By Amy Dalrymple | Editor
Rep. Mike Motschenbacher, right, is also the executive director of the North Dakota Gaming Alliance. Pictured here: The Republican lawmaker from Bismarck reviews hearing handouts next to Scott Meske, center, lobbyist for the North Dakota Gaming Alliance, and Rudie Martinson, executive director of the North Dakota Hospitality Association, during an administrative rules hearing on charitable gambling on Feb. 18, 2026, at the Capitol. The hearing was outside of a legislative session. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jack Dura
A Bismarck-area lawmaker says he is “completely separated” during the legislative session from his job heading a trade group for charitable gambling, a critical topic and burgeoning area of state law in recent years.
An ethics expert said Rep. Mike Motschenbacher could do more to better navigate the two jobs and potential conflicts of interest. A Democratic-NPL leader said he hasn’t been totally transparent with voters and should recuse himself from certain bill votes.
Motschenbacher, R-Bismarck, is seeking a second four-year term for District 47, an area of north Bismarck. Since late 2020, he has been the executive director of the North Dakota Gaming Alliance, which calls itself “your voice for all those in the charitable gaming industry in North Dakota.”
He has not recused himself from votes on charitable gambling-related bills, saying he does not uniquely or personally benefit from the legislation.
Chilaka Ugobi of Our Redeemer’s Christian School in Minot holds a check July 10, 2026, after winning the North Dakota state Civics Bee finals. He will compete for a national title in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Also pictured, from left, are Ryan Taylor, Kayla Pulvermacher and Chad Calvert, who judged the event, and Arik Spencer of the Greater North Dakota Chamber. (Photo courtesy of the Greater North Dakota Chamber)
By Shauneen Miranda
As partisan tensions rise in advance of the fast-approaching midterm elections, students will test their knowledge Wednesday in a field that’s long enjoyed bipartisan support: civics.
Fifty-two middle school students hailing from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and American Samoa, will compete at the third annual National Civics Bee Championship in the nation’s capital.
Chilaka Ugobi from Our Redeemer’s Christian School in Minot will represent North Dakota.
For the first time ever, C-SPAN will televise the nonpartisan civics competition set for 8 p.m. Eastern and hosted by actor and game show host Jerry O’Connell.
By North Dakota Monitor Staff
North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread on Monday released health insurance premium rate changes for Affordable Care Act plans for 2027.
His news release includes a table of Affordable Care Act small group and individual market rate increases for companies including UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota and Sanford Health Plan. Godfread did reduce some of the companies’ requested rate increases.
“Insurers, hospitals, other providers and policymakers all have a responsibility to help make healthcare more affordable. Families and small businesses cannot keep absorbing these increases,” Godfread said in a statement.
EARLIER ND MONITOR NEWS AND COMMENTARY
FROM STATES NEWSROOM
A construction worker retrieves plywood sheets lifted to the roof of a an affordable housing complex for seniors under construction in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. It’s one of four states that have housing measures on the ballot this November. (Photo by Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current)
By Robbie Sequeira
Voters in four states will decide housing-related ballot measures in November, providing testing grounds for different strategies to boost affordable homes.
The six measures across California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are the highest number in a single election year in at least two decades, according to Ballotpedia, a nonpartisan election research organization.
The ballot issues include approving billions of dollars in bonds for new housing and to help finance home purchases, loosening minimum lot-size rules, speeding environmental reviews and funding infrastructure needed for new development.
Montana initiative seeks to remove ‘dark money’ from politics | Daily Montanan
Farm, fuel groups celebrate EPA proposals to reallocate small refinery exemptions | Iowa Capital Dispatch
FROM OTHER ND MEDIA OUTLETS
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Looking 20 years into the past and future at the UAS Summit and Expo | Grand Forks Herald
District 35 House candidates debate healthcare, ethics and immigration | The Bismarck Tribune
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