North Dakota Policy Council

Dear Tom,



The Northern Plains Heritage Foundation took its circus show to the Burleigh County Commission yesterday. We have it covered below. Also, the interim Higher Education Committee met a couple weeks ago. We have some recommendations for them.









BS Alert: Potter Fools Burleigh County Commission


Let me explain this process another way. Let’s say you catch a burglar who broke into your house and took your couch. You walk over to the burglar and say, “I see what you’re doing. You’re stealing from me.” The burglar looks up and says “I made publicity blunder. Gee, I’m sorry.” And then runs off with the loot. That’s not how it works. When a burglar is caught, he does not get to keep the ill-gotten gains. The Burleigh County Commission, minus Schonert, is letting Potter run off with the loot.


Click HERE to read more.

Schonert: I never approved anything!


Burleigh County Commissioner Doug Schonert took exception to Northern Plains Heritage Foundation board member Tracy Potter’s testimony to United States congressional committee in November 2007.


Click HERE to read more.

Interim Report: Recommendations for Higher Education Committee


On July 17, the Higher Education interim committee met for the first time to go over the committee’s responsibilities and forthcoming studies. Most of the studies focus on funding for higher education. The topics include tuition waivers, alternative uses of institutions, tuition affordability, tuition reciprocity agreements, contributions to economic development, and several others. The Higher Education Committee would be best off by approaching these studies from a free-market perspective.


Click HERE to read more.

NDPC in Fargo Forum


NDPC executive director Brett Narloch was recently quoted in a Fargo Forum article about health care.


Click HERE to read more.

NDPC Announces Two New Scholars


The North Dakota Policy Council is happy to announce the addition of two new scholars to the NDPC team. Dr. Richard Vedder is now an NDPC Economic Development and Higher Education Policy Fellow. He studies higher education financing, labor economics, immigration, government fiscal policy and income inequality. Randal O’Toole is an NDPC Land Use Policy Fellow. He is a Cato Institute Senior Fellow working on urban growth, public land, and transportation issues.


Click HERE to read more.

Land designation process dubious at best


I was dismayed, though not surprised, that landowners, the North Dakota Policy Council and the North Dakota Farm Bureau were given the leafy spurge for being worried about the five-county Northern Plains National Heritage Area designation’s effect on property rights. The Forum rarely, if ever, challenges anything the political elite in North Dakota say. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., says that the designation will not harm property rights, so it must be so.


Click HERE to read more.

Bismarck Tribune Uses NDPC Investigation Points in Op-Ed


In their July 22nd op-ed (Heritage group needs to mend fences), The Bismarck Tribune takes the Northern Plains Heritage Foundation (NPHF) to task about how they went about getting five counties designated as the Northern Plains National Heritage Area (NPNHA) with very few, if any, landowners knowing about it.


Click HERE to read more.

Tax Deductible Support


Please, consider supporting the North Dakota Policy Council. You can make a tax deductible online contribution by clicking HERE, or simply send your tax deductible contribution to:


North Dakota Policy Council
PO Box 3007
Bismarck, ND 58502