By: Michael Achterling (ND Monitor) With the 69th North Dakota Legislative Assembly finishing its business in the coming days, lawmakers elected members to the Legislative Management Committee to prepare for the next session and deal with any unfinished business. The Legislative Management Committee has three primary roles during the interim before the 70th Legislative Assembly […]
Growing City, Shrinking Votes: Minot's Mayoral Turnout Paradox See the full breakdown here Despite population growth, fewer Minot residents are voting for mayor today than in the 1970s and '80s, when the city was 15,000 people smaller. A new analysis comparing elections from 1970–1986 to modern contests shows turnout has dropped by more than half, […]
By: Michael Achterling and Amy Dalrymple (ND Monitor) North Dakota lawmakers continue to debate the first increase to the gas tax in 20 years, with the House on Friday narrowly advancing a 5-cent tax increase while the Senate unanimously defeated a separate bill with a 3-cent increase. Supporters in the House said the increase is […]
By: Michael Achterling (ND Monitor) North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong went to a Bismarck elementary school Friday to sign a bill banning public school student cellphone use from “bell to bell.” “This is a game changer for our public schools, giving students the freedom to focus on learning and to interact with teachers and friends […]
By: Jeff Beach (ND Monitor) Two vetoes by Gov. Kelly Armstrong stood up to challenges in the North Dakota Legislature on Friday. Armstrong vetoed Senate Bill 2307, a library obscenity bill, and House Bill 1540, that would have used taxpayer dollars to support private school tuition vouchers. A two-thirds majority was needed to override the vetoes. The library […]
North Dakota House kills final Education Savings Account bill of session See how here 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 […]
By: Ashley Murray (ND Monitor) WASHINGTON — The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday to block a lower court’s decision allowing transgender individuals to continue enlisting and serving in the armed forces. Administration officials are seeking a stay of a broad district court ruling in late March that applied to all troops rather […]
By: Mary Steurer (ND Monitor) New legislation signed Wednesday by Gov. Kelly Armstrong aims to protect patients from care-delaying snags in the health insurance prior authorization process. Prior authorization refers to when someone must obtain approval from their insurance company before they can undergo a procedure, obtain medication or receive some other health service. The […]
By: Michael Achterling and Amy Dalrymple (ND Monitor) The North Dakota House overwhelmingly rejected an Education Savings Account bill Thursday night, a day after the governor vetoed a similar bill. House members voted 78-14 against Senate Bill 2400, which sought to establish private school vouchers plus Education Savings Accounts for public school and homeschooled students. In vetoing House Bill […]
By: Jeff Beach (ND Monitor) North Dakota is poised to be the first state in the nation to implement a law that provides legal protections for pesticide manufacturers — an issue that has been debated in legislatures across the country in the face of large payouts to cancer victims. Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Wednesday signed House […]
