Plain Talk

The North Dakota Democratic-NPL has been out of power in North Dakota for about two generations. They haven't held the governorship since the early 1990s. They haven't held a statewide executive branch office since 2009, or a majority in either chamber in the Legislature since 1994. Until 2010, the state's entire congressional delegation were members of the Democratic-NPL, as of 2018 those seats are now all held by Republicans. The party holds just 7 seats in the state Senate, and only 14 in the House. How can they turn it around? Zach Raknerud was the unsuccessful Democratic-NPL candidate for U.S. House in 2020, and he's currently running to be a committeeman for the party in 2021. He joins this episode of Plain Talk Live to talk about his party, its past, and what he believes could be its future.

President Joe Biden is set to deliver his first State of the Union address to a country that is still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and deeply divided in just about every way a society can be divided. From environmental issues to infrastructure to immigration, can he map out a policy agenda that brings people together to solve real problems? Rob Port and University of North Dakota professor of political science Bo Wood discuss on this episode of Plain Talk Live. Also, North Dakota's legislative session is due to be wrapped up this week. Governor Doug Burgum has signed a raft of pro-gun bills, and declared North Dakota a 2nd Amendment "sanctuary state." Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up an important gun rights case. What could that mean for guns and self in America?

Thanks to high-profile cases, including the death of George Floyd, Minnesota has become an epicenter in the political battle over the use of force by law enforcement. As a result, the state has created new use of force laws, and they're not sitting well with some in law enforcement. Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner, whose North Dakota jurisdiction bumps up against Minnesota's border, recently wrote a letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz asking him to exempt North Dakota cops from the new law so that they can continue to render assistance across the border. Sheriff Jahner joins this episode of Plain Talk Live to discuss Minnesota's law, the problems he sees it posing to North Dakota law enforcement and the issue of the use of force by law enforcement in general.

Rob and Jay talk about the end of the Legislative session, including the debate over a Buffalo-themed amusement park in Jamestown.

In March the State of North Dakota implemented a truly innovative bit of public policy. With some grant money from the AAA Foundation, Governor Doug Burgum's administration launched the Sober Ride program, which provided $10 vouchers for Lyft rides between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. The result? In March, some 800 presumably impaired drivers got rides home, and the total cost was just $8,000. Far less than taxpayers would have paid for one DUI checkpoint, or to put one DUI offender through the criminal justice system. Should this program continue? Should it be expanded? Also, the 2021 legislative session is wrapping up, but there's still a lot of issues to settle and budgets to finalize. Rob and talk radio host Jay Thomas from WDAY 970 AM discuss on this episode of Plain Talk Live.

North Dakota's legislative session is ending, and that always means a flurry of bills getting signed into law, or occasionally vetoed, by the Governor. On this episode of Plain Talk Live, Governor Doug Burgum talks about the bills he's signed, and the bills he's yet to sign. Among the bills already signed is one protecting schools from lawsuits over 10 commandment displays and another providing health benefits for the family of fallen first responders. Burgum has also signed a "stand your ground" bill that removes the "duty to retreat" from the state's self-defense "castle doctrine," new protections for free speech on the state's campuses, and a massive infrastructure bonding package. Among the bills vetoed? One would have restricted the participation of transgendered athletes in K-12 sports, and the other would have stop the state government from implementing mask mandates in the future. Why did he make these decisions? I'll ask.

Derek Chauvin is guilty, and that's some justice for George Floyd, but are debate over the role of law enforcement in our society is far from over. Can cops accused of inappropriate activity get a fair trial in this environment? What can we do about militant attitudes in the ranks of law enforcement? Rob and podcast entrepreneur Jonah Lantto from the Good Talk Network, a production company that currently produces several podcasts and a late-night show, discuss. Send comments and feedback to rport@forumcomm.com. You can follow Jonah's work here: https://www.facebook.com/thegoodtalknetwork

#NorthDakota​ #FreeSpeech​ #HigherEducation​ Recently Governor Doug Burgum signed House Bill 1503 into law. It's aim? To protect free speech on North Dakota's campuses. At the national level, we've all heard many stories about students who, whether it's because of campus administration or harassment from other students, have difficulty expressing controversial points of view. Was that a problem in North Dakota? Was this bill necessary? Tyler Coward, an attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, discusses the bill and the state of free speech rights on North Dakota's campuses. Send comments and feedback to rport@forumcomm.com.

Rob and Jay talk about COVID-19 vaccines, face masks, and more.

A new ballot measure campaign seeks to amend North Dakota's state constitution to make it harder to amend the constitution. Specifically, it would require a 60 percent supermajority for any constitutional amendment on the ballot to pass. It would also limit each proposed amendment to just one topic. Is this good reform? Or a power grab or, as the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead put it in an editorial, a "stunt" aimed at weakening the voices of voters? Rick Gion, head of North Dakota Voters First, a group responsible for multiple constitutional ballot measures in the past, believes it's the latter. He talks it over with me on this episode of Plain Talk Live.