666: The year that was, and the year that will be

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.

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