We began this debate between Superintendent of Public Instruction Levi Bachmeier and his opponent Tracy Foss by asking about the teacher bonuses initiative — the Support Teachers and Youth Succeed or "STAYS" legislation — Bachmeier recently announced alongside Rep. Mike Nathe and others.

"When I talk to high school kids all across our state and ask them what would it take for you to consider going into a great occupation like education, pay has been the first thing out of their mouth 100% of the time," Bachmeier said.

"People who are working in education are making 20% less than those who hold a bachelor's degree in North Dakota," he added. "So I think we have an obligation to do something."

But Foss said that the bonuses, while nice, don't solve the challenges teachers are facing. "I agree that money is one of the reasons why teachers are leaving, but it's not the only reason," she said. "$3,400 at the moment is a nice bonus, but it's not going to get them financially stable.

"Our average is 60,000," she continued, referring to teacher salaries. "The minimum of living wage is 65, and our starting salary is 45. So that isn't even close to a living wage."

This debate was the second in a series of six Plain Talk debates between candidates for the U.S. House, Superintendent, Agriculture Commissioner, Public Service Commissioner, as well as proponents/opponents of Measures 1 and 2. All of the debates will be available as they release on WDAY Xtra, the Plain Talk YouTube channel, as well as all of the podcast platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The candidates agreed that North Dakota is falling behind in terms of funding K-12 education. "I know what not fully funded looks like," Foss, a classroom teacher taking a year off to campaign, told us. "It looks like not enough paras in the classroom. It looks like me spending $1,000 on supplies a year. It means that we don't have enough bus drivers."

"The percentage of the state's budget going directly into our school districts has been going down over the last several years and that's disappointing," Bachmeier said.

The candidates also agreed that a push to get cell phones out of schools by Gov. Kelly Armstrong has paid dividends in classrooms, but both said there needs to be more scrutiny on other technology in schools, including school-issued computers.

"If technology is not having kids think harder, if it's not having them engaged in being active, and if they're just sitting back and passively consuming, that's a problem," Bachmeier said.

The candidates did find some disagreement over standardized testing. Foss supports regular benchmark testing, but says statewide tests promoting teaching to a score. "My issue is with that final test that we have to take for the state, we don't really use that data for anything in the school," she said. "A test given to a student can only tell you how well that student did on that test that day."

"When we hyperfocus on that, it does change how education is done," she continued. "We tend to want to make sure that we're doing well on this test, so we go back to somewhat teaching towards this test."

But Bachmeier pushed back, arguing that parents and policymakers need data to evaluate school performance. He says schools can aim to both do well on the statewide tests while also addressing important intangibles. "We can block and tackle with foundational literacy and math skills and we can also do so many other important things that we can't assess really well right now like collaboration, like critical thinking," he said. "All these skills that are going to be AI-proof in the future."

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

"We were started 20 years ago by a Minnesota farmer," Blake Nixon said on this episode of Plain Talk.

Nixon is the CEO of Geronimo Power, a renewable energy and data center company that's planning a data center facility in Harmony Township, west of Fargo in Cass County.

"Our founder was approached to put wind turbines on his land," Nixon continued, "and he said, 'I don't like how you're approaching, I don't like how you're going to handle this in the community. So, no, I'm not going to be a part of it, but we're going to do it ourselves and we're going to do it the right way.'"

Nixon told us this story to frame what he says is his company's approach to data centers. "The thing I'm most proud about in running this company is how we approach communities differently," he said. But what does that look like?

For one, Geronimo, which is in the business of wind and solar farms, plans on bringing its own power generation along. The company is partnering with a local utility, and the cost of serving the data center will be covered by the tariffs paid to the utility.

There has been some controversy in Harmony Township over this project. A former chairman of the township board sold land to Geronimo for this project prior to taking votes on it. That board member has now resigned and been replaced.

"I know that there have been some questions raised by the new board member about past votes," Nixon said. "What I know is that everybody acted appropriately and did all the right stuff and followed guidance of township council, and there's zoning administrators and all that stuff and that's all very clear."

He added that, in terms of scrutiny from regulators and elected officials, there's still plenty of time. "On the data center, it's just starting," he said. "Like, literally, we put in our permit like two weeks ago."

Nixon was critical of bad actors in the data center industry, saying that early on in the building boom there were some companies doing things the wrong way. He asks the public to judge his company on its track record.

What, if any, new laws should North Dakota lawmakers consider for data centers in their upcoming session? "No NDAs with public officials," he said. "We're fully transparent. I believe that sunshine's the greatest disinfectant. You don't need NDAs with public officials. We don't. Never have, never will, and don't have them."

He also endorsed reclamation bonds, saying that's something his company is already familiar with in the wind and solar industry. "I don't think anybody's going to come here and invest billions of dollars and then just let it rot. I just don't believe that," he said. "But if they do, and you have to decommission the facility, we do that in the wind and solar business. Okay, no problem."

Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the ongoing debate over data centers, the increasingly expensive fight over Measure 1, the cost/benefit of North Dakota's support for Donald Trump, 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

State Rep. Mike Nathe, in partnership with Superintendent Levi Bachmeier and Gov. Kelly Armstrong's administration, has announced legislation aimed at paying North Dakota teachers annual retention bonuses funded by the earnings from the Common Schools Trust Fund.

That fund's balance is currently more than $9 billion and growing. For the next two-year budget cycle, it's projected to generate $718 million in earnings. Nathe's legislation takes 10% of that to fund the bonuses.

"The main point of this bill is we need teachers," Nathe said of the initiative on this episode of Plain Talk.

The bonuses would go to all educators working in a position that requires a teaching license, both in public and private schools. Nathe said both because "a teacher is a teacher" wherever they might be teaching.

Bachmeier supports the legislation because, in his tours of schools statewide, he's seen the teacher shortage firsthand. "We have too many empty classrooms," he said. "Down in McIntosh County, they didn't have an English teacher. Instead of reading novels and having debates, they were staring at a Chromebook."

"At the end of the day, we all know that the single largest predictor of learning is the quality of the instruction that a teacher provides," he continued. "Pay is not the only solution to our teacher shortage, but [ranking] 41st in the nation [in teacher pay] when we have all the resources that we do, a $9 billion trust fund, we've got to do something."

Asked if the bonuses would remove urgency for local school boards to keep up with base salaries, Nathe said his bill was written to protect against that. "We have a provision saying that this stipend cannot be used in their negotiations," he said, "and if DPI finds that they are using it in negotiations, DPI can then assess a penalty up to 10% of their per-pupil payment. Now, for a lot of school districts, that's millions and millions and millions of dollars."

Bachmeier said that raising compensation for teachers is something North Dakotans want.

"I'm seeing some flak from the left. I've seen some flak from the right. If you're taking flak, that means you're probably over the target. And our target here is the workforce shortage of teachers," he said. He also referred to a recent survey commissioned by his agency finding that "80% [of North Dakotans] think that teachers are underpaid. There aren't many 80/20 issues left in this world."

Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I talk about the failure of the wards measure in Fargo, my change of heart on Measure 2 (the school meals amendment), and the upcoming Plain Talk debates, which will begin releasing next week. We record on October 13, so be sure to get your questions for the candidates in at PlainTalkND.com.

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

We invited North Dakota Commerce Commissioner Chris Schilken on this episode of Plain Talk to discuss the problems at the state's Development Fund, which run the gamut from poor accounting and record-keeping to practically nonexistent policies concerning things like conflicts of interest.

What he brought us was the announcement of a new initiative, called ReadyND, and while it's not intended to address the Development Fund problems directly, it is aimed at addressing some of the issues that may have contributed to it. Namely, a state economic development process that is scattered across numerous boards, commissions, and state agencies.

"How many state agencies build roads? One, right?" he said. "I think if you were to ask how many state agencies do economic development, you probably come up with more than one. And that to me is what we're trying to fix."

"I mean, we do have a lot of programs and it's confusing for us as an agency," he continued, "but it's also really confusing for the public and companies that are looking for what kind of programs we have to offer."

Both Schilken and his boss, Gov. Kelly Armstrong, have talked about reforming the Commerce Department "down to the studs." As a part of that initiative, Schilken said he welcomed the audit, and that his agency actually worked with state Sen. Kent Weston on getting it done.

"Coming in as a new commissioner and kind of reiterating the governor's comments about down to the studs, we had to know what we were working with. And there was plenty of chatter out there about things that hey, we need to look into this," he said. "So, it was a good chance to find out where we're at to know where we're going. But that didn't stop the conversations from day one about how we revamp economic development and workforce development and things throughout the state."

But he said economic development is absolutely something North Dakota must keep doing.

"Economic development isn't like a light switch that you can just turn on and off. You have to stay consistent at it," he said.

"It's all fun until your school starts losing kids, until you don't have health care, until you lose your grocery store, and then the only thing you have left is a gas station that, if you're lucky, is open till noon, right?" he continued. "I mean, that's not a thriving rural economy. That's not a thriving economy."

Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I discuss restoring public trust in state government, the controversies around using taxpayer funds for campaign ads, the debate over Measure 1, the upcoming Plain Talk debates, and we take listener feedback on the F5 Project investigation.

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

It's time for playoff baseball, and we had Gov. Kelly Armstrong, a notorious baseball addict on par with us hosts of the Plain Talk podcast, on this episode to make some predictions about the path to the World Series. But before we talked about that stuff, we asked Armstrong about a lawsuit announced by former lawmaker Brandon Prichard and Citizens Alliance accusing several legislative candidates who are backed by Armstrong, along with Secretary of State Michael Howe, of some hanky-panky concerning ballot petitions.

"I think it's complete garbage," Armstrong, who is not known for mincing words, said of the suit. "I think it is a group of people that can't win elections, so they don't want elections to determine who our elected representatives are."

The suit claims that amendments made by the candidates to insert missing information were illegal and disqualify those candidates from the ballot. Conveniently, those candidates are running in districts where populist Republicans are in control of the local district party that would choose their replacements.

"Elections determine who serves in North Dakota," Armstrong said, going on to allude to populist Republicans like Prichard wanting to close down primary elections so that only party insiders can choose the candidates on the ballot.

"The only benefit to this is Prichard's trying to move out of the smoke-filled back room into the courtroom," Armstrong continued. "If you can't win an election, you don't get to kick it back to a group of nine people to decide who represents you. It's anti-democratic. It's about gaining raw political power with a small group of people."

Armstrong also took questions about his support for Measure 1, which would implement a 60% vote threshold for future constitutional amendments. "I firmly believe it should be hard to change the Constitution," he said. "I think the Constitution should not be subject to the political whims of the day."

He argued that North Dakota's constitution is too susceptible to special interests who want to mandate spending in the state's most important legal document. "Constitutionally mandated spending is a very big political consultant game all over the country," Armstrong said, "and North Dakota is a cheap date in order to advertise."

When co-host Chad Oban brought up the fact that local school bonds already require 60% of the vote to pass, Armstrong said that's an argument for Measure 1, saying that it's currently easier to amend the state constitution than it is to pass a school bond. "It's harder to get school construction money passed than it is to change the North Dakota Constitution," he said. "I think that's misaligned priorities."

He added that he would sign legislation to lower the vote threshold for school bonds if lawmakers sent it to him.

Also on this episode, we discuss a nondisclosure agreement that was part of a settlement between Fargo-based Prairie St. John's hospital and the State of North Dakota. That agreement prohibited the state from announcing or releasing any information about the settlement. It's an interesting new facet of the debate over NDAs that has sprung up around data centers.

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

Social Security is a government program that touches all of our lives. Every American who earns a wage or a salary pays into it, and come retirement age, or if we find ourselves disabled, it serves as a vital lifeline to help make ends meet.

But the program is facing headwinds. John Hishta, a senior vice president with AARP, said on this episode of Plain Talk that the program isn't going broke, but it does need serious reforms by 2032 if we don't want to see serious reductions in the benefits it pays out.

"It's important to understand that there is a deadline coming in 2032, which means that if Congress and the president don't take action, current beneficiaries will only receive 80% of their promised benefits or payments at that point in the game," he said.

"Say you get $2,000 a month from Social Security, and that is the majority of your income," he continued. "If Congress doesn't do anything, you're going to lose $400 a month right off the top by 2032."

Hishta said raising the cap on taxing earnings could push that deadline back by as much as 50 years. He also said that Congress could explore other things, such as subjecting investment income to the Social Security tax. One thing his organization doesn't want to see is a decision to raise the age at which Americans qualify for benefits.

"Right now full retirement is 67," Hishta said. "There are a lot of folks who can't wait until 70 years old to retire. They may be construction workers, electricians. Folks who work doing hard labor, and they need that money, and they have to retire for their own safety when they're 66 or 67 years old."

He also said that Social Security was never intended to be a primary retirement plan for Americans, yet millions are on a financial trajectory for that to be the case. "I don't know if you guys know this or not, but 40% to 45% of the people in this country have no access to an employer-based 401(k) program," Hishta said. "None. Zilch. Nada. So there needs to be a broader conversation as well about how do you create retirement programs above and beyond Social Security to help folks out."

Also on this episode, co-host Chad Oban and I talk about how planning for retirement has changed in the gig economy, a Republican incumbent endorsing the Democratic candidate to replace her in South Dakota, and Sen. John Hoeven's cameo in the fiasco around Sen. Mitch McConnell.

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