Politics / Elections

Gov. Burgum Veto of Book Banning Bill Will Stand

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) — Gov. Doug Burgum’s veto on a book banning bill will stand after the House failed to override it. The vote was 53-41, a two-thirds majority was needed. The bill would force librarians to review their collections for sexually explicit material. Burgum said the bill goes too far in criminalizing potential disagreements over what constitutes material that…

Gov. Burgum signs $500 million tax relief bill

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) — North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum signs a bill into law providing more than $500 million in savings for state and property taxpayers over the next two years. The bill compresses five income tax brackets down to three. Taxes on the lowest bracket would be eliminated. That includes single filers under $45,000 a year and married couples…

Sen. Hoeven Pushes Biden Administration For Increased Oil And Gas Production

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KVRR) — Sen. John Hoeven is pressing Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to increase domestic oil and gas production to bring down prices at the pump. He is also stressing the importance of increasing the nation’s refining capacity. Hoeven says U.S. oil refining capacity has dropped to nearly 18 million barrels per day from 19 million in 2019. He…

Fargo’s Approval Voting System Lives On After State Senate Fails To Override Veto

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR/KFGO) — North Dakota Senate fails to override Gov. Doug Burgum’s veto of the approval voting ban. Fargo will be able to continue using the voting method in its city elections. Voters passed the voting method through a ballot measure in 2018. The House overrode the governor’s veto last week but the Senate fell four votes short of…

Fox, Dominion reach $787M settlement over election claims

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Fox News agreed Tuesday to pay Dominion Voting Systems nearly $800 million to avert a trial in the voting machine company’s lawsuit that would have exposed how the network promoted lies about the 2020 presidential election. The stunning settlement emerged just as opening statements were supposed to begin, abruptly ending a case that had embarrassed Fox News over…

Local Nonprofits Upset Over North Dakota’s New Trans Athlete Law

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Some nonprofits are disappointed in Governor Doug Burgum for signing two transgender athlete bans into law. Two house bills in the North Dakota legislature prohibit transgender girls and women from joining female sports teams in K-12 and college. The Biden administration recently proposed a rule to forbid outright bans on transgender athletes. “It’s interesting that this…

Minnesota Hospital Association against staffing levels bill

Minnesota Hospital Association is against a house bill in the state legislature that implements nurse staffing ratios.

MINNESOTA (KVRR) — Keep Nurses at the Bedside Act would create committees made up of health care workers and management to set staffing levels on a unit-by-unit basis depending on a hospital. It puts a maximum on the number of patients for a nurse. The C-E-O of the M-H-A says there are already at least five thousand openings for nurses…

Gov. Burgum Signs Trans Athlete Bans Into Law

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum on Tuesday evening signed two transgender athlete bans into law, effectively prohibiting transgender girls and women from joining female sports teams in K-12 and college. Lawmakers in the House and Senate passed the bills with veto-proof majorities this year. If the governor had vetoed the bills or refused to sign…