Off the Record, On the Issues with John

DakCU advanced member priorities and strengthened lawmaker ties last week.

By John Alexander, DakCU Director of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs

We didn’t just shake hands in Boston—we left with calluses.

Last week, DakCU walked the brick and bustle of Boston representing credit unions on the national stage, trading hallway pleasantries for hard, specific conversations about the rules and realities that decide whether our members can buy homes, open businesses, and weather a surprise bill without drowning. This week, we laced up on North Dakota greens with Senator John Hoeven and our credit union advocates, because the truth is simple and a little gritty: relationships aren’t built in hearing rooms alone. They’re forged in the spaces between—on fairways, in coffee lines, and during the long, unglamorous follow-up calls that turn a good chat into a concrete result.

The cadence felt relentless in the best way. One day we’re making the case in Boston why community finance needs clear rules, not moving goalposts and the next we’re side-by-side with Hoeven, reading a putt and reading the moment. The conversation never strayed far from the people we serve. When we talk rates, fees, or data sharing, we’re really talking about a Minot first-time buyer finally able to close, or a Dickinson contractor who needs a small line of credit to keep crews paid between invoices. Policy becomes personal the second you know the names.

And then came Wednesday’s full-tilt sprint in Fargo: 20 teams of four out playing for our Foundation, raising dollars that turn into scholarships, financial education, and safety-net support. You’d think that kind of day would cap our outreach. It didn’t. Between tee boxes and scorecards, our folks were texting, calling, and checking in with east-side legislators to swap updates, compare notes, and make sure no conversation goes stale. That’s the quiet craft of advocacy—never letting the thread go slack.

The topics circling those conversations weren’t fluff. Term limits and retirements weren’t abstract headlines; they were a chessboard we’re setting three moves ahead. Term limits promise a wave of new faces and shifting committee chairs, which means we must start earlier, teach faster, and come armed with Dakota data and real-life examples. Retirements accelerate the same churn—years of institutional memory can vanish in a session, so we fill that gap with clear briefings, district-level stories, and quick calls that translate regulatory jargon into kitchen-table stakes.

Fundraising came up, too—not as a scoreboard, but as the fuel that keeps our grassroots engine humming. When our members buy a raffle ticket, sponsor a hole, or chip in at a chapter event, they’re underwriting the work that gets us in the room when it counts. That support becomes travel to hearings, coalition letters that stop bad amendments before they spread, and the steady drumbeat of district meetings that keep credit unions top-of-mind when a late-night amendment suddenly appears.

We also talked timelines, because the calendar is strategy. 2026 and 2027 aren’t dates on a wall—they’re the runway for everything from data-access rules to small-business reporting frameworks to whatever Congress dreams up next on payments, housing, and community lending. If the next two years bring new compliance gates, we’re already sketching the playbook: what to build in-house, what to buy, where to partner, and how to keep member service human while the pipes and protocols get more complex. Legislators appreciate specifics, and we bring them: what a new reporting field means for a two-branch shop in Hettinger, how a small tweak to a mortgage rule plays out for a young family in Grand Forks, why a clean carve-out can be the difference between a viable product and a sunset.

National currents kept tugging at the conversation, as they should. Everyone wants the 10,000-foot view, but what resonated most was the 10-foot impact—how a change in Washington lands on a teller line in Bismarck or an underwriting desk in Watford City. We walked through it the way we always do: if it helps members build savings, buy homes, start businesses, and bounce back from setbacks, we’re all-in. If it piles on cost without clarity, we’re going to push back, propose fixes, and keep showing up until it works for real people.

What ties Boston’s marble halls to Fargo’s fairways is the same DakCU muscle we’ve been building for years: show up, follow up, and never let a relationship go cold. A senator’s gallery meeting opens a door. A golf scramble builds trust. A midweek text locks in the next step. By the time the gavel falls next session, our legislators won’t just remember the talking points—they’ll remember the faces, the stories, and the steady cadence of a movement that puts members first.

So, we’ll keep doing the unflashy things that win the long game. We’ll invite lawmakers into our branches and boardrooms. We’ll put data on the table and coffee in their hands. We’ll celebrate on the green and roll up our sleeves in committee. And when 2026 and 2027 bring the next wave of decisions, our message will arrive with the force of a relationship years in the making: credit unions are here for the people who build North Dakota. Help us keep it that way.

Credit Union Community to Rally September 18 for State PAC Relief Golf Outing
On September 18, the ND GAC: Lamoure Credit Union - PAC Scramble kicks off at Memorial Park Country Club in LaMoure, ND. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. and with a shotgun start at 10:00 a.m., bringing the credit union community together to generate vital funds for the State PAC and to support our legislators in turbulent times. Please note there is no room block, and attendees should bring cash—checks will not be accepted on the course—for on-course games and beverages. Please note that all payments made by personal credit card or personal check are treated as non-tax-deductible donations to DakCUPAC (corporate contributions are prohibited by law and participation is entirely voluntary). Awards to follow at approximately 3:30 p.m. Register here!
 
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