|
|
Welcome to the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Insider, a newsletter that features regular updates about upcoming Dem-NPL events, legislative happenings, and news that affects North Dakotans!
|
|
Did you know the DNC hosts a morning news show called the Daily Blueprint that is livestreamed on YouTube weekdays at 9 AM CDT? You can watch it live or later on the DNC’s YouTube channel here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Potato Bowl Parade
University & North 9th St, Grand Forks
|
|
Sign up to be a Proud Dem-NPLer in the Potato Bowl Parade on Sept 6th! Meet us at our float at approximately University & North 9th St at 8:45am. Wear UND green or blue, if you can! We will walk and hand out candy starting at the DeMers Overpass and head into East Grand Forks! Please join in the fun!
|
|
|
|
District 32 & District 47 meeting
|
Bismarck Library – Meeting Room B
|
1515 N. 5th Street, Bismarck
|
|
Joint District 32 & District 47 meeting in Bismarck – Fall Event discussion.
|
|
|
|
Cass County Democratic-NPL Policy Meeting
1325 23rd St S, Suite B, Fargo
|
|
Our monthly meeting which includes representatives from the 11 Legislative Districts in Cass County, elected Legislators and staff.
|
|
|
|
Drinking Liberally!
The Press Box at Players Sports Bar & Grill
2050 1st Ave E. Dickinson
|
|
Join other like-minded individuals in Dickinson every Wednesday!
|
|
|
|
Dickinson Area Democratic-NPL meeting
The Press Box at Players Sports Bar & Grill
2050 1st Ave E. Dickinson
|
|
Districts 37, 36, and 39 meet every second Wednesday after Drinking Liberally!
|
|
|
|
Coffee with Friends
Luna Fargo
1545 S University Dr., Fargo
|
Join us for Coffee with Friends at Luna in Fargo on Saturday, September 13, from 9-10 am to reconnect and share. Katie Christensen Mineer, Cheryl Biller and Arlette Preston will join us. We appreciate Luna opening their space to us.
|
|
Paula Sell from D21 and Connie Hoffman from D10 have been planning this for Sept 13. At that time we can see if people want to continue to meet and if so, how often, and decide a focus or purpose for continuing to come together. Hope you can come
|
|
|
|
Drinks and Discussion with Dems
El Zagal Shrine Fargo
1429 3rd St N, Fargo, ND 58102
|
|
Our informal get-together to talk about current events, brainstorm on activities we can do together as a two district partnership, and just enjoy each other’s company in general.
|
|
hosted by District 45 Dems!
|
|
|
|
District 24 Meeting
Enderlin Senior Center
221 3rd Ave., Enderlin
|
|
Join us for our meeting in Enderlin!
|
|
|
|
Valley City High School Homecoming Parade
|
Line-up: 3:30 p.m. at the North end of Central Avenue
|
|
Parade starts at 4:00 p.m.
|
|
Parade ends at south end of Central Ave. Remember to wear your Democrat t-shirt!
|
|
|
|
West Fest Parade
|
Sheyenne Street & Main Avenue West
|
|
Walk with Cass County Dems in the West Fest Parade!
|
|
|
|
Enderlin Sunflower Days Parade
|
Walk with the District 24 Democratic-NPL in the Enderlin Sunflower Days Parade
|
|
Line-up: 4:30 p.m. on Dewey Street
|
|
Parade starts at 5:00 p.m. Remember to wear your Democrat t-shirt!
|
|
|
|
District 45 Monthly Meeting
Northport Library Community Room
2714 Broadway North Fargo
|
|
This will be our regular monthly District 45 meeting.
|
|
|
|
District 21 Steak Fry
|
Join us for a fall steak fry to discuss current topics with our D21 Legislators! $15 for steak, sides, and dessert
|
|
|
|
NDSU Homecoming Parade
|
North University Drive & 17th Avenue North
|
|
Walk with the Cass County Dems in the NDSU Homecoming Parade!
|
|
|
|
|
Coffee & Donuts with Jess Piper
Atomic Coffee
222 Broadway N #100, Fargo, ND 58102
|
Come chat with our Burdick Dinner featured speaker, Jess Piper, the Executive Director for Blue Missouri. Jess is a mother to five and grandmother to three and lives on a small farm on the Missouri/Iowa border.
|
She was born and raised in rural America. She received degrees in English and Teaching from the University of Arkansas and was an American Literature teacher for 16 years. After the 2016 election of Trump, Jess became politically active.
|
|
Jess ran for office in 2022 for State Representative in HD1 in Northwest Missouri. She was not successful, but used the experience to organize progressives in rural Missouri.
|
|
Burdick Dinner 2025 with Jess Piper
Radisson Blu Fargo
201 5th St N, Fargo, ND 58102
|
The Burdick Dinner 2025 will be held on October 4th, 2025, at the Radisson Blu located in downtown Fargo! The fun-filled event will begin with a reception at 5:30pm followed by the dinner and program beginning at 6:30pm. Our featured speaker is Jess Piper, the Executive Direcor for Blue Missouri. We look forward to seeing you there!
|
|
Purchase your tickets before September 12 for a $25 early bird discount!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help us spread our message—share these recent posts!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chairman of the ND Dem-NPL Adam Goldwyn
Guest host Jamie Selzler welcomes Adam Goldwyn into the KFGO studio to talk about the state of the ND Dem-NPL and the national Democratic party.
|
|
|
|
Longtime Valley City lawmaker dies, remembered for support of higher education
|
Sen. Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo, a member of the committee, said Robinson could also be known as “Mr. Valley City” for his contributions to the university and representing the area in Legislature for more than three decades.
|
“He was such a gentleman,” Hogan said. “He was classy, respectful, thoughtful, but also very, very compassionate and committed to education, all education, but particularly in Valley City.”
|
|
|
|
Amid continued statewide housing shortfalls, some hope for renewed efforts
|
The plan had similarities to what was successfully rolled out in South Dakota.
|
|
Most of the funding targeted communities under 20,000. Matching funds from political subdivisions, local developers and other funding sources within local communities would have been required had the program gone through.
|
That bill, SB 2225, failed in committee in the wee hours of May 3 just before the conclusion of the legislative assembly.
|
|
|
|
States, providers awaiting specifics on Medicaid changes from US Health and Human Services
|
North Dakota health officials, health care providers and the public are waiting for details on how the state will implement changes to its Medicaid programs, but federal guidance may not be handed out until 2026.
|
|
Without that guidance, the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services and health care providers won’t be able to calculate potential administrative costs forced by the changes, or have a clearer picture on how to implement new processes, said Sarah Aker, executive director of medical services for the state Department of Health and Human Services.
|
|
The new requirements will affect about 23,000 of the more than 108,000 Medicaid recipients in the state who are part of the Medicaid expansion program.
|
Aker said the department knows communicating the changes in the program will be important for patients and providers.
|
|
|
|
Epstein survivors implore Congress to act as push for disclosure builds
Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse made their voices heard Wednesday on Capitol Hill, pressuring lawmakers to force the release of the sex trafficking investigation into the late financier and pushing back on President Donald Trump’s effort to dismiss the issue as a “hoax.”
|
In a news conference on the Capitol lawn that drew hundreds of supporters and chants of “release the files,” the women shared — some publicly for the first time — how they were lured into Epstein’s abuse by his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell. They demanded that the Trump administration provide transparency and accountability for what they endured as teenagers.
|
It was a striking stand as the push for disclosure of the so-called Epstein files reaches a pivotal moment in Washington. Lawmakers are battling over how Congress should delve into the Epstein saga while the Republican president, after initially signaling support for transparency on the campaign trail, has been dismissing the matter as a “Democrat hoax.”
|
|
|
|
North Dakota tribal college presidents tighten budgets amid federal funding worries
Tribal colleges and universities faced a major funding scare earlier this year after the White House proposed slashing the Bureau of Indian Education’s budget by 90%, Indian Country Today reported. The bureau supports dozens of higher ed institutions serving Native communities across the country, including five in North Dakota.
|
|
|
|
Victims of Jeffrey Epstein are demanding release of unclassified records
Linda Kenyon is an Anchor and Reporter for CBS Radio. She has covered Congress, the White House and anchored the news for several radio networks before she came to CBS including Unistar Radio Networks, AP Radio, SRN News and Westwood One News.
|
Linda joins Joel Heitkamp on "News and Views" to talk about the victims of Jeffrey Epstein. They demanded on Wednesday that the U.S. Congress pass legislation forcing the release of all unclassified records related to the disgraced financier held by President Donald Trump’s administration.
|
|
|
|
DNC Vice Chair visits Fargo
|
Kenyatta went to local events, speaking to the community about the future of the Democratic Party.
|
|
“I’ve been saying this all across the country. I think the Democratic Party has a simple mission and it’s three words: make life better. That’s our job, to talk about, and not just talk about, but to ultimately accomplish making life better for working people and working families,” said Kenyatta.
|
Kenyatta met with North Dakota Dem-NPL leaders to discuss various topics.
|
|
|
|
Strong public schools make North Dakota strong
|
But strong schools don’t happen by accident.
|
They require stable funding, policies that recognize the unique needs of rural districts as well as urban districts, and fair salaries that keep great teachers in our classrooms. Given the importance and impact of public schools in North Dakota, when we shortchange our schools, we are shortchanging our communities and limiting opportunities for our children.
|
This school year, I encourage all North Dakotans to celebrate, support, and protect the public schools that hold our communities together. Let’s honor our teachers for the difference they make in the lives of students every single day. Because when we invest in our schools, we are not just funding education, we are building stronger communities, creating opportunities, and securing the future of North Dakota.
|
Our kids deserve nothing less, and neither do we.
|
|
|
|
Speaking out: Race hate as spiritual treason
In 2025 President Donald Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem have set a goal of arresting and deporting 3,000 people a day. They no longer provide due process required by Miranda. A United States citizen in Bismarck has been apprehended and questioned by ICE solely on the color of his skin. Trump and Noem are seeding race hate.
|
In 1955 Ed Sullivan of "The Ed Sullivan Show" said “We’ve been called upon to search our hearts and souls of hatred, cleanse them of natural hate and fear of our neighbors… Bigotry and intolerance or religious hate and discrimination are spiritual acts of treason.” My fellow North Dakotans of all faiths and those without any, let us embrace true spirituality however you define it, and reject treasonous hate and discrimination.
|
|
|
|
States fast-track wind, solar permits and contracts to beat Trump’s deadline
The Inflation Reduction Act, signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, extended the federal government’s clean energy tax credits into the 2030s. The policy offered developers a 30% tax credit for investments in energy projects that don’t produce carbon emissions. A separate production credit for projects in operation offered money for every unit of clean electricity they generated.
|
State leaders say the credits have been key to the financing of wind, solar and other renewable energy projects. States with mandates to transition to clean electricity say the federal support was integral to their plans.
|
For renewable energy developments, the tax credits have brought project costs down 30-50%, said Mike O’Boyle, acting policy team director with Energy Innovation, a nonpartisan climate and energy think tank.
|
But the landscape changed dramatically on July 4, when Trump signed a giant domestic policy measure that ended those credits. Projects must now start construction by July 4, 2026, to qualify for the credits, or be operational by the end of 2027.
|
|
|
|
John Harris President and CEO of Prairie Public Broadcasting
Guest host Jim Shaw is joined by John Harris, President and CEO of Prairie Public Broadcasting, to discuss the challenges of public broadcasting in light of federal and state broadcasting.
|
|
|
|
ND Soybean Council and Growers Association join Joel to discuss tariffs and trade impacting soybean farmers
Jim Thompson is the Chairman of the ND Soybean Council, and Justin Sherlock is President of the ND Soybean Growers Association. They join Joel Heitkamp in the KFGO studio to talk about North Dakota soybeans and the current trade and export issues with China.
|
|
|
|
The Badass Grandma Dina Butcher
Guest host Jim Shaw welcomes Dina Butcher for an extended conversation about her family's history as Jews in Nazi Germany and her feelings about the current state of national politics.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Check out these messages from national Democrats
|
|
|
|
|
The US is losing manufacturing jobs. Here's why.
“We know nothing reduces investment quite like a bunch of uncertainty, especially in regard to policy,” Syverson said. “And to say that we’ve had uncertainty in policy for the past several months is a massive understatement.”
|
|
|
|
'We Need to Terminate Treatment': VA Mental Health Providers Say They Are Under Pressure to Limit Care
But six current and two former VA mental health providers who spoke to The War Horse insisted that they have been told to stop seeing veterans for long, indeterminate periods and instead move towards a limited number of sessions before referring the veteran to group therapy, primary care, or discharging them altogether.
|
VA’s response is "kind of maddening," said Stephen Long, a former psychologist and psychoanalyst at the Northport VA Medical Center on Long Island who retired in 2024 primarily because he was being told to limit individual therapy sessions. "Most of the people who are on the ground in clinics, they see this happening, this is their lived experience."
|
Clinicians who spoke to The War Horse said they were pressured to cut off individual therapy in most cases after anywhere from six to 24 sessions, depending on the medical center.
|
|
|
|
The Hot Dish: Tennessee Red
|
Join hosts Heidi Heitkamp and Joel Heitkamp as they welcome Justin Kanew, founder of the Tennessee Holler, to The Hot Dish. They discuss the political climate in Tennessee, the role of faith in politics, and the impact of media on public perception. This conversation will provide insights into how local politics shape national narratives and the importance of grassroots movements.
|
Justin shares his experiences in challenging the status quo and emphasizes the need for truth in media. You will learn about the challenges and opportunities in advocating for change at the local level. This episode is a must-listen if you're interested in understanding the importance of independent media in rural America and the power of grassroots activism.
|
|
|
|
Minnesota MAGA Rep Forgets Voting Against School Safety Bill
Rep. Tom Emmer was a deer in the headlights as his attack on Gov. Tim Walz backfired on live TV.
|
|
|
|
Trump DENIES REALITY After DISASTER Jobs Report
A bad jobs report drops, but Trump refuses to face reality. Tommy Vietor and Jon Favreau react.
|
|
|
|
How Chicago, Baltimore and New Orleans are reacting to Trump's National Guard threats
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat and vocal Trump critic, said in a statement that "none of this is about fighting crime or making Chicago safer."
|
"For Trump, it's about testing his power and producing a political drama to cover up his corruption," Pritzker said. "We are ready to fight troop deployments in court and we will do everything possible to ensure that agents operating inside the confines of this state do so in a legal and ethical manner."
|
|
|
|
Survivor Jena-Lisa Jones on Trump 'Epstein hoax' claim: I voted for him, he's supposed to protect us
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell is joined by Jena-Lisa Jones, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse who was introduced to Epstein when she was just 14 years old, to discuss her decision to join other Epstein survivors on Capitol Hill where they shared their stories surrounded by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
|
|
|
|
Rural America is suffering an economic crisis as crop prices plunge — ‘U.S. soybean farmers cannot survive a prolonged trade dispute’
Agricultural trade groups have sounded the alarm recently on the state of farmers, who are grappling with a continued slump in prices for their crops and worsening credit conditions. They have asked lawmakers to help increase access to export markets, including China, which is still locked in a trade war with the U.S.
|
|
|
|
Anger at RFK Jr. hearing over chaos at CDC, vaccine research cuts
ump’s most notable executive order sought to further bolster his claim that he could call on state National Guard troops, regardless of whether state authorities wanted him to, to “assist in quelling civil disturbances.” Trump was straightforward about what he was doing. When asked, “Are you prepared to order National Guard troops into American cities if those governors don’t request the federal deployment,” he answered, “I am.”
|
|
|
|
Some of Trump's tariffs in limbo
Just before the Labor Day weekend, a federal appeals court struck down many of the Trump administration's tariffs.
|
|
|
|
SNAP’s Critical Role in Rural Communities — and the Consequences of Cuts
Recent analysis highlights the acute risks SNAP cuts pose to rural communities. Of the 303 counties identified as having both high SNAP participation and limited access to authorized retailers, 77 percent are rural, despite rural counties comprising only 62 percent of all U.S. counties. These areas sit at the intersection of high-need and low- access, where SNAP recipients rely on a limited number of local retailers for food.
|
In these rural counties, small grocery stores, specialty shops, and farmers’ markets are at heightened risk. These retailers serve as economic anchors, and SNAP cuts not only jeopardize food access but also slash revenue for local businesses, destabilizing rural economies and shrinking already strained tax bases just as demand for public services grows.
|
|
|
|
WATCH: Sen. Sanders blasts RFK Jr. on COVID vaccine views, conflicts of interest
|
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., questioned HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday in a hearing about President Donald Trump’s health care agenda.
|
Kennedy appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance a day after more than 20 medical societies and organizations called for his resignation. They cited “repeated efforts to undermine science and public health,” most recently the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez over vaccine science and the resulting resignations of other leaders at the organization.
|
During his tenure, the health secretary and former anti-vaccine advocate has narrowed long-standing U.S. vaccine recommendations. He’s also replaced a key panel of medical experts with his hand-picked candidates ahead of the start of the respiratory virus season in the United States.
|
|
|
|
Electricity is About to be Like Housing
Why is supply being artificially constrained?
|
|
|
|
Doctor Reacts To RFK Jr.'s Health Claims
The Department of Health and Human Services requires leadership grounded in evidence-based science and public responsibility. Secretary Kennedy’s conduct and rhetoric make it clear he is not fit to serve in this critical role.
|
|
|
|
Rural Women Are at a Higher Risk of Violence − And Less Likely to Get Help
Rural libraries have proven to be a vital resource in the struggle to end interpersonal forms of abuse of women. They are more accessible in many U.S. rural communities than are shelters, public transportation and other services.
|
Rural librarians can direct survivors to legal assistance and domestic violence service websites, help find books and pamphlets that are useful for survivors, and provide programming for survivors’ children if survivors need time to think about their options.
|
|
|
|
Trump’s new law will limit payments to hospitals that treat low-income patients
President Donald Trump’s new tax and spending law will likely force more than half the states to reduce payments to doctors and hospitals that treat Medicaid patients, a change critics warn will be particularly harmful to rural hospitals struggling to stay afloat.
|
Medicaid, the joint state-federal health insurance program for low-income people, reimburses doctors, hospitals and nursing facilities for treating enrollees. But in many cases, the program doesn’t fully cover the cost of care, straining providers that serve a large share of Medicaid patients.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Century Club supports our year-round work to build party infrastructure supporting candidate recruitment, local district and regional leadership, issue-based education, and tools for Dem-NPL success.
|
|
|
|
|
Help us elect great Democrats up and down the ballot!
|
|
|
|
|
The North Dakota Democratic-NPL is launching a new grassroots program called “Neighbor to Neighbor” where volunteers will connect with voters in your community to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. As a volunteer, you will be responsible for connecting with voters in 25 homes in your neighborhood or friends and family to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot about 3-4 times this year.
|
|
|
|
Grassroots organizers are the lifeblood of the Dem-NPL! Sign up to volunteer with the Dem-NPL!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
