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Rob Port

Columnist

Rob Port was a pioneer in political blogging in North Dakota, founding SayAnythingBlog.com in 2003. Before beginning his writing career, he spent 10 years working as a private investigator specializing in insurance fraud, accessing public records, and criminal defense.

He publishes digital and print columns covering North Dakota government and politics, and also hosts the Plain Talk podcast.

It's a mistake for politicians like Rep. Julie Fedorchak to eschew in-person town halls, but given the behavior at some of these events, it's a defensible decision, and that's a shame.
The evolution of conservative parenting during the MAGA era has been depressing to watch.
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It may not feel like it, given that lawmakers just passed a new book ban, but that legislation is likely to get a veto, and lawmakers have shown a growing disdain for culture war initiatives overall.
Nobody could criticize Rep. Lori VanWinkle for taking a vacation during the busiest time of the legislative session if she hadn't chosen to go on vacation.
Lawmakers gripe that complaints take too long to resolve and that they’re restricted from speaking publicly about them. If those are problems, why don’t they fix them?
Senate Majority Leader David Hogue is apparently afraid of giving North Dakota homeowners too much property tax relief. Has he not been paying attention?
On this Plain Talk we talked parental rights, bathrooms and the fight over ethics commission reform and the potential for weaponization.
Trump’s deportation campaign has come home to North Dakota, and not one of us should like the looks of it.
Sen. Keith Boehm has spent this legislative session accusing librarians and educators of being pornographers and proposing prosecutors as censors. He hasn't bothered to talk with any of those people.
An ordinarily routine vote to excuse absent members was forced to a verification vote after pushback during a voice vote.