Plain Talk

North Dakotans like to get a lot of work out of their public servants. Perhaps, in particularly, those working in the judiciary. The "judicial system has somewhere between 160,000 and 180,000 cases each year," Chief Justice Jon Jensen said on this episode of Plain Talk. Given that the state only has "55 district court judges," this creates "a pretty large case load that each one of our district court judges has to manage each year." Those judges also have to cover a lot of legal territory given that they're of general jurisdiction. "We don't have a criminal court judge, a civil court judge, a family court judge, or a juvenile court judge. Every one of our judges has to do every one of those things," Jensen said. "If you can imagine judges get up in the morning, they may have family law cases in the morning, criminal cases in the afternoon. It's a lot to ask from them at the district court level." Yet, despite this work load, Jensen pointed out that North Dakota judges operate at a high level. "We have docket currency rates that are at the top of the United States," he said, also noting that out of the 160,000 to 180,000 cases that are heard each year, the state only sees about "300 appeals per year." Jensen announced recently that, though he's committed to finishing the current 10-year term he was elected to on the North Dakota Supreme Court, which ends in 2030, he's stepping down as chief justice. But in doing so, he's reflecting on his accomplishments in that position, which includes increasing the pay for judges, as well as taking steps to lighten burdens. He called the state legislature "a very good partner" in raising pay, increasing staffing, and creating new judgeships. "We have some challenges coming up," Jensen was quick to add, which includes a reopening of online access to court records, something the court attempted years ago but shut down quickly after it became clear that lawyers and court officials weren't doing a good enough job redacting private information from the files. Also on this episode, guest co-host Pat Finken and I discussed the possible end of the government shutdown, the looming fight over what the government can do to address health care costs, and the legal challenge to North Dakota's corrupt practices law for politicians. 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. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive

Jon Jensen, the Chief Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court, shares insights as he prepares to step down from his chief role while continuing his term. He discusses the state's heavy judicial workload, with judges handling diverse cases and a staggering 160,000 to 180,000 annually. Jensen highlights technological advancements, including remote hearings and digital records. He also addresses the importance of improving judicial pay for diversity and the challenges of managing rising caseloads, reflecting on his impactful leadership.

"I'm optimistic that they're going to do it," North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread said on this episode of Plain Talk, referring to Congress approving an extension to enhanced subsidies for health insurance policies sold on the individual marketplace exchanges. "I'm hopeful that they do it because I think it's the it is the right thing to do." The subsidies are central to the ongoing shutdown of the federal government, with Democrats refusing to reopen the government without a deal to extend them, and Republicans saying they'll only cut a deal like that once the government is open again. Godfread, whose office approved new rates for the current open enrollment plan last week based on the assumption that the subsidies will be continued, has warned that without them millions of Americans, and tens of thousands of North Dakotans, would face dramatic cost increases. Despite his prediction, he does see the possibility where Congress doesn't renew them. "There is certainly a scenario and a reality where neither side wins on this," he said. "I think both sides are so dug into that somebody has to lose, and nobody wants to lose." Godfread says he's been working with North Dakota's federal delegation — Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, along with Rep. Julie Fedorchak — to get this point across. "The point, again, that I've made with our delegation is, guys, the consumers are the ones who are losing here." But even given his support for extending the subsidies, Godfread warns that's not going to fix anything. "It's a $440 billion subsidy over the life of this. It's very, very expensive," he said, saying the real solution is addressing health care costs. Godfread discussed different solutions to that, from increased price transparency to using regulatory authority to impose some price controls, but also said there's a point where the status quo is going to collapse and leave no choice but a complete take over. "That's exactly what I've said to our to our healthcare providers, in those conversations, that guys, you are advocating for a Medicare for all system," Godfread said. "And I said, we're going to get to a point where nobody can afford this stuff. The only person that can bail it out is going to be the federal government and then we're going to have Medicare for all." Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discussed the ongoing problems at the North Dakota Commerce Department, when the government shutdown will end, and the federal lawsuit filed by noted advocate for dishonesty Brandon Prichard. 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. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive

"I'm optimistic that they're going to do it," North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread said on this episode of Plain Talk, referring to Congress approving an extension to enhanced subsidies for health insurance policies sold on the individual marketplace exchanges. "I'm hopeful that they do it because I think it's the it is the right thing to do." The subsidies are central to the ongoing shutdown of the federal government, with Democrats refusing to reopen the government without a deal to extend them, and Republicans saying they'll only cut a deal like that once the government is open again. Godfread, whose office approved new rates for the current open enrollment plan last week based on the assumption that the subsidies will be continued, has warned that without them millions of Americans, and tens of thousands of North Dakotans, would face dramatic cost increases. Despite his prediction, he does see the possibility where Congress doesn't renew them. "There is certainly a scenario and a reality where neither side wins on this," he said. "I think both sides are so dug into that somebody has to lose, and nobody wants to lose." Godfread says he's been working with North Dakota's federal delegation — Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, along with Rep. Julie Fedorchak — to get this point across. "The point, again, that I've made with our delegation is, guys, the consumers are the ones who are losing here." But even given his support for extending the subsidies, Godfread warns that's not going to fix anything. "It's a $440 billion subsidy over the life of this. It's very, very expensive," he said, saying the real solution is addressing health care costs. Godfread discussed different solutions to that, from increased price transparency to using regulatory authority to impose some price controls, but also said there's a point where the status quo is going to collapse and leave no choice but a complete take over. "That's exactly what I've said to our to our healthcare providers, in those conversations, that guys, you are advocating for a Medicare for all system," Godfread said. "And I said, we're going to get to a point where nobody can afford this stuff. The only person that can bail it out is going to be the federal government and then we're going to have Medicare for all." Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discussed the ongoing problems at the North Dakota Commerce Department, when the government shutdown will end, and the federal lawsuit filed by noted advocate for dishonesty Brandon Prichard. 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. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive

This has not been a good week for President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement. Elections in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia, California, and beyond seemed to see voters sending a message to Trump and his allies about the government shutdown and more. "Well, the first thing I think the president came out and said, 'Oh, the only reason that this happened is I wasn't on the ballot,'" former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp said on this episode of Plain Talk reacting to the results. "President Trump was on the ballot in every one of those states and and the message was clear. We don't like the direction you're headed." "The more they ignore this, the the bigger the peril is for 2026," she added. Heitkamp argues that Republicans are tone deaf on issues like health care costs and SNAP benefits. "They want to double down on all the policies under the theory that those are working," she said, arguing that Trump, in particular, seems to have a disconnect with the electorate. "He believes his own headlines," Heitkamp said. "He believes that, you know, that people are mean. I mean, he really believes that Americans are mean. And, you know, he's going with the theory, and part of this is the longtime demonization of people who are on food assistance on SNAP." Democrats, meanwhile, seem to have found their message, Heitkamp said. It's not culture war issues. "It's called affordability, which I've been preaching for freaking ever," she said. Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discuss a lawsuit from trollish political activist Brandon Prichard challenging a state law making it a misdemeanor to lie in political messaging, how Democrats can turn their victories this week unto success in next year's midterms, and respond to listener feedback. 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. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive

This has not been a good week for President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement. Elections in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia, California, and beyond seemed to see voters sending a message to Trump and his allies about the government shutdown and more. "Well, the first thing I think the president came out and said, 'Oh, the only reason that this happened is I wasn't on the ballot,'" former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp said on this episode of Plain Talk reacting to the results. "President Trump was on the ballot in every one of those states and and the message was clear. We don't like the direction you're headed." "The more they ignore this, the the bigger the peril is for 2026," she added. Heitkamp argues that Republicans are tone deaf on issues like health care costs and SNAP benefits. "They want to double down on all the policies under the theory that those are working," she said, arguing that Trump, in particular, seems to have a disconnect with the electorate. "He believes his own headlines," Heitkamp said. "He believes that, you know, that people are mean. I mean, he really believes that Americans are mean. And, you know, he's going with the theory, and part of this is the longtime demonization of people who are on food assistance on SNAP." Democrats, meanwhile, seem to have found their message, Heitkamp said. It's not culture war issues. "It's called affordability, which I've been preaching for freaking ever," she said. Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discuss a lawsuit from trollish political activist Brandon Prichard challenging a state law making it a misdemeanor to lie in political messaging, how Democrats can turn their victories this week unto success in next year's midterms, and respond to listener feedback. 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. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive

"Imagine you're someone a family who is working a job or two or even three, and then all of a sudden, with a week before the end of the month, you learn that the money you had been counting on to purchase food for you and your family isn't going to be there on Saturday, November 1st," Karen Ehrens said on this episode of Plain Talk. "Probably you have rent due or you're a senior on a fixed income scraping by till the end of the month, looking forward to when you might get some help so you can buy groceries. And then you learn a few days before Saturday that that money won't be there." "It's beyond frustrating," she added. It's also unprecedented. "It's a never-before-seen event that's coming," she said. Ehrens is the U.S. Policy Manager for the Alliance to End Hunger, and she's referring to funding for food stamps running out due to the shutdown of the federal government. She is predicting a lot of suffering for vulnerable people. "Nationally, on average, four out of five households that receive SNAP benefits have a child, an elderly person, a person with disabilities," she said. "So, that's who gets SNAP first and foremost." But it doesn't have to be like this, she argued. "They could end this with a decision to release funds that are in an account, and transfer some money over that way, put enough money out around $8 billion to keep SNAP going through the month of November." This interview with Ehrens was recorded before Gov. Kelly Armstrong announced $1.5 million in state assistance to food banks and other programs to help mitigate the blow of halted funding, but she said that while it helps, it's nowhere near enough. "For every meal that's provided through the food bank network across the US, there are eight meals provided by SNAP. So, it's a big gap to fill." 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. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive

"Imagine you're someone a family who is working a job or two or even three, and then all of a sudden, with a week before the end of the month, you learn that the money you had been counting on to purchase food for you and your family isn't going to be there on Saturday, November 1st," Karen Ehrens said on this episode of Plain Talk. "Probably you have rent due or you're a senior on a fixed income scraping by till the end of the month, looking forward to when you might get some help so you can buy groceries," she continued. "And then you learn a few days before Saturday that that money won't be there." "It's beyond frustrating," she added. It's also unprecedented. "It's a never-before-seen event that's coming," she said. Ehrens is the U.S. Policy Manager for the Alliance to End Hunger, and she's referring to funding for food stamps running out due to the shutdown of the federal government. She is predicting a lot of suffering for vulnerable people. "Nationally, on average, four out of five households that receive SNAP benefits have a child, an elderly person, a person with disabilities," she said. "So, that's who gets SNAP first and foremost." But it doesn't have to be like this, she argued. "They could end this with a decision to release funds that are in an account, and transfer some money over that way, put enough money out around $8 billion to keep SNAP going through the month of November." This interview with Ehrens was recorded before Gov. Kelly Armstrong announced $1.5 million in state assistance to food banks and other programs to help mitigate the blow of halted funding, but she said that while it helps, it's nowhere near enough. "For every meal that's provided through the food bank network across the US, there are eight meals provided by SNAP. So, it's a big gap to fill." 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. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive

During their regular session earlier this year, North Dakota lawmakers formed its own version of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. It's a task force, as opposed to a department, and state Auditor Josh Gallion, who is participating in the meetings, said they've been calling it TOGE to avoid confusion with the federal efforts. But it's been making good progress, including reviewing a big problem the state has when it comes to implementing policy. Namely, that nobody bothers to define what the success of that policy might look like. "I think what we learned a lot was we don't have performance measures," Gallion said on this episode of Plain Talk. He pointed out that the state often creates things, like economic development programs aimed at creating jobs or drawing workers to the state, without any sort of a mechanism for measuring how many jobs were created, or how many workers were inspired to move here. "Is the money that we're putting into these programs, are they achieving desirable results? You know, if we're going to put a million dollars into a workforce program, is it affecting change? Is it moving the needle? Are we bringing workforce in? And how do we calculate some of that?" he asked. Gallion also addressed controversy over an audit of Stark County. The report from his office concluded that the county government was breaking state law capping general fund carry-over balances at no more than 75% of the previous year's revenues. That report also included a response from the county that said "we agree" with the finding, only the county says that Gallion's office added those words, and they didn't agree to it. "We wanted them to state we agree or disagree," Gallion said. "That should be the beginning of every response." He also claimed that the change was made only after consultation with Stark County, though a quote from the county auditor indicated that she didn't expect her county's comments to be modified. "I wrote our responses to the audit for Stark County and I don't think they should have changed them," Stark County Auditor/Treasurer Karen Richard told the Dickinson Press, "but I do appreciate them clarifying why they changed the language." Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the standoff between Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, and Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan over new appointments to the state Ethics Committee. 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. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive

During their regular session earlier this year, North Dakota lawmakers formed its own version of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. It's a task force, as opposed to a department, and state Auditor Josh Gallion, who is participating in the meetings, said they've been calling it TOGE to avoid confusion with the federal efforts. But it's been making good progress, including reviewing a big problem the state has when it comes to implementing policy. Namely, that nobody bothers to define what the success of that policy might look like. "I think what we learned a lot was we don't have performance measures," Gallion said on this episode of Plain Talk. He pointed out that the state often creates things, like economic development programs aimed at creating jobs or drawing workers to the state, without any sort of a mechanism for measuring how many jobs were created, or how many workers were inspired to move here. "Is the money that we're putting into these programs, are they achieving desirable results? You know, if we're going to put a million dollars into a workforce program, is it affecting change? Is it moving the needle? Are we bringing workforce in? And how do we calculate some of that?" he asked. Gallion also addressed controversy over an audit of Stark County. The report from his office concluded that the county government was breaking state law capping general fund carry-over balances at no more than 75% of the previous year's revenues. That report also included a response from the county that said "we agree" with the finding, only the county says that Gallion's office added those words, and they didn't agree to it. "We wanted them to state we agree or disagree," Gallion said. "That should be the beginning of every response." He also claimed that the change was made only after consultation with Stark County, though a quote from the county auditor indicated that she didn't expect her county's comments to be modified. "I wrote our responses to the audit for Stark County and I don't think they should have changed them," Stark County Auditor/Treasurer Karen Richard told the Dickinson Press, "but I do appreciate them clarifying why they changed the language." Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the standoff between Gov. Kelly Armstrong, Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, and Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan over new appointments to the state Ethics Committee. 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. Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts | Episode Archive