Tribune: Controversial legislator meetings to be opened to the media

Quick update: media will be allowed into "secret legislator meetings".

Breaking news this evening from the Bismarck Tribune:

Controversial meetings involving North Dakota legislators, Summit Carbon Solutions Co-founder Bruce Rastetter and Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm will be opened to media, conservative media figure Scott Hennen said Friday.

The meetings this coming Tuesday in Bismarck and Fargo were billed in invitations as "Legislators Only" events, with a group run by Hennen and prominent oil businesswoman Kathy Neset hosting a "fireside chat." The closed nature of the meetings drew criticism earlier this week from Dustin Gawrylow, a Bismarck-based conservative activist who runs the North Dakota Watchdog Network, and two Democratic lawmakers.

State Attorney General Drew Wrigley on Thursday said the event's setup did not violate the state's open meetings law.

Gawrylow filed a complaint with North Dakota's Ethics Commission, saying in part "it appears ... this event is a de facto lobbying effort to convince undecided legislators to publicly su…