Plain Talk

Heather Neville is a travelling nurse with more than four decades of experience. She's a four-time cancer survivor. She's an accomplished runner, having put in over 17,000 miles running in all 50 states to raise awareness and money for various causes. She's also, now, a candidate for the United States House of Representatives here in North Dakota, which she's made her home since 2020. "I just real...

Heather Neville is a travelling nurse with more than four decades of experience. She's a four-time cancer survivor. She's an accomplished runner, having put in over 17,000 miles running in all 50 states to raise awareness and money for various causes. She's also, now, a candidate for the United States House of Representatives here in North Dakota, which she's made her home since 2020. "I just real...

We covered a lot of ground on this episode of Plain Talk.  There's reason to believe that North Dakota's Wonder Fund may not be performing all that well, and may not be investing in the sort of North Dakota-centric projects it was intended to. Is it time to audit the program? In Fargo, there's a controversy over a housing development that got property tax breaks on the assumption that it would inc...

We covered a lot of ground on this episode of Plain Talk.  There's reason to believe that North Dakota's Wonder Fund may not be performing all that well, and may not be investing in the sort of North Dakota-centric projects it was intended to. Is it time to audit the program? In Fargo, there's a controversy over a housing development that got property tax breaks on the assumption that it would inc...

"I used to referee a lot of basketball," Vern Thompson said on this episode of Plain Talk. "The people that would sit on the sidelines hollering at the ref, you know, 50% of them usually didn't like what he was calling because it was against our team. Well, the bottom line with that is that I had to get off my butt and get into the game." That was Thompson's response to a question about why he's r...

"I used to referee a lot of basketball," Vern Thompson said on this episode of Plain Talk. "The people that would sit on the sidelines hollering at the ref, you know, 50% of them usually didn't like what he was calling because it was against our team. Well, the bottom line with that is that I had to get off my butt and get into the game." That was Thompson's response to a question about why he's r...

"I don't see a lot of upside in the market in 2026, frankly." That was the blunt assessment of Ron Ness, long-time president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. He wasn't calling for a panic on this episode of Plain Talk, but he is suggesting some realism. We invited Ness on to discuss the decision by North Dakota oil pioneer Harold Hamm to lay down his drilling rigs for the first time in decad...

"I don't see a lot of upside in the market in 2026, frankly." That was the blunt assessment of Ron Ness, long-time president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. He wasn't calling for a panic on this episode of Plain Talk, but he is suggesting some realism. We invited Ness on to discuss the decision by North Dakota oil pioneer Harold Hamm to lay down his drilling rigs for the first time in decad...

House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, who just announced that he is not running for re-election, says that his predecessor, Chet Pollert, told him that the job was something like "running an adult daycare." There are times when "you love the job and hate the job all within 9 seconds of each other." Still, Lefor says he tried to stay focused on policy. "Politics is noise and noise," he said on this epi...

House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, who just announced that he is not running for re-election, says that his predecessor, Chet Pollert, told him that the job was something like "running an adult daycare." There are times when "you love the job and hate the job all within 9 seconds of each other." Still, Lefor says he tried to stay focused on policy. "P olitics is noise and noise," he said on this ep...

President Donald Trump's administration has chosen to enforce federal immigration laws in a manner that prioritizes "maximum letahlity" over "tepid legality." That's what Dakota Rudesill, a professor of law at Ohio State University and a former legislative assistant on national security to Sen. Kent Conrad, said on this episode of Plain Talk. He said that President Trump is usince ICE in Minnesota...

President Donald Trump's administration has chosen to enforce federal immigration laws in a manner that prioritizes "maximum letahlity" over "tepid legality." That's what Dakota Rudesill, a professor of law at Ohio State University and a former legislative assistant on national security to Sen. Kent Conrad, said on this episode of Plain Talk. He said that President Trump is usince ICE in Minnesota...

If North Dakota's oil industry could be represented by a single personality, it would be Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm. So when Hamm says he's laying down his drilling rigs because low oil prices mean there's no margin in operating them, it got a lot of attention from the public. Oil tax revenues, both directly and indirectly, provide the lion's share of our state's funding. Is it time...

If North Dakota's oil industry could be represented by a single personality, it would be Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm. So when Hamm says he's laying down his drilling rigs because low oil prices mean there's no margin in operating them, it got a lot of attention from the public. Oil tax revenues, both directly and indirectly, provide the lion's share of our state's funding. Is it time...

In North Dakota, the 2026 election cycle isn't really going to be about whether our state is governed by Republicans or Democrats. It's going to be about which type of Republicans hold the majority. So far, the state's traditional Republicans have been successful in holding the line against a rising tide of populists invigorated by the Trump era, but the populists have managed to capture control o...

In North Dakota, the 2026 election cycle isn't really going to be about whether our state is governed by Republicans or Democrats. It's going to be about which type of Republicans hold the majority. So far, the state's traditional Republicans have been successful in holding the line against a rising tide of populists invigorated by the Trump era, but the populists have managed to capture control o...

Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak says that she doesn't agree with how Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has handled the situation around the shooting death of Renee Good, and ICE's overall activities in Minnesota. Within hours of Good's death, Noem called her a "terrorist, something Fedorchak says she doesn't agree with. North Dakota's congresswoman criticized the modern tendency to "respond...

Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak says that she doesn't agree with how Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has handled the situation around the shooting death of Renee Good, and ICE's overall activities in Minnesota. Within hours of Good's death, Noem called her a "terrorist, something Fedorchak says she doesn't agree with. North Dakota's congresswoman criticized the modern tendency to "respond...

On this episode of Plain Talk, me and co-host Chad Oban react to more tragedy in Minneapolis, with the killing of Renee Good. The facts of what happened are still being established, but what did we think was going to happen when federal agents are operating under an administration intent on enforcing federal law in the most aggressive, most provactive way possible? Also on this episode, Fargo mayo...

On this episode of Plain Talk, me and co-host Chad Oban react to more tragedy in Minneapolis, with the killing of Renee Good. The facts of what happened are still being established, but what did we think was going to happen when federal agents are operating under an administration intent on enforcing federal law in the most aggressive, most provactive way possible? Also on this episode, Fargo mayo...

"I just didn't get it prioritized to get out the door." That's what Attorney General Drew Wrigley said on this episode of Plain Talk when asked about the state's annual crime report, which is typically released over the summer, but this year wasn't made public until New Year's Eve. The delayed report comes amid an intense debate over crime in North Dakota. The most recent report, covering the year...

"I just didn't get it prioritized to get out the door." That's what Attorney General Drew Wrigley said on this episode of Plain Talk when asked about the state's annual crime report, which is typically released over the summer, but this year wasn't made public until New Year's Eve. The delayed report comes amid an intense debate over crime in North Dakota. The most recent report, covering the year...

The year 2025 is almost in the books. On this episode of Plain Talk, we took a look back at the last year, looking at some of the highlights (and lowlights, unfortunately) that made news. The legislature passed massive property tax reform. It's a "sea change" for what's long been a thorny issue, I argued, but can it be maintained? Lawmakers will have to continue funding the $1,600 credits for prim...

The year 2025 is almost in the books. On this episode of Plain Talk, we took a look back at the last year, looking at some of the highlights (and lowlights, unfortunately) that made news. The legislature passed massive property tax reform. It's a "sea change" for what's long been a thorny issue, I argued, but can it be maintained? Lawmakers will have to continue funding the $1,600 credits for prim...

Matt Perdue is the newly-elected president of the North Dakota Farmers Union. While he was campaigning among Farmers Union members for that office earlier this year, he said he spent a lot of time talking about health care. And not because he was asking about it. "I've spent the last few months traveling the state, visiting with folks in small towns across North Dakota, and I think it's really imp...