Category: Law, Government, Politics

I just read on The Forum’s website that Governor Doug Burgum is taking free tickets to the Super Bowl. “Burgum and first lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum will be attending the game at the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis as guests of Xcel Energy, which leases a suite at the venue, Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki said.” "’So … Continue reading Should a Governor Take Free Super Bowl Tickets?

A LESSON IN HOW RESPONSIBLE PUBLIC OFFICIALS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE The last major threat to the visual integrity of Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP), at least that I can recall—though there have been many skirmishes with the oil industry—was in 1989, when the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) came really close to putting a … Continue reading Charlie Creek to Belfield – a History Lesson

  Last summer I wrote an article about a North Dakota Bad Lands rancher who built himself a big bridge across the Little Missouri State Scenic River on federal land without getting permission. I wrote then, last July, “The folks at the BLM office don’t seem to know anything about the bridge or the road … Continue reading What Will Happen to the Newest Bridge Across the Little Missouri State Scenic River?

The official comment period has passed on that sleazy company Meridian Energy’s request for an Air Pollution Permit for an oil refinery beside Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I’m guessing the State Health Department got an earful. Yesterday, on the last day of comments, my friend Sarah Vogel, our former State Agriculture Commissioner and one of … Continue reading Of Refineries and the Public Trust Doctrine

A pair of former Democratic-NPL State Senators challenged the North Dakota Health Department to demand a site review by the State’s Public Service Commission before issuing an air pollution permit allowing Meridian Energy Group to build a refinery three miles from Theodore Roosevelt National Park at a marathon public hearing by the Department Wednesday night. … Continue reading The Refinery Needs a Site Review

Hello from Lillian AND Jim. We sat down this week and wrote about one of the coolest things that has happened to us in a long time, and we’re posting it on both our blogs—Wild Dakota Woman and The Prairie Blog. We hope you enjoy reading this as much as we enjoyed writing it. On … Continue reading A State Champion Tree—In Our Yard!

An amendment co-authored by North Dakota Senator John Hoeven to the huge tax cut bill passed by Congress late last year, provides generous tax breaks to farmer-owned cooperatives and to farmers who sell grain to them. But it could create real problems for privately owned elevators. If it’s not fixed, somehow, there’s not a farmer … Continue reading Let’s Hear It for John Hoeven, the Co-Op Guy! Huh?

At the end of the meeting between Meridian Energy Group executives and the North Dakota Public Service Commission a couple weeks ago, Commission President Randy Christmann pretty much told William Prentice, Meridian CEO and the man who wants to build an oil refinery next to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, that the next time they meet … Continue reading We’ll See You in Court

It's Saturday of Christmas weekend, and it feels like it's Christmas Eve. If it seems like Christmas falling on a Monday (and Christmas Eve on a Sunday) seems unusual, it's because it hasn't happened for a while.  Because of a quirk in the calendar (a few leap years) we've gone 11 years without a Monday Christmas, the last … Continue reading Merry Christmas, and Billy Peeble, One More Time

NDCC 49-22.1-02  "Statement of policy. The legislative assembly finds the construction of energy conversion facilities . . . affects the environment and the welfare of the citizens of this state. It is necessary to ensure the location, construction, and operation of energy conversion facilities . . . will produce minimal adverse effects on the environment and … Continue reading Some Questions for the Refinery People