Drivers in southwest Minot should brace for detours starting Tuesday, May 27, as the 16th Street SW Reconstruction Project gets underway. The project will close parts of 16th Street and the Burdick Expressway intersection for pavement removal and storm sewer upgrades. Temporary access will be provided for nearby neighborhoods, but delays are expected.
The Northwest Area Water Supply (NAWS) project is set to receive $12.6 million in state funding for 2025–27, bolstering major construction milestones — including a permanent Lake Sakakawea intake and upgrades to Minot’s water treatment capacity. With an additional $94 million in federal and local funding, the project will expand Minot’s plant to treat 27 million gallons daily and extend pipeline and pump infrastructure across northwestern North Dakota. As lake water delivery to Minot begins this year, a second full-time operator will be hired to support the system’s 24/7 needs.
A standoff at Fort Union Trading Post ended peacefully Tuesday after 36-year-old Ian Patrick Stewart, armed and threatening to “burn” the historic site, was taken into custody. According to an affidavit, Stewart broke into the site with a fire poker, stole from a donation box, and told officers he had a month's worth of supplies and would not surrender. Authorities used a drone to monitor the situation and eventually deescalated it. Stewart faces felony burglary charges in North Dakota and has a pending case in Washington state. His bond is set at $50,000, with court hearings scheduled for June and September.
Greenpeace is urging a North Dakota judge to slash or toss out the $667 million it was ordered to pay for its role in protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, calling the verdict excessive and flawed. The group says the damages far exceed legal limits, were based on incomplete jury instructions, and include costs tied to other organizations. Energy Transfer, the pipeline developer, argues the jury's decision is legally sound. The judge is expected to revisit the case at a May 27 hearing, with Greenpeace already planning an appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court.
North Dakota Rep. Julie Fedorchak is backing new Medicaid reforms that would impose biannual eligibility checks and work requirements for many recipients, calling it a move to protect the program’s future. But disability advocates and state lawmakers warn the changes could create administrative chaos and force vulnerable people off coverage. Critics say the plan risks punishing low-income workers and increasing burdens on already stretched state systems. Fedorchak insists the reforms are “humane,” but the fate of the proposal remains closely watched as Congress debates its broader budget package.
The Supreme Court heard tense arguments Thursday over the Trump administration’s controversial birthright citizenship ban — and whether lower courts can universally block such policies. While several justices voiced skepticism about district courts issuing nationwide injunctions, others, like Justice Elena Kagan, warned that allowing the ban to take effect could wrongly strip citizenship from U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants. With both constitutional stakes and judicial authority on the line, the case could reshape how executive power and federal courts interact — and impact thousands of families in the meantime.
