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Port: It would be inappropriate for lawmakers to take up extra issues during their special session

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Port: It would be inappropriate for lawmakers to take up extra issues during their special session


MINOT — A week ago, as legislative leaders negotiated with Gov. Doug Burgum on the terms of a special session,

I reported

that a school choice group was planning a push to have their issue be a part of the proceedings.

Now, as the stage has been set for a special session next week, I’m informed that the school choice group no longer plans to pursue a campaign.

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Though I’m a proponent of school choice policies, I was happy to hear the news. A special session like the one that will commence next week isn’t the right place for a debate about weighty policy changes.

What precipitated this special session was

a political food fight between a state pension board and the Legislature.

The former sued the latter, and while the state Supreme Court hasn’t yet weighed in on the issue at the core of the matter, which is whether the appointment of lawmakers to the pension board is a violation of the separation of powers, the court did find that an omnibus spending and policy bill passed at the end of the regular session earlier this year is unconstitutional.

North Dakota’s constitution forbids the Legislature from passing bills covering more than one issue. Lawmakers have been violating this provision flagrantly for years. The omnibus bill — it was the budget for the Office of Management and Budget — has now been broken down into 14 single-issue bills so that lawmakers can pass them and make them legal during the special session.

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“We put fourteen separate bills in the OMB budget,” one frustrated lawmaker told me. “Shame on us!”

Yes, this whole mess could have been avoided had lawmakers been following the single-issue provision, but it’s been going on for so long it’s hard to blame current lawmakers.

Still, this special session should remain focused on passing the various components of the omnibus bill, and that’s it. “In exchange for the governor calling the session, legislative leadership promised Burgum lawmakers would consider some of the governor’s proposals, including on infrastructure, energy and tax relief,”

my colleague April Baumgarten reports,

citing House Majority Leader Mike Lefor.

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It was important for Burgum to call the special session. Lawmakers are allotted just 80 days every biennium to meet in regular session, and they still have five of those days left for this cycle, but calling themselves back into session to use them would mean the bills they passed couldn’t immediately take effect without a 2/3’s majority vote adding an emergency clause. Given how fractured the NDGOP caucus is in the Legislature, getting to that threshold could prove difficult on some of the bills.

Bills passed by a governor-initiated session, however, take effect immediately, which is important. The OMB budget is currently unconstitutional, per the court, and if lawmakers don’t get their work done quickly, that could impede state government operations.

But Burgum asking for consideration for additional policies is a mistake in two ways.

Politically, it invites every lawmaker with a pet project or culture war bill in their back pocket to demand that their proposals get consideration, too.

As a matter of public service and process, it’s simply not defensible to consider significant, non-emergent policy changes during a special session.

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This special session will not have the same fulsome process of committee hearings and public testimony that regular sessions do. Nor, by the way, can every group with a stake in a proposed piece of legislation be ready on such short notice to decamp to Bismarck to oppose or support bills.

Deep-pocketed, well-established interest groups have full-time lobbyists. They can participate. But what about smaller volunteer groups? Or just regular members of the public?

No, these debates should wait until the regularly scheduled special session.

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“I’m a big supporter of school choice, but the only question I have is the reason we’re being called back. I don’t think that’s the reason,” Rep. Claire Cory, a Grand Forks Republican who sponsored school choice legislation earlier this year,

told me when I asked her about the push for school choice during the regular session.

“I think it’s almost, I don’t want to use the word inappropriate, but what else are we going to do if we allow this?”

That’s precisely my point.

Lawmakers got themselves into this special session mess by taking shortcuts. They should not compound the problem with more shortcuts that implement policy without the full scrutiny of the public.

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Rob Port

Rob Port is a news reporter, columnist, and podcast host for the Forum News Service with an extensive background in investigations and public records. He covers politics and government in North Dakota and the upper Midwest. Reach him at rport@forumcomm.com. Click here to subscribe to his Plain Talk podcast.





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North Dakota

My Heartfelt Christmas Wish To You North Dakota

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My Heartfelt Christmas Wish To You North Dakota


My Heartfelt Christmas Wish To You North Dakota.

Not a “catchy-clicky” title and I doubt many of my listeners or readers will probably even read this article.

However, I wanted to share something with you that is on my heart. This is so not me, as I’m more the guy who writes about “North Dakota’s 10 most quirky this and that”.

It’s not that I’m not a sensitive guy, because when I was growing up, I was probably too sensitive. I would avoid sad movies, songs, or anything that would spark too much of an emotion.

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Yes, you could say my heart has become a bit jaded and cold over the years. It’s not something I’m proud of but more of a defense mechanism.

2024 has probably been one of the most challenging years for my family.

From losing loved ones to family issues to health issues to very challenging financial times, it’s been one of those years where you just can’t catch a break. I’m sure many of you can relate.

As we were attending a Christmas Eve candlelight service last night a young child caught my eye.

She was a cute little toddler who was starting to act up. Something I remember oh so well at church with my little now 20-year-old son.

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As her father took her outside the sanctuary to attend to her, I couldn’t help but notice this child’s extremely unfair situation. She had a disability at a year or so old, that none of us could ever imagine. It broke my heart.

This poor child and her family no doubt have a long road ahead of them. As we lit our candles later in the service, I caught the wonder in her eyes, and it couldn’t help but melt my cold heart at the time.

She was perfect and I found myself saying a prayer for this little blonde girl with curly locks and her family.

Her situation also reminded me that I should be thankful for what I have and not what I don’t this Christmas. This is my Christmas wish for you North Dakota, that you will realize the same thing.

Be thankful for who you have around the tree today, not what’s under it.

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Merry Christmas to all my listeners and readers. I hope at least a few of you get to read this and it will touch you the same way this little girl touched me on Christmas Eve.

LOOK: Popular Dinners Americans Don’t Make as Often Anymore

From classic casseroles to heaping helpings of beige-on-beige, these beloved American dinner dishes have fallen out of the mealtime rotation.

Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz

The 11 Best Gooey Caramel Rolls You Will Find In North Dakota

 

 

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Could a Bismarck woman become North Dakota's 1st saint?

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Could a Bismarck woman become North Dakota's 1st saint?


BISMARCK — Christmas Day marks the ninth anniversary of 31-year-old Michelle Duppong’s death. While her family and friends will feel her absence on this day, they also feel the love, kindness and faith she demonstrated during her short life, along with abundant hope that she not only shared while alive but continues to share in death, which is one of the reasons she is slated to become the first person from North Dakota to become a Catholic saint.

Michelle Duppong

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In June 2022, Bismarck Bishop David D. Kagan announced the opening of a diocesan investigation into Duppong’s “holiness of life and love for God,” officially starting the long and arduous process of canonization to a saint. On Nov. 1, 2022, Kagan deemed Duppong a servant of god.

Duppong is on track to be the first North Dakotan and one of few around the world to be canonized, said Father Tom Grafsgaard, of Hazen, North Dakota. According to Catholic publications, only 11 people from the U.S. have become canonized saints.

“It’s never happened in the history of North Dakota in either (the Bismarck or Fargo) Diocese,” Grafsgaard said. “It’s quite exceedingly rare for this to be happening.”

In the process of canonization, the Catholic Church declares people “saints.” There are three paths to sainthood: to have died as a martyr for Catholicism; if one lived an expression of love and died a rather quick and unexpected death; or if they gave a heroic example of living all the Christian virtues.

The process of canonization is governed by a strict canonical or juridical procedure established by St. John Paul II in 1983.

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After Kagan began the process, Duppong’s cause entered the diocesan phase of investigation into her life. The Michelle Duppong Guild was created — a group tasked with promoting an awareness of her life. Officials are poring over Duppong’s writings, work, demonstrations of faith and the great number of lives she touched while alive, which are illustrated through interviews with those who knew her, Grafsgaard said.

Her case will be built up and eventually sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints in Rome for the Roman Phase of canonization. A Vatican panel will also investigate and determine if Duppong lived a heroically virtuous life. The Dicastery can then issue a “decree of heroic virtue” in which Duppong would be given the new title of “Venerable Servant of God.”

The third step, beatification, then begins. During this phase, it must be proven that one miracle has been granted by God through Duppong’s intercession. If the Pope declares a true miracle occurred, then Duppong would be declared “Blessed.” Last, a ceremony of canonization would take place where the church declares her a Saint in heaven with God.

“The process is very long,” Grafsgaard said. “I often say, ‘It takes as long as it takes.’ ”

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Michelle Duppong overlooking Jerusalem-2013.jpg

Michelle Duppong overlooking Jerusalem in 2013.

Contributed by michelleduppong.org

Michelle Christine Duppong was born Jan. 25, 1984, the fourth of six children to parents Ken and Mary Ann Duppong. She grew up on the family farm in Haymarsh, North Dakota, where her parents said she loved to help with chores, including caring for sheep but especially gardening, mowing, pruning, weeding, harvesting and canning, according to her mother.

Duppong was named valedictorian and president of her senior class and later attended North Dakota State University, where she earned a degree in horticulture.

After earning her degree, she became a FOCUS missionary at four college campuses, including the inaugural year at the University of Mary, mentoring college students to draw them deeper into the faith. FOCUS is an apostolate dedicated to evangelizing college and university students.

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In 2012, she became the director of faith formation for the Bismarck Diocese, where she led parish missions, launched a podcast and spearheaded a three-day Eucharistic conference that drew thousands to the Bismarck Civic Center in 2013.

In the fall of 2014, Duppong was experiencing sharp abdominal pains that doctors initially thought were ovarian cysts, a common but painful issue for women that will sometimes dissolve and go away without major medical treatment. But by December, the pain was unrelenting, and an outpatient surgery was scheduled that month to remove the cysts.

According to Mary Ann Duppong, surgeons were “shocked to find” Michelle Duppong’s abdomen was “full of stage four cancer.”

Doctors expected the young woman to die within months, and hospice care was recommended.

“Michelle was not one to blame anyone for anything,” Mary Ann Duppong said. “Her attitude was, ‘If God wants me to go through this, I will go through this.’ “

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Despite the diagnosis, Michelle Duppong continued her life for nearly a full year.

According to the website that outlines the canonization process for Michelle Duppong and its status, she told one of the sisters providing hospice care that she believed she would pass on Christmas Day. Michelle Duppong died at 11:23 p.m. on Dec. 25, 2015.

Shortly after Bishop Kagan initiated the process for Michelle Duppong’s canonization, U.S. bishops affirmed their support for the cause’s advancement.

In this first stage, the primary focus is to raise awareness of Michelle Duppong and the push for her sainthood by spreading as much information about her and her life as possible, which is done through the creation of a guild and much of which can be found at

www.michelleduppongcause.org.

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Michelle Duppong2.jpg

An undated photo of Michelle Duppong at the Duppong farm.

Contributed.

In January, a FOCUS-produced documentary titled “Thirst for Souls: The Michelle Duppong Story,” was screened at a FOCUS convention in St. Louis. Afterward, Michelle Duppong’s parents were inundated for hours with comments about how much the movie and Michelle had influenced viewers.

While one cannot necessarily predict when or if Michelle Duppong will become a saint, Grafsgaard said a bishop must believe canonization is likely to begin the process.

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“For a bishop to initiate a cause, there should be a well-founded hope for its success,” he said. “There certainly was reputation in her life, and she continues to have it in her death.”





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Obituary for Grace Mary Kegler at Gregory J. Norman Funeral Chapel

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Obituary for Grace Mary Kegler at Gregory J. Norman Funeral Chapel


Grace M. Kegler, 94, of Grand Forks, ND passed away Monday, December 23, 2024, at Edgewood Vista in East Grand Forks, MN. Memorial Liturgy 1100 a.m. Saturday, December 28, 2024, with a 1030 a.m. Rosary Service in the Historic Norman Funeral Home Chapel. Family Greeting 1000 a.m. to 1100 a.m.



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