite podcast service.

Retro hockey jerseys featuring "NODAK" emblazoned on the front have become a hot item for the University of North Dakota's hockey team. Fans love it when head coach Brad Berry tells his players to wear them, and they've been buying related merchandise at a brisk pace. But it turned out that UND didn't own the trademark to 'NODAK." A business entity associated with Coach Berry's daughter did, and that created the appearance of a conflict of interest. The business entity has since transferred ownership of the trademark to the school, but is that really the end of this issue? UND President Andrew Armacost joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss the situation. He said that the trademark was transferred to UND, and that no money or other inducements were part of the deal. He said he first learned about the issue through a fraud hotline tip to the North Dakota University System head office, though the issue gained public notoriety after I wrote about it earlier this week. Armacost said he hasn't spoken to Coach Berry about his involvement, if any, in the formation of the business entity or the registration of the trademark. Asked if UND planned any further review of the matter to ensure that policies promoting ethics, and prohibiting conflicts of interest, had been followed, Armacost said the matter was "resolved" by transferring the trademark. That ended the conflict, he argued. He also said that he wouldn't call on Coach Berry to address the public about what participation he had, if any, saying that he would do the same with any other university employee in similar circumstances. "That'll be for Coach Berry to make a determination," he said. As for why the university didn't trademark "NODAK" previously, Armacost said it was the opinion of their legal counsel that the schools prior use of "NODAK" established their rights to it, but admitted that in "hindsight" the school should have acted. "We could have protected it and avoided this altogether," he said. If you'd like to be alerted when new episodes of Plain Talk, click here to subscribe (it's free!) or search for Plain Talk on your favorite podcast service.

In 2007, a bipartisan majority of North Dakota lawmakers passed a near-total ban on abortions that was introduced by two Democratic legislators. It was written so that it would only take effect should the courts overturn Roe v. Wade and other legal precedents that created a right to an abortion. Those precedents have been overturned, and while there's still legal wrangling around the law in North Dakota courts - our state Supreme court held oral arguments about an injunction currently blocking it this week - it's clear that the legislature, in its upcoming session, will have some clean-up to do on the abortion issue. State Senator Janne Myrdal, a Republican who has worked as an activist in the pro-life movement for more than 30 years, joined this episode of Plain Talk to talk about what that debate might look like. Myrdal told co-host Chad Oban and I that while she intends to "stand behind" North Dakota's existing laws, she does see the need for some tweaks, such as the "affirmative defense" exceptions in the law which would allow medical professionals to defend themselves against felony charges should they perform an abortion in the instance of something like rape or incest. Myrdal said she's not interested in hauling doctors into court. She also said she's not interested in, nor has she heard of any bills coming forward, that would put restrictions on things like storing embryos, but she did say she believes Republicans can't just focus on banning abortion. Myrdal said she plans to support laws to make the adoption process easier, and to provide better care for mothers and children around a pregnancy. The new legislative session begins in January. If you'd like to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish, click here to subscribe - it's free! - or search for Plain Talk on your favorite podcast platform.