After serving four decades in the North Dakota Legislature, William “Billy” Kretschmar no longer has a seat in the House chambers.

What the Venturia resident does have is perspective and more than a few thoughts on the state of politics today.

Kretschmar, who was first elected to the House of Representatives as a Republican in 1972, as one of the few lawyers in the Legislature at that time, has seen his district expand from McIntosh and Logan counties to one that now also encompasses Emmons County and parts of Dickey, LaMoure and Burleigh counties. More land, fewer people, and “a lot more cows,” he quips.

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