Warehouse worker Robert Paschal stocks a cooler with fresh produce at the Food Distribution Program at Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, Nov. 6, 2018. (Photo by Preston Keres/U.S. Department of Agriculture)WASHINGTON (North Dakota Monitor) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack apologized to tribal communities this week for delays in shipments and delivery of expired food during a tense congressional hearing…
WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of senators is demanding immediate action from USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsak after several tribal nations reported that a federal food distribution program they rely on has not fulfilled orders for months, and in some cases has delivered expired food. Last spring, the USDA consolidated from two contractors to one for deliveries of its Food Distribution…
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KVRR) — Red Lake Nation’s Red Lake, Inc. will be participating in a trade mission to New Delhi, India at the end of the month. Red Lake is one of nearly four dozen businesses and organizations that will join USDA Under Secretary Alexis Taylor on the mission. They will be the only representative from a Native or Tribal…
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (KVRR) – The University of North Dakota was awarded a multi-million dollar contract from the U.S. Army to develop an innovative Contamination and Sanitation Inspection system. The contract came from the combat capabilities development command for $7.6 million. This will be a collaborative effort between multiple groups. The project aims to design and build handheld inspection scanners…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Nearly 1 million chickens on a Minnesota egg farm will be slaughtered to help limit the spread of the highly contagious bird flu after it was confirmed there, officials said Monday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the virus was found at a farm in Wright County, Minnesota, as well as in three smaller…
WILKIN CO., Minn. (KVRR) — Work is set to resume on the majority of the nearly $10 million Whiskey Creek restoration project. The 30-mile-long creek drains 157 square miles in Wilkin and Otter Tail counties. The 3.1-mile-long third phase of the project is designed to improve water quality and quantity and wildlife habitat. It’s along a 20-mile-long Red River tributary…
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KVRR) — USDA launching the Cattle Contract Library Pilot Program. Its goal is to improve transparency and competition in cattle markets. It will allow users to search terms and information in active contracts used for the purchase of fed cattle. The library also has information on commonly used cattle contract terms. North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven is the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KVRR) — Governor Walz says the state is expanding its free meals program to an additional 90,000 new students this school year. More than 200,000 students on Medicaid will be automatically enrolled. Minnesota is one of eight states selected for the USDA pilot program that makes this move possible. Walz says, “This project means fewer children will…
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KVRR) — Our wet spring forced delays in planting for farmers across the region. North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven says absent a dramatic improvement in weather conditions, unplanted acres in our region will be significant. Global wheat stocks are tightening due to the war in Ukraine and weather challenges in the U.S. Hoeven and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar…
WASHINGTON (KVRR) — Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar says she believes the congressional delegation will be able to get federal help into the state as communities recover from severe storms, wind, and flooding. She held a virtual roundtable with leaders from Polk, Todd, Stevens and other counties to talk about the damage. The delegation is working with USDA and FEMA to…
