News

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.…

Fargo Votes: Q&A with the special election candidates

April 15th, 2015

Graphic by Alexis Dietz

Fargo Mayoral Candidates Q & A

Following the passing of the late Mayor Dennis Walaker, voters in Fargo will head to the polls on April 28 to choose a new mayor. For our election preview, HPR spoke with both candidates for mayor in Fargo about their vision for leading the city and the issues facing its citizens.

Brad Wimmer

Brad Wimmer is a former Fargo City Commissioner and owner of Wimmer’s Diamonds in Fargo. He unsuccessfully challenged Mayor Walker in 2014.

HPR: How will you keep…

Group opens Moorhead business to treat overdoses

April 11th, 2015

Missy Patterson, Jeremy Kelly, Warren Stevenson and Jenenne Guffey.

Offers free needles, opiate reversal drugs and training

An organization called The Fargo Moorhead Good Neighbor Project recently opened up a storefront in Moorhead, where it distributes free needles and Naloxone, the opiate overdose reversal drug, which can reverse the effects of a heroin overdose as well as painkillers. It also offers free training to anyone in administering the drug and conducting rescue breathing.

The organization first received training themselves to administer the…

The Politics of Voter ID Laws

March 25th, 2015

After a 2014 election that featured controversial difficulties for student voters due to the state’s new Voter ID law, it appears the North Dakota Legislature won’t be making any changes during the ongoing legislative session.This is despite a North Dakota State University study that found 689 college students were unable to vote because of residency issues.

The only pending changes to the law are contained in House Bill 1333, which was passed by the House and is awaiting a vote in…

Sen. John Hoeven defends Iran letter

March 18th, 2015

Sen. John Hoeven

North Dakota’s GOP senator is one of 47 facing criticism

Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) has come under criticism for being one of 47 Republican senators to sign a letter sent to the leaders of Iran stating that any nuclear deal with President Obama is not approved by Congress and is subject to being overturned by them and future administrations. Some have even gone so far as call Hoeven and the other senators traitors for undermining the president by sending the letter. HPR reached out to…

Burgum advocates passage of Senate Bill 2279

March 11th, 2015

Esteemed business leader favors discrimination protection for LGBT citizens in North Dakota

One of Fargo’s most successful business leaders and entrepreneurs is advocating that the North Dakota House of Representatives pass Senate Bill 2279, which would enact discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Doug Burgum, who has supported many Republican candidates, led Great Plains Software in the early 1980s until the local company was sold to Microsoft in…

GF Police Under Fire for Response to Shooting

March 4th, 2015

Lawmaker calls for clearer communication

After a couple days of confusion, Grand Forks law enforcement entities sought to clear up speculation and release more information about a shooting at Altru Hospital where a UND police officer shot a suspect.

Grand Forks police released the name of the suspect, David James Elliott, and why he was followed on Tuesday. Initially, police followed Elliott after he allegedly ran a stop sign following a 911 call reporting his truck as suspicious. This…

ND Legislature hits halfway point

February 27th, 2015

Gov. Jack Dalrymple signing a $1.1 billion surge funding bill

Many important issues left unresolved

The North Dakota legislative session hits its midway point this week with many major issues unresolved. As the session got underway, plummeting state revenue projections -- due to lower crude oil prices -- have had a big impact on the agenda at the capitol. Legislators have managed to get a few things done, though they’re due for some some heavy lifting as the end of the biennial session approaches.

The biggest issue looming over early part of the…

Q&A: Another Bakken oil boom

February 19th, 2015

Advocacy group points blame at state officials after latest train derailment and explosion

After the latest train derailment and explosion in West Virginia this week of trains carrying Bakken crude, some are calling for more to be done in the regulation of the transportation. One of those groups is the Dakota Resource Council, which issued a strong statement following the derailment blaming state officials for not doing more in regards to transport of Bakken oil. We spoke with Don…