"This is just really a once in a generation moment and a great time to celebrate," Melissa Klocke-Joyce said on this episode of Plain Talk.

Klocke-Joyce works for the North Dakota State Historical Society, and is the coordinator for our state's celebration of America's 250th birthday. There will be events across the state, throughout the year, from smaller things like baseball games to large productions, like the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora and the Prairie Pyro-Musical in Mandan.

"It's not just a single a single day or a single ceremony," Klocke-Joyce said. "This is really a year-long nationwide effort. And we're trying to create opportunities for ongoing conversations and storytelling and education and community-led events."

Also on this episode, we discuss political troll Brandon Prichard's lawsuit challenging North Dakota laws prohibiting false political speech. With artificial intelligence enabling the mass-production of everything from text, to images, to video, by everyone from talented and scrupulous creators to unscrupulous fraudsters and malefactors, this area of public policy seems more important than ever.

And North Dakota State University's football team is moving to the Mountain West Conference. It's a big step up for the team, but it brings with it major new financial obligations. Is the school up for meeting them? Can it do so without further burdening students and taxpayers? And are we sure that big-time athletics is a healthy thing for campuses overall?

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Heather Neville is a travelling nurse with more than four decades of experience. She's a four-time cancer survivor. She's an accomplished runner, having put in over 17,000 miles running in all 50 states to raise awareness and money for various causes.

She's also, now, a candidate for the United States House of Representatives here in North Dakota, which she's made her home since 2020.

"I just really my whole life I've wanted to serve in a different capacity and go marching for the people," she said on this episode of Plain Talk when asked why she's in the race.

"What I saw out there running 17,000 miles, there's so much more love than we ever expected. And it's out there, happiness, hope, inspiration, and it's our duty and privilege to reach back and help anybody that's underserved," she added.

Neville says she's in favor of a universal health care system, not unlike Canada's. "When we have cancer in this country, what do we do? Set up a GoFundMe," she said. "In Canada, you go to the doctors."

She's also critical of the way President Donald Trump's administration has gone about enforcing federal immigration laws. "I think they should rewind and vet these people that are agents, ICE agents, out there terrorizing our citizens. And they didn't," she said. "It was like a fast track to dress up and get out there and be very mean and angry towards people."

Neville said that if she doesn't win the Democratic-NPL's endorsement at the party's state convention in early March, she'll continue campaigning to the June primary.

Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the debate over nationalizing elections, and we respond to listener feedback.

If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below.

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We covered a lot of ground on this episode of Plain Talk.

There's reason to believe that North Dakota's Wonder Fund may not be performing all that well, and may not be investing in the sort of North Dakota-centric projects it was intended to. Is it time to audit the program?

In Fargo, there's a controversy over a housing development that got property tax breaks on the assumption that it would increase property value, and thus tax revenues, in the future. But then the property was sold to a nonprofit that won't pay property taxes. Is it time to re-evaluate our policies around these exemptions?

The Trump administration is drawing down the number of ICE personnel deployed to Minnesota, though they are leaving thousands t here. But doesn't that development -- drawing down troops, leaving an occupying force behind -- make it seem like we're at war? Hasn't the way the Trump administration has handled this all along make it seem like we're at war?

Also, the Attorney General's office has confirmed that the F5 Project is under an active investigation related to loans granted to the organization's top officials, the Trump administration wants to nationalize elections and take control away from the states, and the Hostfest, an important bridge in our region to our immigrant past, is no more.

If you want to participate in Plain Talk, just give us a call or text at 701-587-3141. It's super easy — leave your message, tell us your name and where you're from, and we might feature it on an upcoming episode. To subscribe to Plain Talk, search for the show wherever you get your podcasts or use one of the links below.

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive