Roughrider Roundup – May 24, 2022

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

Congrats to our District 42 Chair, Sadie Hanson!
UND student appointed to North Dakota higher-ed board

Grand Forks Herald
Hanson, who will be a senior this fall at UND, is studying public affairs and marketing, according to a news release from Burgum’s office. She is also pursuing a master’s in public administration. She has served as the commissioner of governmental affairs for UND Student Government, is a member of UND’s strategic planning committee and student ambassadors. She is involved in a variety of community groups. “Sadie’s experience in student leadership positions across UND and Grand Forks make her well-positioned to represent her peers and drive transformational change for the future of North Dakota’s higher education system,” Burgum said in the release.

NDGOP

FYI: The NDGOP office will close at noon on Fridays starting this Friday, May 27th – Friday, Sept 2nd.

North Dakota

ND Gaming Commission Halts Vegas-Style Games
NewsDakota.com
The North Dakota Gaming Commission endorsed a rule change that creates a moratorium on electronic pull tab machines at gas stations and liquor, grocery and convenience stores. The commission voted Thursday, May 19th to alter the definition of a bar to make clear where the games that mimic slot machines will be allowed. Lawmakers are expected to address the issue when the Legislature reconvenes next year. Attorney General Drew Wrigley warned commissioners that without an immediate definition change, North Dakota would see an explosion of the Las Vegas-style machines and not enough regulators to keep tabs on them.

Senator Reviews Details of Phase One of Emergency Relief Program with Local Producers
KFGO
North Dakota Senator John Hoeven today held a roundtable discussion with local agriculture producers and commodity groups on the campus of NDSU to review the details for phase one of the Emergency Relief Program (ERP). The program is targeted with $9.25 billion in row crop disaster assistance for losses in calendar years 2020 and 2021. Hoeven was joined at the event by Farm Service Agency North Dakota State Director Marcy Svenningsen – and North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring.

Attorney General deems Williston’s Parks and Rec Board violated open meeting request law
The Williston Herald
The Williston Parks and Recreation District Board has been found in violation of open meeting laws by North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley. The analysis issued to the WPRD Board says that the Board did not properly list an anticipated executive session held during their special meeting on April 27, 2021.

Water Users Association Urges Residents to be Vigilant in Fight Against ANS
American Ag Network
Gov. Doug Burgum declared May 15-21 Aquatic Nuisance Awareness Week in North Dakota to raise public awareness and focus efforts on preventative steps that recreation enthusiasts and water users can take to slow the spread of ANS in our waterways. The NDWUA has teamed up with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGFD) to urge all water users to do their part to keep the state’s waters free from ANS. “The potential impacts of ANS infestations go beyond just recreation. They can also impact agriculture and municipal and rural water supply and delivery,” North Dakota Waters Users Association President Dave Lang said. “The Water Users Association is proud to do its part by encouraging all North Dakotans to be vigilant in slowing the spread of ANS.”

Century Wind Ensemble to be honored, perform
The Bismarck Tribune
The Bismarck Century High School Wind Ensemble will be formally designated the 2022-23 Governor’s Band during a Friday event at the Capitol. Gov. Doug Burgum earlier this month chose the ensemble as his official state band for the upcoming year, and the Jamestown High School Choir as his official state chorus. Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford will deliver remarks and present the Century ensemble with the designation at 12:30 p.m. Friday in the Capitol’s Memorial Hall. The ensemble that’s directed by Chris Dasovich and consists of 47 students will then perform. The public is invited to attend.

Jim Hill, Rolla schools to receive new fitness centers
Minot Daily News
Jim Hill Middle School in Minot and Rolla Public School are among three schools in the state that will receive fitness equipment valued at $100,000 for use by elementary and middle school students. “It’s huge, it’s really awesome,” said Rolla elementary principal Kristin Mitchell. The two schools, along with Solen Public School, were each chosen as recipients of a new fitness center through the Don’t Quit campaign announced by Gov. Doug Burgum and National Foundation for Governors’ Councils Chairman Jake Steinfeld.

Fedorchak: Blackouts are a possibility in North Dakota this Summer
AM 1100 The Flag
North Dakota Public Service Commission Chair Julie Fedorchak says while she has been informed the outages could be a possibility in the coming months, recent conversations with energy providers have given her optimism that the state could be skipped over. “MISO has an annual requirement for all their members to have a certain amount of generating resources to cover what they expect their peak demand on their system, plus a cushion,” said Fedorchak, who talked with WDAY Radio’s The Jay Thomas Show. “They need to have about a 10% cushion, probably a little more than that to avoid issues.”

NDSU welcomes David Cook, the university’s 15th president
The Jamestown Sun
Cook gathered with reporters outside the Old Main administration building on campus on Tuesday, May 17, and said he was excited to have received text messages from both Gov. Doug Burgum and University of North Dakota President Andrew Armacost on his first day. “That’s pretty cool that the governor cares about higher ed, cares about NDSU. I’m pretty sure he said ‘Go Bison’ in there,” Cook said.

Grant Will Help Train ND Food Service Workers
NewsDakota.com
Baesler said the COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected school meal service across North Dakota, as schools had to contend with school closings for in-person instruction, staff turnover, and supply chain disruptions that affected the availability of milk and other staple foods. “Making sure that our students have nutritious and tasty food available at school increases their ability to learn, because no one is able to learn well when they are hungry,” Baesler said. “This training grant will refresh the skills of our school food service workers and their supervisors, who play such an essential role in the education of our children.”

Couple affected by Glasser Images closure appears on Dr. Phil, gets wedding pictures back
KX News
Wrigley confirmed that the Consumer Protection Division conducted an extensive investigation and found “substantial evidence” supporting the allegations in the complaint. Investigators gathered financial and accounting records, internal and external communications, and testimony from approximately 20 witnesses. The attorney general’s lawsuit seeks to ban Glasser from providing future photography services, restitution for consumers and subcontractors, and appropriate civil penalties.

Washington, D.C.

House Passes Fuel Price-Gouging Measure
The Epoch Times
Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) ran through a laundry list of Biden administration actions that he said contributed to the rise in gas prices. These included the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate-related disclosure proposal. As Armstrong noted, the Biden administration already pushed the FTC to investigate rising gas prices late last year.

Senators push USDA and FDA for solutions and answers to the formula shortage
Williston Herald
Senator John Hoeven helped to introduce the Access to Baby Formula Act which gives the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) the authority to be more flexible during times of crisis such as natural disasters, public health emergencies, or recalls and shortage events like our country is currently facing. This flexibility will allow families who rely on the Special Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to purchase any brand or type of formula available, instead of having to adhere to restrictions of brand and type. This legislation will also require that formula manufacturers who provide formula for WIC to have a plan in place on how they will respond to shortages in the future, so families can be sure they will have the formula they need. Both chambers of Congress have now passed the bill, and it will now go to the President to be signed into law.

18 Senators Call to Defund Biden Disinformation Board
Town Hall
Before the Biden administration put a pause on its Disinformation Governance Board, 18 Republican senators called to defund it…“The federal government should never be in the business of regulating speech or being the arbiter of truth,” adding “This is the latest attempt to engage in that slippery slope should be defunded.” The lawmakers expressed their concern that the disinformation board puts American’s First Amendment rights at risk, saying “A fine line exists between tackling disinformation and government censorship.” The senators doubted the board’s promise to “protect privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties,” while criticizing the lack of transparency of the board. “The board currently lacks any guiding policy, mission statement, or charter,” adding “they also said that the board existed for several months “without having one documented meeting.”…The senators include…Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.)…John Hoeven (R-N.D.)[.]

Drought diminishes in concern but flooding woes continue in North Dakota; millions in aid on its way
The Bismarck Tribune
The U.S. Department of Agriculture this month announced that it will soon begin doling out $6 billion in payments through the Emergency Relief Program. North Dakota producers are expected to get about $915 million through the program’s first phase, with checks being disbursed beginning next month, according to U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.

Republicans Propose Bill to Fight Back Against Woke CapitalismBreitbart
Senate Republicans on Wednesday introduced legislation aimed at curbing Wall Street’s largest asset managers’ woke capitalist activism…The INDEX Act would require investment advisers of passively-managed funds to vote proxies in accordance with instructions of fund investors, not at the discretion of the asset managers. Toomey’s office contends that the INDEX Act would strip the asset managers’ activist power and foster a more competitive and democratic corporate system…Kevin Cramer...sponsored the legislation.

‘We ought to get locked in a room:’ With time running out before the midterms, Democrats grow anxious about botching Biden’s agenda
Business Insider
The chaos-squiggle image of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda moving through Congress is starting to resemble a flatline on a hospital heart monitor. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia came out in opposition to the House-approved Build Back Better bill five months ago in a Fox News interview, arguing it would grow the national debt and worsen inflation. Without his support, Democrats can’t pass their marquee climate and tax legislation over united GOP resistance in the 50-50 Senate and it has been frozen in amber ever since…”He’s been so clear about reconciliation,” GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota told reporters on Monday evening. “I don’t know why even his own people seem to not accept no for an answer.”

Senators press FDA commissioner on infant formula shortage
The Hill
Sens. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf on Thursday pressing him over decisions that contributed to the ongoing infant formula shortage. The senators asked Califf and his agency to provide a detailed timeline of the agency’s inspection of the Abbott Laboratories facility in Sturgis, Mich., the closure of which spurred the formula shortage, as well as more recent efforts to bolster supplies and prevent a future shortage. “While we appreciate the steps currently being taken by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), we are concerned that the Agency did not take these actions sooner, and we believe that more must be done to safely alleviate the shortage as quickly as possible,” the senators said in their letter. 


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