Port: This ‘conservative’ Legislature is on pace for a whopping 25% increase in spending
MINOT, N.D. — "We're facing a hell of a crisis if we're not careful," a state lawmaker texted me late...
Month: April 2023
Port: As this ignominious legislative session nears an end, the NDGOP charts a course for more of the same
MINOT, N.D. — I began the first draft of this column by arguing that this Legislature, currently in the closing...
Port: North Dakota’s public employee pension director needs to be fired
MINOT, N.D. — North Dakota's lawmakers have sent to Gov. Doug Burgum legislation that will close the state's defined-benefit pension for...
Port: Why would North Dakota taxpayers help subsidize a Minnesota law we’re also challenging in court?
MINOT, N.D. — When Minnesota's lawmakers passed a new ban on energy from carbon-producing sources, like coal, the North Dakota...
Port: North Dakota Republicans replace Democrat-backed abortion ban with something more moderate
MINOT, N.D. — Yes, I'm being specious with the headline, but it's on purpose. Yesterday Gov. Doug Burgum signed into law Senate...
Port: Lawmaker accuses attorney general of making inappropriate comments about an officer-involved shooting
MINOT, N.D. — A high-speed chase that ended in an officer-involved shooting in Bismarck is now at the center of a spat...
Port: Veterans group says they aren’t involved in charitable gaming, but is that true?
MINOT, N.D. — According to a regulatory complaint filed by Attorney General Drew Wrigley's office, an interconnected group of gaming companies used...
Port: This is not the way to make criminal justice policy
MINOT — In recent legislative cycles, North Dakota's leaders have made great strides toward a more enlightened approach to criminal...
Port: Gender transition surgery and medicine, which carry permanent side effects, can wait for adulthood
MINOT, N.D. — The way this Legislature in Bismarck has pursued an aggressive policy against the LGBTQ community, generally, and...
Port: From Bismarck to Washington, D.C., Trump-era Republicanism is about authoritarianism
MINOT, N.D. — Over lunch today, a Republican friend and I discussed the political realignment at work in America. Specifically,...
