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North Dakota family in Austria for Taylor Swift concert dismayed by cancellation over terror threat

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North Dakota family in Austria for Taylor Swift concert dismayed by cancellation over terror threat


VIENNA, Austria — A rural Cass County teenager who’s waited more than a year to see Taylor Swift in a concert overseas has had her hopes dashed, along with hundreds of thousands of others after shows there were canceled over a terror threat.

Nora Severance, 17, a senior this fall at Northern Cass High School, secured tickets for her family to the Eras Tour stop in Vienna, Austria, back in June 2023.

She, her mother and 19-year-old brother arrived there Tuesday night in advance of the show set for Thursday, Aug. 8, while her father stayed back to work on the farm.

The family learned late Wednesday night that the Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows at Ernst Happel Stadium would not go on because of an alleged plot to carry out a suicide attack outside of the concert venue.

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People and security walk outside Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna, Austria, after Taylor Swift’s three concerts scheduled for this week were canceled following confirmation of a planned attack there on Thursday.

Elisabeth Mandl / Reuters

Nora Severance woke up the next morning to a flurry of texts from her friends, wondering what was going on.

“I think it was the right call,” she said of the cancellation in a Thursday night phone call from Vienna.

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Young woman with long, dark blond hair and a yellow-flowered print dress sits next to a stone pillar in front of a stately looking building and water

Nora Severance, 17, of rural Arthur, North Dakota, is pictured outside Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. She and her family traveled to Vienna to see the Taylor Swift concert there on Thursday; however, the concert and two others in Vienna were canceled amid threats of a terror attack.

Contributed / Nicole Severance

Nicole Severance was asked how she conversed with her children about the terror threat.

“Sadly, it’s something that they’ve grown up with their whole life, and so it’s just kind of a daily thing,” she said.

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There was also a feeling of resignation about the concert cancellation.

“We can’t control everything,” she said.

A 19-year old man from Austria was arrested over the alleged plot to strike the Swift concert and made a full confession in custody,

Reuters reported.

The man swore allegiance to the Islamic State on the internet and had chemicals, technical devices and machetes at his home, said Franz Ruf, Austria’s general director for public security.

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Two other Austrian youths aged 17 and 15 were also detained over the reported plot.

The 17-year-old had recently been hired at a company providing services at the stadium, according to security officials.

The three shows in Vienna were expected to draw 65,000 concertgoers each day, with an additional 10,000 to 15,000 fans gathering outside of the area, police said.

Coincidentally, the family toured Schönbrunn Palace on Wednesday, a former royal residence visited by thousands of people daily.

Nora Severance said it was weird that there were no metal detectors and their bags were not searched.

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“We had that conversation yesterday, right prior to this being canceled,” her mother said.

Nora Severance said she was looking forward to arriving at the stadium early Thursday night in order to trade the friendship bracelets she had made and to meet new people.

A young blond-haired girl and her mother, with shoulder length brown hair, stand next to pop superstar Taylor Swift wearing a black, sparkly outfit. They're in front of a gray, brick backdrop

Nicole Severance and her daughter Nora, then 8, from rural Arthur, North Dakota, are shown backstage at the Fargodome on Oct. 12, 2015, with pop star Taylor Swift during a stop on the artist’s “1989” world tour.

Contributed / Nicole Severance

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The first and last time she saw Taylor Swift in concert,

she was just eight years old.

Her mother had entered a sweepstakes and won free tickets and meet-and-greet access to the superstar on her

“1989” world tour stop at the Fargodome in October 2015.

Calling it a “really good experience,” the teenager said, “that’s kind of what made me start to listen to her music more and want to see her again.”

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Her mom said she doesn’t consider herself a “Swiftie” but appreciates the positive messages that Swift brings to young girls through her music.

The family originally sought Swift concert tickets in the U.S., for Minneapolis or Kansas City, but they sold out quickly and resale ticket prices were far too expensive.

“It just financially made more sense to fly to Europe and make a trip out of it,” Nora Severance said.

Arm in black long sleeve outstretched with 20 Taylor Swift bracelets

Taylor Swift fan Nora Severance shows off an arm full of Swift themed friendship bracelets ahead of seeing a showing of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film on Oct. 13, 2023, at West Acres Cinema in Fargo.

Alyssa Goelzer/The Forum

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They went for the Austria tour stop because it was one of the first European dates to go on sale.

The family secured standing tickets on the floor at the Vienna stadium for the original asking price of $100 apiece.

By comparison, the cheapest resale ticket prices for upcoming U.S. dates are going for around $2,500 a piece for “nosebleed” seats, Nora Severance said.

Swift’s next stop is Thursday, Aug. 15, at Wembley Stadium in London, where she has five shows scheduled.

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People with tickets to the Vienna shows will be refunded within 10 business days, according to Swift’s website.

Nora Severance said her family will be in Europe for another 10 days, traveling to Hungary and Switzerland.

“We had things planned, thankfully, so we’ll make the best of it,” she said.





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Summit League tournament: Omaha women bounce North Dakota

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Summit League tournament: Omaha women bounce North Dakota


SIOUX FALLS — Ali Stephens had 17 points and 13 rebounds and 8th-seeded Omaha defeated 9th-seeded North Dakota 49-39 in the first round of the Summit League women’s tournament.

The Fighting Hawks had a tough time putting the ball in the hoop all night long, scoring just three points in the first quarter and having only marginally better luck from there.

UND (7-24) shot just 23.5 percent from the floor (12-for-51) and made 1-of-20 shots from outside the arc. Walker Demers and Mackenzie Hughes had 10 points each to lead the Hawks, with Demers adding eight rebounds.

Members of the Omaha women’s basketball team cheer for their teammates during the opening game of the Summit League tournament on March 4, 2026 at the Premier Center in Sioux Falls.

Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live

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Regan Juenemann had 10 points and five rebounds for the Mavericks while Avril Smith had seven points and 16 rebounds and Sarai Estupinan eight points, five assists and three rebounds. Omaha (6-26) shot the ball slightly better than the Hawks, going 16-of-53 from the field (30 percent) and 8-of-23 (35 percent) on 3-pointers.

With the win, the Mavs earn a date with top-seed North Dakota State on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
The Bison won both regular season matchups by more than 50 points.

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North Dakota’s Mataeya Mathern goes up for a shot during the opening game of the Summit League tournament on March 4, 2026 at the Premier Center in Sioux Falls.

Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live

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Oral Roberts 84, Kansas City 62 — Don’t look now but the team that started the conference season 0-10 and at one point lost 15 of 16 games might be the hottest in the Summit League.

Oral Roberts picked up their fourth straight victory on Wednesday night in the conference tournament opener, routing Kansas City at the Premier Center in the 8/9 “play-in” game.

Ty Harper had 22 points to lead the Golden Eagles (10-22), who took a 44-21 lead by halftime and never looked back. ORU shot 50 percent from the floor and made 13-of-27 3-pointers while the Kangaroos shot just 34 percent and made 6-of-24 from deep. Martins Kilups had 17 points for the Eagles and Connor Dow added 14.

Jayson Petty had 14 points to lead the Kagaroos, who finish the season 4-27. It was their final game under coach Marvin Menzies, whom the school announced earlier this season would not return next year.

With the win ORU advances to face top-seed North Dakota State on Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Golden Eagles lost to NDSU 86-58 in Tulsa on Jan. 24 but they took the Bison to overtime in Fargo on Jan. 3 in a 79-77 loss.

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Matt Zimmer

Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at mzimmer@siouxfallslive.com.





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The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion to the ND State Auditor – North Dakota Attorney General

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The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion to the ND State Auditor

March 4, 2026

Media Contact: Suzie Weigel, 701.328.2210

BISMARCK, ND – It is the opinion that federal law does not prevent the state from auditing P&A and even though P&A possesses confidential records, N.D.C.C. § 54-10-22.1 and 42 C.F.R. § 51.45(c) authorize the state auditor and the employees of the auditor’s office, to review the records without detriment to P &A.

Also, whether Rule 1.6 of the North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct for licensed attorneys prohibits P&A from disclosing to the State Auditor the contents of a client file for the purpose of conducting a non-financial performance audit under N.D.C.C. ch. 54-10 when the requested file includes information about individuals and businesses in the private sector who chose to contact P &A.

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This issue was already addressed in a 1995 opinion of this office regarding P&A. The 1995 opinion highlighted that P&A has authority to contract with private attorneys to represent private individuals. 17 During that performance audit, auditors asked to see billings from the contracted attorneys. 18 P&A redacted the names of the individuals represented by the contract attorneys under the rules for attorney-client privilege or attorney-client confidentiality. 19 The names of individuals seeking services of P&A are protected under N.D.C.C. § 25-01.3. The opinion stated:

Thus, P&A’s records which indicate to whom its services were provided are available to the State Auditor for performance audit purposes. The State Auditor has
been given access by P&A to its records other than the attorney’s billings. Therefore, the State Auditor already has access to the names of the persons to whom P&A
provides services. State law requires that the State Auditor and his employees must keep such information confidential.

Here, P&A has not identified a specific record. Given that, I rely on the past opinions declaring that records made confidential by N.D.C.C. § 25-01.3-10 are available under N.D.C.C. § 54-10-22 to the State Auditor and the Auditor’s employees for audit purposes.

Link to opinion 2026-L-01

###

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Angler may have broken North Dakota’s perch record on Devils Lake

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Angler may have broken North Dakota’s perch record on Devils Lake


FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A Wisconsin angler may have reeled in a new North Dakota state record yellow perch on Devils Lake.

Alan Hintz of Stevens Point, Wis., caught the fish while fishing with Perch Patrol Guide Service’s Tyler Elshaug. North Dakota Game Warden Jon Peterson weighed the perch at 2.99 pounds and measured it at 16.5 inches at Woodland Resort.

The current state record perch of 2 pounds, 15 ounces was caught by Kyle Smith of Carrington, N.D., also on Devils Lake, on March 28, 1982.

The catch is still considered unofficial. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department requires a four-week waiting period to verify all details before officially recognizing a new state record.

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Alan Hintz of Stevens Point, Wis., caught the fish that has unofficially weighed at 2.99 pounds and measured it at 16.5 inches(Perch Patrol Guide Service)

Steve Dahl with Perch Patrol Guide Service confirmed the details to Valley News Live. Dahl said overall perch numbers on Devils Lake are down this year, but anglers are seeing more fish weighing over 2 pounds.

Devils Lake is one of North Dakota’s most popular ice fishing destinations, known for producing trophy-sized perch.



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