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Plain Talk

Nov 1, 2024

The legislative races in the Grand Forks area have gotten ugly. Incumbent state Sen. Scott Meyer, a Republican from District 18, sent his opponent threatening social media messages. Incumbent state Rep. Emily O'Brien from District 42 has been accused of not living in her district. Now Sarah Grossbauer, a...


Oct 30, 2024

We live in an age of misinformation. The internet is chock full of false narratives and egregious bunkum that can seem plausible to some if for no other reason than the sheer volume of it orr, perhaps, because it confirms certain biases and attitudes the audience already has.

Recently a website called the Gateway...


Oct 25, 2024

"Even the most extreme ends of our legislature vote the same way 60+ percent of the time," a Plain Talk listener and sitting state lawmaker texted me recently.

He was making a point about the way we talk about politics, where we emphasize our disagreements more than our agreements. "Difference in ideology is great. We...


Oct 23, 2024

Chad Oban and I have a lot of disagreements while hosting the Plain Talk podcast, which is what you'd expect. He's left-of-center; I'm right-of-center. Today, however, we were singing from the same choirbook.

Sen. Scott Meyer, a Republican running for re-election in Grand Forks-area District 18, who admitted to me that


Oct 18, 2024

The Legacy Fund was launched in 2010 when North Dakota voters approved a legislatively-initiated constitutional amendment to create it. Now, thanks to the share of oil tax revenues it receives, as well as the investment returns its generated, it sits with a balance of about $10.7 billion.

And it's become something of a...