On this episode of Plain Talk, me and co-host Chad Oban react to more tragedy in Minneapolis, with the killing of Renee Good. The facts of what happened are still being established, but what did we think was going to happen when federal agents are operating under an administration intent on enforcing federal law in the most aggressive, most provactive way possible?

Also on this episode, Fargo mayoral candidates Josh Boschee and Denise Kolpack join to discuss their newly-announced campaigns. Kolpack is a current member of the city commission, and the deputy mayor, while Boschee is a Democrat elected to the state legislature.

Boschee talked about his skill working across ideological divides, as well as his familiarity with how things operate in Bismarck. He also said he's glad he doesn't have to pretend like he's not a Democrat, despite the mayoral race being officially nonpartisan.

Kolpack, meanwhile, said her experience in local government is what counts. She said he's pushed back on some bad ideas from the commission, and would work to alleviate some of the dysfunction there.

Both candidates weighed in on Fargo's controversial handling of the Applied Digital data center in the works in Harwood. Kolpack said Fargo acted like a bully. Boschee said he'd have done a better job of setting the city's priorities and communicating them.

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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"I just didn't get it prioritized to get out the door."

That's what Attorney General Drew Wrigley said on this episode of Plain Talk when asked about the state's annual crime report, which is typically released over the summer, but this year wasn't made public until New Year's Eve.

The delayed report comes amid an intense debate over crime in North Dakota. The most recent report, covering the year 2024, showed some declines from recent peaks in serious crime categories, but they're still signficantly up over the last decade.

"Violent crime and robbery crimes against the person...came down two 2%," Wrigley said, "but that 2%...makes last year the 10th highest of the last 11 years. You're talking over 4,000 more victims every year than was the case in 2014."

Wrigley said he plans to continue his push for stricter sentencing policies in next year's legislative session. He was unsuccessful in winning enough votes among lawmakers for his proposed reforms during the first two legislative sessions of his tenure in office.

Wrigley also addressed delays in his office in responding to open records and open meetings complaints filed by the public, and the news media -- "the number of requests is quite robust," he said -- and said that he planed to address a legislative request for an opinion on Retirement and Investment Office bonuses in "weeks" not months.

Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I react to my story about top executives at the F5 Project giving themselves personal loans out of the nonprofit's revenues, as well as my report about legislature's potentially preempting, during their upcoming special session, a ballot measure for universal school meals with a proposal of their own.

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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The year 2025 is almost in the books. On this episode of Plain Talk, we took a look back at the last year, looking at some of the highlights (and lowlights, unfortunately) that made news.

The legislature passed massive property tax reform. It's a "sea change" for what's long been a thorny issue, I argued, but can it be maintained? Lawmakers will have to continue funding the $1,600 credits for primary residences while simultaneously holding the line on attempts to water down the 3% cap on local spending.

Also, shamelessness was a theme in state (as well as national) politics. Elected officials from former Minot mayor Tom Ross to Williston lawmaker Rep. Nico Rios made headlines with ugly behavior. The former faced consequences (he resigned) but the latter is still in office. Can he survive the 2026 election cycle?

Speaking of which, how will the divide in the North Dakota Republican Party play out next year? Will the party hold a state convention? If they do, who will come?

There will be several ballot measures next year, too. The legislature placed one constitutional amendment on the June primary ballot -- a single-subject requirement for constitutional amendments on the ballot -- as well as two more for the November ballot. One would make some modest but meaningful changes to the state's term limits, and the other would require that constituitonal amendments on the ballot get 60% of the vote to pass.

How will those amendments fare? Co-host Chad Oban and I covered it all.

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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