We covered a lot of ground on this episode of Plain Talk.

There's reason to believe that North Dakota's Wonder Fund may not be performing all that well, and may not be investing in the sort of North Dakota-centric projects it was intended to. Is it time to audit the program?

In Fargo, there's a controversy over a housing development that got property tax breaks on the assumption that it would increase property value, and thus tax revenues, in the future. But then the property was sold to a nonprofit that won't pay property taxes. Is it time to re-evaluate our policies around these exemptions?

The Trump administration is drawing down the number of ICE personnel deployed to Minnesota, though they are leaving thousands t here. But doesn't that development -- drawing down troops, leaving an occupying force behind -- make it seem like we're at war? Hasn't the way the Trump administration has handled this all along make it seem like we're at war?

Also, the Attorney General's office has confirmed that the F5 Project is under an active investigation related to loans granted to the organization's top officials, the Trump administration wants to nationalize elections and take control away from the states, and the Hostfest, an important bridge in our region to our immigrant past, is no more.

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.

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"I used to referee a lot of basketball," Vern Thompson said on this episode of Plain Talk. "The people that would sit on the sidelines hollering at the ref, you know, 50% of them usually didn't like what he was calling because it was against our team. Well, the bottom line with that is that I had to get off my butt and get into the game."

That was Thompson's response to a question about why he's running for the U.S. House. He's seeking the Democratic-NPL nomination, running against Trygve Hammer.

Thompson has a colorful resume. He's a former state lawmaker. He's been a farmer, and he worked in talk radio with former left-wing host Ed Schultz. He's currently working as a trucker hauling natural gas out of North Dakota's western oil fields, and he spoke openly about his struggles with alcoholism.

"I was a young farmer and I struggled through the 1980s farm crisis," he said. "I'll be real candid with you, during that time I went in for treatment for alcoholism, and it's the best thing I ever did. I wouldn't be alive talking to you guys today."

"I saw people committing suicide," he continued. "I saw where people were getting foreclosed and they were filing bankruptcy. I don't want to see those people that are the same age today, those young farmers, as I was in the 80s ,because that was hell."

"I just felt that she was in ineffective," Thompson said of the incumbent in the race. "I think that Representative [Julie] Fedorchak has failed her constitutional responsibilities. She's let a president run wild and nobody's going to stop him until people stand up and say enough is enough."

"I respect Julie," he added, "but she's too timid. You have to stand up."

Also on this episode, we respond to some listener feedback, including an email from Greg, who says he used to be a "vile a-hole" Trump supporter but has come to realize that the president's critics are right.

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.

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"I don't see a lot of upside in the market in 2026, frankly."

That was the blunt assessment of Ron Ness, long-time president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council. He wasn't calling for a panic on this episode of Plain Talk, but he is suggesting some realism.

We invited Ness on to discuss the decision by North Dakota oil pioneer Harold Hamm to lay down his drilling rigs for the first time in decades.

"Rule number one is, nobody speaks for Harold Hamm other than Harold Hamm," Ness said, but added that Hamm is "simply saying the math simply just does not work at at this price of oil."

The reason for that is largely out of North Dakota's control. Operators here are at a disadvantage because of our state's geographic remoteness from refiners, as well as our weather. This has gotten harder as rising global supplies have driven down oil prices.

"I've been saying for years, you guys, I don't know if anybody's been listening, but our business climate in North Code is eroded," he said. "Our costs are higher. It's getting harder and harder...it's just really really expensive to operate here."

He argues that state leaders need to be cautious about committing themselves to more spending.

"We underestimate the impact on income taxes and the impact on sales taxes," he said, pointing out that the state takes in a lot of revenues from the oil extraction and production taxes, but what often gets discounted is the revenues from economic activity around operating drilling rigs. The sales taxes from equipment purchases, for instance, and the income taxes paid by workers.

"When you lay down drilling rigs... that's really the driver of of the economic activity." The state still has some real opportunities before it, though. "We're still leaving 85% of the oil behind," Ness said, which is ripe for enhanced recovery efforts.

"You can mobilize the oil if you put rich gas or or carbon dioxide on that rock and it mobilizes that oil off the rock," though he acknowledge that the politics around bringing the carbon dioxide needed for those efforts to the state through pipelines have become fraught.

Also on this episode, me and co-host Chad Oban react to last week's special session and prognosticate the likely fallout from the defeat of the school lunch bill.

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.