CLIFFORD, N.D. (KFGO) – One man suffered serious injuries after a head-on crash in Traill County Tuesday morning.  

The Highway Patrol says the crash happened around 10:10 a.m. on an ice-covered Highway 18 eight miles east of Clifford. 

The 46-year-old from the Grand Forks Air Force Base was driving a van west when the van collided with an eastbound semi. The driver of the van was flown to Sanford Medical Center in Fargo by Sanford AirMed. The 42-year-old Larimore man driving the semi was not hurt.  

Both men were wearing seat belts.

The Traill County Sheriff’s Office, Mayville Fire and Rescue, and Sanford Ambulance also responded to the scene.

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – The North Dakota Attorney General’s Office and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation have completed their investigative work in the Davies High School child sex abuse material case, submitting all findings to the Cass County State’s Attorney’s Office for charging review.

“The Attorney General’s Office and the ND BCI have overseen and conducted this investigation,” the AG’s office said in a statement. “All investigative materials have been submitted to the Cass County State’s Attorney’s Office for charging review and determination.”

Cass County State’s Attorney Kim Hegvik offered little detail on what comes next, citing legal restrictions tied to juvenile cases.

“In North Dakota, juvenile cases, records, and court proceedings are confidential and not open to the public,” Hegvik said. “I am prohibited by law from discussing any matters that may be handled in juvenile court. I will not be providing further comment at this time.”

Background

The investigation stems from a case first reported to a school resource officer in April 2025. Investigators believe CSAM was created in 2023 and initially shared by a high school student via Snapchat. The formal investigation was launched in May 2025.

As Valley News Live first reported Sept. 23, 2025, students at Davies High School came under investigation by the BCI for allegedly creating and distributing sexually explicit images on Snapchat. The Fargo Public School District said it was made aware of the investigation Sept. 22 and cooperated with a search warrant executed at Davies for the personal property of specific students.

In a press conference on Sept. 30, 2025, Attorney General Drew Wrigley said the investigation had uncovered a “web of Snapchat accounts” that received, and in some cases shared, CSAM. An electronic trail from the initial victim led investigators to 24 phones. Search warrants were then executed on 30 additional phones, with at least 20 seized.

Wrigley said artificial intelligence was used to create images in “a great number” of cases already uncovered, and that more schools beyond Davies were involved in the investigation.

Those under investigation range in age; some are still juveniles, while others are now adults, but Wrigley said the majority are still high school students.

Wrigley previously said he intends to pursue state charges, though federal charges remain possible.

“These young people are victims, and they are suffering,” Wrigley said at the Sept. 30 press conference. “It is inappropriate to blame the victims in these instances. Some of the victims are already being harassed. It has to stop, it shouldn’t have started.”

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Every few years the question of whether North Dakota should offer a bounty on coyotes surfaces again. It usually follows a tough fall deer season, a hard, cold, snowy start to winter, or a combination of it all. It’s been asked for years.

But from a wildlife management standpoint, a bounty system simply doesn’t make sense — biologically or economically.

Coyotes are adaptable survivors, and they can be tough neighbors for ranchers and hunters alike.

Let’s start with biology. Coyotes are one of the most resilient species on the landscape. Studies from across the Great Plains show that even when populations are heavily reduced, coyotes respond by increasing reproduction rates. Litter sizes grow, and survival among pups improves when competition is lower. In short, widespread killing often creates a temporary dip followed by a rebound — sometimes to even higher numbers than before.

That’s not theory; it’s decades of data. State and federal wildlife biologists have seen that removing large numbers of coyotes rarely results in long-term population control. Their range has expanded, not contracted, despite generations of organized removals and private incentives. Coyotes thrive in grasslands, cropland edges, and even on the outskirts of towns. It’s not realistic to “eliminate” them and bounties have never changed that.

I’ve suggested a parallel in the past when you deal with weeds or dandelions. You can put as much time, money and effort into controlling the yellow flowers and year after year they come back. If your neighbor doesn’t do the same, they continue to spread into your yard. Even after every dandelion is killed, they magically appear. Again. Year after year.

Then there’s economics. Administering a bounty program is expensive and inefficient. Every dollar spent on bounties is a dollar not spent on habitat restoration, access programs, wildlife management or youth education — efforts that provide measurable benefits to all North Dakotans. Paying for coyote tails or ears might feel like action, but it diverts resources from programs that actually improve wildlife management outcomes.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department already works closely with USDA Wildlife Services and local landowners to address legitimate livestock depredation issues. Targeted control — where specific problem animals are removed — is far more effective than broad, untargeted bounty programs. It’s about precision, not just numbers.

At the end of the day, managing coyotes isn’t about eradicating them; it’s about understanding how they fit into our ecosystems and addressing conflicts responsibly. Coyotes help control rodents and other small mammals. Like all wildlife, they play a role and our job as stewards is to manage, not to eliminate.

When we focus on sound science and fiscal responsibility, we get better results for wildlife, producers and taxpayers. And that’s what good wildlife management has always been about in North Dakota.

Doug Leier is an outreach biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Reach him at dleier@nd.gov.