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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Property taxes, book bans and resolutions: Three Grand Forks lawmakers discuss recent session
Jun. 6—GRAND FORKS — Through an hour-long conversation looking back on the 2025 legislative session, three Grand Forks state lawmakers found moments of agreement and professed similar opinions on issues more than they disagreed. Rep. Nels Christianson, Rep. Erik Murphy and Rep. Zac Ista, all from Grand Forks, went through some of the topics from the session with different mindsets but familiar answers. For example, on the matter of property tax and Gov. Kelly Armstrong's bill — which expanded the primary tax credit to a maximum $1,600 and capped local-level tax increases to no more than 3% annually — Christianson said they found some common ground. Property tax was one of the several issues discussed during the legislative wrap-up, held at the Grand Forks County office building on Thursday, June 5. All 18 members of districts 17, 18, 19, 20, 42 and 43 were invited, but Ista, Murphy and Christianson were the only ones in attendance. Joel Heitkamp, host of KFGO News and Views and a former state senator, served as moderator. Some issues involved public funding to private schools, Medicaid, the North Dakota Republican Party and what bills the legislators worked on. Property tax was among the most newsworthy issues during the session. Armstrong discussed it prior to his November election and his bill, HB 1176, was not passed until May 2, near the end of the session. "Did we deliver relief? Yes," Christianson said. "Reform? Maybe not so much." Murphy said property taxes are typically something outside of the Legislature's lane, but that he begrudgingly supported Armstrong's property tax bill. "Property tax is part of the reality of living in a nation such as ours," he said. "Property tax, to me, is a local issue." Ista, the only Democrat among the three, said there will be a trade-off. Homeowners will get some tax relief, but political subdivisions will have to figure out how to continue to pay for things. "Now the burden is going to fall on our local, county, city, school districts to see how to live within this new reality. I think it's going to be a challenge going forward for the state and locals to balance it," he said. One issue on which all three agreed was the matter of banning books. Each legislator was against it, though they had different thoughts on the matter. Ista said he has voted against every book censorship bill, and will continue to do so every chance he gets. "The issues in our state that affect our kids are not what books are displayed where in our libraries," he said. "I love taking my kids to Grand Forks Public Library and watch them go down that big pink slide, and I've never once worried about what book they might stumble into." Christianson said that, under no circumstances, should books be banned. Instead, he said, they should be placed in the appropriate area, and that he wants his daughters to be able to go around the children's section of the library and look at any books they would like in that section. "I absolutely do not support taking anything out of the ability for people to check out from the library," he said. "I just want to make sure that ... parents have a chance to be in the loop, just that parents can understand what their children are reading, especially in the younger ages." Murphy said there are better things to do and think about in North Dakota than book bans, and he mentioned Senate Bill 2307, which would have required libraries to make material considered sexually explicit unavailable to minors, and could penalize failure to comply. One issue he took with the bill was the difference between what was said about it versus what it would really do, he said. "What it really did is, opened up every library in the state, whether it's UND's library, it opened up the (North Dakota Museum of Art)," he said. "If there's a nude in there, that could be considered pornography, therefore we need to take that picture down." Two resolutions that failed during the session — House Concurrent Resolution 3013, which requested the U.S. Supreme Court overturn gay marriage, and House Concurrent Resolution 3020, declaring that "Christ is King" of North Dakota — drew disagreement between Christianson, who voted "yes" on both, and the other two legislators, who voted against them. Christianson's thought on HCR 3013 was that issues such as marriage need to be defined at the state level, not through a court decision, referencing Obergefell vs. Hodges, the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding same-sex marriages. Ista said that it was probably the darkest day of the session for him when the resolution came to the floor, and that he was caught "flat-footed" by it. He said he had thought everyone had moved beyond the issue of marriage equality. Murphy said it's not up to him to decide who any individual should love. He also said that during this recent school year, he knew of students who were transgender and transitioning. The resolution sends the wrong message to North Dakota residents and creates a division in the state, he said. As for HCR 3020, Murphy simply said "absolutely not" when Heitkamp asked if he thought North Dakota should be in the business of declaring that Christ is king. Ista said that the faith leaders in his life respected a foundational concept of no official religions in America, and that, while he respects the religion of his colleagues, the state should be accommodating to all religions and not place one above the others. Christianson said the resolution would have no effect on state policies, claiming that he voted for what he believes is the truth. "It was simply a statement, and that's a statement that I will make every day, that Christ is king," he said.
Boston Globe
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Russia and Ukraine agree to prisoner swap in first direct talks in years
During the talks, the Russian team told the Ukrainians that, to achieve the cease-fire they are seeking, Ukraine should withdraw entirely from the four regions in east Ukraine that Moscow annexed in late 2022, according to a Turkish official familiar with the discussions. Ukraine still controls vast swaths of that land, including two regional capitals. Such demands — which Russian officials also made during meetings with US negotiators this year — have fed fears that Moscow is being unrealistic in talks and called into question whether President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who has said he is winning on the battlefield, is, in fact, prepared to end the war. Advertisement Putin wants to keep the attention of President Trump, who is promising a new era of warm ties between Moscow and Washington, and to convince the White House that he isn't stonewalling the peace in Ukraine that Trump promised as a presidential candidate. Advertisement But the Russian leader is also still seeking Ukraine's capitulation, both on the battlefield and in negotiations, after more than three years of full-scale war that has come to define his rule. On Friday, the delegations agreed to write up and share with each other the conditions that would make a cease-fire possible, Turkey's foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, whose government convened the talks, wrote on the social platform X. The Ukrainians and Russians also agreed to meet again, in principle, Fidan said. 'We agreed that each side would present its vision of a possible future cease-fire and would spell it out in detail,' Vladimir Medinsky, the Kremlin aide leading the Russian delegation, said in a news briefing after the talks. 'After such a vision is presented, we believe it would be appropriate to also agree to continue our talks on this.' But in comments on Russian state television, Medinsky also said that those who say a cease-fire must come before peace talks had no knowledge of history. He said, as Napoleon Bonaparte proved, 'war and negotiations, as a rule, always happen simultaneously.' Medinsky, in the news briefing, said his team had noted Ukraine's request for direct negotiations between Putin and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. He did not commit to arranging such a meeting. Putin has repeatedly attacked Zelensky's legitimacy and would be unlikely to agree to one-on-one talks with him. The two have met only once, in 2019, before Putin's full-scale invasion. Ukraine's defense minister, Rustem Umerov, who led Ukraine's delegation, confirmed that the teams had discussed the prisoner exchange, a cease-fire and the possibility of organizing a meeting of the two leaders. 'At this stage, we'd like to reiterate that Ukraine wants peace,' Umerov said after the talks. 'We're able and capable of continuing to fight, but at the end of the day, we need to finalize this war.' Advertisement Zelensky, during a trip to a summit in Albania on Friday, said Putin was 'afraid' to meet him in person and had turned the Istanbul talks into a 'staged, empty process.' The Ukrainian leader demanded new sanctions against Russia's energy sector and banks until Moscow engaged in what he called serious diplomacy. 'Pressure must continue to rise until real progress is made,' Zelensky said. President Emmanuel Macron of France echoed the sentiment, calling Friday for 'increased pressure from the Europeans and Americans' on Russia to obtain a cease-fire. Zelensky and Macron, alongside the leaders of Britain, Germany, and Poland, spoke by phone with Trump about the matter Friday, according to Serhiy Nikiforov, the Ukrainian president's press secretary, who did not release additional details. From the start, the Istanbul negotiations were not expected to yield any huge breakthroughs. But the meeting was a tactical win for Putin, who managed to start the talks without first agreeing to a battlefield cease-fire that Ukraine and almost all of its Western backers had sought as a precondition for negotiations. Despite encouraging the talks earlier in the week, Trump undercut them in comments Thursday, saying that nothing meaningful would happen until he met with Putin. On Friday, Trump said he might call the Russian leader and would meet him 'as soon as we can set it up.' Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated that sentiment, calling it 'abundantly clear' that a breakthrough wouldn't occur until a meeting between the US and Russian leaders took place. Advertisement 'I don't think anything productive is actually going to happen from this point forward until they engage in a very frank and direct conversation, which I know President Trump is willing to do,' Rubio said on Thursday. On Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow agreed that a meeting between the Russian and US leaders was necessary. But he noted that such a summit would require careful preparation to yield results. Despite those sentiments, Rubio traveled to the Istanbul palace where the talks took place early Friday. US officials met with the Ukrainians and Russians separately but left it to Turkey to convene direct talks in the afternoon. Rubio left the palace to meet national security advisers from Britain, France, and Germany and did not stay for the talks. Pope Leo XIV extended an offer to host subsequent talks between Ukraine and Russia at the Vatican. The Holy See's secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said Friday the pope's offer 'is the availability of a space.' He called the Vatican an 'appropriate place' for peace talks. This article originally appeared in
Local Germany
13-05-2025
- Business
- Local Germany
Why renters in Germany should expect high heating bills this spring
Millions of tenants are likely to receive unexpected bills this month as the full costs of heating their properties last year are calculated. According to a report in Bild , around 900,000 of these additional cost calculations are set to be sent out in the coming days - and many of them will contain nasty shocks for tenant. In Germany, bills for rental households are calculated at the start of the year based on estimated prices and usage. If usage or prices go down, tenants are given a rebate, but if either of these factors increases against the previous year, households are hit with bills for back payments. In 2024, services provider Ista tracked a significant rise in energy prices - particularly for households heating with either gas or district heating (known as Fernwärme in German). Most dramatically, district heating customers face an eye-watering 27 percent surcharge on their energy costs compared to 2023. For a 70-square-metre home, this means average costs of €1,055 for hot water and heating throughout the year - an increase of €255 compared to the year before. Single households in 50-square-metre flats can expect to owe a back payment of around €160, while families in 120-square-metre flats could see surcharges of around €387. READ ALSO: How will heating and electricity costs change in Germany next year? For those with gas heating systems, prices rose less dramatically last year, but these households are still likely to be hit with some bills for back payments. Price increases of around 7.9 percent mean could mean an extra €53 a year for tenants in 70-square-metre properties, while families in large flats may need to shell out an extra €91. Advertisement For those in smaller flats of around 50 square metres, there could be a surcharge of around €38 per year. Amid the gloom of rising prices, there is some good news for tenants with oil heating systems. This group can even look forward to savings this year - paying an average of 12.4 percent less compared to 2023. READ ALSO: How German households can save on their electricity bills For tenants of a 70-square-metre flat, this means a reduction of €127, while those in a 120-square-metre property could save €217. Singles with oil heating systems could also get an unexpected boost to their bank balance, paying €90 less than in 2023. The exact cost differences will be based on previous estimates and the terms of the contract tenants have with their landlords. In cases where the difference is dramatic, landlords may also announce an increase or decrease in warm rent for the rest of the year.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Dakota House removes new Ethics Commission position from budget, adds 6-month deadline
Rebecca Binstock, executive director of the North Dakota Ethics Commission, speaks during a committee hearing on Jan. 31, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) The North Dakota House on Monday voted to give the Ethics Commission a six-month deadline to resolve ethics complaints while also removing a new position approved by the Senate. The amended bill, which passed by a 65-29 vote, will head to the Senate for a concurrence vote before it can go to Gov. Kelly Armstrong's desk for a signature. Supporters of the bill say its policy changes would address the Ethics Commission's growing backlog of ethics complaints. The commission has received more than 60 complaints since the beginning of this year. House committee recommends removing new Ethics Commission position, adding deadline Under amendments adopted Monday, Senate Bill 2004 would require the commission to dismiss complaints 180 days after they are filed. Rep. Mike Nathe, who brought the amendments, said that he believes some North Dakotans are 'weaponizing' the Ethics Commission to lodge frivolous complaints against public officials that can drag on indefinitely. The commission has some complaints that are more than two years old. 'It's just a matter of fairness to the accused,' the Bismarck Republican said. 'They shouldn't have to sit there with this hanging over their head for years at a time.' House Minority Leader Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, spoke against the bill. He said a 180-day deadline would prevent the commission from properly probing cases. It may encourage people accused of ethics violations to not cooperate with investigations in an attempt to run out the clock. Ista noted the constitutional amendment that created the commission says the Legislature may not do anything to impede its implementation. 'We're literally tying their hands,' Ista said. If the bill is signed into law, it would take effect immediately. Lawmakers indicated their intent is for the clock to start ticking on all the commission's pending complaints. The Ethics Commission last week called the changes 'a roadblock intended to hamper the commission's work.' The House amendments also removed roughly $250,000 for an additional staff member the Senate previously approved. That employee would have focused on education and communications. The funding would have covered a two-year salary, benefits and other costs. Some House committee members said in hearings they weren't convinced an additional employee is necessary. The commission has three staff members. Ista urged the floor to add the education and communications employee back in. He said an employee dedicated to teaching the public about government ethics would help reduce the commission's caseload by preventing violations from happening in the first place. 'Our Ethics Commission does not want to play 'gotcha' games,' Ista said. 'What they want to do is help us learn to do what's right.' House defeats bill to streamline North Dakota Ethics Commission The budget does include $50,000 for a new case management system that would track filings with the commission, which staff have said will help streamline its workload. Some other amendments were lifted from bills that died earlier in the House, including House Bill 1360 — which the Ethics Commission supported — and House Bill 1505. One new provision gives the board more power to dismiss complaints, for example. Commission staff have said that under current law, the person who submits the complaint wields outsize power over when a complaint may be thrown out, which is partly why some complaints have gone unresolved for extended periods of time. The amendments also allow people accused of violations to discuss complaints against them. Another section would protect lawmakers from being prosecuted with a conflict of interest crime for voting on legislation if they adhere to legislative conflict of interest rules or the informal advice of an Ethics Commission staff member. Additionally, the bill contains a new requirement for the commission to publish an annual report detailing its work. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Dakota House passes bill to shorten time for educators to attain lifetime licensure
Jan. 27—BISMARCK — A bill that would reduce the time it takes for a North Dakota teacher to earn a lifetime educator license passed through the House by a substantial margin Friday, Jan. 24. Representatives voted 79-12 to advance House Bill 1238, sponsored in part by Rep. Zachary Ista, D-Grand Forks. The House Education Committee unanimously recommended the bill for passage Thursday, though the bill received mixed reviews among education circles during a hearing Tuesday. The bill would make a teacher eligible for a lifetime license when reaching 20 years in their career, instead of the current 30-year mark. Anyone with a lifetime license who intends to keep teaching shall report to the state's licensing agency, the Education Standards and Practices Board, at least once every five years, the bill states. Reporting could include any crime a teacher committed or other behavior that could lead to license revocation or suspension. Nothing in the bill would prevent the board from taking its own action against a teacher's lifetime license, if warranted. The bill is a holdover from the last legislative session, Ista said, during which it received widespread support in the House but failed on a tie vote in the Senate, with one member absent. One thing that is different this time is the reporting element, he said, which was a sticking point last time with ESPB. Much of the support for HB 1238 comes in the name of improving recruitment and retention of teachers. Ista said the bill would reduce continuing education expenses for teachers, estimating the average educator could save up to $1,000 in out-of-pocket expenses. Also testifying in support Tuesday was Nick Archuleta, president of North Dakota United, the union representing public education and public services employees in the state. Archuleta said some opponents maintain the bill would cause teachers to stop taking educational credits they might otherwise have earned. "Not only is that argument a slight to the professionalism of teachers, it also discounts entirely the fact that teachers ... have to take coursework to make lane changes and advance on the salary schedule," he said. Testifying in opposition of House Bill 1238 were representatives from the state Education Standards and Practices Board. Executive Director Rebecca Pitkin said most states require continuing education for license renewal. "Teachers are the model of lifelong learning. Ongoing education, potentially until almost the end of a career, is critical," she said. Pitkin also said reducing ongoing education requirements for teachers would not promote the profession. Cory Steiner, ESPB chair and superintendent of the Northern Cass School District, agreed. "There could be unintended consequences, seeing education as 'less than' other fields, where it should be equal to or more than," he said. Pitkin said there are currently around 18,000 licensed educators in the state system, with around 10,000 of them currently working. Providing neutral testimony was Ann Ellefson, director of academic support at the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. Ellefson said the state's teachers have easy access to an online educational hub offering professional development, training opportunities and educator resources. Many of the courses are no cost or low cost across all North Dakota zip codes, she said, while some do charge a nominal $40 fee at registration. There are 557 active users taking part in 68 courses that include child nutrition, North Dakota Native American studies, science of reading, mathematics and educator ethics, Ellefson said. On the House floor Friday, Rep. LaurieBeth Hager, a Fargo Democrat and cosponsor of the bill, said the legislation would reduce red tape for teachers. Rep. Pat Heinert, R-Bismarck, said Friday the goal of the bill is to keep teachers in the profession. Further action on the bill was not scheduled as of Friday.
