Today in Minot

Minot voters will get their say in who fills the city’s vacant mayor’s seat. City officials confirmed this week that enough signatures were gathered to trigger a special election, following the recent resignation of Mayor Tom Ross. City officials confirmed the petition effort surpassed the required threshold. The City Council will set an election date after April 16, with the earliest possible vote happening in late July. Joe Skurzewski with KMOT has the full story.

North Dakota lawmakers aren’t ready to ease up on marijuana laws. This week, state senators voted down a bill that would have reduced penalties for possessing small amounts of cannabis. Supporters argued it would help unclog the legal system and free up resources for more serious crimes. Opponents said the current system is working fine, with most low-level offenses resulting in a simple fine. The debate reflects a broader reluctance in North Dakota to change course on marijuana policy. Joel Porter with KX News has the full story.

Home prices in Minot are still climbing — and so are property assessments. According to the city assessor’s latest report, residential property values rose an average of 4.59% last year, with commercial values up 4.15%. The increases help keep assessments in line with state guidelines, which require values to stay close to actual selling prices. Not every property will see a change, but many will — especially in newer neighborhoods. The report also highlights slower new construction and a sharp rise in manufactured home park values. Jill Schramm with Minot Daily News has the full story.

A bill raising the public vote threshold to 60% to approve constitutional ballot measures in North Dakota passed the Senate Wednesday on a 33-13 vote.

House Resolution 3003, sponsored by Rep. Robin Weisz, R-Hurdsfield, would require a 60% threshold to pass both constitutional ballot petitions initiated by the people and constitutional resolutions from the Legislature.

“It’s quite likely that we all agree that it should be possible to change our state’s foundational document, however it should be more difficult than it currently is,” said Sen. Jeff Barta, R-Grand Forks, who voted in favor of the resolution.

Barta said the North Dakota Constitution has been amended 167 times compared to the U.S. Constitution, which has been amended 27 times with stricter rules that include approval from three-quarters of all 50 states.

Sen. Dick Dever, R-Bismarck, voted in favor of the bill and said North Dakota voters will still have the final say on the new potential threshold at the ballot box. He added he believes there is a segment of the population that has an agenda to sow division against lawmakers in state government to further an agenda of dissatisfaction.

“I think we should preserve the republic rather than attacking it,” Dever said.

Sen. Jeff Magrum, R- Hazelton, voted against the resolution and warned lawmakers that not only would it become harder to pass constitutional measures in the future, but it would be harder to change parts of the constitution already in place.

“We passed a resolution that is intending to change the constitution on term limits, so when you raise the threshold, you are making it harder to change things that were passed that you think weren’t good,” Magrum said.

Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, voted against the bill and told lawmakers the current ballot petition process serves as an important check on the Legislature.

“Every time the state Legislature has proposed limiting the powers reserved to the people, the voters have wisely rejected that,” Cleary said. 

Twenty-three pieces of testimony were submitted on the resolution with all but three opposed to raising the threshold. The League of Women Voters of North Dakota was among the opponents, pointing out the defeat last November of Measure 2, which contained several proposed changes to the constitutional ballot measure process.

“For over 100 years, North Dakotans have used direct democracy to shape state policy,” Barbara Headrick, League of Women Voters of North Dakota president, said in a statement Wednesday. “With the passage of House Concurrent Resolution 3003, the North Dakota Legislature is attempting again to weaken the power of the people to amend our state constitution. … They need to stop trying to limit the voice of the people in the governance of our state.”

The resolution passed the House in January on a 65-28 vote.

If approved by the Secretary of State’s Office, the resolution will be put to the voters during the 2026 general election.

President Trump is hitting pause, again — but not everywhere. After weeks of market turmoil tied to steep new tariffs, Trump announced a 90-day suspension of tariffs for countries willing to negotiate new trade deals. The move sent stocks soaring. But the pause won’t apply to China, which faces an immediate tariff hike to 125% as the U.S.-China trade standoff escalates. European leaders are also preparing countermeasures, leaving global markets bracing for what comes next in a high-stakes economic standoff. Ashley Murray with North Dakota Monitor has the full story.

Former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is leading a major restructuring of the U.S. Interior Department — a move that will centralize services like IT, HR, finance, and communications, pulling them out of agencies like the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management. The plan is expected to eliminate up to 50% of support staff in some areas, with regional offices and field stations feeling the effects. Burgum says the changes aim to cut costs and increase efficiency, though critics warn they could weaken public services and drain agency-level expertise. Eric Katz with Government Executive has the full story.

In Washington, Maine, a small-town store owner is fighting to protect more than just his business — he’s defending a way of life. Across the country, communities like his are pushing back against Dollar General, not just because of what these stores sell, but because of what they take. Local grocers and hardware stores close. Dollars leave town. Tax revenues stagnate. And the promised “jobs and growth” rarely last. The real issue isn’t change — it’s whether that change builds local wealth or drains it away. Towns are starting to choose carefully.

Artificial intelligence might feel weightless in the cloud — but the energy it takes to power that cloud is anything but light. A new report from the International Energy Agency says data centers, driven in large part by AI, are on track to more than double their electricity use by 2030 — enough to rival Japan’s total energy consumption today. Meeting that demand means more power plants, grid upgrades, and — in some places — a longer dependence on fossil fuels. The digital future, it turns out, runs on watts. Sophia Chen with Nature has the full story.

U.S. soybean farmers are facing a problem they can’t grow their way out of. As President Trump escalates tariffs on China — America’s biggest soybean customer — farmers are left with a shrinking market and few good options. Domestic demand won’t absorb the loss. Switching crops isn’t easy. And South America, especially Brazil, is stepping in to claim the Chinese market for good. For farmers in places like North Dakota, the stakes aren’t just about trade policy — they’re about survival in a global market that’s moving on without them. Mónica Cordero with Investigate Midwest takes a deep dive in this article.

A pipeline rupture in rural North Dakota has spilled more than 3,500 barrels of crude oil — but officials say the leak is contained and cleanup is underway. The spill happened southwest of Fargo along the Keystone pipeline, which carries Canadian oil to U.S. markets. Calgary-based South Bow Corp., the pipeline’s owner, detected the pressure drop early Tuesday and shut the line down. For now, oil prices remain steady, but the longer the shutdown lasts, the greater the risk of market impacts.