Plain Talk With Rob Port

"I have to own the miscue," Governor Doug Burgum said on this episode of Plain Talk. He was referring to a quarantine order issued by his administration earlier this week which carried with it a misdemeanor criminal charge for anyone who violated it. The order applied to people who came into close contact with someone positive for COVID-19. Burgum said interim State Health Officer Dr. Paul Mariani noticed, upon taking his new position, that in the area of quarantines North Dakota wasn't in compliance with CDC guidelines. "He wanted to align those two things," Burgum said. The result was the now-rescinded order, which included the misdemeanor charge because state law requires that to be the penalty for disobeying orders from the SHO. "We know the government telling people what to do in North Dakota doesn't work," Burgum said, adding that his administration's goal is "compliance" and not punishing people. "It didn't flag for me personally...that we were going to have the storm of reaction we did," Burgum said.

Jodi Meisch and Will Thompson are two Democrats in North Dakota's 22nd legislative district. They are hoping to unseat to Republican incumbents, Rep. Brandy Pyle and Rep. Michael Howe. On this episode of Plain Talk, they talk about the issues that are important to them, both big and small. We also delve into the complicated policy problems presented by property taxes and local control, as well as the difficulties inherent to campaigning as a Democrat in a state, and legislative district, that has come to view that political party suspiciously.

Democratic-NPL gubernatorial candidate Shelley Lenz takes questions and talks about her campaign. Also state Rep. Scott Louser (R-Minot) makes the pitch for Measure 2.

Rob and Jay talk about some recent fire at a Minot City Council meeting, and controversy over a Native American statue in Carrington.

Rob and Jay talk about a report connecting some 250,000 cases of coronavirus to the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota.

North Dakota has come "dangerously close" to not having the power it needs. That's what Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette said on this episode of Plain Talk. He said that political policies favoring energy sources like wind and solar are "distorting the economic viability" of baseload energy like coal. Secretary Brouillette said he wasn't going to criticize a company like Great River Energy, which announced earlier this year that they would be closing down North Dakota's largest coal-fired power plant because they're reacting rationally to a distorted market place. Still, with baseload energy sources like coal plants shutting down, it's putting Americans, generally, and North Dakotans, specifically, at risk. "If anyone misses the point of why baseload energy is important...look at California," Brouillette said. The Secretary is visiting North Dakota to review the nuclear missions at the Minot Air Force Base and to participate in roundtable discussions about the challenges facing the oil, gas, and coal indus

Jay and Rob talk about the North Dakota Supreme Court kicking Measure 3 off the ballot.

On this episode of Plain Talk Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control in Georgia, talks about the COVID-19 impact and how America, generally, and North Dakota, specifically, is handling it. One point Redfield made is that elected officials need to avoid making sweeping policies, instead tailoring responses to the needs of specific  areas. "We need to be more surgical," Redfield said, echoing something Governor Doug Burgum has been saying about responding to the pandemic "using a scalpel not a sledgehammer." Asked how North Dakota is doing in its handling of the outbreak, Redfield offered a risk assessment. He said the CDC considers a state in the "red zone" if it has more than 100 active cases per 100,000 citizens. "North Dakota has about 151 per 100,000," he said, though he added that another measure his agency looks at is the percentage of tests being conducted that are coming back positive. A 10 percent rate puts a state in the red zone, per the CDC. Redfield noted that North

Jay and Rob talk about the Trump vs. Biden race, and the group calling itself North Dakota Voters First which is pushing Measure 3.

Incumbent Congressman Kelly Armstrong, a Republican, debates Democratic challenger Zach Raknerud on issues ranging from marijuana to criminal justice reform to energy development and the postal service.

Rob and Jay talk about the election and mail-in voting.

Rob and Jay talk about North Dakota's cap on state liability, President Donald Trump's attempted suspension of payroll taxes, and coronavirus news.

Rob and Jay talk  about re-opening schools during the pandemic.

Rob and Jay talk about the coronavirus and masks.

Rob and Jay talk about coronavirus, mask mandates, and employee bonuses for the state of North Dakota.

In a recent tweet, President Donald Trump criticized a portion of wall built along the American southern border by a private group of his supporters. "I disagreed with doing this very small (tiny) section of the wall, in a tricky area, by a private group which raised money by ads," Trump wrote, responding to media reports claiming this section of the wall is facing problems from erosion. "It was only done to make me look bad, and perhaps it now doesn't even work. Should have been built like the rest of the Wall, 500 plus miles." This portion of the wall was built by Fisher Industries, a North Dakota company that has also received contracts from the federal government to build hundreds of miles of southern border wall. "I don't know what got into the president," Senator Kevin Cramer said when asked about the situation on this episode of Plain Talk. "It's only mildly interesting to me, to be honest," Cramer added, noting that he hasn't spoken to the President or any White House staff about the situation. He d

Rob and Jay talk about re-opening North Dakota's schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Rob and Jay talk about mobs tearing down statues across the United States.

"He liked watching him on the shows." That's what Senator Kevin Cramer said on this episode of Plain Talk, responding to a question about why President Donald Trump would have hired John Bolton in the first place. Bolton is currently peddling some salacious stories about his tenure in the Trump administration, and that has earned him quite a bit of condemnation from Republicans, up to and including the President himself. But Bolton is hardly the first member of the Trump administration to depart under stormy circumstances, and while the President doesn't have anything nice to say about them, the fact remains that he hired them in the first place. Per Cramer, Bolton apparently got his job because he had a "bareknuckle" style during his cable news appearances. Cramer also addressed the NDGOP's Treasurer race, which saw state Rep. Thomas Beadle emerge as the winner over the Senator's preferred candidate Dan Johnston. Cramer helped orchestrate an endorsement for Johnston from Trump, but that wasn't enough to put

Does North Dakota need a special session? House Minority Leader Josh Boschee, a Democratic lawmaker from Fargo, thinks so. He is one of a group of Democratic lawmakers who are requesting a special session to address the impacts of the coronavirus. One major issue Boschee would like handed is some $1.25 billion in federal funding North Dakota is receiving to help address the COVID-19 situation. As it stands now, the executive branch will decide how that money is spent, specifically, and the Legislature's Budget Section Committee will say "yea" or "nay" to the decision. That committee can't do anything more than that. If they do, it would be unconstitutional, since a mere committee of the Legislature cannot, on its own, legislate. Also, membership on that committee is limited. Many parts of the state have no representation on it. Boschee thinks the whole Legislature should get to weigh in on the issue, as well as other problems facing the state, such as looming budget shortfalls and public health policy.