Piepkorn Urges Thinking Beyond the Horse and Buggy

Democratic-NPL governor candidate, state Sen. Merrill Piepkorn of Fargo, said during times of relative prosperity, budget cuts shouldn’t be the starting point for crafting a budget.

Gubernatorial candidate Merrill Piepkorn isn’t buying Governor Doug Burgum’s opposition to electric cars.

The North Dakota Monitor reported April 30 that Burgum opposed a plan for electric vehicles because Burgum said they don’t mix with cold temperatures.

The plan was brought to the North Dakota Industrial Commission by the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center with a request for funds from the Regional Energy Fund. The plan would put North Dakota in the lead of a four-state regional electric vehicle infrastructure plan.

Piepkorn, the Democratic-NPL candidate for Governor, called Burgum’s opposition “horse and buggy thinking.”

Read the transcript of his response below:

Transcript: “You know some people thought we should keep the horse and buggy when cars came along. Well, we can be stuck in the past or accept or even embrace what lies ahead for the us in the future. Even as we currently enjoy the financial benefits of our current coal and oil industries, we’ve got to look to the future and be able to respond to customer demand. Trends change, we all know that. Nothing stays the same. For example, if Minnesota, now one of the major consumers of the electricity produced from our lignite coal, doesn’t want to buy that electricity, they don’t have to. Simple as that. The folks at the EERC in Grand Forks are experts at solving problems like how to make electric vehicles more efficient in cold weather. I say let them do their thing to help North Dakota lead the way in this direction too.”

Piepkorn said that if we want out-of-state tourists and business travelers in EVs to drive through our state, we need to make it possible. On top of that, over 1,600 North Dakotans already own EVs and hybrids according to the North Dakota Department of Transportation, he said.

The North Dakota Legislature passed a road tax for EVs in 2021, Piepkorn pointed out, so drivers are paying their fair share in lieu of the gas tax paid at the pumps.

“When our universities come forward with new ideas, we should listen. That’s what the Industrial Commission should be looking for—new ideas. We need to consider all of our renewable resources, including solar. That is the leadership that the Governor of North Dakota ought to provide on the Commission,” he said.