Politics / Elections

“Failure Is Not An Option”: Still No Deal To Get MN House In Order

ST. PAUL (KVRR)  — The power-sharing agreement is still being hashed out between Democrats and Republicans in the Minnesota House. DFL Speaker-designate Melissa Hortman says both parties met this morning. She says they have narrowed the issues a bit as they continue to negotiate. Hortman wouldn’t speculate on a timeline but says failure is not an option and that both…

UPDATE: Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans

President Donald Trump WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a push from President Donald Trump to pause federal funding while his administration conducts an across-the-board ideological review to uproot progressive initiatives. The Trump administration plan plunged the U.S. government — and states and organizations that rely on federal funding — into panic and confusion and set the stage…

Carbon pipeline bills set for hearings in North Dakota this week

Signs in protest of a carbon pipeline project sit along Highway 281 south of Ellendale, North Dakota, on Nov. 12, 2024. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — Several bills related to carbon capture pipelines are set for hearings this week in the North Dakota Legislature covering topics including eminent domain, common carrier status and liability in the…

Requiring public comment period at local meetings debated at North Dakota Legislature

Sen. Bob Paulson, R-Minot, testifies in support of a bill during a public hearing at the Capitol on Jan. 24, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — North Dakota school boards pushed back on a Senate bill that would require public comment periods during regular meetings of local subdivisions. Sen. Bob Paulson, R-Minot, said he is sponsoring Senate…

A trial is underway on North Dakota’s ban on gender-affirming care for kids

Plaintiff attorneys Jess Braverman, left, and Brittany Stewart appear in court on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at the Burleigh County Courthouse in Bismarck, N.D., during the trial related to the state’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for kids. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A trial in a lawsuit seeking to strike down North Dakota’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors began Monday,…

North Dakota Legislature considering bills that would increase taxes on tobacco

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota Legislature is considering a bill that would increase taxes on tobacco products. Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan of Fargo is the sponsor of the bill. SB 2281 would raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes by 25 cents, to 69 cents. Cigars would see a tax of 32 percent while electronic cigarettes and vapes…

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,…

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…