Plain Talk With Rob Port

Rail shipments are hugely important to North Dakota's economy. Framers and ranchers depend on the railroad infrastructure to bring their crops and livestock to market. The state's manufacturers receive shipments of raw materials, and send out finished products, by rail. The energy industry, too, depends on rail. The fraught political debate over pipeline infrastructure has often squeezed the capacity available for North Dakota's oil fields. Rail is a flexible, if not optimal, way to get petroleum to market. Given this importance, shouldn't rail safety be paramount for North Dakota's leaders? After a few firey and explosive derailments of oil-by-rail shipments created a new narrative for anti-oil activists to pounce on, Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak, a Republican, sought funding from the Legislature to begin a state-run rail inspection program. The federal bureaucracy is typically in charge of that, but their coverage leaves much to be desired. State inspectors help them cover more rail. But some