By Amy Dalrymple | Editor
“We're hanging on. We haven't taken our seat belt off.” - Brent Kohls, a representative of the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association, on the roller-coaster ride the ag industry has been on during the Trump administration.
U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak, right, hosted trade negotiator Julie Callahan to discuss agriculture in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on Aug. 19, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jeff Beach
North Dakota farm group representatives called for more certainty in U.S. ag trade policy, while U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak and a U.S. trade representative said tariffs and tough trade negotiations will pay off in the long run.
U.S. Chief Agricultural Negotiator Julie Callahan fielded questions about Trump administration trade policies on beef, soybeans, sugar and other commodities Wednesday at an ag roundtable in Grand Forks hosted by Fedorchak, R-N.D.
The ag sector has been under pressure from lost exports and higher farm operating costs, prompting the Trump administration to offer assistance payment to help farmers stay in business.
“I think, as we move forward, really addressing some of the uncertainty that persists in our markets is really important, and making sure that we have stable trade relationships is key,” said Matt Perdue, president of the North Dakota Farmers Union.
Sen. Dale Patten, R-Watford City, and Rep. Dick Anderson, R-Willow City, listen to a colleague during a meeting of the Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee on Aug. 19, 2026. (Photo by Jacob Orledge/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jacob Orledge
North Dakota lawmakers are looking for ways to engage communities across the state to gauge interest in hosting a future nuclear power plant.
No facilities have been proposed, nor has a site been selected. But members of an interim committee studying the feasibility of advanced nuclear energy said having early conversations with local communities could prepare the ground for future development.
“Without that success, I don't think there's a path forward,” said Sen. Dale Patten, R-Watford City, chair of the Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee, which completed its work Wednesday.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, speaks with Northwestern Energy President and CEO Brian Bird in Sioux Falls on Aug. 18, 2026. (Photo by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
By Joshua Haiar
U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said this week that permitting reform could offer a rare opportunity for bipartisan action in Congress.
Thune told attendees during an event in Sioux Falls that lawmakers are considering shorter federal reviews for energy projects and time limits on legal challenges from project opponents.
“As soon as they’re ready to go, we’ll put it on the floor” of the Senate for a vote, Thune said.
Nuclear power could also draw bipartisan support, he said, particularly small modular reactors.
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FROM STATES NEWSROOM
Flight data activist Nick Benson films and photographs a flight of people in ICE detention, flown in shackles from one detention center to another Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
By Madison McVan
On the hot tarmac of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Tuesday afternoon, a man in a gray sweatsuit slowly climbed the steps to board an Eastern Airlines flight bound first for Alexandria, Louisiana, then El Paso, Texas.
He was chained at the ankles, wrists and stomach — and he was the 5,000th immigrant detainee shipped out of Minnesota’s flagship airport since November, according to independent tracking.
Nick Benson watched from the top floor of an airport parking garage, two cameras with zoom lenses trained on the plane, recording video as 14 men and two women boarded the flight in chains.
This was the 147th “ICE Air” flight — planes shipping detainees on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement — Benson had observed since he began tracking deportations in November.
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