WASHINGTON D.C. — The Senate has confirmed former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to serve as energy secretary. The vote was 62-37. Perry, who once pledged to eliminate the department, has repeatedly promised to be an advocate for the agency and to protect the nation’s nuclear stockpile. He has said he’ll work to develop American energy in all forms which is…
WASHINGTON D.C. — Rep. Kevin Cramer is drawing criticism after he commented on a group of female lawmakers and their choice to wear white in honor of Women’s History Month during President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress. The group represented the House Democratic Women’s Working Group and said they were wearing white in memory of the suffrage…
MINNESOTA — Minnesota issued more gun carry permits in 2016 than in any year since it began distributing the permits. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says sheriff’s departments granted 71,156 permits last year. That’s nearly 60 percent more permits than given in 2015. The state began issuing permits to carry guns in 2003. The BCA’s report says sheriff’s…
BISMARCK, N.D. — Some North Dakota lawmakers say a proposal to allow state-owned casinos is retaliatory. They say the proposal by House majority leader Rep. Al Carlson of Fargo risks angering American Indian tribes even more when relations have already been rubbed raw by the Dakota Access pipeline dispute. Carlson says his idea is not “anti-American Indian.” He says…
MORTON COUNTY, N.D. — Prosecutors have withdrawn a subpoena for a man ordered to testify about a violent late-November clash between police and Dakota Access pipeline protesters. Steve Martinez, 42, a protester from Williston, had been ordered to testify about the arm injury suffered by 21-year-old Sophia Wilansky, a protester from New York. He was ordered to testify in…
(CNN)Attorney General Jeff Sessions met twice last year with the top Russian diplomat in Washington whose interactions with President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn led to Flynn’s firing, according to the Justice Department. Sessions did not mention either meeting during his confirmation hearings when he said he knew of no contacts between Trump surrogates and Russians. A…
WASHINGTON D.C. — President Trump wrapped up his first speech in front of a joint session of congress. He outlined his plans on immigration, health care and the budget. Fellow Republican lawmakers from North Dakota say they are inspired by his speech. “It was so great to have a president who didn’t apologize for American exceptionalism,” said Rep. Kevin Cramer….
WASHINGTON D.C. — President Trump has signed another executive order that will impact farmers and ranchers. Both U.S. Senators from North Dakota were on hand as Mr. Trump signed his order to eliminate the Obama Administration’s Waters of the U.S. rule. Senator Heitkamp says it’s time for Congress to act by giving the EPA direction on what water is jurisdictional…
MORTON COUNTY, N.D. — A federal judge says he’ll likely decide within a week whether to temporarily halt construction of the final section of the Dakota Access pipeline. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg held a hearing in a lawsuit brought by the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes, but he didn’t immediately rule. The tribes say the pipeline…
BISMARCK — The North Dakota House has passed a bill that will crack down on people who obtain medical documentation that allows service or assistance animals into rental units that prohibit pets from living there. West Fargo Republican Representative Kim Koppelmann introduced the bill after he said owners of rental properties are concerned people are abusing the system and…
