State Rep. Emily O’Brien, R-Grand Forks, speaks to other lawmakers during a meeting of the Legislative Management Committee on Nov. 13, 2024. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — Rep. Emily O’Brien, R-Grand Forks, is leaving her legislative seat to become second-in-command at the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services. O’Brien starts her new…
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota News Cooperative) — Most North Dakotans support using the state’s Legacy Fund to reduce property taxes even further and to pay for school lunches at public schools, but draw the line at using the sovereign wealth fund to cover private school vouchers, North Dakota Poll data shows. Of those three, state legislators have only tapped into…
Emily Thompson, right, legal division director for Legislative Council, speaks during a committee meeting next to John Bjornson, director of Legislative Council, on Aug. 13, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — Lawmakers are considering a bill to clarify the legislative veto process after Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s office appeared to accidentally line-item veto housing funding in May….
FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) -The North Dakota legislature enacted a new law that allows citations to be issued to the owner of a vehicle for fleeing police. The citation is issued if the owner declines to tell police who was driving at the time of the pursuit. “I think it’s largely going to be ineffective. I think it was ill-conceived, it…
John Bjornson, right, director of Legislative Council, speaks during a meeting of the Legislative Management Committee next to Emily Thompson, center, director of the Legal Division of Legislative Council, and Allen Knudson, left, legislative budget analyst and auditor for Legislative Council, on June 26, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — The North Dakota Legislature is adding…
Chris Schilken, commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Commerce, speaks during a meeting of the Legislative Task Force on Government Efficiency on July 30, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — The North Dakota Department of Commerce immediately identified a cost saving Wednesday during the first meeting of the state’s DOGE task force – eliminating bonuses…
MOORHEAD (North Dakota Monitor) — A leader of the BadAss Grandmas for Democracy on Monday encouraged voters to push back against two proposals from the North Dakota Legislature to change the state constitution. Dina Butcher, part of the group that was the driving force behind creating the Ethics Commission in North Dakota, said the two measures are the Legislature’s way…
Drivers in Fargo, North Dakota, on July 28, 2025, are warned about an $80 fine for speeding in a construction zone. Minimum fines for speeding in a construction zone increase to $150 on Aug. 1, 2025. Other speeding fines will increase, too. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — North Dakota’s interstate speed limit is going up to…
Rep. Nathan Toman, R-Mandan, chair of the Legislative Task Force on Government Efficiency, speaks during a subcommittee hearing of the Budget Section on June 25, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — North Dakota’s version of DOGE is poised to begin work this week, but members say it won’t be just like the federal government version that…
An apartment complex advertises vacancies in a residential area of Bismarck. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Montior)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — When North Dakota state Sen. Ryan Braunberger first introduced a slate of tenant protection bills this year, he knew the odds of passage weren’t in his favor. Braunberger, a Democratic lawmaker in a Republican-controlled legislature who represents a renter-heavy district…
