Arguments in royalty dispute

By Jeff Beach | Deputy editor

By Jacob Orledge

The North Dakota Supreme Court is poised to make a key decision in a case where one of the state’s largest oil companies is accused of withholding excessive amounts of money from the royalty checks it pays to mineral owners. 

The mineral owners, led by Diana Skarphol, are appealing a district court’s decision to dismiss the case against Hess, the oil company that pays them royalties, before a jury trial could take place.

The Supreme Court’s ruling will decide whether the case moves forward or not. 

By Ceilidh Kern

The public can now comment on planned changes to what North Dakotans can purchase with federal food assistance after the state postponed implementation of its Healthy Choice Waiver.

The public comment period opened Sept. 15 and will be open until Oct. 15. Comments can be submitted through the Federal Register website.

The waiver, which the state applied for in 2025, would bar North Dakotans from using their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to purchase most candies, energy drinks and sweetened beverages.

By Jeff Beach

People on board an Amtrak train and at the Minot train station on Sept. 23 may have been exposed to the measles. 

The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services reported Friday that a westbound train passenger with the measles traveled through North Dakota, using the restroom at the Minot station about 9:30 a.m. 

Three Republican Party officials this week filed a petition to the North Dakota Supreme Court challenging the eligibility of four legislative candidates.

Reporter Jack Dura joins host Craig Blumenshine to talk about the arguments in the court case and the secretary of state’s position.

Also, Monitor deputy editor Jeff Beach talks about the power demand for a proposed Cass County data center, and editor Amy Dalrymple describes the Monitor’s Voter Guide.

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

By Jeff Beach

A data center planned in North Dakota’s Cass County would use nearly twice the power of a data center under construction in the Fargo area. 

Minnesota-based Geronimo Power has filed for a conditional use permit for a data center in Harmony Township, near the Bison Substation north of Mapleton. 

The company describes its planned data center as similar in size to the Applied Digital project near Harwood, north of Fargo. Applied Digital’s Polaris Forge II campus would use up to 280 megawatts of power. Geronimo’s project would use 540 megawatts at peak demand. 

By Jeff Beach

The leader of the North Dakota University System is pushing for greater collaboration among its 11 higher education institutions. 

Commissioner Brent Sanford gained the backing of the State Board of Higher Education for what he calls the coordinated network or “One NDUS” model.

Sanford’s plan presented to the board would create a network of the state’s two-year schools and a network of the state’s smaller four-year colleges, with the two research institutions — the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State University — operating independently. 

“So this is not a different model. It’s not, but it is a different mindset,” Sanford said.

By Michael Achterling

Gov. Kelly Armstrong presented Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Awards Thursday to two of North Dakota’s most acclaimed wrestlers and coaches.

Terry and Troy Steiner, twin brothers born and raised in Bismarck, received the awards for their individual wrestling achievements and their work as coaches and ambassadors for the sport over the past 40 years, according to the Governor’s Office.

“Troy and Terry have carved a place for themselves in the pantheon of wrestling greatness,” Armstrong said during a ceremony at the Capitol. “As coaches and ambassadors, their impact and influence on the sport of wrestling cannot be measured. They have inspired countless men and women to pursue the sport of wrestling.”

By Jack Dura

North Dakota’s Health and Human Services Department is turning to outside “anchor partners” to manage a federal grant program for millions of dollars meant to boost rural health care initiatives.

Lawmakers wondered what an “anchor partner” actually is, how they are chosen and how the change will affect the timing to get more than $160 million of awarded funding out the door by a looming deadline.

Earlier this year, the Republican-led Legislature accepted $199 million in federal Rural Health Transformation Program funding. North Dakota has been the only state managing every single grant included in the Rural Health Transformation Program,

By Jack Dura

Three North Dakota Republican Party officials are suing the state’s top election official over what they say is inconsistent enforcement of election rules.

The state Supreme Court lawsuit comes as absentee voting already is underway in North Dakota. The lawsuit seeks to overturn the election victories of four GOP legislative candidates should any of them win in November.

It’s the latest fissure in the state’s dominant Republican Party, highlighting divisions over how some candidates use petition signatures to get on the ballot, a method some Republicans perceive as an affront to the endorsement process.

By Michael Achterling

North Dakota’s Republican and Democrat U.S. House candidates agree citizens are battling affordability concerns, but differ on ways to bring prices down.

Republican incumbent Rep. Julie Fedorchak partially blamed increasing diesel prices on President Joe Biden for preventing new fuel refineries from being built in the country while defending her votes to continue the Iran war. Democratic-NPL U.S. House candidate Trygve Hammer said Congress needs to assert its authority on the Iran war and tariffs to begin turning prices lower.

Fedorchak said some inflation is due to government spending, which she said Congress has taken “some pretty sizable steps” reducing government spending during her first term.

By Jeff Beach

Vern Thompson is challenging Doug Goehring for North Dakota agriculture commissioner, but has been most vocal about controversial data center plans in the state. 

Thompson, a Democrat, said he is running in part because the ag commissioner is one of three members of North Dakota’s Industrial Commission, which has committed to supporting a natural gas pipeline that Thompson said will ultimately benefit data centers. 

But many residents are apprehensive about those data centers, Thompson says. 

Thompson has led a series of meetings on data centers.

Goehring, a Republican, called the data center discussions “political grandstanding.”

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