By Amy Dalrymple | Editor
“This is one of those projects that adds an economic pillar to our city and region.” - Mark Lyman, economic development specialist for the Minot Area Chamber, on a pig iron plant proposed northeast of Minot.
Structures from a defunct mining operation stand on the Hill Annex Mine State Park in Calumet, Minnesota, on July 13, 2026. Calumet Reclamation proposes to reclaim the iron waste and transport it to Minot, North Dakota, for processing. (Photo by Peyton Haug/For the North Dakota Monitor)
By Peyton Haug
Enormous piles of iron-rich waste sitting dormant in Minnesota are about to see movement for the first time in decades, soon heading hundreds of miles west to North Dakota.
North American Iron plans to develop a 2,400-acre site near Minot to produce pig iron, an essential ingredient in steel-making. The operation, which could produce 2 million metric tons annually, would be the first of its kind in the country and aims to boost domestic production.
Jim Bougalis, CEO and founder of North American Iron and sister company Calumet Reclamation Co., said high tariffs and global conflict, coupled with North Dakota’s interest in the project, added to its momentum.
The facility is slated to bring 650 permanent jobs to the Minot area.
Coming tomorrow: Read about another project proposed for North Dakota that involves recycling Minnesota mining materials.
Bismarck attorney Derrick Braaten updates landowners on the status of pore space litigation against the state of North Dakota on Feb. 2, 2026. (Photo by Jacob Orledge/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jacob Orledge
A judge this month awarded North Dakota landowners attorney fees in a lawsuit against the state over a property rights law found to be unconstitutional.
The ruling means the state could owe nearly $975,000 in legal costs to the landowners and groups behind three related court challenges filed since 2019.
“We are grateful that the court recognized not only the merits of our case, but also the substantial time, effort, and expense required to defend our property rights,” Kurt Swenson, a landowner in Oliver and Mercer counties, said in a statement.
Swenson is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the North Dakota Industrial Commission’s decision to grant permits for Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposal to inject carbon dioxide gathered from five states into underground storage in North Dakota.
High school students unlock magnetic locking pouches containing their phones after class with a newly established a phone-free policy in 2024. After the success of cellphone bans nationwide, state lawmakers are turning to legislation restricting how much time students can look at screen. (Alixel Cabrera/Utah News Dispatch)
By Robbie Sequeira
After school cellphone bans passed many statehouses with bipartisan support in recent legislative sessions, state lawmakers are turning to legislation governing how long students should spend looking at screens.
This year, four states passed laws restricting or regulating screen time for students from childcare through fifth grade.
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Artificial intelligence is changing so quickly that lawmakers across the country are struggling to keep up.
Now, North Dakota has created a new legislative committee to study whether the state needs additional safeguards, and if so, what they should look like. The committee is not writing legislation just yet, but instead members are gathering information, hearing from experts, and looking at how other states are balancing innovation with consumer protection, free speech and public trust.
North Dakota Monitor reporter Jacob Orledge joins host Craig Blumenshine to talk about the committee’s work, including a recent standing-room-only hearing.
A Closer Look with the Monitor is a partnership with Prairie Public's Main Street.
EARLIER ND MONITOR NEWS AND COMMENTARY
FROM STATES NEWSROOM
A person walks into University Hospital in Newark, N.J. New Jersey has had one of the largest drops in deaths rates since 2015, according to a Stateline analysis. (Photo by Terrence McDonald/New Jersey Monitor)
By Tim Henderson
The nation’s death rate may have fallen to a historic low last year as many of the killers of young people such as drug overdoses, gun homicides and traffic accidents continued receding in 2025, according to new federal statistics.
States have not shared equally in the success, though, according to a Stateline analysis of provisional data by state.
Number of women seeking a governor’s seat hits an all-time high | States Newsroom
South Dakota universities’ Native American enrollment rises to pre-pandemic level | South Dakota Searchlight
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