A win for local control

By Jeff Beach | Deputy editor

By Jeff Beach

A North Dakota judge ruled Friday that state rules on where infrastructure such as pipelines can be built do not automatically trump local zoning ordinances. 

The ruling comes from a case in which a group of landowners and Emmons and Burleigh counties sued the Public Service Commission and pipeline developer Summit Carbon Solutions. 

Bismarck attorney Derrick Braaten, who represented Emmons County, said the ruling is a win for local government authority and its ability to set rules on how far a pipeline route must be from homes and other buildings, which is known as a setback.

By Jack Dura

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on Friday filed a new lawsuit to try to shut down the Dakota Access oil pipeline, continuing a decadelong battle over the project.

The tribe filed the case in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and three federal officials of those agencies. The lawsuit seeks to overturn the Army Corps’ May record of decision granting an easement for the pipeline’s river crossing upstream of the tribe’s reservation, among other actions.

“Until this pipeline is shut down, we will continue to defend what generations before us protected for our children,” Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Steve Sitting Bear said in a statement.

The state-owned Bank of North Dakota has launched a pilot program for Roughrider Coin, a dollar-backed digital asset that uses blockchain technology. 

Monitor reporter Jacob Orledge joins host Craig Blumenshine to discuss how the stablecoin technology may help complete financial transactions more quickly and the four North Dakota banks and credit unions that are participating. 

But questions remain about how the technology will work, what risks it may carry, and whether it will eventually affect everyday banking customers. 

A Closer Look with the Monitor is a partnership with Prairie Public's Main Street.

By Jeff Beach

Minnkota Power Cooperative plans to add a natural gas-fired power plant in Cass County, taking advantage of a planned pipeline to supply the gas from western North Dakota. 

Mac McLennan, president and CEO of Grand Forks-based Minnkota, said Tuesday that the co-op has purchased land in Harmony Township, north of Mapleton. 

In an interview, McLennan estimated the construction cost at $1 billion. He said there would likely be one gas-fired power turbine capable of producing 400 megawatts of power. Minnkota currently produces about 1,000 megawatts of electricity, mostly from coal-fired plants in western North Dakota.

By Michael Achterling

Archaeologists recently removed seven coffins containing human remains and an unknown wooden box from a construction site near the North Dakota governor’s residence, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

The archaeologists explored more than 80 areas of interest in September after human remains were discovered in May while construction crews were installing a new fence around the property.

By Michael Achterling

North Dakota lawmakers and state officials announced Monday a proposal that would award yearly bonuses to teachers to boost recruitment and retention.

Estimated bonuses for the first year would be about $3,400 per teacher, if lawmakers support the proposal during the 2027 legislative session.

The Support Teachers and Youth Succeed stipend, or STAYS, would use 10% of the earnings from the Common Schools Trust Fund, divided evenly among the state’s full-time public and private school teachers. 

By Jeff Beach

A North Dakota cattle broker has pleaded guilty to a charge stemming from an investigation that found a beef marketing company operated as a Ponzi scheme. 

Taylor Bang of Killdeer pleaded guilty Sept. 9 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Texas, according to court records. 

The North Dakota Department of Agriculture on Monday ordered Taylor Bang Cattle Sales to cease any livestock related sales.

By Jack Zaleski

The uproar in North Dakota about the wisdom or foolhardiness of data centers is the 21st century version of a long-standing contention in the state. Three episodes in recent history were rooted in conflicting bents in the state’s collective psyche that pit the desire for economic development and the promise of jobs against the instinct to preserve a way of life and protect the natural environment.

Not long ago it was about lignite strip mine reclamation, air pollution from electrical generation stations, and oil development damage to the Badlands. The sentiments that drove those conflicts are, in part, the same that motivate the debate about the data centers phenomenon.

By Michael Achterling

North Dakota’s Republican and Democratic U.S. House candidates agree artificial intelligence is powerful and in need of guardrails, but they differ on the level of accountability for AI products and their parent companies.

Republican incumbent Julie Fedorchak said she supports a bipartisan effort in the U.S. House to regulate the expanding industry and hopes accountability measures for AI misuse will come from the process. Democratic-NPL U.S. House candidate Trygve Hammer said AI regulations should be proactive instead of reactive and companies should be held negligent if their products violate the law.

By Michael Achterling

Three challengers for North Dakota’s U.S. House seat listed their priorities during a debate Thursday on Prairie Public while criticizing the Republican incumbent for not participating.

Democratic-NPL U.S. House candidate Trygve Hammer and independent candidates Helene Neville and Charles Tuttle made their case to voters and showed their differences on the issues.

Republican incumbent Rep. Julie Fedorchak did not participate.

By Jack Dura

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong and his campaign fund have given about $430,000 in support to Republican statewide and legislative candidates this year, more than one-quarter of which went to one state officeholder he appointed.

The full scope of Armstrong’s political spending became clearer after a Friday deadline for candidates to file pre-general election campaign finance reports with the secretary of state. 

By Jack Dura

Millions of dollars from national and in-state groups have gone into campaigns telling North Dakotans how they should vote this fall on whether to make it harder to change the state constitution and provide free meals to school children.

Campaign finance reports recently filed with the secretary of state brought into better focus who is spending money to support or defeat the general election’s two statewide ballot measures. Both are constitutional amendments. Measure 1 would require at least 60% of voter support to amend the state constitution. Measure 2 would provide free school meals to K-12 students.

By Michael Achterling

Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Tracy Foss supports annual bonuses for teachers, but sees the proposal as a temporary fix that does not address underlying education and teacher retention issues.

Foss, who received support from the Democratic-NPL Party, responded Wednesday to a proposal announced this week by Superintendent Levi Bachmeier and Republican lawmakers to establish an annual teacher bonus.

By Michael Achterling

A newcomer to North Dakota politics is running for the state’s sole U.S. House seat.

Helene Neville sought the endorsement of the Democratic-NPL Party, but finished third, leading her to file for office as an independent.

“I’m just running to serve,” Neville said in an interview with the North Dakota Monitor. “This is one of the most consequential Congress’ in history, and we better get it right this time.”

By Jack Dura

The North Dakota Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for later this month in a court case challenging the eligibility of four Republican legislative candidates.

Three Republican Party officials, two of whom lost their primary elections in June, want the court to essentially invalidate the candidacies and overturn the potential general election victories of four GOP House nominees. They are Blaine DesLauriers, Terry Goerger, Tim Mihalick and Steve Sauter, who are running in districts in the Bismarck, Minot and Richland County areas. 

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