Guest Investigation: The $740,000 Question
Matt Fern is a film-maker who has spent more than a decade promoting the creation of a film industry in North Dakota. Now, he must call out the wasteful ways the state has gone about it.
Over the last few years, I’ve highlighted the many, many ways that the state of North Dakota wastes your tax dollars throwing money into “economic development” schemes that are little more than wishful thinking with good marketing/lobbying.
These are just a few of the case I’ve written about, and in almost all of these situations, networking and political connections have led to an abuse of power and wasteful spending.
One issue in particular has stood out as an industry that does what no other industry has been willing to do: call out the waste, fraud, and abuse perpetrated by those in its own industry. That industry is made up of a couple dozen genuine start-ups which are trying to turn passions into businesses and in-turn create an industry the right way: from the ground up.
Back in 2023, I first wrote about how the Department of Commerce was playing fast and loose with taxpayer funded grant dollars designed to help boost a film making industry in North Dakota:
Over 20 individuals struggling to start and maintain businesses decided to do their civic duty and call out the bad actors (pun intended) that were influencing and bilking the states’ taxpayers of funds that should have been divvied out in a more transparent way.
As this issue proceeded, it hit a stonewall of the most un-accountable department in the entire North Dakota state government: The Department of Commerce.
After years of no real resolution, these entrepreneurs are attempting to do things the right way in North Dakota have put their skills to work and documented how screwed up the way the State of North Dakota has managed the programs designed to boost their own industry; and how political connections have caused policies they support in theory to be used as a slush fund for well connected people.
The Department Of Incompetence
Matt Fern is was born and raised in Bismarck and has done all sorts of video work. From advertising development, to documentaries, to short films. I consider Matt an expert both on the technical and the public policy side of the business.
Over the last few months, he has tackled a project to document the boondoggle that is the state’s film grant program.
This week, he launched Part One of a three part series on this topic titled the “Department of Incompetence” (referring to the North Dakota Department of Commerce):
As these episodes are published, I will send the links out so that our audience can understand the scope and magnitude of this situation - a situation which is a microcosm of the waste, fraud, and abuse created when government promotes corporate welfare schemes.
Matt sent me some some supporting documents to go along with these podcasts:
Matt also appeared with Rob Port to discuss these issues:
(Note: Once this series is fully rolled out, I intend to have a discussion with Matt on a future episode of Watchdog Wednesday on KFYR-Radio. Stay tuned for that announcement so that you can have a chance to ask Matt some questions on this situation.)
This is very good information. My hope is that it will give courage to others to start speaking up about how the ND Department of Commerce operates.
Charles Hoefer and Matt Fern are leading the effort.