North Dakota’s State Health Officer Resigns During COVID-19 Pandemic

Andrew Stahl to serve as interim state health officer, Joshua Wynne To Fill New Health Post

BISMARCK, N.D. — A major shakeup in the North Dakota Department of Health in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

State Health Officer Mylynn Tufte has offered her resignation and it has been accepted by Gov. Doug Burgum.

“On behalf of Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford and myself we are deeply greatly to Mylynn for her leadership to the state of North Dakota and of course at both the personal and professional level we wish her all the best,” said Burgum.

Burgum says Tufte plans to head back to the private sector after spending three years at the health department.

He has appointed Dr. Andrew Stahl to serve as interim state health officer and has created a new role called the Chief Health Strategist and it will be filled by UND’s current interim President Joshua Wynne.

He will split his time between the temporary leadership position and his role since 2010 as UND’s vice president for health affairs and dean of the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Grand Forks.