Higher Ed Going All-Out To Save Appointment Of SBHE President
Last year Governor Jack Dalrymple appointed State Board of Higher Education President Kirsten Diederich to another term on the board. Since then, some lawmakers have been making noises about rejecting...
View ArticleJane Robbins: Common Core Proponents Mislead
Creators and proponents of the Common Core national K-12 standards have found themselves unexpectedly having to defend the standards against a nationwide firestorm of opposition. It wasn’t supposed to...
View ArticleDemocrats Want To Hurt North Dakota: “Good For Us” They Say Of Stopping Tax...
North Dakota Democrats have been marginalized in state government for decades now. They haven’t elected a Governor since 1988. They haven’t controlled the state House since 1983. They haven’t...
View Article64th Legislative Assembly- Week 2 Highlights
This is the first installment we are trying out on SAB this legislative session where we will highlight (at least in our opinion) the scheduled activities of the legislature (or occurring because of...
View ArticleVideo: Hoeven Opponent In Keystone Debate Deemed “Mostly False”
Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.comNorth Dakota Senator John Hoeven appeared on Fox News Sunday today opposite Democrat Senator Chris Coons. The two Senators were debating the efficacy of...
View ArticleRod St. Aubyn: Personal Principles Versus Representation, The Lawmaker’s Dilemma
More than once I have had to shake my head when reading some of the blog comments expressing disdain for their state legislators. For the most part, our state legislators are very honorable people....
View ArticleLegislative Resolution Calls For Study Of Local Budget Transparency
On Friday – before the resolution was even posted online for the public to view – SCR4001 got a hearing and a unanimous “do pass” recommendation from the Senate Political Subdivisions Committee. The...
View ArticleOne In Three Men At The University Of North Dakota Would Rape A Woman?
Here’s a shocking headline: 1 In 3 University Of North Dakota Men Surveyed Would Rape A Woman If They Could Get Away With It It’s based on a study conducted by UND researchers which you can read here....
View ArticleNorth Dakota Democrats Want Revenue Chaos For The Sake Of Partisan Advantage
Senator Lonnie Laffen (R-Grand Forks) submitted an op/ed to SAB and elsewhere taking aim at Democrats for opposing reform of the state’s oil taxes. Republicans sought to reform oil taxes to lower the...
View ArticleC.T. Marhula: Fully Fund State Pensions
There was an excellent article recently (writer, Helmut Schmidt) on problems and proposals regarding the teacher’s retirement fund. While many SAB readers may prefer a defined contribution plan; I...
View ArticleNo Pension Bailouts Without Pension Reforms
North Dakota’s Teachers Fund For Retirement (TFFR) is in trouble, but there’s an interesting political dynamic surrounding it. Republicans, who have been in charge of managing the investments of the...
View ArticleCase For Exempting Teacher Records From Open Records Doesn’t Pass The Smell Test
In an earlier post I wrote about SB2153 which, if passed, would close off records pertaining to teachers accused of crimes. North Dakota has had some high-profile criminal cases involving teachers in...
View ArticleUND President Offers Weak Argument Against Maintaining Nickname Moratorium
Today Rep. Scott Louser’s bill to continue the moratorium on a new nickname for the University of North Dakota was heard in committee. The bill is HB1155 and would extend the now-expired moratorium on...
View ArticleCheesed Off Heidi Heitkamp Is Definitely Running For Governor In 2016
I think we have our answer about whether or not Senator Heidi Heitkamp is running for Governor in 2016 as has been widely rumored. In an interview with her allies on the Fargo Forum editorial board,...
View ArticleJames Kerian: Religious Freedom Requires Small Government
There has been no shortage of commentary on the Charlie Hebdo massacre in France and one recurring theme for Americans has been a re-commitment to the principles expressed in the first amendment to our...
View ArticleBill Would Create State-Run Retirement Program For North Dakotans
Rep. George Keiser, a Republican from Bismarck, wants the State of North Dakota to run a retirement plan for its citizens. It would be called the Save for Retirement Today Plan, if HB1200 passes. Here...
View ArticleLaw Enforcement Should Prove That DUI Checkpoints Work
North Dakota’s legislature is considering HB1084 which, if passed, would make it illegal for law enforcement to “halt an operator of a vehicle solely to determine compliance” with traffic laws. I first...
View ArticleBills Filed For Industrial Commission Makeup, Student Loan Forgiveness,...
Bills are still being filed down at the legislature in Bismarck. I’ve been trying to highlight some of the legislation that has jumped out at me as interesting here on SAB. Here’s the latest list:...
View ArticleBette Grande: Time To Move On From The Endangered Species Act
Pictured above, President Richard Nixon signs the Endangered Species Act into law on December 28, 1973 The Keystone Pipeline continues to get the attention but there are other issues with a larger...
View ArticleMore Problems With UND Campus Rape Junk Science Emerge
Yesterday I wrote about University of North Dakota researcher Sarah Edwards claiming that her tiny sample of students from an anonymous campus is representative of any college campus anywhere in...
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