News

Plaintiffs who challenged ND’s same-sex marriage ban react to Supreme Court’s decision

June 30th, 2015

After the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states on Friday, this week U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson declared North Dakota’s gay marriage ban “unconstitutional and invalid” and ruled in favor of the plaintiffs who had challenged the ban.Following his ruling, HPR caught up with some of the plaintiffs in the case, made up of seven couples who banded together to take on the law after similar ones had been struck down all over the country. Their reaction…

TEDxFargo anticipates biggest turnout by far

June 24th, 2015

In 2012, the first-ever TEDxFargo event drew just 100 people. Since then, the expected audience has grown about 20-fold.

Organizers of this year’s TEDxFargo anticipate up to 2,000 attendees at the Fargo Civic Center July 23 -- by far the best turnout yet, according to TEDx PR representative Mark Staples.

Greg Tehven of Emerging Prairie and Dr. Susan Mathison of Catalyst Medical Center are the curators of the event. Along with their team of volunteers, they decided on “wonder” as…

Who will run for North Dakota Governor in 2016?

June 17th, 2015

HPR looks at the potential field of candidates

North Dakota political observers have already started speculating about who might run for governor in 2016 as those choices and the ultimate winner could shape the North Dakota political landscape for a long time. While Republicans have had a stranglehold on statewide offices for some time now, Democrats are hoping that the governor’s race in 2016 will be their time to snag the executive branch.

While it may be a bit before we know who runs…

Unfinished bill sends ND Legislature back in session

June 10th, 2015

Democratic chairwoman explains why work wasn’t complete

When the North Dakota Legislative session ended, many were surprised to learn that their work was unfinished, partly because the GOP majority didn’t pass one bill. It seemed hard to believe the legislature may have to return just to pass one budget bill.

HPR got some answers from Rep. Kylie Oversen (D-Grand Forks), who was recently named the state’s new Democratic chairwoman. At the age of 26, she’s one of the youngest party…

Landowner in ND headed to trial over pipeline

June 3rd, 2015

Could be only dispute as pipeline gets fast-tracked

James Botsford, a Wisconsin attorney who owns property in Grand Forks County, is likely to be the lone holdout as Enbridge Energy Partners tries to build the Sandpiper Pipeline across the upper Midwest. Enbridge’s pipeline, through a partnership with Marathon Petroleum Corporation, will bring Bakken crude oil to Canada.

Botsford is a North Dakota native and went to school at the University of North Dakota. He owns land a couple miles…

Is the Fargo PD profiling a local rap show?

May 28th, 2015

A new gang task force comprised of area law enforcement agencies warned a local venue about the gang affiliation of one of the performers, which resulted in the cancellation of an entire concert.

SpringJam was set to be held at the Fargo Elks Lodge in late April. It was promoted by rapper J Sauce, whose real name is Jason Grant. After the concert was announced, the Fargo Police Department told the Elks Lodge one of the performers had gang affiliations.

General manager Ken Evanson took…

Legislative leader recaps highlights and lowlights

May 13th, 2015

Sen. Mac Schneider on this year’s Legislative session

It’s no easy task being the minority in the ND Legislature to a Republican super majority that always seems to get its way -- particularly in the ND House. Couple that with Republican strongholds in statewide offices including the Governor’s office and it’s a wonder Democrats can get any victories during a Legislative session.

However, with so much going on in the state related to the oil boom and so much money coming into the…

Uber launches in Fargo

May 13th, 2015

Starting Thursday morning, F-M residents will have another option for travel throughout town. Uber, the car service app that has become a popular transportation service in major cities across the U.S., has landed in Fargo.

The service operates without a dispatcher, putting the power in the hands of the consumer and driver who find each other via a map that shows who’s available. The advantage of Uber is that, most of the time, passengers can find a ride within a few minutes.

This past…

Danger Zone: Why does North Dakota have the highest worker death rate in the country?

May 6th, 2015

A new report from the AFL-CIO shows North Dakota had the highest job fatality rate in the nation for three years in a row. The report “Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect” compiles results from 2013 and shows that the state’s job fatality rate of 14.9 per 100,000 was more than four times the national average. The fatality rate and number of deaths per year have more than doubled since 2007.

The next closest state to North Dakota in the report is Wyoming, which had 9.5 deaths for…

UND secretary charged with theft

April 22nd, 2015

Woman alleged to have forged travel vouchers and overtime hours

A former University of North Dakota administrative secretary is facing felony theft charges for allegedly falsifying 31 travel vouchers, submitting 152 trips for reimbursement totaling over $47,000 and 397 false overtime hours totaling over $10,000.

Lori Pesch, East Grand Forks, has a preliminary hearing May 1 in Grand Forks County District Court, where her attorney Alexander Reichert says she will enter a plea of guilty.…