666: The year that was, and the year that will be (Video)
Plain Talk
The year 2025 is almost in the books. On this episode of Plain Talk, we took a look back at the last year, looking at some of the highlights (and lowlights, unfortunately) that made news. The legislature passed massive property tax reform. It's a "sea change" for what's long been a thorny issue, I argued, but can it be maintained? Lawmakers will have to continue funding the $1,600 credits for primary residences while simultaneously holding the line on attempts to water down the 3% cap on local spending. Also, shamelessness was a theme in state (as well as national) politics. Elected officials...
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666: The year that was, and the year that will be
Plain Talk
The year 2025 is almost in the books. On this episode of Plain Talk, we took a look back at the last year, looking at some of the highlights (and lowlights, unfortunately) that made news. The legislature passed massive property tax reform. It's a "sea change" for what's long been a thorny issue, I argued, but can it be maintained? Lawmakers will have to continue funding the $1,600 credits for primary residences while simultaneously holding the line on attempts to water down the 3% cap on local spending. Also, shamelessness was a theme in state (as well as national) politics. Elected officials...
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665: 'I hate that we're relying on emergency ad hoc payments again' (Video)
Plain Talk
Matt Perdue is the newly-elected president of the North Dakota Farmers Union. While he was campaigning among Farmers Union members for that office earlier this year, he said he spent a lot of time talking about health care. And not because he was asking about it. "I've spent the last few months traveling the state, visiting with folks in small towns across North Dakota, and I think it's really important to make the point that I have not asked them to talk about healthcare, he said on this episode of Plain Talk. "They have asked me to talk about healthcare. It's a top-of-mind issue for farmers...
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665: 'I hate that we're relying on emergency ad hoc payments again'
Plain Talk
Matt Perdue is the newly-elected president of the North Dakota Farmers Union. While he was campaigning among Farmers Union members for that office earlier this year, he said he spent a lot of time talking about health care. And not because he was asking about it. "I've spent the last few months traveling the state, visiting with folks in small towns across North Dakota, and I think it's really important to make the point that I have not asked them to talk about healthcare, he said on this episode of Plain Talk. "They have asked me to talk about healthcare. It's a top-of-mind issue for farmers...
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664: 'We've just got too many programs' (Audio)
Plain Talk
North Dakota has made large strides towards using investments of public funds not just as a way to generate revenue for the for the state but also, by making those investments in North Dakota companies, to benefit the state's economy. But these investments are happening in a lot of different ways, and when some investments made through some programs go bad, and make negative headlines, they can sour the public's view of this sort of public investing. One complicating factor in this is that the state has dozens and dozens of economic development programs, overseen by a patchwork of boards and...
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664: 'We've just got too many programs' (Video)
Plain Talk
North Dakota has made large strides towards using investments of public funds not just as a way to generate revenue for the for the state but also, by making those investments in North Dakota companies, to benefit the state's economy. But these investments are happening in a lot of different ways, and when some investments made through some programs go bad, and make negative headlines, they can sour the public's view of this sort of public investing. One complicating factor in this is that the state has dozens and dozens of economic development programs, overseen by a patchwork of boards and...
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663: 'Where is our home if America is not our home?' (Video)
Plain Talk
Hamida Dakane says she was "disappointed" but "not surprised" by President Donald Trump's comments insulting Somalians and calling on them to leave the country. But it hurt. "You know, this comment, it hits deeply on personal level, and what makes it worse is it's coming from the president of the free world," she said. "It's not just offensive. It is dehumanizing. It shakes your sense of belonging. Even if you lived here 5 days or decades, you call America or Minnesota or North Dakota home, and then the people who represent you demonize you to the point that they call you garbage. It's...
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663: 'Where is our home if America is not our home?' (Audio)
Plain Talk
Hamida Dakane says she was "disappointed" but "not surprised" by President Donald Trump's comments insulting Somalians and calling on them to leave the country. But it hurt. "You know, this comment, it hits deeply on personal level, and what makes it worse is it's coming from the president of the free world," she said. "It's not just offensive. It is dehumanizing. It shakes your sense of belonging. Even if you lived here 5 days or decades, you call America or Minnesota or North Dakota home, and then the people who represent you demonize you to the point that they call you garbage. It's...
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662: 'I want to be the governor for everybody' (Video)
Plain Talk
"I think sometimes we forget that every community in the country has a whole bunch of people that wake up every morning, and the baseball bat that is called life cracks them across the head," Gov. Kelly Armstrong said on this episode of Plain Talk. "They're the people serving food in a diner, working behind a gas station counter. Sometimes they're sitting in your office right now, anywhere you're at. And if you don't recognize that, then you're not really the governor for everybody. And I want to be the governor for everybody." Armstrong was responding to a question about his administration's...
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662: 'I want to be the governor for everybody' (Audio)
Plain Talk
"I think sometimes we forget that every community in the country has a whole bunch of people that wake up every morning, and the baseball bat that is called life cracks them across the head," Gov. Kelly Armstrong said on this episode of Plain Talk. "They're the people serving food in a diner, working behind a gas station counter. Sometimes they're sitting in your office right now, anywhere you're at. And if you don't recognize that, then you're not really the governor for everybody. And I want to be the governor for everybody." Armstrong was responding to a question about his administration's...
info_outlineNorth Dakotans like to get a lot of work out of their public servants. Perhaps, in particularly, those working in the judiciary.
The "judicial system has somewhere between 160,000 and 180,000 cases each year," Chief Justice Jon Jensen said on this episode of Plain Talk. Given that the state only has "55 district court judges," this creates "a pretty large case load that each one of our district court judges has to manage each year."
Those judges also have to cover a lot of legal territory given that they're of general jurisdiction. "We don't have a criminal court judge, a civil court judge, a family court judge, or a juvenile court judge. Every one of our judges has to do every one of those things," Jensen said. "If you can imagine judges get up in the morning, they may have family law cases in the morning, criminal cases in the afternoon. It's a lot to ask from them at the district court level."
Yet, despite this work load, Jensen pointed out that North Dakota judges operate at a high level. "We have docket currency rates that are at the top of the United States," he said, also noting that out of the 160,000 to 180,000 cases that are heard each year, the state only sees about "300 appeals per year."
Jensen announced recently that, though he's committed to finishing the current 10-year term he was elected to on the North Dakota Supreme Court, which ends in 2030, he's stepping down as chief justice. But in doing so, he's reflecting on his accomplishments in that position, which includes increasing the pay for judges, as well as taking steps to lighten burdens. He called the state legislature "a very good partner" in raising pay, increasing staffing, and creating new judgeships.
"We have some challenges coming up," Jensen was quick to add, which includes a reopening of online access to court records, something the court attempted years ago but shut down quickly after it became clear that lawyers and court officials weren't doing a good enough job redacting private information from the files.
Also on this episode, guest co-host Pat Finken and I discussed the possible end of the government shutdown, the looming fight over what the government can do to address health care costs, and the legal challenge to North Dakota's corrupt practices law for politicians.
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