Seeking input on kratom

By Jeff Beach | Deputy editor

By Jack Dura

North Dakota lawmakers on Friday began talks about restricting kratom and related substances, part of a process the public will get to weigh in on next week.

Lawmakers are preparing for a special session next month called by Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong to consider prohibiting and regulating aspects of kratom products, including criminal penalties.

The Legislature’s five-member, all-Republican Kratom Working Group heard comments from fellow lawmakers about what issues they think are most important, such as prohibiting synthetic derivatives like 7-OH, allowing but restricting natural kratom products, considering what other states have done and weighing the science and effects of kratom.

By Monitor Staff

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Friday declared a statewide fire emergency as drought conditions have spread across the state. 

North Dakota also is activating the State Emergency Operations Plan as the risk of wildfires has intensified during a hot, dry summer. 

By Monitor Staff

North Dakota has confirmed its first human case of West Nile virus this year, with health officials advising people to protect themselves from mosquitoes. 

The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services says a Cass County resident was hospitalized after contracting the mosquito-borne virus. 

New podcast episode: Monitor reporter Michael Actherling discusses a record number of North Dakotans seeking food assistance from Great Plains Food Bank.

In the second half, deputy editor Jeff Beach talks about his recent reporting on low water levels at Lake Sakakawea.

A Closer Look with the Monitor, hosted by Craig Blumenshine, is a partnership with Prairie Public.

By Jack Dura

Kratom and derivative products are now illegal in North Dakota just days after Gov. Kelly Armstrong announced a ban on the substance and related derivatives. 

Lawmakers are preparing to draft legislation restricting kratom for a special session. The attorney general has announced how to dispose of kratom products. And police and prosecutors will be dealing with enforcement.

Here is what to know about kratom, the ban in North Dakota and what officials are doing.

By Jack Dura, Michael Achterling

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Monday declared a public health emergency banning all kratom products and called a special session of the Legislature for September to cement a prohibition into state law.

Kratom is a substance derived from a tropical tree in Southeast Asia that officials say can be synthesized into highly potent forms and put into products readily available at gas stations and smoke shops without regulations or age restriction. They have linked those products to overdoses and deaths. 

“Doing nothing is not an option,” said Armstrong, flanked by Attorney General Drew Wrigley, top Republican lawmakers and others at a Capitol press conference. 

By Jeff Beach

More than half of North Dakota is now in a drought, with blistering July heat shriveling crops and taking a toll on pastures. 

The U.S. Drought Monitor, which is updated weekly on Thursdays, shows a third of the state in moderate drought and more than 23% in extreme drought. The extreme drought area increased dramatically from the previous week, when less than 9% of the state was in that category. 

“July was one of the warmest and driest on record, and so in turn we had some very rapid shift into dry conditions across the state,” Daryl Ritchison, state climatologist for North Dakota, said Thursday. 

By Jeff Beach

Low water levels on Lake Sakakawea mean boat ramps that have been submerged for nearly 20 years will likely be needed to access the reservoir next year. 

A lack of snowfall in the Rocky Mountains led to decreased runoff into the Missouri River basin in the spring and low water levels on Lake Sakakawea all summer, with drought conditions persisting in North Dakota and Montana. 

As the lake level has gone down, some ramps and marinas can’t be used. Closed ramps mean more traffic and longer wait times at the boat ramps that remain open. 

By Michael Achterling

More than 186,000 people accepted help from the Great Plains Food Bank’s network of food pantries in the past year, a new record for the organization. 

The food bank, serving North Dakota and Clay County, Minnesota, said one in four people in the region relied on the network during the fiscal year that ended June 30, said Ann Prifrel, CEO of Great Plains Food Bank. 

The total number of people using the food bank increased 16% compared to the previous fiscal year, according to the nonprofit food shelf.

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