Author: KVRR Staff

Man suspected of starting apartment fire arrested

The aftermath of an arson fire on Jan. 15.FARGO (KVRR-KFGO) – Fargo Police say a suspected arsonist has been arrested. 42-year-old Adrian Banks, from Wendell, Minnesota, was arrested Friday afternoon. Banks was arrested by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office for arson and burglary. Captain Bill Ahlfeldt says Banks is suspected of starting a fire inside a south Fargo apartment. Firefighters…

Voter registration, campaign finance reporting debated by North Dakota lawmakers

Rep. Mike Schatz, R-New England, speaks in a favor of a bill to require voter registration in North Dakota on Jan. 23. 2025. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — The latest proposal to require voter registration in North Dakota met strong opposition last week. North Dakota is the only state in the country without voter registration. Instead,…

Low number of women in North Dakota higher ed leadership causes concern

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – Former university leaders are raising concern about the lack of women in top leadership positions at North Dakota’s 11 public higher education institutions. Currently only one has a woman president or CEO. This comes at a time when the State Board of Higher Education begins filling president vacancies at campuses in Bismarck, Dickinson, and…

Minnesota high court sides with Democrats in struggle with Republicans over control of state House

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court sided with Democrats on Friday in a power struggle with Republicans that the chief justice said had left the state House of Representatives “completely dysfunctional.” The justices agreed with House Democratic leaders who argued that a quorum in the House was 68 members under the state constitution, not the 67 that Republicans claimed. The House…

Committee votes to tweak North Dakota lawmaker term limits

Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, speaks about term limits during a committee hearing on Jan. 23, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — A North Dakota legislative committee advanced a bill Thursday that makes a change to lawmaker term limits approved by voters in 2022. The constitutional measure limits lawmakers to serving no more than eight years in the state House…

“He had a knife, in a sheath”: Fargo City Commissioners Concerned About Safety at City Hall

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR)– Fargo City Commissioners are still reeling from the discovery that an audience member brought a knife with them to Tuesday night’s meeting. City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn describes the emotions he felt at the conclusion of Tuesday’s meeting when he found out somebody had been armed in the audience the entire time. “Commissioner Turnberg sits right next to…

Burgum Nomination for Interior Secretary Sails Through Committee, Headed To Full Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KVRR/AP) — President Trump’s three nominees to lead energy and environmental agencies and carry out his strategy for “energy dominance” have cleared Senate committees. That includes former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources panel backed Burgum to lead the Interior Department and business executive Chris Wright to be Energy secretary. The Senate Environment…

MN Supreme Court Hears Arguments On “Quorums” and House Power Struggle

ST. PAUL (KVRR/AP) — Minnesota Supreme Court hears arguments on a power struggle between Democrats and Republicans over who should control the state House. The battle is over the definition of a quorum. Democratic representatives have stayed away in an effort to prevent the House from getting the quorum that it needs to conduct normal business. Republicans claim they already…