August 29th, 2018
When Lloyd Ness’s cousin knocked on his front door, he didn’t need much sweet talk to sign an oil lease on family land. Lloyd Ness and his wife, Mary, read Samson Resources’ contractual fine print, received an attorney’s stamp, but put more stock in their good-natured cousin’s word as a trusted local farmer in Divide County. Slightly jaded from nodding donkeys and previous failed oil adventures, they didn’t expect much; wildcatters were a fickle bunch. But for a time, Lloyd…
August 27th, 2018
FARGO – Seven coworkers want different pizzas for lunch; three want cheeseburgers. Under the current voting system, burgers win.
Seem fair? Not exactly, said Jed Limke, the man who began the Approval Voting Army. On Monday, City Auditor Steve Sprague alerted the City Commission that approval voting passed inspection and will be voted on as an initiated measure this November.
The current voting system, called regular plurality voting, is a centuries-old system allowing voters to cast…
August 23rd, 2018
BISMARCK – Mary Rennich and a handful of North Dakotans only wanted to listen, perhaps ask a question about healthcare if time allowed during a Republican press conference at the North Dakota Farm Bureau on Wednesday.
Instead of having their opinions welcomed, current Congressman Kevin Cramer’s campaign manager, Pat Finken, said they were on private property, and threatened Rennich and others with physical removal from the building if they dared say a word.
“I was incredibly…
August 22nd, 2018
by Elyssa McCulloch
elyssa.McCulloch@uj.edu
If you have looked at a newspaper or talked to a group of farmers lately you may have heard the news about pollinators, honeybees especially. With the increase of agricultural land and the consequent loss of native plant life, pollinators have been having a hard time. Annual loss of honeybee colonies is now greater than 30 percent, and many native bee species are in decline. However with the awareness of the issue being raised, actions have been…
August 22nd, 2018
Photos by Sabrina Hornung
The Midwest Shrine Association held their annual conference in Deadwood South Dakota last weekend. A total of 14 Shrine chapters were represented hailing from Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. El Zagal and Kem shrines were in attendance proudly representing their North Dakota chapters. Attendance for the summer conference usually ranges from between 2,000 and 2,500 Nobles and their Ladies.
The Shriners hosted two…
August 22nd, 2018
FARGO – A day after a Republican attack on her voting record, U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp struck back against her opponent, saying current Congressman Kevin Cramer is irresponsible and is voting to hurt North Dakotans.
She slammed Cramer’s support for a Texas-led lawsuit that North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has brought the state into as dangerous. The lawsuit against the United States by a total of 20 states seeks to completely repeal the Affordable Care Act saying…
August 22nd, 2018
by the Indian Country Today Editorial Team
In what defense attorneys are calling a major victory for their client and for the water protectors of Standing Rock, North Dakota prosecutors have dropped all serious charges against former North Dakota congressional candidate Chase Iron Eyes in his case resulting from protests of the Dakota Access pipeline.
Iron Eyes, an attorney who works for the Lakota People’s Law Project, was facing a maximum of six years in state prison after his arrest…
August 17th, 2018
BISMARCK– The debate over whether the state needs an ethics commission has been ongoing for years, four times defeated by the legislature. This year, however, concerned citizens turned to the power of the initiated measure, and have secured a place on the ballot this November.
What began as early-morning discussions over cookies and coffee at the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum, has now mushroomed into more than 36,000 signatures supporting the creation of an ethics…
August 15th, 2018
“In 2 ½ years I’ve acquired 221 plates. The end game is 1,000 wet plates of Native Americans and it’s going to take me 15 more years,” Balkowitsch said. When he started the portrait project, his initial goal was to create at least 50 plates. But his real concern was, how could he convince complete strangers to sit for him? Thanks to social media and word of mouth--much to Balkowitsch’s surprise some individuals traveled across the country to sit for him and to be a part of…
August 14th, 2018
FARGO – On the hottest of summer days, Brandon Medenwald hit the pavement. Comfortably dressed in shorts and a no-sweat polo shirt, he carried brochures in one hand.
In his other hand he carried a mobile phone, frequently pushed buttons while keeping track of how many homes he’d visited since he began his campaign for the state’s legislature. On Monday night, he knocked on door number 1,000. No one answered, so the house didn’t count. He quickly moved on to the next residence…