Roughrider Roundup – November 22, 2021

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

North Dakota

North Dakota missing persons database gets funding two years after becoming law
Grand Forks Herald
With funding finally in place, advocates are hopeful that the database will be particularly useful for quantifying the state’s problem of missing and murdered Indigenous people…Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem supported funding the database this special session and requested that lawmakers approve the full $300,000 requested to allow for creation of an adequate program.

14 of the 16 Most Popular Governors Are Republicans
Newsweek
A new poll shows Republican governors winning higher approval from voters than their Democratic counterparts less than one year out from the midterm elections…Other Republican state leaders with high approval ratings include…Doug Burgum of North Dakota[.]

As state divvies up federal COVID money, Grand Forks seeing special session spending wins
Grand Forks Herald
The biggest item on the list: $150 million to support infrastructure for a natural gas pipeline that will link western oil fields with eastern communities. Gov. Doug Burgum said on Monday that $10 million of that sum is set aside for natural gas transport to Grand Forks County.

Family connections strong as NDSU breaks ground on Peltier ag complex
The Jamestown Sun
The Peltier Complex is being named in honor of Burgum‘s cousin, the late Joe Peltier, an NDSU graduate and advocate for ag in the state.”I can’t think of a more fitting name for a state-of-the-art complex,” Burgum said. “The Peltier family’s history of philanthropy at NDSU didn’t start today or with this project; it’s been going on really since the time that Joe (Peltier) graduated in 1951.”

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims observed
AM 1100 The Flag
“Those in attendance today know the devastating impact of lives lost or changed forever by vehicle crashes. When it comes to the lives of our friends and family, the only acceptable number of serious injuries and fatalities on North Dakota roads is zero,” said Lieutenant Governor Brent Sanford.

Plain Talk: Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread on Krabbenhoft’s big, fat golden parachute and what it means for your health care costs
Say Anything Blog
Godfread talks about the connection between what hospitals spend and what health care, and health insurance, cost you. He says hospitals are always wanting more from insurers, and the taxpayers, even as pay to executives goes up. If this keeps up, Godfread, a Republican, says we’re going to end up with the sort of single-payer health care system Democrats want.

North Dakota landowners electronically post 4 million acres in first year of program
Ag Week
When the regular deer season in North Dakota opened on Nov. 5, many hunters for the first time had electronic access to about 4 million acres of land on which its owners gave permission to hunt…The electronic posting option was made available by a North Dakota law that was signed by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on April 28, 2021, and went into effect on Aug. 1, 2021.

Eminently quotable: ‘We’re adding another tool to control them’
The Bismarck Tribune
“They’re not in violation yet, but they’re knocking on the door. They’re getting dangerously close.”– Public Service Commissioner Brian Kroshus, on wind farm companies facing an end-of-year state deadline to install light-mitigating technology on turbines.

Former North Dakota Air National Guard leader dies; Palmer was aviation leader in state
The Bismarck Tribune
Former North Dakota Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Al Palmer died Tuesday at age 69, according to Gov. Doug Burgum. Palmer began his military career with the Air Force in 1972, serving a tour in Thailand during the Vietnam War. He joined the North Dakota Air National Guard in 1981, eventually serving as chief of staff and assistant adjutant general.

North Dakota: Applications open for Soil Health Cover Crop Grant Program
Tri-State Livestock News
“As a conservation program, the primary goal of the program is to protect and enhance soil health statewide,” Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said. “In particular, the program targets cropland areas impacted with saline or alkaline soils.”

Burgum pardons big bird for Thanksgiving
Knox Radio
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum paused from the normal business day on Monday to pardon a live turkey prior to the Thanksgiving Day celebration. The annual event is sponsored in part by the North Dakota Turkey Federation.  The state has nine turkey farms that produce around one million birds annually.

Ag Commission and Commodity Council hold annual meeting to discuss next year’s outlook
KX News
For one, the emergency feed transportation program started in North Dakota — but is now expanding. “The feds actually took our program and made it a program that would be utilized nationally,” said Goehring.

Washington, D.C.

Sen. Cramer: Rittenhouse Verdict Upheld Right to Self-Defense in Face of Violence
Newsmax
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” Cramer said the teen gunman’s exoneration also should get America back to supporting law enforcement. “I think it sends the message you have a right to defend yourself against increasing violence,” he said of last week’s verdict in the Wisconsin trial. “Let’s get back to supporting police officers, supporting solid laws that protect innocent people so that innocent people don’t feel like they always have to protect themselves,” he urged.

Biden Administration proposes revival of WOTUS
Minot Daily News
“The Obama era Waters of the United States rule would have been a disaster for North Dakota’s farmers and ranchers,” said Congressman Kelly Armstrong. “Now, the Biden administration is trying to revive this failed one-size-fits-all policy that will destroy their livelihoods and decimate our rural communities. I will continue to advocate for policies that work with states, not against them, to achieve environmental progress.” Sen. Kevin Cramer said, “It’s a shame the Trump Administration’s rule was repealed at all. Americans deserve better than regulatory ping pong.

UND to develop augmented reality system for Army Humvees
Knox News Radio 
“This project is about providing the best possible information to our warfighters in a manner that is easy to access and act upon, making them more effective on the battlefield and keeping them safe,” Hoeven said. “North Dakota has long played a tremendous role in our nation’s defense. Now, we are leveraging our growing expertise in technology development, both at our research universities like UND and in the private sector, to greatly expand and diversify the ways our state contributes to the security of our nation.”

Build Back Better or boondoggle? Why Biden’s bill is so divisive.
The Christian Science Monitor
GOP Rep. Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota, who lives within 25 miles of his state’s largest ethanol plant and its largest wind farm, notes that the bill does nothing to address litigation and permitting, which could make it difficult to build the new energy infrastructure envisioned by the bill. It could also shutter small businesses, which would devastate communities in his state, he says. “If you think it’s hard to put an oil pipeline in eastern Montana, try putting a high-voltage transmission line on the East Coast when the minute you put the first shovel in the ground you devalue every property in that suburb by 40%,” says Representative Armstrong.

State officials reflect on the death of Ret. Brig. Gen. Al Palmer
Valley News Live
“Brigadier General Palmer was a pivotal leader in North Dakota aviation and aerospace and served our nation honorably as a member of both the Air Force and the North Dakota Air National Guard,” said U.S. Sen. John Hoeven…“Al Palmer dedicated his career to the military, aviation, and supporting veterans,” said U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer. “He was a member of my Military Academy and Veterans Advisory Boards, always providing valued advice. I am forever thankful for his service to our nation in the U.S. Air Force and North Dakota Air National Guard, as well as his support of the UND Aerospace program.”

Cramer and Trump exonerated on Democrats’ border wall attacks
Hot Air
The media quickly jumped on the bandwagon, publishing all manner of allegations along those lines. The Washington Post suggested that Cramer had unfairly influenced the process as some sort of shady deal benefitting a campaign contributor. MSNBC attempted to make hay out of the fact that the company’s CEO had been a guest of Cramer’s at the State of the Union address. CBS News ran an interview with Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson (one of the lead drivers of the witch hunt) all but accusing Cramer of violating procurement regulations. Well, the Inspector General’s office finally finished its work this month and released a report of their findings. You probably won’t be shocked to learn that they found the process of awarding the contract to be completely appropriate and fully in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations.


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