499: 'I don't look for racism'

Plain Talk

Racial incidents keep happening at North Dakota school events.

At basketball games. Proms. Hockey games. Part of the problem is, we don't know if they're happening more, or less. Maybe we're just noticing them more now that everyone has a smartphone in their pocket and the ability to document the taunts and jeers and boorish behavior.

State Rep. Jayme Davis is a Democrat from District 9a, which covers the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation. In the state House of Representatives, she's the minority caucus leader. She wants to do something about this problem.

"I don't look for racism. That's not something I look for in my daily life," she said on this episode of Plain Talk. "But it shows up."

During the 2023 session, Davis introduced a resolution calling for a study of racial incidents at North Dakota school events. It passed, but the the Legislature's interim committees chose not to take it up. But she says she's not going to stop trying. She'd like to see data collected about these incidents, to measure the scope of the problem, and she'd also liked to see more training for the state's educators, sports officials, and even lawmakers.

Also on this episode, are North Dakota's political leaders being too tough on electric vehicles? And what was with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem bragging about killing a dog? Me and co-host Chad Oban discuss.

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