Recently-appointed Department of Energy Undersecretary Kyle Haustveit says that when people talk about transitioning on energy sources, they aren't talking about reality.

"We've never transitioned from any fuel source in the world in the history of mankind," he said on this episode of Plain Talk, recording with us from the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck. "We consume more wood and dung or biomass today than we ever have before. Same with coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, wind, solar, geothermal."

"The charts are all up and to the right," he added.

Going forward, we need to start by asking what we need from our energy? Is it low prices? Low carbon intensity?

"What do you have available in your region? How do we prioritize responsible development to maintain affordable, reliable, secure energy for the people that need it most?" he said we should be asking.

Also, he says we need to grow to meet new demands for power. "For years, it's been far too easy to stop things and far too hard to start building things," he said, crediting President Donald Trump's administration with changing some of that.

Also on this episode, Supreme Court Justice Jerod Tufte and Cass County State's Attorney Kim Hegvik join to celebrate North Dakota's drug courts or, to use the new terminology, treatment courts. These are specialized proceedings in the criminal justice system that still prioritize accountability for crimes, but also focus on helping people solve problems. They were called drug courts because they started out focusing on addiction, though these days there are lots of different types, including some specializing in the specific issues veterans might face.

"Right now we run most of these at close to capacity, and so we have a pretty good population of people that have shown that they are high-risk, high need," Justice Tufte said. "So these aren't the lowest level, first-time offenders. These are people that by and large would be incarcerated if they weren't in a drug drug court or a treatment court program."

Hegvik and Tufte said the treatment courts save the state money by keeping offenders out of jail, and they also reduce recidivism.

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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In this replay episode of Plain Talk, Rob and Chad speak with former North Dakota lawmaker Hamida Dakane about comments from President Donald Trump targeting the Somali community and the impact those remarks had across North Dakota and Minnesota.

Dakane shares why the comments felt deeply personal, how children in immigrant families responded, and why she believes her community will continue moving forward despite the rhetoric surrounding immigration and identity.

A former Fargo-area legislator and the first Black woman and first Muslim elected to the North Dakota Legislature, Dakane also reflects on her journey to North Dakota, the support she's found here, and why she still believes strongly in the region and its people.

If you want to participate in Plain Talk, call or text 701-587-3141. Leave your name, where you're from, and your message — we may feature it on an upcoming episode.

While Rob and Chad are out this week, we're revisiting one of the most talked-about interviews from the show — Fargo attorney Jay Greenwood's deep dive into the shocking wrongful arrest of Tennessee grandmother Angela Lipps.

Lipps was arrested at gunpoint and jailed for months after Fargo Police used AI facial recognition technology to identify her as a suspect in a North Dakota bank fraud case. The problem? Evidence later showed she was in Tennessee at the time the crimes were committed.

In this replay, Greenwood walks through how the case unfolded, why he believes law enforcement failed at multiple stages of the investigation, and what this incident says about the growing use of artificial intelligence in policing and criminal investigations.

"It's just the best-case scenario for the Fargo PD is a nightmare," Greenwood says, describing the fallout from the case and the legal questions that remain unanswered.

The episode also includes discussion on North Dakota's ongoing debate over data centers in coal country, plus listener feedback and commentary from guest co-host Jessica Bell.

State Sen. Ryan Braunberger joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss his run for North Dakota Secretary of State, election integrity, campaign finance transparency, redistricting, and the growing distrust many Americans have in public institutions.

"I think we do a good job of running our elections," Braunberger said. "What I think the Secretary of State office could do better at is showing the receipts that we do good."

Braunberger said North Dakota's elections are secure, but argued the state needs to do a better job educating the public on how elections actually work, including canvassing, vote counting, and voter ID verification. "Many politicians say elections are fine," he said, "but we don't tell them why they're secure and how they're secure."

The conversation also covered campaign finance reporting, voter ID laws, redistricting fights, ballot measure transparency, and the challenge of maintaining trust in elections during a time of intense political division. Braunberger said he supports stronger enforcement of campaign finance laws and even suggested candidates who refuse to pay fines could potentially be barred from future ballots.

Also on this episode, Rob Port and guest co-host Erin Oban discuss Measure 1 on the June ballot, voter ID access in rural communities, the lawsuit over North Dakota's political "false statements" law, and the growing challenge of balancing free speech with misinformation online.

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.

Our education is in decline. Lawmakers and other education leaders are lying about the use of Common Core curriculae. In fact, some of them intentionally want our schools and students to fail.

That's what Charles Tuttle, a candidate for Superintendent of Public Schools, had to say on this episode of Plain Talk.

"We've got a a major decline in our educational system. The direction hasn't changed," he claimed.

"I think it's intentional," he continued, going on to say that he thinks "we've got a some that said when common core came in that they were going to dumb our kids down."

Somewhat paradoxically, Tuttle said that school districts are spending too much money, but also that the state isn't investing enough. "We have the money. The state is not poor when it comes to money," he said. "So there should be no reason why we cannot fund every school in North Dakota. It says right in the constitution, the legislative assembly shall provide for a uniform system of free public schools throughout the state."

He pointed to the school lunch debt that some schools carry as an example of something that should be the state's responsibility. So does that mean he supports a ballot measure that will likely appear on the November ballot to have the state cover the costs of school meals? Not necessarily. "The problem I have with that...is it goes in the constitution," he said, noting that the measure would be an amendment to the state constituiton and not statute.

Also on this episode, me and guest co-host Erin Oban talk about Measure 1 on the June ballot, which would implement a single-subject requirement for constituitonal amendments proposed by ballot measure or the Legislature, and the controversy around the arrest of polarizing political organizer Jerol Gohrick, who is facing two felony counts of terrorizing after an altercation with a work crew operating on his land.

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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Ariston Johnson is Watford City-based attorney who is challenging incumbent Supreme Court Justice Jerod Tufte, who is in the process of wrapping up his first 10-year term on the court.

There are actually two Supreme Court races on the ballot this cycle. Justice Douglas Bahr is running to have his appointment by Gov. Doug Burgum to finish former Justice Gerald VandeWalle's term confirmed by voters.

Why is Johnson challenging Tufte and not Bahr? He said it's because defeating Tufte would mean a full term on the court. Also, Bahr, a former government attorney, has more of the experience Johnson believes the state's top court needs. "Frankly, if the election ballot offered Ari Johnson or Douglas Bar, I would vote for Douglas Bar because the court needs that. perspective," Johnson said on this episode of Plain Talk.

He also addressed the increased politicization of the judiciary. At the national level, U.S. Supreme Court justices are now routinely referred to by their ideologies. In other states, like Wisconsin, judicial elections have become hyper-partisan affairs. So far, that hasn't happened in North Dakota, and Johnson says he doesn't want it to.

"I am myself generally apolitical. I don't bring my politics to work and I would not bring them to the Supreme Court," he said. "It is a nonpartisan race and it should be a nonpartisan job."

"If the law compels a decision, then the Supreme Court should make that decision. If the law is wrong, the legislature should write a better law," he continued. "Judges shouldn't decide policy and they shouldn't decide law. They should apply the law under our constitutional system with the checks and balances."

Also on this episode, me and former Gov. Ed Schafer, who served as a guest co-host, discussed the tragic passing of state Rep. Liz Conmy, the complications existing term limits laws impose on the process of appointing her replacement, and whether Measure 1, which would reform those current term limits laws, is something voters should support.

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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North Dakota doesn't typically see competitive judicial races, particularly for the state Supreme Court. But even when voters do have a choice, the candidates themselves are prohibited by ethical considerations from campaigning the way other candidates do. They can't tell voters how they'd rule on a particular case, or, for incumbents, why they ruled the way they did on previous cases.

But judicial candidates can be "reassuring people that that you understand the proper role of the court and that that you will apply the law as it's written and not become somebody that people worry will stray outside into policy aspects," Supreme Court Justice Jerod Tufte said on this episode of Plain Talk.

Tufte is concluding a 10-year term he was elected to in 2016, and campaigning for a new one. Tufte is facing a challenge from Watford City attorney Ari Johnson, who will be on a future episode of Plain Talk.

Tufte says that a big part of the job is ruling on the law, and not public opinion.

"We have to have a thick skin. We have to expect people will criticize our written opinions and find flaws, gaps or areas of disagreement ,and how we express our legal reasoning and how we apply to the the law to a particular case," he said. "But you have to just apply the law in every case regardless of what kind of person is before you, rich or poor or on one political team or the other, or part of one industry or another."

"A lot of people focus on results rather than methods," Tufte added, noting that when the courts aren't producing the results the people want, they should ask legislators and executive branch officials for change.

Also on this episode, Mark Watne, formerly the president of North Dakota Farmers Union, gives an agrarian perspective on North Dakota's ongoing efforts to celebrate America's 250th birthday. Go to ND250.com to learn 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.

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