Podcast: Lawyer Says DOT Is Ignoring Law on Issuing Temporary Driving Permits to People in Sobriety Program

On the radio show today Fargo defense attorney Charles Sheeley joined me to discuss a situation with the Department of Transportation which runs contrary to what Governor Doug Burgum’s administration has been saying about addiction and recovery.

Currently the DOT is denying some participants in the state’s 24/7 sobriety program a temporary driver’s license despite what Sheeley says is law saying the department “shall issue” licenses to those people. According to Sheeley, the inability to get a license is a major hardship for people trying to recover and get their lives back on track.

The 24/7 sobriety program is for egregious DUI offenders. It requires them to travel to their local sheriff’s department twice a day to take a breathalyzer to ensure they are sober. During our segment a woman named Alexa who said she is participating in that program called in. She said not having a license means she has to take a taxi to her local sheriff’s department twice a day, something which costs her $60 for each round trip. “The financial impact is very difficult.”

Sheeley said Governor Burgum’s office has been contacted about the problem, but his administration is standing behind the DOT’s decision not to issue the licenses. This despite the fact that these offenders are being closely monitored for sobriety.

Eugene Graner from Heartland Investor Services was also on the show. He said the concerns expressed in political messaging from Democrats about China not buying American soy beans is overblown. “China does not buy a neat amount of beans every month of the year,” he told me. “Most years they’re done buying beans by March,” he added.

His advice to the agriculture industry is to “just farm the markets as you always do.”

“Soy beans are at the highest price for new crops in the calendar year,” he said.

Here’s the full audio of today’s show. If you’d like the audio delivered to your devices daily, subscribe to the podcast.

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