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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!
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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.
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District 45 Monthly Meeting
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Northport Library Community Room
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This will be our regular monthly District 45 meeting.
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Run. Lead. Change Everything.
Ground Round
2800 32nd Ave S. Grand Forks
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The issues can’t wait—affordable groceries, housing, childcare and healthcare; full support for public schools and fair wages—all need action now! Come learn about running for office!
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Join us for conversations with Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan and House Minority Leader Zac Ista!
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Help us spread our message—share these recent posts!
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Democratic-NPL on the House Epstein Vote
North Dakota Democratic-NPL Chair Adam Goldwyn said, “Julie Fedorchak has not magically found a backbone. For months, House Democrats and a handful of Republicans needed one more member of Congress to force this vote. How can she look herself in the mirror knowing that she alone could have moved this forward and she refused? She is a coward.”
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Port: Ballot measure in the works to have state pay for school meals
That being said, this ballot measure (as so many of them are) is a product of our legislature's recalcitrance. They should have done something about this clear public demand previously. They didn't. Now the voters are going to act, and they're probably going to get their way.
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I close with this tid-bit: If you read the demographic breakdowns in the public opinion polling I cited above, you can see the greatest opposition to this proposal comes from older men. Who also just happen to be the dominant demographic in our Legislature. Which is something worth pondering.
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Jamie Selzler with the DNC and Jane Kleeb with the ASDC to discuss the Democratic Party
Jamie Selzler is North Dakota's DNC Committeeman and is filling in for Joel Heitkamp on "News and Views." He's joined by Jane Kleeb to talk about the nominee process within the Democratic Party, voter outreach, priorities of the party, and more.
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Jane Kleeb is the President of the Association of State Democratic Committees and since December 2016, she has served in a volunteer capacity as Chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party.
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Shortage of rural doctors won’t end anytime soon, report says
About 43 million people live in rural areas without enough primary care physicians, according to the report. Across the country, nearly all — 92% — of rural counties are considered primary care professional shortage areas, compared to 83% of nonrural counties. Forty-five percent of rural counties had five or fewer primary care doctors in 2023. Roughly 200 rural counties lacked one altogether.
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Letter: Sailors and officers must stand up to Trump and Hegseth
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An admiral in charge of the fleet off South America resigned, saying he would not be responsible for killing these people, who may be innocent.
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I feel sorry for the sailors on these ships and planes who are following orders to bomb the boats and kill people, people who can’t fight back. They, and the officers assigned over them, must know what they are doing is not only illegal, but wrong. We learned after World War II that following orders do not exempt you from your actions.
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I beg of the sailors, and the officers, all the way up the chain of command, to tell Trump and Hegseth they won’t kill people who may be innocent. Intercept and arrest them, instead.
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Is the North Dakota Mill and Elevator Association the only state-owned milling facility in the United States?
The North Dakota Mill and Elevator Association is the only state-owned milling facility in the United States. State records describe it as the nation’s sole state-run flour mill, and no other state appears to operate a comparable milling enterprise.
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ND Today: North Dakotans for Public Schools
It’s American Education Week!
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Letter: We must strengthen and protect North Dakota’s public schools
We hope you’ll join us in strengthening, protecting, and celebrating North Dakota’s public schools and encourage you to stay informed and engaged, visit your local public school, volunteer in a classroom, attend a school board meeting, and seek understanding from the professionals who live, work, and raise their families right alongside you.
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North Dakota sends out SNAP money but effects of delay remain
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Stacie Loegering, executive director of the Emergency Food Pantry in Fargo, said the interruption forced some people to find money for food elsewhere, leaving some bills unpaid. She said getting back on track financially will be a challenge for people with little wiggle room.
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“This is going to last for months,” Loegering said.
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She said the food distribution center on Nov. 3 set a one-day record for the number of people it helped with groceries. That Monday, 180 people received food. And in that first week of November, the pantry served twice as many people as normal, she said.
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Despite challenges, child care looks to innovate in North Dakota
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Others have noted that eligibility changes to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at the federal level under the tax and spending package passed by Congress this summer could also have knock on effects.
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This means families relying on assistance to keep children in child care and often underpaid daycare staff who use Medicaid or SNAP may face further cost pressures if CCAP eligibility is also changed.
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Healthcare information nonprofit KFF estimates that North Dakota will have $1 billion less in federal money for Medicaid over the next ten years based on Congressional Budget Office cost estimates.
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Campaign finance at heart of latest skirmish between executive branch, ND Ethics Commission
The lawmaker provided a March 2024 email showing he posed the question to Howe. Boschee said the secretary of state told him during a meeting he couldn’t provide an answer, which led him to request advice from the Ethics Commission. Boschee also asked the commission to weigh in on whether candidate security could be a campaign finance expense, but he did not ask Howe about security.
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“By giving these kinds of advisory opinions, I think it helps give clarity to the public, as well as those that are regulated by the Ethics Commission’s authority, on what we can and can’t do,” Boschee said in an interview.
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Letter: When neighbors stop coming over, you listen
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If a neighbor tells you why he stopped coming over, you don’t call him thin-skinned and slam the door. You listen. You acknowledge the concern. You maybe even reflect on whether the people claiming to speak for “prairie values” are actually living up to them.
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North Dakotans once prided themselves on courtesy, reciprocity and a kind of quiet backbone — the understanding that relationships matter and words have weight. If we genuinely want Canadians to return, that spirit will serve us far better than the defensive bluster on display in the comment threads.
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Canadians aren’t the problem. The problem is pretending that their concerns don’t exist.
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Check out these messages from national Democrats
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Epstein Implicates Trump
Epstein said Trump "spent hours" with a victim.
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Panic Tears Through U.S. as Health Insurance Costs Spike
With the expanded subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, reverting back to a less generous subsidy level last in place in 2021, patients around the country are facing premium increases that are so extreme, they’re either reducing health insurance coverage or dropping it altogether. Some are facing price hikes many multiples higher than they paid last year; those whose costs only doubled told the Prospect they considered themselves lucky by comparison.
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How Trump’s Transportation Department Is Loosening Safety Rules Meant to Protect the Public
The DOT’s safety enforcement has dropped dramatically as well. In the first eight months of Trump’s second term, the agency opened 50% fewer investigations into vehicle safety defects, concluded 83% fewer enforcement cases against trucking and bus companies and started 58% fewer pipeline enforcement cases compared with the same period in the Biden administration, agency data shows. The agency has also proposed allowing subjects of DOT enforcement actions to bypass career staff and appeal directly to Trump appointees.
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New state laws tackle private equity’s growing role in health care
“What we’ve seen is a great mobilization of mostly Democrats and liberals speaking out against these horrific injustices that are happening, but there’s a giant gap of lifting up what’s happening to rural and working-class people,” Flaccavento said.
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“You don’t see signs about them. There’s not social media memes. There aren’t huge meetings being organized on the left to bring those folks together. And the other big gap has been the complete lack of a positive vision, not just a rhetorical one, but a specific policy platform. And we know from the research that this is what people are looking for.”
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NEW: Unemployment Surges Under Donald Trump’s Watch
“Donald Trump’s reckless tariffs have been a disaster for the job market — and everyday Americans are the ones paying the price. Trump promised job creation, but now we’re seeing the worst unemployment rate in years. He promised a ‘manufacturing renaissance,’ but the manufacturing sector has been hollowed out. He vowed to lower costs on ‘Day One,’ but prices are skyrocketing. Trump’s broken promises have left everyday Americans behind, while billionaires get ahead. Working families are already stretching their paychecks to keep up with soaring inflation — they shouldn’t have to worry about losing their jobs.”
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In First Week of Organizing Blitz, the DNC Organizing Team Contacted Over 40,000 TN-07 Voters
“Aftyn Behn has the momentum because she’s directly speaking to voters about what matters most to them: lowering costs. The DNC’s distributed organizing team — composed of thousands of volunteers across the country — has contacted tens of thousands of voters in TN-07 in less than a week in support of her campaign, and we’re only just getting started. While national Republicans are panicking and Matt Van Epps says there’s ‘no policy’ of Donald Trump’s that he disagrees with — including Trump’s Big Ugly Bill that is raising costs and kicking over 200,000 Tennessee families off their health insurance — Aftyn Behn is fighting to lower costs and protect health care.”
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Nursing Excluded as 'Professional' Degree By Department of Education
Graduate nursing students will lose access to higher federal loan limits previously available to professional degree programs. Nursing students will be excluded from certain loan forgiveness programs reserved for professional degrees. These changes create significant financial obstacles for students pursuing advanced nursing education.
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Public Media: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
John Oliver discusses the vital role public media plays in the lives of many Americans, how the Trump Administration’s massive budget cuts could impact those Americans directly, and why Mr. Bean is the greatest British comedian in history. Ya, that’s right, Rowan “Mr. Bean” Atkinson.
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The Middle Class Is Buckling Under Almost Five Years of Persistent Inflation
“Life felt more doable a year and a half ago,” said Holly Frew, a college communications director with a household income around $135,000 living in Atlanta. “I need to know where the light is at the end of the tunnel.”
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BREAKING: Oversight Cmte. believes there's been 'intense WH cover-up' of Epstein files, sources say
Sources tell MS NOW the House Oversight Committee believes there has been "an intense White House cover-up" of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Attorney James Marsh, who represents several Epstein survivors, joins Chris Jansing to share his reaction.
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Elissa Slotkin ‘refuses to be intimidated’ after Trump threatens her and fellow Dems with death penalty over troop video
On Tuesday, Slotkin and five other Democratic lawmakers — all military veterans or former intelligence community professionals — posted a video in which they spoke directly to active duty service members.
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“The threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad, but from right here at home,” they said. “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders."
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Des Moines Register: With Falling Profits, Iowa Farmers Facing ‘Extreme Financial Distress,’ More Bankruptcies
“On the campaign trail, Donald Trump professed his love for farmers. Now in office, he is kicking aside Iowa’s small farmers while rewarding billionaires who have never even set foot in rural America. Our rural agricultural economy is essential to the country, feeding the nation and driving economic output through high-paying jobs. Under Trump, Iowa farm bankruptcies are skyrocketing as small and family farms file for bankruptcy at the fastest rate in five years. While small farmers bear the brunt of Trump’s chaotic tariffs, they are bracing for even worse as Trump’s billionaire-first budget targets rural hospitals and decimates rural communities. Trump is single-handedly orchestrating a rural recession, with Iowa farmers and consumers paying the price.”
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ICYMI: Fox News: “Voters say White House is doing more harm than good on economy”
Voters blame the president. About twice as many say President Donald Trump, rather than Biden, is responsible for the current economy. And three times as many say Trump’s economic policies have hurt them (they said the same about Biden’s last year). Plus, approval of how Trump is handling the economy hit a new low, and disapproval of his overall job performance hit record highs among core supporters.
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Share these Dem-NPL Graphics!
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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.
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Help us elect great Democrats up and down the ballot!
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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.
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Grassroots organizers are the lifeblood of the Dem-NPL! Sign up to volunteer with the Dem-NPL!
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