ND Communities rely on local champions to attract workers

Have you found the good life in North Dakota? If so, how did you find it? If you’re from here, you were probably taught where to find it, but what if you’re a transplant? In a manner of speaking, that’s the question the Department of Commerce is asking, and to answer it, they’re putting local

Read & Share   sourced from: North Dakota News Cooperative

Bills aimed at speeding up construction in Montana see little opposition in Senate committee

The Montana legislature may be budging in on the local development and building approval process. The state is facing a housing shortage, and lawmakers are looking to get bureaucracy out of the way of construction. Two bills, one to allow local jurisdictions to combine forces in the planning and approval phase, and another to force

Read & Share   sourced from: Great Falls Tribune

North Dakota bills take aim at gender issues; LGBTQ advocates voice opposition

The culture wars rage on in the early going of the ND legislative session. Several bills aimed at, as supporters say, protecting kids from left-wing ideology are working through the system. At stake are the pronouns people use to describe themselves, the right to perform conversion therapy, drag shows, sports participation, and penalties for doctors

Read & Share   sourced from: Bismarck Tribune

A poison pill was just dropped into debate over North Dakota’s public worker pensions

North Dakota’s pension for public workers is short $2 billion, and the task to solve that problem falls to the legislature. It’s an issue fraught with politics and special interests. And when we boil it down, it can metaphorically be explained with a question: do we put another band-aid on, or tear the one we’re

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum

Grand Forks County Commission members consider establishing county administrator position

In the election last November, Grand Forks County residents approved a home rule charter measure; it authorizes the creation of a County Administrator position, and the County Commissioners are considering it. In Grand Forks, though, it’s largely a renaming act. The administration of the County has long been in the hands of a ‘Director of

Read & Share   sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

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Should School Board Candidates Be Required To File Campaign Finance Reports? Proposed Legislation Says Yes

Currently, candidates for local school board officers are not required to file campaign finance reports the same as other local office candidates. But two bills proposed in the current legislative session would change that. The bills propose to exempt school board candidates in districts with less than 750 students, but for all others, campaign finance

Read & Share   sourced from: Dickinson Press

Bill funding construction of career tech education centers passes House committee

A bill to speed up the construction of planned technical education centers around the state is advancing through the legislature. House Bill 1199 authorizes a Bank of North Dakota line of credit to the tune of ~$68 million. The amount is equal to the American Rescue Plan Act dollars that are earmarked for the purpose

Read & Share   sourced from: Dickinson Press

Sen. Jeff Magrum files 8 bills related to Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline

Summit Carbon Solutions has seeking approval to build a 2,000-mile network of carbon capture pipelines connecting several ethanol plants in the upper midwest to final storage locations West of Bismarck. But Senator Jeff Magrum has proposed a number of bills adding significant legislative oversight and hurdles to the proposed project. The bills pertain largely to

Read & Share   sourced from: Dickinson Press

ND Leadership Uniformly Condemn Federal Revision of WOTUS Definition

The EPA in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers published the final “Revised Definition of the Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) on Wednesday. The definition will be effective March 20, 2023. It’s a significant action that greatly expands the scope of federal jurisdiction to all those areas captured under the new definition,

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Police in India charge two men in deaths of family who froze crossing into U.S.

A human trafficking story that started with the deaths of an immigrant family near the Manitoba/North Dakota border last winter continues with criminal charges in India against some of the suspects alleged responsible. The Indian couple, Jagdish Patel and his wife Vaishali Patel along with their two children froze to death a year ago while

Read & Share   sourced from: CBC

North Dakota House advances bill banning ‘sanctuary’ cities

A bill that would prohibit North Dakota towns and cities from making policies related to immigration enforcement passed the ND House recently. Jeremy Turley with Inforum has the full story that includes no evidence of any North Dakota towns or cities actually considering laws or policies this bill will prevent.

Read & Share   sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

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County Commission Acts on Ag Land Tax Increases, SW Minot Bypass Advance, and Recreation Trail

An agricultural land tax increase, the bypass for SW Minot, and the recreational trail between Minot and Burlington were all topics for the Ward County Commission on Tuesday. The commission voted to increase ag land tax, the SW bypass is moving toward a feasibility study, and the recreational trail is going to get some improvements.

Read & Share   sourced from: The Dakotan

Oil Production: January Director’s Cut and November Production Numbers

North Dakota’s Director of the Department of Mineral Resources, Lynn Helms and the Director of the North Dakota Pipeline Authority, Justin Kringstad Director deliver a monthly webcast providing updates on the state’s oil production trends. January’s report with data through November is available below. November numbers reflect an approximate 2% decline, due by assumption to

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Minot City Council approves recycling fees

Citywide recycling is coming to Minot on July 17, and when it arrives, you’ll have a one-time two-month opportunity to opt out, otherwise, you’ll incur a $2.50 per month extra charge on your sanitation bill.  That’s the current story on Minot’s recycling plan that’s expected to reduce the amount of waste landfilled annually by approximately

Read & Share   sourced from: Minot Daily News

Oklahoma Turnpike Authority “Willfully” Misled Public to Force $5 Billion Expansion Project (And Why it Matters In Minot)

The building of public infrastructure is big business and in Oklahoma, the desire to build a $5 billion turnpike expansion project was greater than the desire to do it legally and transparently. That ruling came through the courts on December 1st, and it was ugly. The finding was that the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority had “willfully

Read & Share   sourced from: Strong Towns

Bill would criminalize false allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination

A legislative bill in committee this morning would make it a Class C Felony to falsely accuse someone of sexual harassment and discrimination. House Bill 1256 was sponsored by Grand Forks area Representative Eric Murphy, who was himself exonerated following charges of sexual harassment. Representative Murphy likens the proposed law to legal protections against false

Read & Share   sourced from: InForum