By Amy Dalrymple | Editor
“It is a really interesting partnership between the state and a private foundation where the state challenged the private foundation to do big and audacious things, and in return, there was an investment that has really, I think, paid dividends for the state.” - Ed O’Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, on state support for the project.
Visitors walk toward the entrance of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora on July 2, 2026. (Photo by Kyle Martin/for the North Dakota Monitor)
By Jack Dura
Fundraising for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library has eclipsed $500 million, exceeding the $450 million goal of the project that opened its doors July 4.
The library marks the fundraising milestone as CEO Ed O’Keefe announced his upcoming departure from his position, but likely not completely from the library.
Part of the money will go toward paying back a $70 million line of credit North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature approved in 2023 as a backstop for beginning construction.
North Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lisa Fair McEvers, left, asks a question during oral arguments at the North Dakota State Capitol on April 2, 2026. At right is Justice Doug Bahr. (Pool photo by Tanner Ecker/Bismarck Tribune)
By Jeff Beach
North Dakota utility regulators provided adequate notice to local governments and landowners before making a key decision on a high-voltage power line, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The court also ruled that the Public Service Commission was justified in denying an attempt by landowners and local officials to intervene in the power line case after that vote.
Thursday’s ruling is a victory for the state agency and the utility companies who plan to build the power line. The Jamestown to Ellendale high-voltage transmission line, also known as JETx, will extend about 90 miles in Dickey, LaMoure and Stutsman counties in south-central North Dakota.
U.S. District Court Judge Dan Traynor answers questions from senators during a hearing for his nomination to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on June 10, 2026. (Screenshot from Senate Judiciary Committee website)
By Michael Achterling
The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed North Dakota U.S. District Court Judge Dan Traynor to serve on the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
In a 48-47 party line vote, Republicans voted in favor of confirming Traynor to replace 8th Circuit Judge Ralph Erickson. President Donald Trump nominated Traynor to the position in May with his nomination hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee held in June. His nomination advanced to the full Senate in an 11-10 committee vote last week.
President Donald Trump speaks at a roundtable event at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, July 23, 2026. The event promoted the administration’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge that seeks to cap utility prices in communities that have new data centers. (Screenshot from White House livestream)
By Amelia Twyman
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the addition of Republican governors, legislators, utility services and tech companies into his voluntary pledge aimed at keeping data center construction and operation costs off the shoulders of American consumers.
The Ratepayer Protection Pledge, first signed by the president in March, requires companies that build and use data centers to pay for any new infrastructure upgrades and generation resources that serve them.
Tech giants Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI and Amazon all signed onto the initial pledge. Now, the measure is expanding to include nearly 200 more stakeholders, including multiple governors. North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong is among 23 governors who signed the pledge.
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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.
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In this handout provided by Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Vance Luther Boelter poses for a booking photo on June 16, 2025 in Green Isle, Minnesota.
By Michelle Griffith
Melissa and Mark Hortman were killed in less than 30 seconds on June 14, 2025, in a shocking act of political violence.
The horror of the assassination and the impact of the attacks on Minnesota’s political system were detailed Thursday by the Hortman children, Colin and Sophie, as well as 12 other victims at the Minneapolis federal courthouse, who shared how their lives were shattered by the man sitting next to them in an orange jumpsuit: Vance Boelter.
U.S. District Judge John Tunheim sentenced Boelter to two consecutive life sentences as well as an additional 40 years. Tunheim said it’s the longest sentence he’s ever imposed on a person in the thousands of cases he’s heard over his career.
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