Politics / Elections

Sen. Mathern Speaks on Heightened Security for Legislators

Mathern opposes the idea that lawmakers need to make themselves less accessible to the public.

North Dakota State Capitol / BismarckFARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – North Dakota State Senator Tim Mathern has served in Bismarck since 1986. He says that up until recently, one thing that set this state apart was the level of access it provided citizens to have with their elected representatives. “Most of us list our cell phones, our telephone numbers, our addresses,”…

Break-in at Rep. Hortman’s Brooklyn Park home days after fatal shooting

Hortman’s House in Brooklyn Park, MN (FOX9)BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) – Brooklyn Park police are investigating a reported break-in at the home of late Rep. Melissa Hortman, just days after her and her husband were fatally shot. Police were alerted at around 8 a.m. Wednesday to an overnight break-in at the Brooklyn Park home. The person reportedly entered the back of the…

North Dakota man charged with threatening official after email citing Minnesota shootings

FARGO (North Dakota Monitor) —A North Dakota man was charged Monday with threatening at least one federal official in an email that references the Saturday shooting that killed one Minnesota lawmaker. About 5 p.m. Sunday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Fargo received a threatening email from St. Thomas resident Charles Dalzell, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in federal court by the…

Homeland Security Secretary Noem rushed to hospital after allergic reaction

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNN) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Washington, DC, after an allergic reaction. A Department of Homeland Security spokewoman says it was out of an abundance of caution and that Noem is alert and recovering. CNN observed Secret Service agents posted at several entrances outside the emergency room at the…

Trump says he won’t call Gov. Walz after lawmaker shootings because it would ‘waste time’

Aboard Air Force One/June 17 (CNN)WASHINGTON (AP/CNN) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday ruled out calling Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after the targeted shootings of two state lawmakers, saying that to do so would “waste time.” A spokesperson for Walz said the governor wishes Trump “would be a President for all Americans.” One lawmaker and her husband were killed, and the second legislator and…

North Dakota removes lawmaker addresses from website in response to shooting

North Dakota lawmakers participate in a Senate floor session on April 25, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK (North Dakota Monitor) — North Dakota legislative support staff on Saturday wiped legislators’ home addresses from the Legislature’s website in response to the shootings of two lawmakers in Minnesota. John Bjornson, director of Legislative Council, said he made the decision Saturday morning hearing…

North Dakota Republican Party division apparent as new chair elected in split vote

Matthew Simon of rural Bismarck was elected chair of the North Dakota Republican Party on June 14, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK (North Dakota Monitor) — A divided North Dakota Republican Party elected a newcomer its new chair Saturday, with a nearly tied vote reflecting a split in the party. Matthew Simon, vice chair for NDGOP District 8 who met…

Change to short-term rental ordinance in West Fargo tabled, committee started to research the topic

WEST FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — City commissioners in West Fargo vote to table the second reading of a new ordinance to restrict who can operate short-term rental properties. It would make primary residences the only ones eligible to be used as short-term rentals, leaving investment properties out of the equation. Commissioners decided to start a committee to look into the…

“We Could Be In For a Rough Decade” in Political Violence, says MSUM Political Scientist

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Political scientists in the region say we could be in the midst of one of the most violent decades in modern political history. And they say this weekend’s assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her spouse, and an attempt on another and his could have a chilling effect on people’s interest in running for office….

Vance Boelter charged in shooting; allegedly went into other lawmakers’ homes

Courtesy FOX 9MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (KVRR/FOX 9) — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota reveals that Vance Boelter allegedly went into the homes of four state lawmakers early Saturday morning. The 57-year-old is charged with stalking and murder. He is accused of fatally shooting Rep. Melissa and Mark Hortman and injuring Sen. John and Yvette Hoffman. The attorney’s…