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Apparently Congressman Kevin Cramer drew some attention to himself when he shouted "yes" in response to President Donald Trump mentioning the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines last night.

Video: North Dakota Rep. Kevin Cramer Got a Little Excited When President Trump Mentioned the Dakota Access Pipeline

President Donald Trump seems to have turned a lot of heads last night with his address to a joint session of Congress. This morning people both on the right and the left are congratulating him. There …

When I interviewed Governor Doug Burgum last week, as officials were working on evicting the last hold outs from the Oceti Sakowin camp, he said some 242 roll-off Dumpsters full of trash had been hauled out of the site. He added that there was still "unbelievable amounts of trash and garbage and human waste" in the camp. He wasn't kidding. The trash load count is now nearly 600, and there are still human waste pits which officials are working on dealing with.

Authorities Have Now Removed Nearly 600 Truck Loads of Garbage From #NoDAPL Camp

I interviewed North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum last week (audio) on the day law enforcement was working to remove the last of the anti-oil political extremists holding on at the Oceti Sakowin. At the time he …

#NoDAPL

Our friends on the left want us to believe that North Dakota's budget problems are born of too light a tax burden on the state's citizens and businesses. That's a talking point crafted to influence people with only a loose grasp of the realities of our state budget. The problem isn't the modest tax reforms passed by lawmakers in recent biennia. The problem is that those same lawmakers built massive budget increases on the back of fleeting oil boom revenues. The solution is a spending correction, not tax hikes.

Trying to Solve a Spending Problem With Tax Hikes Is a Fool’s Errand

Here's a simple truth about governance: Spending increases are easy. Spending cuts are really, really hard. North Dakota is currently learning that lesson. Per data put together by Legislative Council, our state's general fund spending increased …

You would think the activists would jump at the opportunity to testify, under oath, as to what really happened to Sophia Wilansky.

Why Won’t This #NoDAPL Activist Testify Before a Grand Jury Investigating Loss of Sophia Wilanskyk’s Arm?

As the Dakota Access Pipeline nears completion, and the #NoDAPL movement's activist lawyers engage in desperate final maneuvers to stop it, I've had a lot of you readers ask me for an update on the …

#NoDAPL

Please tell us more about your spiritual connection to the water activists, after the hundreds of dumpsters full of trash you left behind at the Oceti Sakowin camp.

#NoDAPL Lawyers Say Pipeline Would “Spiritually Degrade” Water

With Energy Transfer Partners saying they could have oil flowing through the Dakota Access Pipeline in March it seems unlikely that the #NoDAPL activists can stop it despite their most recent legal maneuvering. At a hearing …

#NoDAPL

Opponents of shared parenting say legislation under consideration in Bismarck is the same proposal as Measure 6 from the 2014 ballot which voters rejected overwhelmingly. I spoke with bill sponsor Rep. Tom Kading (R-Fargo) about his proposal yesterday, and he noted some distinct differences. He said Measure 6 was "problematic" and that his bill aims to address the criticisms of it.

Audio: Rep. Tom Kading Says His New Sharing Parenting Legislation Is Not Like Measure 6

In a recent letter to the editor attorney Jason McLean, a divorce lawyer and opponent to reforming our state's child custody laws, suggested that new shared parenting legislation under consideration in Bismarck is just like 2014's …

"This year, new administrators at key federal agencies, such as the Department of Health and Human Services, will provide immediate relief by lifting many of the most onerous Obamacare regulations," Rep. Kevin Cramer writes for SAB. "This will give state administrators more resources and greater flexibility to design the best programs, including a Medicaid safety net, for North Dakota’s most vulnerable."

Rep. Kevin Cramer: Healthcare Reform Must Encourage Innovation

Within the next few weeks, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, of which I am a member, will begin drafting the first legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare. Voters in November sent a clear message …

"Part of their scheme is to get congressmen not to show up," Congressman Kevin Cramer told me during our weekly radio segment, "then they can use that as a talking point" or a "YouTube moment." Cramer said he showed up and "exposed them for what they are," referring to the left wing Indivisible group which has been pushing Republicans to hold town halls across the nation.

Audio: Congressman Kevin Cramer Says Town Hall Was Organized as a “Scheme” to Get a “YouTube Moment”

On Thursday Congressman Kevin Cramer answered a call from a left wing group demanding a town hall event in Fargo. It got pretty ugly. On Friday Cramer appeared on my radio show for our weekly open phones …

It was performance art masquerading as civic involvement. A sort of kabuki theater organized by professional activists and staged for the cameras. It was no coincidence that the national media - specifically MSNBC's resident floating buffalo expert Cal Perry - just happened to be in the room. Underlining the fact this is a left wing put-on is the Fargo/Moorhead chapter of Indivisible targeting only Republicans in their demands for town halls. It's right on their website. They want Cramer and Senator John Hoeven to hold town halls, but make no mention of Senator Heidi Heitkamp who, like Hoeven, rarely makes herself directly accessible to the public.

Video: Left Wing Town Hall Activists Undermine Their Credibility by Screaming at Cramer and Exempting Heitkamp

The local iteration Indivisible - a national left wing group created Republican members of Congress in their states/districts - challenged North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer to a town hall. Not surprisingly, since Cramer has a sterling …

Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner and House Majority Leader Al Carlson provide an update on proceedings at the Legislature at crossover.

Majority Leaders Wardner and Carlson: Living Within Our Means and Balancing the Budget

This guest post was authored by Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner (R-Dickinson) and House Majority Leader Al Carlson (R-Fargo) We have reached the halfway point of the 65th legislative session, bills that have passed the House …

As I write this it seem as though the Oceti Sakowin camp has been mostly cleared out, but have the protesters really left the area? Not really. Governor Doug Burgum told me this afternoon that while they're always working to keep their data precise, it's safe to say as of now that "more moved than left." Where did they go? Other camps have been established on private land, but Burgum his understanding is that most have gone to the original Sacred Stone camp which is on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

Audio: Governor Doug Burgum Says More #NoDAPL Protesters Have Moved to Other Camps Than Left

I had North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum on my radio show today even as law enforcement in south central North Dakota work to remove #NoDAPL activists from the illegal Oceti Sakowin camp on U.S. Army …

#NoDAPL

The State of North Dakota isn't giving out bus tickets or hotel room vouchers to protesters any more after at least one room at the Comfort Inn in Bismarck was vandalized last night.

North Dakota’s Assistance Program for #NoDAPL Protesters Closed Down After Hotel Room Was Trashed

Earlier this week the State of North Dakota was operating an assistance program for #NoDAPL protesters willing to leave the area peacefully. Those participating received a bus ticket, a hotel room voucher, and supplies. But the …

#NoDAPL

Not to pile on with the veto thing, but not only is the prohibition the governor talking about vetoes unconstitutional as another SAB contributor rightly concluded today, but the actual restriction itself is not nearly so bard as it has been interpreted.

State Law Does Not Prohibit Doug Burgum From Threatening a Veto

One of the many peculiarities of the North Dakota legislative process is legal prohibition on the governor threatening to veto legislation. It's widely understood in political circles that the state constitution does not allow the …

Attorney Sean Foss argues that North Dakota's prohibition on governors threatening to veto legislation is unconstitutional and ought to be challenged by Burgum or his successors.

Sean Foss: Doug Burgum Should Exercise His Constitutional Right to Threaten a Veto

On February 22, 2017, The Forum published an article on the Legislature’s potential elimination of income-tax breaks for new businesses and residents in Renaissance Zones in cities across the state. As noted in the story, …

The protesters set an estimated 20 fires today, injuring two children, as officials worked to evacuate them. I'm told that law enforcement won't be entering the camps tonight where about 100 or so protesters are holding out. The cops say it's too muddy, and with temperatures expected to be well below freezing tonight, the ground will be easier to work on tonight.

Photos: #NoDAPL Protesters Set an Estimated 20 Fires, Injuring Two Children, as Officials Work to Evacuate Them

I just got off the phone with a law enforcement source who tells me there won't be any move to enter the main #NoDAPL protest camp tonight. Earlier today about 100 or so protesters exited the …

#NoDAPL

With Governor Burgum having recommended in his executive budget that BreatheND be dissolved, and with the House very likely to concur with the Senate on this legislation, I think North Dakotans have seen the last of the anti-tobacco agency. And good riddance.

Video: Senate Votes to Kill BreatheND

The North Dakota Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control is a state agency you know better, from their obnoxiously preachy and almost ubiquitous advertising, as BreatheND. The agency was created back in 2008 by a ballot …

Big changes to the medical marijuana measure passed easily in the state Senate today.

Video: With Strong Bipartisan Support, Senate Passes Changes to Medical Marijuana Measure

One of the most contentious topics in the North Dakota legislature so far has been the issue of medical marijuana. Much of that contention focused on what is and is not the will of the …

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