By Amy Dalrymple | Editor
“If we start construction again, I don’t want to see it stop at any point.” - Rep. Jon Nelson, R-Rugby, on a funding proposal to restart construction on the stalled Military Gallery.
Dale Lennon, executive director of the State Historical Society of North Dakota Foundation, gives a tour of the unfinished Military Gallery to state lawmakers on Sept. 2, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jacob Orledge
North Dakota lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a funding compromise to restart construction on a stalled Military Gallery construction project, though several voiced concerns about increasing the state’s share of the cost.
A joint House-Senate budget committee recommends a $20 million line of credit from the Bank of North Dakota and removing conditions attached to $15 million in state funding already approved for the project on the Capitol grounds. The recommendation, approved in a 34-4 vote, will advance to the Senate for a vote on Thursday.
Rep. Glenn Bosch, R-Bismarck, said the line of credit is intended to serve as a construction loan to give fundraisers time to raise private donations.
Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, one of the lawmakers who opposed the plan, said he is concerned taxpayers will end up being responsible for the new $20 million loan.
SPECIAL SESSION COVERAGE: The Monitor team will be at the Capitol every day this week covering the special session and related legislative meetings. Follow our latest coverage.
Rep. Todd Porter, R-Mandan, speaks during a policy committee meeting on Sept. 1, 2026, ahead of a special session of the Legislature. Porter has been critical of a special session bill addressing nondisclosure agreements. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jeff Beach
A legislative committee on Wednesday recommended rejecting a bill that would add repercussions to North Dakota data center developers that enter into nondisclosure agreements with public agencies or officials.
Senate Bill 2406 will advance to a vote by the full Senate with a do-not-pass recommendation from a joint House-Senate policy committee.
The committee approved an amendment to the bill that clarified that state agencies are still able to enter into confidentiality agreements to protect sensitive information for data centers and other industrial projects. But the committee recommended dismissing the bill, with some arguing that the topic is too complex to deal with in a three-day special session.
Kratom products are displayed at a retail store in Bismarck on Aug. 5, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jack Dura
Legislation advanced Wednesday to permanently ban all kratom and synthetic products in North Dakota.
Sen. Michelle Axtman, R-Bismarck, introduced amendments to Senate Bill 2408 to include natural kratom in addition to her original bill’s intent to prohibit synthetic kratom derivatives, such as 7-OH.
Axtman called her amendments “essentially a blanket ban on all kratom and kratom derivatives” based on testimony Tuesday from medical professionals and citizens from “all walks of life in all corners of North Dakota,” she said.
“What I heard yesterday, in my mind, was so powerful that if we didn’t address an attempt to ban, I think we are really disregarding what we heard from professionals and parents and concerned community members,” Axtman said.
Gov. Kelly Armstrong gives a speech to a joint session of the Legislature on Sept. 2, 2026, during a special session. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jack Dura
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong called on the Legislature Wednesday to prohibit kratom “in all its forms,” a boost for efforts to ban the substance as lawmakers deliberate what action to take.
The Republican governor’s roughly nine-minute State of the State address came at the start of the special session he called last month for restricting kratom.
“People were overdosing and dying from a product that they could buy off the shelf without any regulations or any age restrictions. That’s why we took it off the shelves until you all could be convened,” Armstrong told lawmakers.
House Minority Leader Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, speaks on the House floor during a special session of the Legislature on Sept. 2, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
By Michael Achterling
North Dakota Democratic lawmakers tried to introduce bills on childcare funding and a moratorium on data center permitting during the special session Wednesday, but the attempts were voted down or blocked by each Republican-led chamber.
During a press conference Friday morning, Sen. Jamie Selzler, D-Fargo, said the lawmakers were attempting to introduce the bills for discussion.
“We just wanted to talk about it,” Selzler said. “Republicans are not listening, because if they were listening, they’d be willing to talk about these things.”
EARLIER ND MONITOR NEWS AND COMMENTARY
Public, lawmakers debate kratom regulation versus full ban in North Dakota | Jack Dura and Jacob Orledge
FROM STATES NEWSROOM
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
By Ashley Murray
As public opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court flags amid decisions that have roiled the nation, Democrats renewed calls ahead of the midterms to expand the high court, while House Republicans are considering a constitutional amendment this week that proposes to cap the number at nine.
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