North Dakota

Summit modifies North Dakota pipeline route to avoid potential landslides

Published

2 years ago

March 18, 2024

Summit modifies North Dakota pipeline route to avoid potential landslides

BISMARCK — Changes made by Summit Carbon Solutions to its pipeline route in North Dakota include avoiding areas where landslides are likely to occur.

It also has moved farther east of Bismarck and some Bismarck intervenors have withdrawn from the case.

North Dakota is one of the few states to have possible landslide areas mapped, according to State Geologist Ed Murphy.

Those maps are used when siting several different types of infrastructure, such as wind turbines, roads and pipelines.

The state Geological Survey had identified 17 areas of soil instability on or near the hazardous liquid pipeline route originally submitted by Summit.

Murphy submitted a letter dated March 7 that says Summit has addressed those concerns, including rerouting the pipeline around some landslide areas.

“They’ve moved the pipeline, specifically to get away from some of those areas, and then they move the pipeline for other reasons,” Murphy said in an interview.

The letter was filed with the North Dakota Public Service Commission, which will decide whether to grant Summit a permit for its 335-mile route through North Dakota.

The pipeline would capture carbon emissions from ethanol plants in five states, including Tharaldson Ethanol near Casselton, to underground carbon storage sites in Mercer and Oliver counties.

A map of North Dakota’s landslide areas shows that they are mostly in western North Dakota, but there are also unstable areas along rivers, including the Sheyenne River. A branch of the pipeline from Casselton will cross the Sheyenne River connecting to another branch from Green Plains Renewable Energy ethanol plant in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

Those branches will connect to the main trunk of the pipeline that runs through south-central North Dakota.

A landslide contributed to an oil pipeline spill in North Dakota in 2016 and shifting soil caused a carbon pipeline rupture in Mississippi in 2020, a case that many carbon pipeline opponents point to as an example of their safety hazards.

The North Dakota pipeline spill in Billings County caused crude oil to contaminate Ash Coulee Creek, according to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

The federal investigation was finally closed in February, with a PHMSA letter to the Belle Fourche Pipeline Co. that the agency was satisfied with the corrective measures that were taken. Dustin Hubbard of PHMSA confirmed for the North Dakota Monitor that a landslide caused the leak.

In Satartia, Mississippi, a PHMSA report blamed heavy rain and a landslide for the rupture of a CO2 pipeline.

The PHMSA standard for injuries as a result of a pipeline leak is for a person to be hospitalized.

While there were no overnight hospitalizations, dozens of people were treated, according to a PHMSA report.

In a North Dakota Public Service Commission hearing on Summit’s permit application in 2023, Gerald Briggs, a first responder from Mississippi, reported finding three people unconscious with foam around their mouths after the carbon dioxide leak.

Pipeline advocates maintain that they are the safest way to transport liquids and gases.

The Liquid Energy Pipeline Association, citing PHMSA data, says that 99.999% of crude oil and petroleum products delivered by pipeline reach their destination safely. In addition, it says CO2 pipelines have a lower incident rate than pipelines for both crude oil and refined energy products.

Summit calls its Midwest Carbon Express pipeline project the world’s largest carbon capture and storage project. It recently grew to more than 50 ethanol plants in five states. There is one ethanol plant in North Dakota, Tharaldson Ethanol at Casselton.

Contributed / Summit Carbon Solutions

Summit made changes to its route as it tries again to obtain a pipeline route permit from the North Dakota Public Service Commission.

The PSC denied Summit’s permit application last year but is giving the Iowa-based company another chance to make its case.

A March 4 letter to the PSC from Bismarck attorney Lawrence Bender, who represents Summit, notified the commission of landowners that no longer have the Summit route through their property.”

The list includes the John H. Warford Jr. Revocable Trust in Burleigh County. John Warford, a former Bismarck mayor, had been outspoken about his opposition to the pipeline.

The same day that Bender submitted his letter to the PSC, Bismarck attorney Randy Bakke filed a letter with the PSC stating that the Bismarck intervenors, which included Warford, Chad Wachter and Chad Moldenhauer, were withdrawing from the Summit case.

Warford did not want to comment on the withdrawal from the proceedings. Bakke could not be reached for comment.

Brian Jorde is an attorney with Domina Law of Nebraska that represents landowners along the pipeline route in multiple states. He said he still has North Dakota clients opposed to the Summit route and expects to hear from others.

“When you’re heating up and there’s a scheduling order for the hearings, we tend to hear from people,” he said.

This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com

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North Dakota

Today in History, 1943: 2 North Dakota men die in separate Army plane crashes

Published

6 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Today in History, 1943: 2 North Dakota men die in separate Army plane crashes

On this day in 1943, two North Dakota army officers, Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz and First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson, were killed in separate medium bomber training crashes in Florida and Georgia.

Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:

Army Plane Crashes Kill Two N. D. Men

Two North Dakota officers in the army air forces were killed Sunday in bomber crashes during training flights, Associated Press dispatches revealed Monday.

Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz of Harvey (Wells county) was killed with 10 others from the Avon Park, Fla., army bomber base when two medium bombers collided during a routine formation flight. Both planes crashed and there were no survivors.

First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson of Warwick (Benson county) was one of six killed when a medium bomber from MacDill field, Tampa, Fla., crashed near Savannah, Ga. Lieutenant Anderson was co-pilot of the plane.

None of the other victims of either accident was from the Dakotas or Minnesota.

Lieutenant Kuntz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Kuntz of Harvey, was graduated from the army air force navigation school at Hondo, Texas, as a second lieutenant last October, and received his wings as a navigator.

See more history at Newspapers.com

An ad featured in The Forum on March 2, 1943. Newspapers.com

Kate Almquist is the social media manager for InForum. After working as an intern, she joined The Forum full time starting in January 2022. Readers can reach her at kalmquist@forumcomm.com.

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North Dakota

Presidential Searches at 3 North Dakota Colleges Narrowing

Published

18 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Presidential Searches at 3 North Dakota Colleges Narrowing

(Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Two North Dakotans are semifinalists for the Bismarck State College president’s job as North Dakota State University narrows its presidential candidate list.

Valley City State University also is searching for a new president, with an application period closing this month..

Kevin Black, chair of the State Board of Higher Education and co-chair of the North Dakota State University Presidential Search Committee, said the committee reviewed over 60 applications. The committee is planning off-site interviews with candidates March 9-10 and campus visits with semifinal candidates March 23-27.

“We’re really excited about taking the next step and there’s some very quality people in there,” Black said.

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North Dakota

After falling short a year ago, West Fargo United wins ND girls hockey state title

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

After falling short a year ago, West Fargo United wins ND girls hockey state title

FARGO — One season ago, a Cinderella run for the West Fargo United girls hockey team came up just short in the state championship game.

United, the No. 7 seed, fell to Legacy/Bismarck in the 2025 final.

This time around, the team had momentum swaying in its favor, riding nine consecutive wins into Saturday’s title game against Grand Forks at Scheels Arena.

Led by goals from a pair of senior captains, United capped its redemption season with a 10th straight victory, fending off the KnightRiders 2-1 to claim the North Dakota girls hockey state tournament championship.

“It just means everything,” said United’s Payton Stocker, whose goal at the 12:31 mark of the second period gave her team a 1-0 lead. “We’ve worked so hard and throughout the season, it’s just been such a battle. Winning and coming out on top is just such a great feeling.”

West Fargo United captains react as they are presented the team’s 2026 state championship hockey trophy after defeating Grand Forks on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Scheels Arena in Fargo.

Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald

Stocker was followed up in scoring by United captain Rachel Spanier. The defenseman fired a slap shot from the left point that beat Grand Forks goaltender Kylie Schmaltz to make it 2-0 with 35 seconds remaining in the middle frame.

Reagan Wilson locked things down in net for United, finishing with 23 saves and picking up an all-tournament team nod.

“This is my first year of high school hockey,” the sophomore goaltender said. “I can’t believe coming in here and winning a state title with all of these girls. I just love them so much.”

While it was the senior duo of Stocker and Spanier finding the net for United on Saturday, contributions were seen across the board.

Sophomore Emma Hassler also put forth an all-tournament campaign with five goals and an assist for six points over the three-day stretch.

030226 WFGOUnited3.jpg — Grand Forks’ Dustee Balek’s shot is blocked by West Fargo United goalie Reagan Wilson in the North Dakota girls hockey state championship game on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Scheels Arena.

Freshman Kaylee Augdahl finished the tournament with four points — including

a double-overtime winner

over Fargo North/South in Friday’s semifinals — and junior Liana Williamson added three assists.

“It wasn’t just us (seniors),” said Stocker, who joined Hassler and Wilson on the all-tourney team. “It was everyone collectively. Being seniors, it feels a lot better. It was a great feeling.”

United, the No. 5 seed this year, capped its season with a record of 17-9-0.

“These girls are awesome,” first-year United head coach Kennedy Blair said. “They’ve worked super, super hard since last April. Wake up early in the mornings, go into off-ice training, on-ice training and all that.

“This group of girls is really special. They’re a really close-knit group, and they trusted our coaching staff coming in as a first-year group.”

030226 WFGOUnited2.jpg — West Fargo United players pose for the camera as they wait for the 2026 state championship hockey trophy after defeating Grand Forks on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Scheels Arena.

Blair knows a thing or two about winning championships. She was a North Dakota state champion goaltender with the former Bismarck Blizzard co-op and also won an NCAA Division I national title with the Wisconsin women’s program in 2021.

Yet, she never imagined ending her first year as a high school varsity coach with a state championship.

“No, I didn’t,” said Blair, who also won North Dakota High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors. “But I had belief in these girls that we could get to the state championship again.”

It’s the United co-op’s first-ever state title — which consists of West Fargo, West Fargo Sheyenne and West Fargo Horace high schools.

Prior to Saturday, the last time a West Fargo girls program won the state title was in 2014 when it was still a standalone program competing as the Packers.

“It’s amazing considering United hockey has never won a championship game,” Wilson said.

Grand Forks, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, ended its campaign with a 21-5-0 record.

Ella Yahna’s fourth goal of the tournament — which came on a 2-on-1 rush with the assist from teammate Reese Meagher, put the KnightRiders within one shot with 8:17 remaining in the third.

Grand Forks, however, was unable to find the equalizer as its bid for a first state championship came up just short.

“I thought we came out in the first and we had a tough time,” Grand Forks head coach Kelly Kilgore said. “I felt we battled some nerves. I really liked our second period … We carried the play and tilted the ice a little bit back in our favor. The shots kind of started to really turn in our favor.”

Stocker said she wouldn’t have wanted to win a state title as a senior with any other group of teammates.

“(They mean) everything,” Stocker said. “We’re so tight and they’re all my friends. Leaving them is going to be hard. But they mean everything to me. We’re all so close and I love them a lot.”