North Dakota’s push for Education Savings Accounts ended Thursday as the House rejected a sweeping $110 million school choice bill—just one day after Gov. Kelly Armstrong vetoed a similar, narrower measure. Despite Armstrong urging lawmakers to support broader options, concerns over cost, complexity, and rural access ultimately sank the proposal, leaving no ESA bills still under consideration this session.
Host Kyler Collom is joined by Lisa Hermosillo to break down Gov. Kelly Armstrong's recent vetoes, some big legislative updates, Minot's childcare debate, and the future of the Democrat party.
North Dakota has passed a new law to rein in health insurance delays caused by prior authorization, setting deadlines, mandating medical oversight of denials, and granting automatic approval if insurers don’t comply. Signed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong, the law aims to protect patients like Bismarck’s Susan Finneman, who nearly missed spinal surgery due to insurer holdups. It takes effect in 2026.
North Dakota will become the first state to shield pesticide makers like Bayer from failure-to-warn lawsuits, after Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed House Bill 1318. The new law, taking effect July 1, declares EPA-approved labels as legally sufficient warnings, sparking praise from farm groups and concern from critics who say it undermines legal protections for victims of chemical exposure.
Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, will miss the remainder of the 2025 legislative session after undergoing surgery and being hospitalized Wednesday. Kasper, first elected in 2000, is recovering in Bismarck and was replaced on key legislative duties as he regains strength.
A federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to pay North Dakota nearly $28 million for damages tied to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, ruling the Army Corps of Engineers acted negligently and fueled the unrest by failing to enforce land use policies. The long-awaited decision, hailed by state leaders as a win for taxpayers, comes years after the state sought compensation for costs incurred during the 2016–17 standoff near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.
President Trump signed a wave of executive orders Wednesday targeting education reform, including a crackdown on college accreditors, new AI initiatives in K–12 and workforce training, and updated rules on school discipline, foreign funding, and HBCU support. The moves reflect Trump’s broader push to reshape federal education policy and challenge higher ed institutions he views as politically biased.
The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt a lower court ruling allowing transgender individuals to serve in the military, arguing that gender dysphoria disqualifies service members and that the president’s executive authority was undermined. LGBTQ advocates are urging the Court to reject the request, defending transgender troops as fully capable and already meeting military standards.
