Category: Uncategorized

Let me tell you who really appreciated it when the Bakken Boom went bust—at least temporarily—in 2020. The critters. Whether it’s sharptails nesting, bighorn sheep lambing, mule deer fawning, elk calving, or foxes denning, they all appreciate being left alone at critical times of the year. The clanging of pipe on the drilling rigs, the … Continue reading The Critters Are Benefiting From The Oil Patch Slowdown

Earlier this week the North Dakota Supreme Court asked Fargo judge Frank Racek to hold an Evidentiary Hearing to help them determine whether North Dakota Rep. Terry B. Jones is a legal resident of North Dakota and can have his name remain on the District 4 ballot for re-election in November, after North Dakota Democrats … Continue reading Well, Then, Welcome To North Dakota, Mr. Jones

The strange case of Wyoming’s delegate to the North Dakota Legislature has the North Dakota court system moving at the speed of light, something we’re not used to seeing.             I wrote last week about Terry B. Jones, the fellow who carries the title State Representative from District 4 in the North Dakota Legislature, but … Continue reading Look At Those Supreme Court Justices Go!

I wrote here the other day about this fellow Terry B. Jones, a North Dakota Legislator who says he's from New Town, ND, but actually lives in Wyoming. He's been serving as Wyoming's Representative to the North Dakota Legislature since 2017. As I was finishing up that story, the North Dakota Democrats were figuring out … Continue reading Keeping up with the Joneses

Score one for the Little Missouri State Scenic River. When U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the recipients of a billion dollars worth of discretionary grants for infrastructure projects all over the United States this morning, including one in North Dakota, a $12.3 million grant to build a new bridge over the Little Missouri wasn’t … Continue reading US DOT to Billings County: Go Find Money For Your Bridge Somewhere Else

The North Dakota Supreme Court might get one more chance to knock a candidate off the November General Election ballot. But don’t bet on them doing it. Because the candidate in question is a Republican this time, and the North Dakota Supreme Court likes Republicans.    Let me introduce you to the strange case of … Continue reading Knock A Republican Candidate Off the Ballot? Not Likely.

Three times in less than a month, the North Dakota Republican Party has flexed its muscles and gone to the North Dakota Supreme Court and asked the state’s top five judges to keep something off the November 2020 General Election ballot. Three times they have succeeded. The result is that: A.  A measure to bring … Continue reading The North Dakota Supreme Court: Dancing With Those That Brung You

Labor Day. Ah, September. The “Dog Days of August” are behind us. Except that, this year, the dogs never showed up. August used to be the month the politicians took time off to take the kids (and the dog) to the lake, while preparing for a campaign to begin after Labor Day. Not this year. … Continue reading Who’s REALLY At Fault For The Failures Of Measure 3?

So we won’t be voting on Measure 3 in November. Because there is no Measure 3. The North Dakota Supreme Court says so. And they, not Al Jaeger, get the final say. I’m actually a little disappointed. I told a few friends last week I was going to hold my nose and vote for it, … Continue reading Election Reform

My friend Bill Bowman died. I’m sad about that. Bill and I both grew up in southwest North Dakota, he on a ranch north of Rhame, and I down the road on Highway 12 in Hettinger. Our paths first crossed in the 1960s, at Dickinson State College, and they crossed many times more in the … Continue reading “I’ve Lived My Life.”