That headline is a reprisal of the one I wrote in this space eight years ago, when Doug Burgum dashed the hopes of Wayne Stenehjem ever becoming Governor of North Daktoa, by beating him the June 2016 Primary. As I wrote then, I didn't see that one coming. Okay, so much for my Predictability Quotient. … Continue reading What The Hell Just Happened?
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It’s Election Day! It’s Over! Celebrate! Have A Beer!
Here's a slightly updated re-run of a column I first posted on this site ten years ago, on November 4, 2014. It came to mind because of a question I got this week from my friend, Colleen Stebbins down in Bowman, North Dakota, about the bars being closed in North Dakota on Election Day. Some … Continue reading It’s Election Day! It’s Over! Celebrate! Have A Beer!
A Little Election Weekend Reading
There’s a list at the North Dakota Secretary of State’s Office, and if you live in North Dakota, you’re on it. You and about half a million of your neighbors. It's a big list. Probably the biggest list in the state. How do I know you're on it? Because every North Dakotan who regularly reads … Continue reading A Little Election Weekend Reading
Election Chaos
(Note: This article first appeared in the October issue of HIgh Plains Reader, and on their website.) As a political columnist, I know I should be writing an election preview for the issue of this paper that comes out just a couple weeks before what is being labeled, once again, as “the most important election … Continue reading Election Chaos
Miracle Rain
The headlines in the papers are using the word “historic” to describe the fires burning in western North Dakota right now, and over the past few days. Well, let me tell you a story about a historic fire from a few years back. Almost 50 years, in fact. It’s a story worth telling. And retelling. … Continue reading Miracle Rain
Another One Of The Best Days Of My Life
“How’s your day goin’?” the young woman tending the cash register in the Linton convenience store yesterday afternoon asked me as I laid my ice cream bar on the counter and reached for my wallet. “I need some ice cream,” I replied, handing her some cash. “That wasn’t what I asked you,” she said, somewhat … Continue reading Another One Of The Best Days Of My Life
“Persistence Alone Is Omnipotent”
Sometime in the distant past, when David Strauss and I were managing the campaigns of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, I received a note from David with those words. They struck home. I went looking for their source. I found the actual quote, ironically, from President Calvin Coolidge, who said this: “Nothing in this world … Continue reading “Persistence Alone Is Omnipotent”
A Lawyer In The Governor’s Office? Maybe.
"The first thing we do is, let’s kill all the lawyers.” You might recall that memorable line, uttered by Dick the Butcher, from perhaps the least memorable of Shakespeare’s plays, Henry VI. I’ve been thinking about it because I’ve been thinking about lawyers. And Governors. It’s been 40 years since North Dakota had a lawyer in … Continue reading A Lawyer In The Governor’s Office? Maybe.
When An Asset Becomes A Liability
Thank God for the Summer Olympics. I’ve been mostly laid up for a few weeks with a recurrence of the strange leg infection that kept me in the hospital much of the summer two years ago. I rode it out at home this year and was entertained in my recliner by watching the world’s best … Continue reading When An Asset Becomes A Liability
Sour Grapes, North Dakota Nice, and Minnesota Lakes
I really hate to be critical of my Governor. But c’mon, Doug, give us a break! Start acting like a Governor. (More about the lakes in a minute.) The quotes from Burgum in Friday’s Forum Communications Company papers were as unbecoming of a Governor as anything I’ve ever read. Well, maybe I could drag out … Continue reading Sour Grapes, North Dakota Nice, and Minnesota Lakes
The Prairie Blog 