|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
ND HHS is hosting Listening Sessions on Rural Health Care—make your voice heard!
|
North Dakota Health and Human Services is hosting virtual listening sessions on the state’s Rural Health Transformation Program. During these sessions, agency leaders will share key themes from the recent Rural Health Transformation Program survey and gather feedback from participants about priorities for North Dakota's Rural Health Transformation Program application.
|
Register for one of three listening sessions by getting a ticket. After registering, you will receive an email confirmation with a meeting link and call-in information.
|
|
Listening Session #1 Friday, Oct. 3, 3 to 4 p.m. CT
|
|
Listening Session #2 Tuesday, Oct. 7, 9 to 10 a.m. CT
|
|
Listening Session #3 Thursday, Oct. 9, Noon to 1 p.m.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2025 Q4 Policy Committee Meeting
Radisson Blu Fargo
201 5th St N, Fargo, ND 58102
|
|
4th Quarter 2025 Policy Committee Meeting of the Dem NPL
|
|
|
|
|
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 Director for Blue Missouri. We look forward to seeing you there!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dickinson Area Democratic-NPL meeting
|
October 8, 2025 at 7:00 pm MDT
|
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!
|
|
|
|
Dickinson Area Democratic-NPL meeting
|
October 8, 2025 at 7:00 pm MDT
|
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!
|
|
|
|
D12 Farm to Table Fundraiser
|
Sat., Oct 11, 2025 at 6:00 pm CDT
|
(location provided before event date)
|
|
Join us for good company, mocktails, cocktails, locally-sourced sirloin steaks & farm-fresh side dishes. Our keynote speaker will be Trygve Hammer, author of Punching Up and former US House Candidate!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Knock-tober
|
Sun, Oct 12, 12:00pm-3:00pm CDT
|
Virtual Training, Statewide Doorknock
|
|
Doorknocking's not scary when you go with friends!
|
|
Join us as we go out in pairs to visit voters who may be frustrated with the direction we are headed and looking for a good alternative at the next election.
|
|
October 12th, 12-3 pm Virtual Orientation 12 pm, followed by canvassing in pairs
|
|
|
|
Cass County Democratic-NPL Policy Meeting
|
Tue, Oct 14, 5:30pm-6:00pm CDT
|
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.
|
|
|
|
Souris Valley Dem-NPL
Parker Center
21 1st Ave. SE., Minot
|
Join the Souris Valley Dem-NPL at our Monthly Meeting!
|
All Democrats and Nonpartisan Leaguers in Minot and the surrounding area are welcome as we discuss news and upcoming events.
We will be meeting at the Parker Center (21 1st Ave SE, Minot, ND) on Tuesday, October 14th. There will be a social from 6PM – 6:30PM followed by the meeting from 6:30PM – 7:30PM.
|
|
We look forward to seeing you there!
|
|
|
|
Drinks and Discussion with Dems
El Zagal Shrine Fargo
1429 3rd Street North, Fargo
|
|
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 others’ company in general.
|
|
|
|
Elevate Academy
|
Are you ready to step into leadership—and bring your community with you?
|
Elevate Academy is a one-of-a-kind leadership training designed for people who want to lead change, whether by running for office, serving on boards, or becoming powerful advocates for the issues they care about most.
|
|
Hosted By: 701 Strategy Group is a political consulting firm focused on electing exceptional candidates, incubating fellow campaign talent, and organizing for policy that improves the lives of working families in North Dakota and the region. Amy Jacobson and Jessica Edland are seasoned political experts with a combined four decades of experience in North Dakota.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NO KINGS!
In America, we don’t put up with would-be kings.
|
Our peaceful movement is only getting bigger and stronger. “NO KINGS” is more than just a slogan—it’s the foundation our nation was built upon. Born in the streets, carried by millions in chants and on posters, it echoes from city blocks to rural town squares, uniting people across this country to fight dictatorship together.
|
|
The president thinks his rule is absolute. But in America, we don’t have kings, and we won’t back down against chaos, corruption, and cruelty. Grow our movement and join us.
|
|
|
|
NO KINGS Bismarck
600 East Boulevard Avenue
6th & East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck
|
|
|
|
NO KINGS Bottineau
|
912 11th St E (walking path), Bottineau
|
|
|
|
NO KINGS Dickinson
prairie hills mall
1701 Third Ave W., Dickinson
|
|
|
|
NO KINGS Fargo
Fargo City Hall
225 4th St N., Fargo
|
|
|
|
NO KINGS Grand Forks
Town Square Grand Forks
1 S 3rd St., Grand Forks
|
|
|
|
NO KINGS Minot
Sidewalk of Town and County Center
831 S Broadway, Minot
|
|
|
|
NO KINGS Valley City
125 Main St E
corner of Main St and Central Avenue, Valley City
|
|
|
|
NO KINGS Williston
Harmon Park
1215 Main St., Williston
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carved Pumpkin Contest
|
Sun, Oct 19, 2:00pm-5:00pm CDT
|
Sertoma Park Community Center
300 Riverside Park Rd, Bismarck, ND 58504
|
|
Come out for fun, prizes, and autumn treats! Costumes encouraged!
|
|
District 24 Roundup
|
Thu, October 30, 2025, 5:30 pm CDT
|
1241 14th St SW, Valley City
|
|
Our Special Guest Speaker is Trygve Hammer!
|
|
RSVP by calling or texting 701-680-8332
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help us spread our message—share these recent posts!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tariff fight, Argentina aid package leave ND soybean farmers reeling at harvest
In late September, the U.S. struck a $20 billion package deal with Argentina. This allowed them to stabilize their economy. This also allowed them to make their soybeans cheaper on the world market, prompting tons of sales to China, which outraged American farmers.
|
“I think a lot of farmers, for the most part, have been supportive of the administration and willing to endure some pain throughout the tariffs. But I think the narrative flipped for a lot of people last week, including myself,” said Dewitz.
|
|
|
|
North Dakota utility regulators set hearing for Xcel Energy's nearly 20% rate increase proposal
North Dakotans will have the chance to give the Public Service Commission input regarding Xcel Energy's proposal to raise electricity rates by 19.34% and add $44.556 million to its revenue.
|
Two public input sessions will take place on Monday, Oct. 13 — one at noon and another at 6 p.m. CST, according to a Wednesday, Oct. 1, release.
|
|
|
|
ND political leaders react to imminent government shutdown
Congressional Republicans knew that they would need Democratic votes to pass a funding bill, but they refused to negotiate with them. Democrats are simply asking for Republicans to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits so health care premiums don’t skyrocket for 35,000 North Dakotans. That’s on top of the 18,000 North Dakotans who are about to lose their Medicaid coverage because of the big budget bill. We can play the blame game all day, but ultimately, more North Dakotans than live in the city of Minot are about to see their health care costs soar or lose their coverage completely, and Democrats are the only ones fighting to stop that.
|
|
|
|
Shaw: They have surrendered their power
After Republicans in Congress passed the big ugly bill, North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer proudly declared, “We’re living in a moment where the administration and Congress and the courts are aligning for once.”
|
The trouble is, that’s not the way it’s supposed to work. The Founding Fathers envisioned a system of checks and balances. Now, the Republican majority in Congress and the Supreme Court have surrendered their power to Donald Trump. The Founding Fathers would be horrified.
|
|
|
|
ND Ag commissioner calls MAHA a ‘concern for agriculture’
Goehring then stressed to the legislature that MAHA activists are beginning to lobby in state capitols. “One of [agricultural leaders] fears is that now that they can’t get their way at the federal level, they’re coming to each one of you at the state level to try and push their agenda on Ag business, ag processing, or foods or products that are available to the consumer.” Goehring’s warning is not unfounded. Bills fighting for tentpole issues with MAHA have been introduced in dozens of state legislatures, among them is Senate Bill 14 in Louisiana, which requires restaurants to add a label warning if food is prepared with seed oils.
|
|
|
|
Port: These Republicans aren’t singing from the same songbook
Meanwhile, another North Dakota Republican, Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread, has been sounding the alarms about the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — the signature accomplishment of Trump’s term so far — on the cost of health insurance. On the Plain Talk podcast, he said that some provisions of that legislation are “really going to harm consumers" and predicts “pretty significant rate increases across the board across the country.”
|
|
|
|
Expiration of tax credits could mean larger health insurance bills for ND farmers
|
Farmers heavily reliant on coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace are likely to see out-of-pocket health insurance premium payments rise more than 75% on average in 2026.
|
|
Enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits will expire at the end of 2025, unless renewed by Congress.
|
|
For farmers accessing health insurance through the North Dakota Farmers Union insurance division, that could mean a big increase in family expenses.
|
More than 70% of those farmers in the state who are members of the union get a tax credit on the ACA marketplace, according to Lance Boyer, sales director of financial products at Farmers Union Insurance.
|
|
|
|
Letter: Farmers and ranchers need bipartisanship
Congress made history on Wednesday, Oct. 1. For the first time ever, they allowed the farm bill to expire for three consecutive years. While the government shutdown has rightly grabbed headlines, we cannot ignore Congress’s failure to complete the farm bill.
|
To be clear, there’s a lot at stake for agriculture right now. The price for most crops is well below the cost of production. China’s complete exit from the U.S. soybean market has significantly deepened the crisis. To make matters worse, input costs are at record highs.
|
|
|
|
Federal shutdown begins; North Dakota governor promises state agency guidance soon
“Democrats are simply asking for Republicans to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits so health care premiums don’t skyrocket for 35,000 North Dakotans,” Dronen said. “That’s on top of the 18,000 North Dakotans who are about to lose their Medicaid coverage because of the big budget bill. We can play the blame game all day, but ultimately, more North Dakotans than (the population of) Minot are about to see their health care costs soar or lose their coverage completely, and Democrats are the only ones fighting to stop that.”
|
|
|
|
Vern Thompson speaks to the impact on trucking industry under Trump Administration
Joel Heitkamp is joined by Vern Thompson to talk about how the trucking industry has been impacted by tariffs under the Trump Administration. Vern is in the trucking industry and served in the North Dakota State House from 1989-90 and State Senate from 1997-2000.
|
|
|
|
North Dakota Ag Commissioner gives ‘doom and gloom’ outlook
|
North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring gave a presentation to an interim legislative committee in which he discussed the state of agriculture. The commissioner’s outlook was not positive. “It all sounds a little doom and gloom, but I say it because it gives you a snapshot of where production agriculture is in the upper Midwest,” he said.
|
Commissioner Goehring cited a handful of issues facing producers, starting with production costs. “Breakeven for soybean producers is $10.32 per bushel, current price is $8.65 if you can even sell it for that,” he continued. “The current break-even for corn is about $3.80, the current price is about $3.60; that is actually the best one out of all of these.”
|
|
|
|
Prairie Public eliminates 12 staff positions due to federal, state funding cuts
John Harris is President and CEO of Prairie Public Broadcasting in Fargo, ND. He joins Joel Heitkamp in the KFGO studio to talk about the decision to cut a significant amount of staff after federal funding cuts.
|
|
|
|
Letter: Another lie from our elected leaders
The Affordable Care Act excludes immigrants living in the country illegally from receiving tax credits or even buying insurance in the marketplace at full price. This is easily verifiable, but our Republican politicians are counting on us not having a desire to know the truth.
|
A simple Google search will explain the Democrat proposal versus the Republican proposal that benefits the wealthy at the cost of people working hard and making an honest living.
|
|
|
|
Letter: American trade problem totally self-inflicted
Mr. Trump is credited with "telling it like it is". If he really did that he would point to his voters, his supporters and his rally attendees and say "the trade problem is self-inflicted, you did this to yourselves".
|
|
|
|
Prairie Public eliminates 12 staff positions due to federal, state funding cuts
“The loss of federal and state funding has resulted in approximately a 25% reduction in our revenue,” Harris said. “Like most every public media organization in the country, we were forced to make hard choices – that included the difficult decision to part with valued members of our staff.”
|
Prairie Public estimates a loss of about $2.5 million per year in government funding, primarily due the federal cuts, Harris said in an interview. The positions eliminated were spread across all departments, he said.
|
|
|
|
Renewal of health subsidies backed by big majorities in poll, including Trump voters
The ACA tax credit expansion was created by Democrats in a coronavirus relief bill approved during the Biden administration and set to expire at the end of the year.
|
Democrats have repeatedly called on Republicans to negotiate an extension of the enhanced tax credits and have held up a stopgap spending bill to force those talks to happen now, rather than later in the year.
|
|
|
|
Secretary Hegseth lectures the military on fitness and grooming standards - Greg Jaffe from the NYT breaks it down
Joel Heitkamp is joined by Greg Jaffe from the New York Times to have a conversation about President Trump and Secretary Pete Heseth addressing a gathering of top admirals and generals in Virginia yesterday.
|
Greg Jaffe is a reporter for The New York Times covering the Pentagon and the U.S. military. Before he joined The Times, he spent 13 years at The Wall Street Journal and 15 years at The Washington Post. Greg spent much of that time writing about the U.S. military and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Check out these messages from national Democrats
|
|
|
|
|
Federal agencies are rehiring workers and spending more after DOGE's push to cut
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency effort has failed to deliver on its outsized promises to cut costs and increase efficiency, NPR's latest analysis of federal data finds.
|
|
Agencies ordered to drastically slash their workforces over the last eight months are now hiring back hundreds of workers, as they struggle to perform basic operations or carry out some of President Trump's top policy priorities.
|
Despite DOGE's promise that canceling contracts and terminating leases would help reverse the trend of the government spending more money than it brings in, the most recent Treasury data shows an increase in expenditures by hundreds of billions of dollars more than the year before. The bulk of that spending goes to debt service, national defense and entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
|
|
|
|
Day 2 of Trump’s Shutdown: White House Continues $200 Million Ballroom Reconstruction as Americans Face Massive Health Care Price Hikes
“Donald Trump and Republicans shut down the government to protect their billionaire tax cuts — and they’re doing it at the expense of working families. Rather than extend critical health care subsidies or reverse his devastating Medicaid cuts, Trump is pouring millions of dollars into a ‘gold ballroom’ for himself and his wealthy donors. While working families brace for skyrocketing premiums, he’s focused on his lavish lifestyle. It’s no wonder voters overwhelmingly agree that Trump and Republicans own this shutdown.”
|
|
|
|
‘Come on back’: Rep. Raskin calls on GOP to return to D.C. and negotiate amid shutdown
The U.S. government is now shut down with no clear path to resolution after Congress failed to compromise on the GOP's spending bill. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) joins Katy Tur to discuss more on the everyday impact on Americans.
|
|
|
|
Trump administration uses taxpayer dollars to blame Democrats for government shutdown
Also on Wednesday morning, employees at the Small Business Administration were provided "suggested" language to include in their out of office automatic replies mirroring the partisan accusations made by OMB before the shutdown. In an email blast to the entire agency, the SBA suggested employees write that "I am out of office for the foreseeable future because Senate Democrats voted to block a clean federal funding bill (H.R.5371) leading to a government shutdown," and that "as soon as the shutdown is over, we are prepared to immediately return to the record-breaking services we are providing under the leadership of the Trump administration," according to a screenshot shared with NPR.
|
Staffers at multiple agencies and Cabinet departments received emails on Tuesday from the White House Office of Management and Budget. Many shared screenshots of those emails with NPR, or confirmed the text of the message they received. The messages said any lapse in government funding would be "forced by Congressional Democrats."
|
|
|
|
Nebraska soybean farmers on America’s trade war: ‘We are losing money’
ABC News’ Matt Rivers meets Nebraska soybean farmers who describe the fallout from China’s stopping of all crop purchases in retaliation against Pres. Trump’s tariffs.
|
|
|
|
Kansas Republicans start redistricting process aimed at unseating Rep. Sharice Davids
Davids told KCUR on Thursday that splitting up the state’s most populous and economically productive county would sever community relationships and lead to worse county services.
|
“This is such a clear political power grab,” she said.
|
|
|
|
'Everybody is scared to death': Soybean farmer shares struggles amid Trump's tariffs
The Trump administration admits farmers are not doing well under President Trump's tariffs, especially soybean farmers. Arkansas soybean farmer Scott Brown shares more with Katy Tur on the struggles he and other farmers are currently facing. Brown is also joined by his "hero" former Senator Jon Tester.
|
|
|
|
‘Shocking’ and ‘offensive’: Ret. Army Commander slams Trump, Hegseth military addresses
|
President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth spoke before a rare meeting of top military leaders in Quantico, Virginia today. Retired Commander of U.S. Army Europe Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling joins Ana Cabrera to share his reaction to the speeches.
|
'Everybody is scared to death': Soybean farmer shares struggles amid Trump's tariffs
|
|
|
|
Trump Continues to Put American Farmers Last
Trump is bailing out Argentina, even after they sold billions of dollars of soybeans to China at a discount, robbing American farmers of critical income and undercutting key trade relationships amid China’s ongoing boycott of U.S. soy. Leaked texts from Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins reveal the White House knows how absurd and hypocritical their bailout is, calling it “highly unfortunate.”
|
|
|
|
Democratic National Committee will contribute to blocking Missouri congressional map
|
The DNC announced on Monday that it will be contributing staff and financial resources to bolster a referendum effort to place the new map up for a statewide vote. A group called People Not Politicians is trying to collect roughly 106,000 signatures before the middle of December to prevent the new lines from going into effect until a successful statewide vote.
|
Shelby Wiltz, DNC national political director, said the party will devote staff to help gather the necessary signatures and provide direct monetary support to the Missouri Democratic Party. Already, the People Not Politicians effort has attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars since lawmakers passed the congressional map during a special session in mid-September.
|
|
|
|
Can You IMAGINE If a Liberal Wrote This?
Geoffrey Ingersoll, The Daily Caller’s editor-at-large published a shocking column calling for “ultra violence” and “blood in the streets” in response to political tensions. JVL and Andrew Egger take on the extreme rhetoric, the hypocrisy of MAGA’s approach to violence, and why conservative leaders refuse to denounce it
|
|
|
|
Trump's comments on autism evoke anger and hope among autistic people and their families
“When I heard that he said acetaminophen was the cause, I was a little scared and a little sad because as a mom of a child with autism, I felt like maybe I was being blamed for that,” said Rachel Deaton of Fishers, Indiana, who has a 22-year-old autistic son. “We really don’t know what causes autism.”
|
|
|
|
Jon Favreau RIPS Trump’s Illegal Use of The Military on U.S. CITIZENS
Jon Favreau passionately discusses Donald Trump's weaponization of the Justice Department, ICE's violence against U.S. citizens, Republican's Government shutdown and the repercussions Americans will face.
|
|
|
|
‘Shocking’ and ‘offensive’: Ret. Army Commander slams Trump, Hegseth military addresses
President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth spoke before a rare meeting of top military leaders in Quantico, Virginia today. Retired Commander of U.S. Army Europe Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling joins Ana Cabrera to share his reaction to the speeches.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
