By Amy Dalrymple | Editor
“I don’t see them as a corporate giant that tells us what to do.” - Don Flaherty, Ellendale mayor, on his community’s partnership with data center developer Applied Digital.
From left, Rainbow Energy Center CEO Stacy Tschider, Applied Digital Director of Local & Regional Affairs Dave Nehring and Ellendale Mayor Don Flaherty discuss data centers with moderator Retha Mattern at the Lignite Energy Council's annual conference on Sept. 9, 2026, in Bismarck, N.D. (Photo by Jack Dura/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jack Dura
Data centers grow communities’ property tax base, add more people to the local population and are an opportunity for North Dakota’s energy resources, according to a panel discussion Wednesday at the Lignite Energy Council’s annual conference.
Rainbow Energy Center CEO Stacy Tschider, Applied Digital Director of Local & Regional Affairs Dave Nehring and Ellendale Mayor Don Flaherty discussed benefits, best practices and misconceptions they see related to data centers, which have generated intense public scrutiny.
The panelists cited the city of Ellendale’s experience with Applied Digital, a company that built a data center campus near the small town. The mayor said Applied Digital will ultimately bring in 300 to 350 full-time data center employees, many living in Ellendale or commuting from outside. He predicted a population growth of 400 to 600 people over the next five years for the city of about 1,100 people.
Republican U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, left, and John Hoeven of North Dakota talk to reporters from the North Dakota Capitol on Sept. 9, 2026. (Photo by Jack Dura/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jack Dura
Republican Sens. John Hoeven of North Dakota and Chuck Grassley of Iowa say they want to help U.S. beef producers grow their herds while President Donald Trump plans to import 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef meant to lower prices for consumers.
The two senators spoke with reporters after Grassley and his wife, Barbara, toured the North Dakota Capitol on Wednesday.
Grassley said the president’s announcement last month might discourage investment needed to increase the U.S. cattle herd, which is at a 75-year low. However, improvements in feeding and genetics have led to more meat coming off of cattle – resulting in a record 28.4 billion pounds of beef produced in 2022.
“All the money that it takes to restore the number of cattle we need to have a balance between production and consumer prices is going to have to come with increased numbers,” Grassley told reporters.
The crash of United Flight 93 is marked by a boulder at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stonycreek Township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 26, 2026. (Photo by Tim Lambert/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
By Shalina Chatlani
On a rural stretch of land in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, an open meadow filled with bright wildflowers, a memorial grove of trees and a giant boulder marks the spot where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001.
States Newsroom’s Pennsylvania Capital-Star Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert recently revisited the national memorial on this field — where he happened to own a piece of land that was part of more than three dozen acres that made up the crash site.
“It’s always hard to come back here, but it’s always a chance to remember the sacrifices made by the passengers and crew of Flight 93 on that day,” Lambert said. “I think it’s important 25 years later to remember what they did and why they did it. They decided to act on a day that America was under attack.”
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FROM STATES NEWSROOM
A meadowlark habitat decal is affixed to a South Dakota habitat conservation license plate. The optional decal purchase is what helps to fund habitat conservation, and some people don't take the extra step. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
By Joshua Haiar
Thousands of South Dakota drivers who have habitat conservation license plates have not actually made a financial contribution to protect habitat for wildlife.
That’s because unlike some other states, where drivers’ habitat contributions are collected during license-plate transactions, South Dakota dispenses the plates and then asks drivers to separately donate to habitat conservation later by ordering habitat-themed decals and affixing them to the plates.
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