Happy Monday!
Dear Fellow Republicans,
We wanted to provide you with a roundup of everything you might have missed from North Dakota’s great Republican leaders this past week. Please share with family and friends!
Perrie Schafer, NDGOP Chairman
Photo of the Week
RNC
TI wanted to bring this great series that the RNC has been doing with GOP leaders. One of the most
I wanted to shared this wonderful initiative from Chairwoman McDaniel and the RNC:
Today, the Republican National Committee announced a new minority outreach initiative – the Republican Civics Initiative (RCI) which is designed to help future voters prepare for the civics portion of the naturalization test.
Victory staff will be given training materials adapted from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) civics curriculum and will be trained by the RNC Strategic Initiatives staff who are certified USCIS instructors. The course for those hoping to become naturalized citizens is approximately 10 hours long and spread across four sessions with a celebration at the completion of the course. Lawful permanent residents will learn basic U.S. civics and history based on questions that could appear on the civics portion of the naturalization test like “When was the Declaration of Independence signed?” and “How many branches of government are there?”
“The RNC is growing our Party through purposeful education and engagement. Our commitment to provide opportunities for all to live out the American dream is broadening our base because our ideas transcend all backgrounds. Unlike Democrats, Republicans do not take minority communities for granted and we will continue to work to earn each vote ahead of November,” said RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
Read about it more here.
– Perrie
NDGOP
Listen here to Chairman Schafer on “What’s on your Mind?” on WZFG!
I mean, there’s a definite separation on the abortion issues. The Democrats have no, there’s no place to even have an abortion conversation. It’s abortion on demand in many cases even after the birth of a child, which is ridiculous…It is a cliche that this is the most important election of our lifetime, but it really is. We need to take back the House, we need to take back the Senate. Certainly take back the presidency in ’24, but we’ve gotta start now. Put our differences aside, get out and vote, and vote for the platform that you believe in…So that’s my request, and my quest is to get out to vote, and let’s do this from a national standpoint as well. – Chairman Perrie Schafer, WZFG, July 12, 2022
“I want to thank all of our district chairs and executive committee members who came from every corner of the state – Jamestown, Dickinson, Mayville-Portland, Bismarck, Mandan, Fargo – for today’s important training with the RNC. Under Chairwoman McDaniel’s leadership, the RNC does a great job traveling the country to teach state parties how the tools we have in finance, communications, and GOP Data Center to effectively target races here in North Dakota. Thank you again to those that took time to come to Bismarck to learn more about our party and what we are doing to help each other during this important cycle. This is one more way your NDGOP is helping bring all of us together, so thank you again!” – Chairman Perrie Schafer on this week’s successful RNC training
North Dakota
North Dakota AG: Possible fraud in petitions for ballot item
AP
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley says an investigation into potential fraud by people who gathered signatures for a failed ballot initiative to term-limit state lawmakers will be referred to a county prosecutor for possible charges. Wrigley says the investigation would be handed over to Ward County next week. Secretary of State Al Jaeger in March said a review found numerous violations, including signatures “likely forged” in the presence of a notary public. The review also found petition workers were paid bonuses based on their production, and many signatures came from residents of other states.
Disaster assistance available
Minot Daily News
Federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of North Dakota to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the severe winter storm and flooding April 22-May 25, according to information from FEMA…According to Gov. Doug Burgum’s office, the severe weather caused damage to infrastructure including roads, bridges and railways and threatened the stability of flood control structures including the Bourbanis Dam near Cavalier, where North Dakota National Guard Black Hawk helicopters placed 213 one-ton sandbags to stabilize areas of concern around the dam. Strong winds and ice buildup from freezing rain led to the collapse of 7,000 utility poles and at least 550 miles of damage to electric infrastructure, leaving households in western North Dakota without power for up to three and a half weeks.
Governors meeting puts Maine on the national political stage
Bangor Daily News
Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota noted that his state has a long border with Canada and were similarly affected by the closings that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that Portland looked like some of the changes he was trying to make to his state with a Main Street Initiative, especially in terms of walkability, revitalization and outdoor dining.
Burgum statement on FHWA’s proposed gas emissions rule for states, municipalities
Devils Lake Journal
Gov. Doug Burgum released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking requiring states and municipalities to establish and enforce targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. “While the proposed rule implies the Federal Highway Administration will work with states to create performance standards, this was not the intent of the law passed by Congress, and the Biden administration is using perceived regulatory authority it simply doesn’t have,” Burgum said. “The proposed rule burdens states with unnecessary regulation, may jeopardize future federal funding vital to North Dakota and will force or pressure states to reallocate federal dollars away from critical state projects to federally preferred projects. In addition, it explicitly goes against last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that rightfully returned decision-making authority related to greenhouse gas emissions from the federal government to the states and Congress. The FHWA needs to focus on a goal we all share: improving the infrastructure in North Dakota and across the country. Our state has some of the cleanest air and water in the nation, and this proposed rule is unnecessary and overreaching.”
ND energy leaders testify in Congress
KFYR-TV
It’s not a secret that energy prices are high. Wednesday, President of the North Dakota Petroleum Council Ron Ness and Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak testified in front of the United States Senate to discuss how to lower energy prices…“Be honest with American citizens. Transitioning our grid to 100 percent renewable energy may be achievable and, for many, desirable, but it is not going to lower costs for anyone, especially in the next 25 years,” said Fedorchak.Public Service Commission approves Continental’s enhanced oil recovery pipeline
KFYR-TV
The state’s public service commission has given Continental Resources the green light to build a pipeline for an enhanced oil recovery project. The company was awarded a permit to build a 3-mile pipeline that would take natural gas from the WBI pipeline to their well pad in northwestern North Dakota…“(Continental’s producers) estimate that the increase in oil production could be anywhere from 25 to 60 percent, and so, after this project they’ll have learned a lot and be able to determine the effectiveness,” said Julie Fedorchak, Public Service Commission Chairwoman.
North Dakota Focuses On Making Its School Boards Engines For Student Success
Forbes
“Student outcomes don’t change until adult behaviors change,” said Kirsten Baesler, North Dakota’s superintendent of public instruction, about the need to refocus school boards on what matters most. “School boards must adopt student outcome goals and monitor results to improve student outcomes across North Dakota.”
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum asks federal government to restore pre-pandemic hours for border crossings
Grand Forks Herald
“Many of these North Dakota individuals and businesses rely heavily on their Canadian counterparts for multiple reasons in their daily lives, and limited hours at the majority of North Dakota’s border crossings have made these critical interactions much more difficult,” Burgum said in the letter. “While the small expansion of hours after COVID-19 at North Dakota’s ports of entry has been a welcome development, it is imperative that hours of operation return to their pre-pandemic status immediately before further damage is done to the economies and well-being of our border communities.” A governor’s office spokesman said the main reasons CBP and Homeland Security have cited for continued reduced hours of operation at most of the state’s border crossings have been traffic counts and staffing. “We are fully prepared to aid CBP in achieving this goal for the benefit of North Dakotans and Canadians impacted by this crisis,” said Burgum.
Milk delivery woes eased for swath of North Dakota
The Bismarck Tribune
Milk delivery concerns have been alleviated after a shortage of drivers earlier this year led state officials to take emergency measures to curb impacts in 16 North Dakota counties…Schools, long-term care facilities and senior citizen centers stood most affected, according to Goehring. “They have no other options. They have to have product delivered to them,” he said. The agriculture commissioner and Gov. Doug Burgum in January announced emergency measures to address the driver shortage, including waiving hours of service for truck drivers delivering milk, waiving enforcement of certain licensing requirements until April 1 and boosting renewals of commercial driver’s licenses.
6th annual Recovery Reinvented scheduled for Nov. 3
KX News
Gov. Doug Burgum and First Lady Kathryn Burgum are inviting people to join them on Nov. 3 in Grand Forks for the sixth annual Recovery Reinvented. The daylong event will feature state and national addiction and recovery experts who will focus on reinventing recovery through sharing stories, creating recovery-friendly cultures in the workplace and community and eliminating the stigma surrounding the disease of addiction. “We continue to build on the message that storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have to end the stigma surrounding addiction,” Kathryn said in a press release. “Bringing this experience to the community of Grand Forks will allow us to lift up more faces and voices of recovery and inspire people to know that recovery from addiction is possible.” There are opportunities to volunteer and the event is free and open to anyone.
North Dakota AG: Possible fraud in petitions for ballot item
AP
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley says an investigation into potential fraud by people who gathered signatures for a failed ballot initiative to term-limit state lawmakers will be referred to a county prosecutor for possible charges. Wrigley says the investigation would be handed over to Ward County next week. Secretary of State Al Jaeger in March said a review found numerous violations, including signatures “likely forged” in the presence of a notary public. The review also found petition workers were paid bonuses based on their production, and many signatures came from residents of other states.
Disaster assistance available
Minot Daily News
Federal disaster assistance has been made available to the state of North Dakota to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the severe winter storm and flooding April 22-May 25, according to information from FEMA…According to Gov. Doug Burgum’s office, the severe weather caused damage to infrastructure including roads, bridges and railways and threatened the stability of flood control structures including the Bourbanis Dam near Cavalier, where North Dakota National Guard Black Hawk helicopters placed 213 one-ton sandbags to stabilize areas of concern around the dam. Strong winds and ice buildup from freezing rain led to the collapse of 7,000 utility poles and at least 550 miles of damage to electric infrastructure, leaving households in western North Dakota without power for up to three and a half weeks.
Governors meeting puts Maine on the national political stage
Bangor Daily News
Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota noted that his state has a long border with Canada and were similarly affected by the closings that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that Portland looked like some of the changes he was trying to make to his state with a Main Street Initiative, especially in terms of walkability, revitalization and outdoor dining.
Burgum statement on FHWA’s proposed gas emissions rule for states, municipalities
Devils Lake Journal
Gov. Doug Burgum released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking requiring states and municipalities to establish and enforce targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. “While the proposed rule implies the Federal Highway Administration will work with states to create performance standards, this was not the intent of the law passed by Congress, and the Biden administration is using perceived regulatory authority it simply doesn’t have,” Burgum said. “The proposed rule burdens states with unnecessary regulation, may jeopardize future federal funding vital to North Dakota and will force or pressure states to reallocate federal dollars away from critical state projects to federally preferred projects. In addition, it explicitly goes against last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that rightfully returned decision-making authority related to greenhouse gas emissions from the federal government to the states and Congress. The FHWA needs to focus on a goal we all share: improving the infrastructure in North Dakota and across the country. Our state has some of the cleanest air and water in the nation, and this proposed rule is unnecessary and overreaching.”
ND energy leaders testify in Congress
KFYR-TV
It’s not a secret that energy prices are high. Wednesday, President of the North Dakota Petroleum Council Ron Ness and Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak testified in front of the United States Senate to discuss how to lower energy prices…“Be honest with American citizens. Transitioning our grid to 100 percent renewable energy may be achievable and, for many, desirable, but it is not going to lower costs for anyone, especially in the next 25 years,” said Fedorchak.Public Service Commission approves Continental’s enhanced oil recovery pipeline
KFYR-TV
The state’s public service commission has given Continental Resources the green light to build a pipeline for an enhanced oil recovery project. The company was awarded a permit to build a 3-mile pipeline that would take natural gas from the WBI pipeline to their well pad in northwestern North Dakota…“(Continental’s producers) estimate that the increase in oil production could be anywhere from 25 to 60 percent, and so, after this project they’ll have learned a lot and be able to determine the effectiveness,” said Julie Fedorchak, Public Service Commission Chairwoman.
North Dakota Focuses On Making Its School Boards Engines For Student Success
Forbes
“Student outcomes don’t change until adult behaviors change,” said Kirsten Baesler, North Dakota’s superintendent of public instruction, about the need to refocus school boards on what matters most. “School boards must adopt student outcome goals and monitor results to improve student outcomes across North Dakota.”
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum asks federal government to restore pre-pandemic hours for border crossings
Grand Forks Herald
“Many of these North Dakota individuals and businesses rely heavily on their Canadian counterparts for multiple reasons in their daily lives, and limited hours at the majority of North Dakota’s border crossings have made these critical interactions much more difficult,” Burgum said in the letter. “While the small expansion of hours after COVID-19 at North Dakota’s ports of entry has been a welcome development, it is imperative that hours of operation return to their pre-pandemic status immediately before further damage is done to the economies and well-being of our border communities.” A governor’s office spokesman said the main reasons CBP and Homeland Security have cited for continued reduced hours of operation at most of the state’s border crossings have been traffic counts and staffing. “We are fully prepared to aid CBP in achieving this goal for the benefit of North Dakotans and Canadians impacted by this crisis,” said Burgum.
Milk delivery woes eased for swath of North Dakota
The Bismarck Tribune
Milk delivery concerns have been alleviated after a shortage of drivers earlier this year led state officials to take emergency measures to curb impacts in 16 North Dakota counties…Schools, long-term care facilities and senior citizen centers stood most affected, according to Goehring. “They have no other options. They have to have product delivered to them,” he said. The agriculture commissioner and Gov. Doug Burgum in January announced emergency measures to address the driver shortage, including waiving hours of service for truck drivers delivering milk, waiving enforcement of certain licensing requirements until April 1 and boosting renewals of commercial driver’s licenses.
6th annual Recovery Reinvented scheduled for Nov. 3
KX News
Gov. Doug Burgum and First Lady Kathryn Burgum are inviting people to join them on Nov. 3 in Grand Forks for the sixth annual Recovery Reinvented. The daylong event will feature state and national addiction and recovery experts who will focus on reinventing recovery through sharing stories, creating recovery-friendly cultures in the workplace and community and eliminating the stigma surrounding the disease of addiction. “We continue to build on the message that storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have to end the stigma surrounding addiction,” Kathryn said in a press release. “Bringing this experience to the community of Grand Forks will allow us to lift up more faces and voices of recovery and inspire people to know that recovery from addiction is possible.” There are opportunities to volunteer and the event is free and open to anyone.
Washington, D.C.
Biden’s border policy affects ‘every state: Sen. John Hoeven
Fox News
Watch here: Sen. John Hoeven, (R-ND), makes a call for action in solving the border crisis, saying Biden’s policies are to blame, on ‘Cavuto: Live.’
Armstrong lauds passage of defense bill
Minot Daily News
Congressman Kelly Armstrong, R-ND, reacted in a statement following the passage of the NDAA by the House, saying he supported the legislation because, “Ensuring our armed forces have the resources they need to fulfill their mission is critical.” Armstrong’s statement cited the various missions promoted by the 2023 NDAA in North Dakota, including Grand Forks Air Force Base and the North Dakota National Guard, as well as funding to modernize the Minuteman program to the Sentinel weapon system housed at Minot Air Force Base “Support for our military is important to the security of our nation and of North Dakota,” Armstrong said.
Hoeven joins effort to overturn NEPA rules
Minot Daily News
Sen. John Hoeven joined all 50 Senate Republicans in introducing a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act seeking to nullify the Biden Administration’s National Environmental Policy Act regulation revisions. In a news release, Hoeven declared that the new rules enacted by the White House Council on Environmental Quality add “onerous requirements” to the federal permitting process, which he contends will cause delays for infrastructure projects.
Armstrong speaks against packing the Supreme Court
KX News
“This is one of the games that gets played all the time out here. You pass a law, but it’s really general, it’s really ambiguous, so an agency has to implement rules to enact the law. And, so you come back to your constituents, and say hey we had a bill to deal with that, I can’t believe the agency wrote the rules, the way they did. So, you get the benefit of a good idea, and you get to blame somebody else for the implementation. It might be good politics, but it’s terrible policy. And, we should get back to writing laws that say what we mean and do what we ask them to do,” said Armstong. Congressman Armstrong gave the example of the recent headline Supreme Court decision on the EPA versus West Virginia, in which North Dakota is a co-plaintiff – saying it puts power plant emission policy into the hands of Congress, instead of punting the question to regulators and judges. “The EPA versus West Virginia case is a perfect example. This is part of the Clean Power Plan that the Obama administration couldn’t get passed into law, so after they couldn’t get them passed, they asked the EPA to implement them anyway and the court said no. And, so if you’re going to pass sweeping changes that affect North Dakota, West Virginia, states that produce the energy that we are going to survive as a country then you should make sure that you pass it in Congress instead of giving it to bureaucrats, “said Armstrong.
Republican lawmakers push pro-life bill to allow women to receive child support for unborn children
The Blaze
A group of Republican lawmakers is backing a pro-life bill that would give mothers the opportunity to receive child support before a baby is born. The Unborn Child Support Act reflects the reality that life starts at the time of conception, and therefore, pregnant mothers should be able to get child support as they carry their child…”Caring for the well-being of our children begins long before a baby is born. It begins at the first moment of life – conception – and fathers have obligations, financial and otherwise, during pregnancy. Mothers should be able to access child support payments as soon as she is supporting a child. Our bill makes this possible,” Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said.
The Chokecherry Festival will be held at a new venue this year
The Williston Herald
Williston’s iconic Chokecherry Festival is moving to a new venue this year, Davidson Park! The Williston Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and the North Dakota Chokecherry Festival Committee announced the venue change noting that it is long overdue…Prior to 2007, North Dakota had not designated a state fruit, but after receiving letters from Nancy Selby’s sixth grade class, Senator Stanley Lyson and Senator Nick Hacker sponsored Senate Bill 2145, which was later signed into law by Governor John Hoeven on March 29, 2007, naming the chokecherry the official state fruit of North Dakota.
Democrats, climate activists grasp for comeback after blow from Manchin
Politico
Talks are also likely to start churning on a potential tax extenders package to salvage the existing subsidies for clean power. But that would require the cooperation of Republicans, an unlikely prospect. “It’s hard for me to see much incentive to help save Democrats from themselves so close to the election,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, a Republican who took part in bipartisan discussions on energy and climate policy with Manchin earlier this year.
Hoeven honors Medal of Honor recipient
Minot Daily News
Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND, on Thursday honored the last World War II Medal of Honor recipient, Hershel W. “Woody” Williams, at the U.S. Capitol. “We owe a tremendous debt to veterans like Woody, who served with courage and distinction in the Pacific and helped secure victory for America and our allies in the Second World War,” said Hoeven. “As a member of the Greatest Generation, he fought with valor for the freedoms and liberties that we are able to enjoy today, and it is fitting that this American hero lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol.”
Biden grants disaster declaration for North Dakota spring storms
The Bismarck Tribune
“North Dakota saw unprecedented levels of precipitation this spring in the forms of heavy downpours, snowfall, sleet and freezing rain,” U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer and U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong said. “These storms had significant and widespread impact, causing long-lasting flooding and power outages. That’s why we worked with Governor Burgum to advance this disaster declaration, which will help cover the costs of recovery, while making resources available to improve resiliency in the long-term.”
NDSU Receives $650,000 for Animal Nutrition Research
KFGO
North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer announced today the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded $650,000 to North Dakota State University for animal nutrition, growth, and lactation research. NDSU’s project will help develop strategies to improve feed efficiency and disease resilience in calves.
Rail Shipments Could Be An Issue In The Fall Due To Worker Shortage
KVRR
There is another trouble spot on the horizon for farmers and producers: rail service. Senator John Hoeven outlining the need to restore full rail shipments before the fall harvest. He sent his concerns to Surface Transportation Board Vice Chairman Robert Primus. There are ongoing rail service disruptions across the country due to a worker shortage that is impacting nearly every industry. “The key bottleneck right now is hiring and training more people,” said Hoeven. “The railroads have given us projections but we need to make sure that we continue to insure that they meet those projections and get shipments to a current basis.”
CO2 targets proposed by Biden administration attracts criticism in North Dakota
The Williston Herald
“Our nation is facing historic levels of inflation, and this overreaching regulation is another example of the Biden administration imposing higher costs on the American people,” Sen. John Hoeven said. “The proposed rule goes well beyond any authority granted by Congress to the FHWA and would significantly burden state-level investments in roadways, bridges, highways and other transportation projects. That’s exactly the wrong approach for our country. We should instead provide regulatory relief to help taxpayer dollars go further and support needed investment in our nation’s transportation systems.”
North Dakota lawmakers, advocates push for equal sentencing in federal cocaine and crack crimes
KFYR-TV
Congressman Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), says although he practiced 10 years as a criminal defender and never worked on a federal crack case from North Dakota, these kinds of sentencing decisions still impact everyone. “The reality is that any time there is unequal treatment and disparities in sentencing it affects everybody. It affects taxpayers. I mean it is federal prison. It’s federal taxpayer dollars,” said Congressman Kelly Armstrong (R-ND). Prison time, if the EQUAL Act passes, would be in the same range for the two drugs. Congressman Armstrong says the change would apply to mainly low-level addict dealers and not cartels, or others at the top, who already exceed mandatory minimum sentences for their crimes.“This isn’t being soft on crime. This is being smart on crime. This has the ability to do what I think the federal criminal justice system should do. It should hold people accountable. It should prepare them for reintegration into society. And it should treat disparate racial groups equally,” added Congressman Armstrong.
Senator Kevin Cramer returns to work after hand injury
AM 1100 The Flag
Senator Kevin Cramer has returned to Washington, DC after suffering a severe hand injury. Cramer said he crushed his fingers between two rocks while doing yard work last month, and needed immediate surgery. Cramer tweeted his hand is healing well, despite losing the tip of a finger.
