Plain Talk

Some conservation advocates say political leaders like Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Senators Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven, and Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak are betraying Theodore Roosevelt's conservation legacy even as they attend the opening of a presdiential library dedicated to him. "When you see the attacks on national monuments, when you see national park staff being cut all across the bo...

There will be a lot to see when the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opens in Medora next month. There will be traditional exhibits and artifacts and eight "adventure galleries" where visitors can learn from Theodore Roosevelt instead of just about him. Among the experiences available will be sitting around a camp fire and talking to characters from Roosevelt's era, a train ride experie...

There will be a lot to see when the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opens in Medora next month. There will be traditional exhibits and artifacts and eight "adventure galleries" where visitors can learn from Theodore Roosevelt instead of just about him. Among the experiences available will be sitting around a camp fire and talking to characters from Roosevelt's era, a train ride experie...

Vern Thompson began this political cycle running for the U.S. House, but when delegates to the Democratic-NPL convention gave their endorsement to Trygve Hammer instead, he shifted his focus to a race for Agriculture Commissioner. It also marked a shift in Thompson's strategy. Of late he, and Hammer, have been courting votes from the far-right populist wing of the North Dakota Republican Party, wh...

Vern Thompson began this political cycle running for the U.S. House, but when delegates to the Democratic-NPL convention gave their endorsement to Trygve Hammer instead, he shifted his focus to a race for Agriculture Commissioner. It also marked a shift in Thompson's strategy. Of late he, and Hammer, have been courting votes from the far-right populist wing of the North Dakota Republican Party, wh...

"The public schools are state-run schools, and the state can certainly impose licensing requirements on the schools that it runs. It can have hiring qualifications for the teachers that it deems fit to teach in the public schools," Michael Bindas said on this episode of Plain Talk. "But private schools are meant to provide an alternative to the public school system. Something different. And this l...

"The public schools are state-run schools, and the state can certainly impose licensing requirements on the schools that it runs. It can have hiring qualifications for the teachers that it deems fit to teach in the public schools," Michael Bindas said on this episode of Plain Talk. "But private schools are meant to provide an alternative to the public school system. Something different. And this l...

When we asked Mike Thiesen why he's seeking a state Senate seat in Minot-area District 3, he told us that it stems back to being a "glutton for punishment." Thiesen is an electrician by trade -- he did his interview with us from a work trailer on a job site -- and currently serves as the mayor of Surrey, a community on the periphery of Minot. He's a candidate for the Democrat-NPL (he stressed the...

When we asked Mike Thiesen why he's seeking a state Senate seat in Minot-area District 3, he told us that it stems back to being a "glutton for punishment." Thiesen is an electrician by trade -- he did his interview with us from a work trailer on a job site -- and currently serves as the mayor of Surrey, a community on the periphery of Minot. He's a candidate for the Democrat-NPL (he stressed the...

If there were a throughline for North Dakota's recent primary vote that ran from the top-of-the-ticket statewide races to local competitions like the Fargo mayoral race, it would be the rejection of belligerent ideologues in favor of pragmatic public servants. That's the argument Fargo's mayor-elect Josh Boschee made on this episode of Plain Talk. "North Dakotans want people who are going to get t...

If there were a throughline for North Dakota's recent primary vote that ran from the top-of-the-ticket statewide races to local competitions like the Fargo mayoral race, it would be the rejection of belligerent ideologues in favor of pragmatic public servants. That's the argument Fargo's mayor-elect Josh Boschee made on this episode of Plain Talk. "North Dakotans want people who are going to get t...

Gov. Kelly Armstrong, by his own admission, went out on a limb when he backed a slate of traditional Republican candidates this primary season against a populist faction that has captured control of the NDGOP and censured him, twice. The gamble paid off. Armstrong-backed candidates made nearly a clean sweep in the primaries, but if you ask the governor about it, all the credit goes to the candidat...

Gov. Kelly Armstrong, by his own admission, went out on a limb when he backed a slate of traditional Republican candidates this primary season against a populist faction that has captured control of the NDGOP and censured him, twice. The gamble paid off. Armstrong-backed candidates made nearly a clean sweep in the primaries, but if you ask the governor about it, all the credit goes to the candidat...

North Dakota is in the midst of a heated, divisive primary between traditional Republicans and populists. Who will win in key legislative races around the state? Who will advance to the general election in some of the competitive statewide races? Who will be the next mayor of Fargo, and will that ballot measure implementing a single-subject rule for proposed constitutional amendments pass? Me and...

North Dakota is in the midst of a heated, divisive primary between traditional Republicans and populists. Who will win in key legislative races around the state? Who will advance to the general election in some of the competitive statewide races? Who will be the next mayor of Fargo, and will that ballot measure implementing a single-subject rule for proposed constitutional amendments pass? Me and...

How does Sen. John Hoeven defined sucess? Before he recorded this interview with us at the Blue Rider Bar in downtown Minot, he'd been touring projects in the city, including what he described as a nearly culminated, decades-long effort to turn a former landfill and Superfund site into something useful for the community. "We're up here today talking about how we basically, this summer now, are goi...

How does Sen. John Hoeven defined sucess? Before he recorded this interview with us at the Blue Rider Bar in downtown Minot, he'd been touring projects in the city, including what he described as a nearly culminated, decades-long effort to turn a former landfill and Superfund site into something useful for the community. "We're up here today talking about how we basically, this summer now, are goi...

Public Service Commissioner Jill Kringstad didn't attend the North Dakota Republican Party's state convention, alongside every other statewide Republican incumbent. Thus, she doesn't have the party's endorsement, but neither does her opponent, Chris Olson. She was appointed to her job by Gov. Kelly Armstrong, and has his backing, and told us, during a live recording of Plain Talk at the Blue Rider...

Public Service Commissioner Jill Kringstad didn't attend the North Dakota Republican Party's state convention, alongside every other statewide Republican incumbent. Thus, she doesn't have the party's endorsement, but neither does her opponent, Chris Olson. She was appointed to her job by Gov. Kelly Armstrong, and has his backing, and told us, during a live recording of Plain Talk at the Blue Rider...

Rep. Dawson Holle, a Republican from District 31, is involved in a four-way race for two House seats. He, along with fellow House incumbent Rep. Karen Rohr, didn't receive the NDGOP's convention endorsement. Many of the NDGOP's incumbents haven't been endorsed amid a rift in the party between traditionally conservative Republicans and a populist faction that wants to take Nort Dakota in a differen...

Rep. Dawson Holle, a Republican from District 31, is involved in a four-way race for two House seats. He, along with fellow House incumbent Rep. Karen Rohr, didn't receive the NDGOP's convention endorsement. Many of the NDGOP's incumbents haven't been endorsed amid a rift in the party between traditionally conservative Republicans and a populist faction that wants to take Nort Dakota in a differen...

"It's hard to do enhanced oil recovery," Charles Gorecki said during a Plain Talk podcast interview from the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. Gorecki is the head of the Energy & Environmental Research Center at the Univeresity of North Dakota. That organization conducts exploratory research explicitly driven by North Dakota's industrial and environmental needs. Stuff like how to reduce flarin...

"It's hard to do enhanced oil recovery," Charles Gorecki said during a Plain Talk podcast interview from the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. Gorecki is the head of the Energy & Environmental Research Center at the Univeresity of North Dakota. That organization conducts exploratory research explicitly driven by North Dakota's industrial and environmental needs. Stuff like how to reduce flarin...

Recently-appointed Department of Energy Undersecretary Kyle Haustveit says that when people talk about transitioning on energy sources, they aren't talking about reality. "We've never transitioned from any fuel source in the world in the history of mankind," he said on this episode of Plain Talk, recording with us from the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck. "We consume more wood and...

Recently-appointed Department of Energy Undersecretary Kyle Haustveit says that when people talk about transitioning on energy sources, they aren't talking about reality. "We've never transitioned from any fuel source in the world in the history of mankind," he said on this episode of Plain Talk, recording with us from the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck. "We consume more wood and...