Plain Talk

State Rep. Dave Nehring is a Republican from District 8, an area which covers what might fairly be described as the heart of North Dakota's coal industry. This gives Nehring an interesting perspective on the recent energy shortages that are turning off lights here in North Dakota and across the nation. "We can't afford to shut down any more coal plants," Nehring said on this episode of Plain Talk....

Rob and Jay talk about the arctic weather and what it's doing to the power grid.

In the late 19th century hundreds of small, short-line railroads were being bought up and consolidated into larger companies. Our nation's burgeoning economy was (and still is, in many ways) dependent on those railroad lines which, increasingly, were under the control of a shrinking number of people. Those people began using their monopoly over the transportation of goods to price gouge and manipu...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, business owners and policymakers have had to walk a balancing act between acknowledging the very real dangers of the coronavirus outbreak and the terrible economic realities attendant to shutting down or restricting businesses. Keeping businesses open during the pandemic - a necessity because people still needed many of those businesses, and those businesses needed to...

Rob and Jay talk Super Bowl, social media outrage, and an update on what's going on at the Legislature in Bismarck.

"She didn't violate a rule in Congress," Congressman Kelly Armstrong said, referring to Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene has come under fire for numerous comments she's made on social media and elsewhere supporting conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks and school shootings. "There's no defending the things she's said," Armstrong said on this episode of Plain Talk, but argu...

Shelley Lenz and Cesar Alvarez are two Democratic-NPL candidates who have lost previously on the ballot but think they have ideas that can help Democratic candidates start to win in North Dakota. "Scrap the current platform," Lenz said on this episode of Plain Talk. "It's not resonating." Lenz and Alvarez want to be chair and vice-chair of the Democratic-NPL, and they want to organize the party ar...

Should North Dakotans be allowed to open and patronize cigar bars? Rob and Jay talk about it, also legislation aimed at seat belts.

"Even markets can be irrational," Senator Kevin Cramer said on this episode of Plain Talk. He was talking about activist investing which has ballooned stock prices for companies like video game retailer Game Stop and movie theater chain AMC, hitting bear investors who had placed bets on those prices declining right in the pocketbooks. What should be done about it? Nothing, says Cramer. At least no...

"This bill changes the legal guidelines." That's what former North Dakota Treasurer Kelly Schmidt had to say of a proposal, currently before the Legislature in Bismarck, which would invest 20 percent of the billions in the state's Legacy Fund in North Dakota businesses and infrastructure. Private entrepreneurs could access that capital to start up or expand their businesses. Also, local communitie...

President Joe Biden's brand new administration has already taken swift action, by way of an executive order, on all manner of policy fronts. One notable area is energy, where Biden has already withdrawn an already-issued permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Now he's expected to sign a new order halting new oil and gas development on federal lands. What could this mean for tribal lands? "It's not g...

Rob and Jay talk about a bizarre DUI case before the North Dakota Supreme Court as well as a bill that would reimburse lawmakers for meals.

North Dakota's Legacy Fund, since it was created by the Legislature and approved by voters in 2010, has turned a slice of the state's oil tax revenues into a nearly $8 billion balance. That balance is invested in stocks and bonds across the nation, and the world, including in some ways that, as a moral matter, we shouldn't be happy about . Almost none of it is invested in North Dakota. Rep. Mike N...

Rob and Jay talk about gun control legislation, the Capitol riot, and a bill that would end an exemption for clergy when it comes to mandatory reporting of child abuse.

"Trump is the best President of my lifetime," Senator Kevin Cramer told me on this episode of Plain Talk. It's a statement he's made publicly many times, even after the ugly events in Washington D.C. on January 6. But Cramer is also critical of President Donald Trump. He has accused Trump of inciting the crowd before the riot, he criticized the president for his conduct during and after the riot,...

Rob and Jay talk about the latest coronavirus news.

Rob and Jay talk about North Dakota's new mask mandate.

Rob and Jay talk election results, Twitter bans, and District 8 controversy.

As the votes continue to be counted, President Donald Trump, which no real evidence, is making accusations of a fraudulent election. How does North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer, a staunch Trump supporter, feel about it? "I don't think it helps him," Cramer said on this episode of Plain Talk. "Do I condone everything President Trump says? No," Cramer also said. But he also said he understands the Pr...

Who will win the election? Rob and Jay discus.

Former North Dakota Governor Ed Schafer does not support Measure 2. He does not believe the Legislature should get a chance to overturn a ballot-box vote to enact a constitutional amendment. Measure 2 would amend the state constitution to make it so that constitutional measures approved at the ballot box would also have to be approved by both houses of the Legislature. If one or both houses voted...

"Trump has brought the rural voice back into play," Shelley Lenz told me on this episode of Plain Talk. Lenz is the Democratic-NPL candidate for governor, challenging Republican incumbent Doug Burgum, and while she clearly doesn't like Trump overall, she is critical of her own party for not paying enough attention to the priorities of rural Americans. "Urban Democrats are misinformed," she told me...

Is it even worth debating a mask mandate anymore? Rob and Jay discuss.

This episode of Plain Talk was intended to be a conversation with both of North Dakota's candidates for Superintendent. Sadly, the incumbent, Kirsten Baesler, opted not to participate, claiming she didn't have enough time to make it work, though she did offer me a one-on-one interview later in the week. Go figure. The challenger, Brandt Dick, did offer his time, and our conversation covered everyt...

Rob and Jay talk about President Trump and the coronavirus, masking, and Measure 1 and 2 on the November ballot.