Plain Talk

Last week a group of Republican leaders from the state's legislative and executive branches got together and announced a new plan to flatten North Dakota's income taxes. The state currently has five tax brackets that obligate every North Dakotan earning income to pay a progressively higher rate based on how large that income is. This new plan would create just two tax brackets, with about 60 percent of North Dakota households paying no income tax at all, and the rest paying a flat rate of just 1.5 percent. Would those paying no tax still have to file a return? How would the state adjust its revenues and spending to account for this tax cut? What of claims from Democratic leaders that this is just another handout for the wealthy? Republican Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus, and state Rep. Craig Headland, a Republican from Montpelier, joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk are published? Subscribe! It's free! Forum Communications Company is proud to be a part of the Trust Project. Learn more at thetrustproject.org.

Minot, N.D. — NDGOP party chairman Perrie Schafer says he's looking into the controversy around the use of homophobic slurs and other bigoted language in a messaging group organized by the North Dakota Young Republicans, and there may be consequences for Republican candidates who were a part of it. "This is an organization," he said of his party on this episode of Plain Talk. "We get to choose who we're associated with." He said he wants to be fair to the members of the group, which is affiliated with the NDGOP and has a non-voting seat on the party's governing committee, but that some of the people who participated in the group may find themselves out in the cold. "We have a right to choose who is in our group," Schafer said. "Personal responsibility and accountability are apparently not what these people want," he added, noting that some members of the group, including Carter Eisenberger, a Republican candidate for the state House in District 11, indicated that they were proud of the slurs being used. Schafer also weighed in on outgoing state Rep. Rick Becker choosing to launch an independent U.S. Senate campaign against endorsed Republican incumbent John Hoeven. "He gave up his right to run as a Republican," Schafer said of Becker's decision. "The man can't be trusted," he added, noting that Becker had previously promised to respect the vote of Republican delegates to the NDGOP's state convention. Also on this episode, Wednesday co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the NDYR controversy, Cara Mund's independent bid for the House of Representatives, and more. To be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish, consider subscribing. Plain Talk is available on all major podcast services, and subscribing is free! Forum Communications Company is proud to be a part of the Trust Project. Learn more at thetrustproject.org.

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned its precedents finding a right to an abortion in the U.S. Constitution, the nature of the debate over abortion has changed. On this episode of Plain Talk Cody Schuler, the advocacy manager for the ACLU of North Dakota, talks about how that debate has changed, and how pro-life and pro-choice Americans are going to have to work together to figure out what our policies on abortion will be going forward. Also on this episode Kim Hegvik, an assistant state's attorney in Cass County who is running to be elected to replace current state's attorney Birch Burdick, talks about her campaign. "My vision for the office is not centered around the courtroom," she said, which is an odd thing to hear from a lawyer running to be the top prosecutor in our state's most populous county, but she says she sees her job as beginning before matters reach the courtroom. She talked about criminal justice reform, the perception of rising crime in Cass County, as well as some controversy over one of her fellow Cass County prosecutors beginning a romantic relationship with a member of the Fargo Police Department. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Subscribe, for free! Forum Communications Company is proud to be a part of the Trust Project. Learn more at thetrustproject.org.

Minot, N.D. — When outgoing state Rep. Rick Becker announced that he would be challenging incumbent U.S. Senator John Hoeven in the general election as an independent, after having the NDGOP's endorsement to Hoeven this spring, state Republican party chairman Perrie Schafer described Becker as having "left the party." "I think he's got a point," Senator Kevin Cramer said of Schafer's remark on this episode of Plain Talk. Becker is the founder of the Bastiat Caucus of Trump-aligned state lawmakers and activists, though has disputed the idea that he is anything but a member of the NDGOP. "This move to run as an independent...it surprised me," Cramer continued, referring to Becker's announcement. He noted that Becker had spoken about respecting the vote of Republican delegates at the state party's convention. "This really is a violation of that." "If he's the leader of a party, it's a third party," Cramer continued. "I think it isolates him." Cramer and I also discussed Rep. Liz Cheney's primary loss in Wyoming - Cramer accused her of "myopia" - as well as some elements controversial Inflation Reduction Act that he likes and feels may be beneficial to North Dakota. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Consider subscribing, for free! Forum Communications Company is proud to be a part of the Trust Project. Learn more at thetrustproject.org.

North Dakota's general election got a lot more interesting over the last couple of weeks. First, Cara Mund, a former Miss America, jumped into the U.S. House race as an independent to take on Republican incumbent Kelly Armstrong and Democratic-NPL challenger Mark Haugen. Then state Rep. Rick Becker went back on his statements in support of the decision of Republican delegates at the NDGOP state convention, which chose incumbent Senator John Hoeven over him, and re-entered the U.S. Senate race. Then the Secretary of State approved the signatures for a ballot measure legalizing medical marijuana. That's a lot of things to talk about, but on this episode of Plain Talk, fill-in co-host Jamie Selzler and I tackle them all. David Owen, a representative of New Approach North Dakota, the group backing the marijuana measure, joined to talk about how they were able to run a successful petition campaign, and they'll win over North Dakota voters to their cause. Also, Jamie and I discuss Mund, Becker, and Rep. Liz Cheney's defeat in the Wyoming primary. Want to be notified of new episodes of Plain Talk? Subscribe, for free! Forum Communications Company is proud to be a part of the Trust Project. Learn more at thetrustproject.org.

Kansas, a very red, very Republican state, just voted, in a landslide, to maintain status quo protections for abortion. Meanwhile, in Congress, there was a vicious debate over the last week over who hates veterans. In Michigan, Democrats backed a pro-Trump, election conspiracy Republican in a primary against a GOP incumbent that voted to impeach Trump. Wednesday co-host Chad Oban and I discuss these topics, and more, on this episode of Plain Talk.

The ESG movement in venture capitalism - the acronym stands for "environment, social, and governance" - is a threat to North Dakota's economic well-being, but not just in the way you might be imagining. Our state's primary industries - energy and agriculture - are also carbon-heavy industries, which is why our state runs afoul of the "environment" part of ESG. Our state is investing big money into improving the environmental impact of our industries - we created, for example, the clean and sustainable energy fund which is driving money into things like carbon capture projects - but the ESG movement isn't terribly pragmatic. It's very ideological, viewing only certain types of renewable energy as satisfying the "environmental" component of it the platform. Which is why the credit rating energy Standard & Poor just gave North Dakota a "moderately negative" (their term) rating, tabbing our state as a "climate transaction risk." That's bad for North Dakota, and in more ways than one, as Treasurer Thomas Beadle explained on this episode of Plain Talk. He points out that this sort of rating doesn't just deter capital investment into our biggest and most important industries, it can also drive up the cost of bonding for the state. It works like this: since our primary industries are rated a risk, and our state government gets most of its revenues, directly or indirectly, from those industries, then our bonds to build things like highways are seen as a riskier investment. Thus, we have to pay more to borrow that money. What can our state do about it? Beadle points to things like the state-owned Bank of North Dakota, and the aforementioned sustainable energy fund (other states are calling this sort of thing a "green bank"), as factors that help, but until national, and international, banks and governments come to realize that market manipulations do not obviate our need for baseload energy, we're stuck with things as they are. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk publish? Subscribe on your favorite podcast service. Forum Communications Company is proud to be a part of the Trust Project. Learn more at thetrustproject.org.

As the controversy over a corn milling plant near Grand Forks, and the Grand Forks Air Force Base, to be built by a Chinese company whose leader is a member of the Chinese Communist Party, continues to unfold, Sen. Kevin Cramer sees the need for legislation to address the matter. Federal officials are in the process of reviewing the land purchase and potential development for national security threats, but on this episode of Plain Talk, Cramer said more needs to be done. "Agricultural investments are largely exempt. That needs to change," he said. Cramer also addressed the controversy over the PACT Act, which would provide medical benefits for soldiers exposed to toxic burn pits while deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Supporters of the bill, including comedian Jon Stewart, ripped Republican Senators who changed their vote from "yes" to "no" after the bill came back from the House. Cramer says the reason he changed his vote is because House Democrats added a "technical glitch" that turns almost a half-trillion dollars of spending into non-discretionary spending. "Democrats have played politics with the lives of veterans, Cramer says. "At the end of the day, the bill will pass," he said, calling his "no" vote "procedural." Cramer also addressed the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify same-sex marriage in federal law. He says he doesn't begrudge his colleague, Republican Congressman Kelly Armstrong, for voting for the bill in the House, but he doesn't believe it goes far enough to protect religious liberty. And even if it's tweaked, Cramer said it would be unlikely he'd vote for it. As for the Inflation Reduction Act, which just came out of negotiations between Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, Cramer called it "a disaster." He said the permitting reforms that Manchin won as a concession from Schumer are unlikely to accomplish much. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk are published? Subscribe, for free, on the podcast platform of your choice. Forum Communications Compoany is proud to be a part of the Trust Project. Learn more at thetrustproject.org.

Minot, N.D. — Last week the North Dakota Democratic-NPL saw some internecine conflict over their U.S. House candidate, Mark Haugen, who is pro-life and supports the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Patrick Hart, the chairman of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL, joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss the challenges of managing the disparate points of view in his party. We also spoke about what his party is do to find its way in a state where Republicans are seeing historic levels of dominance, and where he sees some opportunities for Democratic-NPL candidates in the 2022 election and beyond. Also on this episode, Wednesday co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the strategy of Democrats promoting extreme Republican candidates in primaries with the hope of defeating that candidate in the general. Given the fraught times we're living in, should anyone be supporting extremism, even if the calculation is to defeat it? We also discussed Congressman Kelly Armstrong's vote to codify same-sex marriage in federal law, and Attorney General Drew Wrigley's decision not to seek an external investigation of a scandal over deleted email accounts in his office. Want to be notified when new episodes of Plain Talk drop? Subscribe, for free, by way of your favorite podcast platform. Forum Communications Company is proud to be a part of the Trust Project. Learn more at thetrustproject.org.

I suspect that many in the general public, when they hear about carbon capture, think of it as some pie-in-the-sky thing. Something that's being developed. That's in the work. Not really something that is, as yet, a practical part of modern industry. Except, the State of North Dakota just permitted its first carbon capture project under state primacy. Which is to say, that state officials reviewed and permitted the project, not the feds. It's the first time that's ever happened in the United States. That state control made all the difference. That's what Gerald Bachmeier, the chief executive officer of Red Trail Energy, said on this episode of Plain Talk. His company just added carbon capture to their ethanol facility near Richardton, North Dakota. It officially began capturing carbon on June 16, 2022, and they expect to store underground 100 percent of the 180,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted annually from its fermentation process. That's a big deal, but the regulatory process leading up to it may be the bigger deal. According to Bachmeier, it took North Dakota officials less than a year to permit their project. He compared that to the experience of another ethanol plant in Iowa which waited more than six years to get their permit from the feds at the EPA. He expects North Dakota will be able to permit future projects even faster. "Ours took a little longer because we were the first one," he said. Going forward, his company expects to add to their capture operations. He says the next phase is to capture the carbon coming off their heating systems, at which point their facility will be nearly carbon zero. He also said a part of their business in the future may be selling access to their storage well to other carbon-emitting businesses. And that's a key factor in all of this. For Red Trail, capturing this carbon wasn't just a good environmental decision, but a good business decision as well. While the cost of developing this project was around $38 million, he expects his company will bring in upwards of $9 million per year in revenues from 45Q tax credits from the federal government, as well as commanding $0.15 cents per gallon more for their ethanol thanks to a better carbon rating. Bachmeier sees a bright future for carbon capture. "For North Dakota's industries, I think we have a huge opportunity." Forum Communications Company is proud to be a part of the Trust Project. Learn more at thetrustproject.org.