Tag Archives: North Dakota

GOP North Dakota Gov Expected To Launch WH Bid

CBS News reports: CBS News has learned that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is nearing a decision to launch a dark-horse bid for the White House, and has begun hiring political consultants who have advised previous Republican presidential campaigns, according to GOP sources familiar with the planning. Burgum is expected to make a decision within the next couple weeks, the …

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North Dakota Governor Signs Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill

PBS NewsHour reports: Transgender kids and adults in North Dakota won’t be able to access bathrooms, locker rooms or showers that match the gender they identify with in places like college dorms or jails, under a new law signed by Republican Gov. Doug Burgum. The American Civil Liberties Union has said that so far this year, more than 450 bills …

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ND Governor Signs Bill Banning Nearly All Abortions

The Associated Press reports: North Dakota on Monday adopted one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country as Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed legislation banning the procedure throughout pregnancy, with slim exceptions up to six weeks’ gestation. In those early weeks, abortion would be allowed only in cases of rape, incest or medical emergency, such as ectopic pregnancy. “This …

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ND Senate Votes To Increase Their Meal Allowances After Voting Against Free Lunches For Poor Students

InForum reports: Ten days after narrowly defeating a bill to provide free school lunches to low-income K-12 students, the North Dakota Senate approved legislation to increase the amount of money lawmakers and other state employees receive in meal reimbursements. A leading Republican senator says employee meal compensation rates and free school lunch programs aren’t related issues, but top Democrats see …

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ND Reps Vote Against Free Lunches For Poor Students

Bismarck’s NBC affiliate reports: Nearly everyone agrees: no child should go hungry. But who’s responsible for feeding them when they’re at school? That’s the question lawmakers are trying to answer this week. The state has a budget of about $18.5 billion. How much of that will go toward school lunches for poor families? It looks like the answer to that …

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ND Catholic Priest Arrested On Sexual Assault Charges

Fargo’s KFGO reports: A man who has been under investigation for inappropriate behavior at a Catholic church in Jamestown has been arrested for suspicion of committing sexual exploitation by therapist. According to Jamestown Police, 48-year-old Father Neil Pfeifer was arrested in Rugby, North Dakota on Wednesday. Pfeifer has been under investigation since Jan. 13 when Jamestown Police were contacted by …

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ND Bill Declares Emergency On Litter Boxes In Schools

NBC News reports: “A board of a school district, a public or private school, or a teacher in a public or private school may not adopt a policy establishing or providing a place, facility, school program, or accommodation that caters to a student’s perception of being any animal species other than human,” the bill, labeled an “emergency measure” by its …

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ND Senate Rejects $1500 Fine For “Wrong” Pronouns

ABC News reports: As more than a dozen states consider passing anti-transgender legislation this year, North Dakota lawmakers rejected a bill Friday that would have made people pay $1,500 each time they refer to themselves or others with gender pronouns different from the ones they were assigned at birth. “The main purpose of the bill was to eliminate state funding …

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ND Rep Wants $1500 Fine For Using “Wrong” Pronouns

Bismarck’s NBC affiliate reports: A controversial bill has been introduced by lawmakers involving language surrounding transgender people. If someone involved in an organization that receives state funding, including public schools, violated the proposed law, they would receive a fine of $1,500. “Say, they’re a boy, but they come to school and say they’re a girl. As far as that school …

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North Dakota GOP Moves To Ban “Disgusting” Books

The Associated Press reports: Books containing “sexually explicit” content — including depictions of sexual or gender identity — would be banned from North Dakota public libraries under legislation that state lawmakers began considering Tuesday. House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, of Dickinson, introduced the bill and said public libraries currently contain books that have “disturbing and disgusting” content, including ones that …

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GOP Senator May Need Hand Amputated After Injury

The Insider reports: Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said on Wednesday that his right hand may need to be amputated after a yard work accident over the weekend. “While working in the yard over the weekend, I sustained a serious injury to my right hand, which required immediate surgery,” Cramer said in a statement. “I continue to remain …

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GOP Rep Resigns Over Texts With Child Porn Suspect

The Associated Press reports: North Dakota’s longest-serving state senator announced Monday that he would resign following a report that he had traded scores of text messages with a man jailed on child pornography charges. Republican Ray Holmberg, who rose to become one of the state’s most powerful lawmakers in a career that spanned 46 years, said he would resign effective …

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North Dakota AG Wayne Stenehjem Dies At Age 68

The Bismarck Tribune reports: North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who spent more than 40 years in elected office, died unexpectedly Friday, just a month after announcing plans to retire at the end of the year. His spokeswoman, Liz Brocker, confirmed his death Friday night. Stenehjem had been taken to the hospital Friday morning after being found unresponsive in his …

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Anti-Vax ND GOP State Rep Is Sick With Something

Bismarck’s CBS News affiliate reports: A North Dakota lawmaker and an organizer of a rally to oppose COVID-19 vaccine mandates is infected with the coronavirus and won’t attend the event. Republican Rep. Jeff Hoverson says he is “quarantining.” He told The Associated Press Monday that he is taking the deworming drug ivermectin and has not checked into a hospital. He …

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Cultist ND GOP State Rep Denied Flight In TSA Incident

Bismarck’s Fox News affiliate reports: A North Dakota lawmaker was barred from boarding a flight at Minot International Airport Monday, following an incident with a TSA agent. Rep. Jeff Hoverson, R-Minot, said he and his wife were planning to travel Monday for their anniversary. Hoverson told Your News Leader that a TSA agent who was giving him a pat down …

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ND Gov Warns That Hospitals Are At “Redline Capacity”

From North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum: Gov. Doug Burgum and chief medical officers and physicians from several of the state’s largest hospitals today warned that hospital capacity in North Dakota is reaching critical levels and urged the public to help reduce the need for hospitalization. “The pressure on hospitals and clinics in both our urban and rural areas is reaching …

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ND Allows Ten Commandments In Public Classrooms

The Grand Forks Herald reports: Gov. Doug Burgum signed legislation Friday, April 16, authorizing North Dakota public schools to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms. The bill cleared the House and Senate by wide margins earlier this session after lawmakers included provisions to gird against possible lawsuits, including one portion requiring that displays of the Judeo-Christian text appear alongside other …

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ND Set To Force Ten Commandments Into Classrooms, Sponsor Claims It Will Help With Child Sex Trafficking

The Associated Press reports: A proposal in North Dakota to shield schools and teachers from lawsuits arising from posting the Ten Commandments in classrooms is unconstitutional and would spur costly and unwinnable legal fights, attorneys and education officials told state lawmakers Wednesday. Despite the cautionary advice, the House Judiciary Committee gave the legislation an 11-3 “do-pass” recommendation, hoping that a …

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ND Bill Allows Posting Ten Commandants In Schools

The Bismarck Tribune reports: Schools would be permitted to post the Ten Commandments under a bill that sailed through the North Dakota Senate on Wednesday but also encountered questions of constitutionality. Senate Bill 2308 was approved 34-13. Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, brought the bill, which would allow schools to post the Ten Commandments, permit students to recite the Pledge of …

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ND Has World’s Highest Coronavirus Mortality Rate

The Hill reports: North Dakota’s coronavirus mortality rate is the highest of any U.S. state or country, according to an analysis of data from last week conducted by the Federation of American Scientists. The analysis shows that North Dakota has a rate of 18.2 deaths per 1 million people. South Dakota, meanwhile, has 17.4 deaths per million, the third-worst rate …

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