609: Remembering Rep. Josh Christy on AI (REPLAY)
Plain Talk
Artificial intelligence continues to dominate conversations worldwide, sparking both optimism and deep concern. On this replay episode of Plain Talk, hosts Rob Port and Chad Oban revisit a compelling discussion with the late Rep. Josh Christy, an influential North Dakota lawmaker and expert in artificial intelligence who tragically passed away during the legislative session. Throughout the conversation, Christy emphasizes the critical balance between safeguarding communities and fostering economic growth through responsible AI adoption. His insights offer valuable perspectives that remain...
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608: 'That is a blatant falsehood’ (REPLAY)
Plain Talk
At the beginning of this episode of Plain Talk, Attorney General Drew Wrigley took exception to my recent reporting suggesting that he and Gov. Kelly Armstrong are at odds over sentencing legislation and the performance of state prison officials. Based on what would follow, I think the conflict between two of North Dakota's top elected officials is positively overt. According to Wrigley, the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, headed by director Colby Braun, is lying to state lawmakers and the public. He took particular issue with a recent fiscal note issued by the DOCR...
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607: How do we do politics in the classroom? (REPLAY)
Plain Talk
We all know the old saying. You don't talk about religion and politics in polite company. Only, does that advice make sense in a society like ours, where we practice self-governance? How can we govern ourselves if we can't talk to one another about politics? And, more pertinent to this episode of Plain Talk, how do we teach our kids how to participate in discourse over challenging issues like abortion or gun control if teachers are afraid to tackle politics in the classroom? Lindsey Galvao is a long-time educator -- the social studies curriculum specialist at GBH and a multiplatform...
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606: ‘We can disagree and still respect each other’
Plain Talk
Recorded live at the North Dakota Professional Communicators conference in Minot, this special episode features Rob and Chad in front of a live audience talking media bias, political polarization, and the value of honest disagreement. They share lessons learned from tough interviews and respond to audience questions about journalism, trust, and what could be done to make North Dakota’s legislature more effective. If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It’s super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you’re from, and we...
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605: ‘It just doesn’t work for me’
Plain Talk
On this episode of Plain Talk, co-host Chad Oban takes the reins with guest co-host and former State Senator Jessica Bell for a conversation with Matt Perdue, Government Relations Director at North Dakota Farmers Union. Perdue, who's running to become the next president of NDFU, emphasizes the uncertainty facing many producers amid economic headwinds, fluctuating commodity prices, and ongoing concerns about federal farm policy and trade conflicts. He also shares how farmers are working through complicated relationships with energy developers, the challenges of rising land prices and absentee...
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604: 'Our partners in the Republican Party'
Plain Talk
On this episode of Plain Talk, Sen. Josh Boschee, a Democrat from Fargo, characterized the just-completed legislative session as marked by crucial victories but also "too many missed opportunities" and numerous "close calls on bad Republican bills." He emphasized how Republicans and Democrats worked together to achieve both. Among the victories? Passing Gov. Kelly Armstrong's property tax plan, which implements $1,600 primary residence property tax credits and 3% caps on growth in property tax bills. Noting his day job in real estate, Boschee extolled "how much this is going to help make...
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603: 'Nobody in the nation is doing what North Dakota is doing'
Plain Talk
Though his instance on a "skin in the game" provision in property tax reform -- effectively a cap on how much of the primary residence credit property owners could receive -- was one of the major flash points during this year's legislative session, Senate Majority Leader David Hogue says he's satisfied with the outcome overall. More than that, really. He was downright enthusiastic on this episode of Plain Talk. "Nobody, whether you measured it on a per capita basis, whether you measure it on a percentage of your surplus that you gave back to the taxpayer, nobody in the nation is doing what...
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602: 'We are horrible at telling our success stories'
Plain Talk
Nick Archuleta and North Dakota United, the state's combined teacher and public workers union, are touting a report showing that our state is sliding down the rankings in terms of teacher pay. down significantly from roughly a decade ago. But Archuleta admitted during an interview on Plain Talk that educators could be doing a better job of giving the taxpayers some context around the pay issue. "We are horrible at telling our success stories," he said. "We have to do a better job," he added, rattling off some examples of the stories that could be told. "Eighth graders are second in the nation...
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601: 'We found out about it in the newspaper'
Plain Talk
"The Minot State one took us by surprise," U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak told us on this episode of Plain Talk, referring to the cuts of at the North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities. One of those workers, Kyle Erickson, who lives with cerebral palsy and not only works for the center but received services from it as a child, "We found out about it in the newspaper, and we've been trying to get to the bottom of it, and I'm not sure that we have yet," Fedorchak said, expressing some mild frustration with how President Donald Trump's administration has been going about these cuts. "I do...
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600: 'We're going to have problems with the caps'
Plain Talk
During the closing hours of the legislative session, lawmakers came to a consensus around a property tax plan endorsed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong which provides $1,600 credits for the primary residences of North Dakotans and a 3% cap on the growth in overall property tax bills. Rep. Scott Louser voted for that plan, and encouraged his colleagues to vote for it, but in a surprise move, that he had drafted language for a ballot measure campaign for his own property tax plan which had been amended into oblivion earlier in the session. "I wanted everybody to vote for property tax relief," he said of...
info_outlinePresident Donald Trump's announced tariffs against Canada and Mexico and their retaliatory measures have significant economic risks, particularly for places like North Dakota, where so much of our economy is tied up in international markets. But perhaps even more damaging is the uncertainty Trump's mercurial approach to this policy area engenders.
One of the first questions we asked North Dakota Farmers Union President Mark Watne on this episode of Plain Talk was whether we know what exactly our tariffs policy is toward Canada and Mexico right now given that Trump has pulled back on the tariffs he announced less than a week before.
"We really don't," Watne said. "It's been kind of hit and miss on trying to understand it and of course that's a symptom of a bigger problem."
"North Dakota is impacted the hardest of all states because we export so much," Watne added, "and the retaliation is the problem."
Trump's approach to tariffs can close off foreign markets to American goods, including crops, and that can have major economic implications. "If you're going to hold the US supplies in the US because you're killing your foreign markets, we're going to be in a depressed marketplace for a long period of time," Watne said.
He also warned that it's not just farmers who are going to feel the pain from tariffs. "Now, from a consumer perspective, you would assume, well, commodity prices are lower then of course food's lower, but that's not true," he said. "We've effectively gotten so much concentration in our place of food production from beef slaughter to pork slaughter to many grocery chains that control the distribution system that the reflection on commodity prices in what you pay is irrelevant."
"It doesn't matter if the price of wheat goes up or down, other than when it goes up [food prices] go up. When it goes back down, they don't bring the price down again."
Also on this episode, Chad Oban and react to some listener feedback, and make some predictions for the second half of the legislative session which kicked off this week.
This episode is presented by Dakota Resource Council. For nearly 50 years, DRC has worked across North Dakota to protect our land, water and future. Become a member, volunteer and take action, or donate today at www.DRCinfo.org.
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