By Amy Dalrymple | Editor
“Are we – I don’t want to say giving away the store, but I think it warrants some discussion amongst all of us.” - Sen. Mark Weber, R-Casselton, on state sales tax breaks for data centers that surpassed $65 million last year.
North Dakota Republican Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus gives a presentation on Aug. 26, 2026, to legislators. (Photo by Jack Dura/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jack Dura
Data center owners in North Dakota have reaped tens of millions of dollars in state sales tax breaks in the last two years, figures that have ballooned as public scrutiny has intensified on data center projects.
State Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus outlined to lawmakers exponential growth in sales and use tax exemptions for data center owners on information technology equipment, such as computer hardware, servers, routers, cooling systems and other infrastructure.
Those sales tax breaks, which are not for construction, ranged from $5.4 million in 2021 to $7.8 million in 2023, then leapt to $15.3 million in 2024 and more than $65 million last year.
“It’s a number that I think will grow without question,” Kroshus told the panel Wednesday.
A little water remains in a stock pond near Marion, North Dakota, on Aug. 1, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Torie Piehl/LaMoure County Extension)
By Monitor Staff
North Dakota is making more money available to livestock producers hit by drought conditions after an initial pool of funds quickly dried up.
The State Water Commission on Wednesday approved an additional $2 million for the Drought Disaster Livestock Water Supply Project Assistance Program.
The state made $2 million available last week. The Department of Water Resources received more than 220 applications in the first week, and funding would have run out Wednesday if the commission had not acted, according to a news release from the Governor’s Office and the State Water Commission.
“The intense demand for this water supply program demonstrates just how serious the drought situation is in North Dakota for our livestock producers,” Gov. Kelly Armstrong said in a statement.
Facebook owner Meta agreed to pay nearly $18 billion to an array of U.S. states over claims its platforms intentionally addicted teens. (Photo by Anne-Marie Caruso/New Jersey Monitor)
By Anna Claire Vollers
Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, on Wednesday agreed to pay 47 states, the District of Columbia, and a handful of U.S. territories, up to $17.1 billion in penalties over claims that its social media platforms are addictive and a danger to children.
As part of the settlement, Meta also pledged to make changes to Instagram and Facebook that are designed to reduce young people’s use of the platforms.
North Dakota is expected to receive more than $17 million, though each state’s allocation is still being finalized, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said.
“This settlement will transform social media platforms, resulting in better protection for children,” Wrigley said in a statement Wednesday. “Even the world’s largest technology companies must be held accountable when their products put our children at risk.”
An electric transmission substation operated by Montana-Dakota Utilities in Bismarck on April 17, 2026. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
By Jeff Beach
The North Dakota Public Service Commission on Wednesday approved a short-term increase in electric rates for customers of Montana-Dakota Utilities while the agency considers a larger increase.
Under the interim rate increase, a typical residential customer will see an increase of about $12.90 per month, or 12.3% over current rates. The rates kick in Tuesday.
The company filed for a 14.5% rate increase on June 30. Commissioner Sheri Haugen-Hoffart said Wednesday that hearings in the rate case will likely not take place until 2027.
Travis Jacobson, vice president for regulatory affairs for MDU, told North Dakota lawmakers last month that the rate increase request is not related to data centers it serves or data center projects.
EARLIER ND MONITOR NEWS AND COMMENTARY
FROM STATES NEWSROOM
By Jacob Fischler
Democrat-led states and voting rights groups re-filed lawsuits Wednesday to block the Trump administration from executing a new regulation to restrict mail-in voting, while a federal judge lifted a nationwide pause on the policy in line with this week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that handed the administration a procedural win.
Democratic officials in 24 states and the District of Columbia launched a new federal lawsuit challenging a U.S. Postal Service rule establishing federal vote-by-mail standards as unconstitutional and a coalition of voting rights advocates filed a supplemental complaint against the USPS rule after the Supreme Court struck down a similar suit as premature.
The rule establishes new ballot-design requirements and mandates states collect information from voters and voting-age citizens and transmit that information to the federal government. It forbids the Postal Service from delivering or collecting mail-in ballots from people who have not been confirmed as eligible voters.
Judge denies Minnesota’s extradition request for ICE agent | Minnesota Reformer
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