By Amy Dalrymple | Editor
A Bureau of Land Management office in Billings, Montana. (Photo by Darrell Ehrlick/Daily Montanan)
By Jeff Beach
A North Dakota landowner is among those protesting oil and gas rule changes proposed by the federal government.
The changes affect people such as Donald Nelson of Keene in northwest North Dakota. Nelson is a farmer and rancher who owns surface land but the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management owns the mineral rights.
The changes would reduce bonds from $500,000 down to $25,000 for all wells a company drills in a state. The money is expected to cover the costs of plugging a well when it is done producing and returning the land to its original state.
The rule changes would eliminate the requirement that the BLM notify split-estate landowners when the agency offers oil and gas leases under their property.
Towers support electrical transmission lines in western North Dakota. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jeff Beach
The Public Service Commission will hold two public hearings in September on a proposed power line project covering more than 240 miles across six counties in southwest North Dakota.
The North Plains Connector plans to go through Golden Valley, Slope, Hettinger, Oliver, Morton and Grant counties in North Dakota.
The full line would run about 422 miles from near Colstrip, Montana, to two separate end points in North Dakota – one near Center and one near St. Anthony.
By Monitor staff
A data breach made public Monday by the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services may have exposed health information of people receiving developmental disability services.
A phishing email attack targeted the Department of Health and Human Services in July. The Information Technology Department investigated and determined that three Developmental Disabilities Division employees interacted with the phishing email, which led to unauthorized access of their email accounts, according to the agency.
The Information Technology Department promptly secured the accounts, but some personal health information may have been accessed. The department said it is providing written notification to those affected by the breach and encourages them to monitor their medical and financial accounts for potential fraud.
President Donald Trump shows helipad construction on the South Lawn of the White House after an event in the Rose Garden on Aug. 24, 2026. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, left, and U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon are on either side of Trump. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
By Shauneen Miranda
President Donald Trump and U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Monday touted a national private school voucher program set to launch in early 2027.
At least 30 states, including North Dakota, have already opted in to the school voucher program, which allocates up to $1,700 in federal tax credits for people donating to organizations that provide private and religious school scholarships.
The program, known as the Education Freedom Tax Credit, was created in the GOP’s mega tax and spending cut bill Trump signed into law in July 2025.
EARLIER ND MONITOR NEWS AND COMMENTARY
FROM STATES NEWSROOM
Michigan State University doctoral students attend the university’s doctoral commencement ceremony on May 5, 2023. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)
By Ariana Figueroa
The Department of Homeland Security is planning to drastically increase the fee for hiring high-skilled foreign workers within the United States to $100,000, according to a preview of a proposed rule published Monday.
The administration noted in the Federal Register that it plans to use the fee to “serve as a dedicated revenue mechanism to help recover a portion of the federal government’s costs of administering the lawful immigration system, including activities carried out by DHS” and the departments of Justice, State and Labor.
Currently, it costs anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 for an employer to hire a highly skilled foreign worker through the H-1B visa program.
US Supreme Court lifts pause on Trump mail-ballot order | Ashley Murray
South Dakota's cybersecurity program is running out of time, money as local governments face attacks | South Dakota Searchlight
Minnesota consumer advocates urge state board to reconsider Xcel's hefty increase | Minnesota Reformer
Report shows need for diversity in soybean cyst nematode resistant varieties | Iowa Capital Dispatch
FROM OTHER ND MEDIA OUTLETS
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