North Dakota
A Walsh County man sued a North Dakota senator who blocked him on Facebook. Now he has to pay her $4,975.
BISMARCK — A Walsh County man claimed a North Dakota senator violated his First Amendment rights when she blocked him on Facebook. Now, he wants the North Dakota Supreme Court to reject an unfavorable ruling that would force him to pay nearly $5,000 in court fees to the lawmaker.
Mitchell Sanderson, of Park River, North Dakota, argued Monday, Sept. 9, that he shouldn’t have to pay the attorney and court fees to Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg. He asked the Supreme Court to roll back Walsh County Judge Kari Agotness’ Jan. 30 ruling, which said Sanderson must pay Myrdal $4,975.
He said Agotness abused her power and shouldn’t have ruled on the case. He also made criminal allegations against Myrdal and Agotness, which have not been brought in a criminal court.
“The crimes and abuses that took place are why we are here today and why I appealed this,” Sanderson said. “All government branches need to be held accountable to the law or we will have more criminal behavior in this country as we are seeing happen to President (Donald) Trump.”
Sanderson initially sued Myrdal in mid-2023 because she blocked him from seeing her Facebook pages. One of the pages is titled “Myrdal ND Senate” and has “all the trappings of a government page,” Sanderson argued.
He claimed that, as a public figure, Myrdal can’t block people on social media because “she does not like them or that they have different views of how the government is to operate.”
“This is a violation of the First Amendment!” Sanderson wrote in his initial lawsuit. “This is censorship by a government public figure which is Illegal and Unconstitutional!”
He asked for $200,000 in damages, as well as the ability to see and post on Myrdal’s Facebook page.
Myrdal has served in the North Dakota Senate since 2017. She declined to comment on this story.
Agotness ruled in December that Myrdal runs her Facebook page without the help of government resources. The page in question was created before she was elected, and Myrdal uses it to campaign for re-election, the judge wrote in her opinion. Myrdal acted as a private citizen, not a government official on behalf of the state, Agotness said.
Jeremy Turley / Forum News Service
“If Myrdal’s conduct was purely private, then the First Amendment does not apply because there is not a government abridgment of speech,” Agotness ruled.
Sanderson also sued Agotness, claiming she was biased against him. He demanded $200 million in damages from Agotness and that “the county and state investigate her for criminal actions,” according to the lawsuit that was dismissed by Grand Forks District Judge Jay Knudson.
Agotness also declined to comment for this story.
In his Supreme Court briefing, Sanderson claimed Agotness improperly denied multiple motions he made in the Myrdal case. That included a motion for default judgment in his favor since Myrdal didn’t respond within 21 days of him serving the senator a summons on May 2, 2023.
A court may rule in favor of a person who files a lawsuit if a defendant doesn’t answer within 21 days, Agotness ruled. In a June 3, 2023, email to Walsh County District Court, Myrdal said she hadn’t seen the summons in the case until May 30, 2023.
Myrdal answered the lawsuit four days before Sanderson asked for a default judgment, the judge wrote.
“North Dakota has a strong preference for deciding cases on their merits rather than by default judgment,” Agotness wrote July 10 in court filings that denied the motion for default judgment.
Sanderson claimed Monday the case shouldn’t have moved forward because he didn’t properly serve a summons to Myrdal.
“This is an obvious error by the court which requires reversal,” Sanderson said.
When pressed by North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Daniel Crothers that judges have discretion in declaring default justice or moving forward with a case, Sanderson said the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court rulings supersede North Dakota law.
“It’s not the U.S. Supreme Court’s rule. It’s our rule,” Crothers said. “This isn’t a federal case. It’s a state case.”
“You’re bound by the Constitution, sir,” Sanderson said.
The appeal is moot, said Howard Swanson, who represented Myrdal in the lawsuit and at the Supreme Court hearing on Monday. Sanderson is no longer pursuing his First Amendment claims, Swanson said.
“Mr. Sanderson’s rights were not violated by Mrs. Myrdal’s blocking, on her personal Facebook page, his adverse comments,” Swanson said.
In Lindke v. Freed, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this spring that public officials can sometimes block social media followers. A person must have authority to speak on the government’s behalf and act in an official capacity in order to violate a person’s First Amendment rights by blocking them on social media, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled.
The improper service of documents didn’t prejudice anyone, Swanson said. Improper service to Myrdal was waived because she continued with the case and defended against what Swanson called “absurd” motions filed by Sanderson.
“There was no denial of justice to anyone,” Swanson said. “It allowed the matter to pursue in the normal course of litigation.”
Sanderson called Swanson’s argument “verbal theatrics with the law.” Myrdal had her state-issued email on the page, Sanderson noted.
“Everything she did on it was pretty much political activity,” he said.
In an interview with The Forum, Sanderson said he can’t pursue the First Amendment claims anymore. He said he would go as far as he needs to go with his case.
“If the judges do not rule in favor of the service and default judgment, and they hold up the attorney fees, I will sue any one of the judges that violate their Constitutional oath,” he told The Forum. “Any judge that dissents against me will get sued in federal court.”
Sanderson also accused Myrdal of forgery and evidence tampering, as well as Agotness of corruption and perjury. North Dakota Justice Lisa McEvers suggested those allegations should be handled by a criminal court, not in a civil case.
Sanderson said the Walsh County State’s Attorney’s Office will “defend the state at all costs.” He said he has brought his evidence to the FBI but claimed the Department of Justice under President Joe Biden wouldn’t address the allegations.
“We have to wait for President Trump to get in,” he said. “This is not stopping her today, folks.”
He said more lawsuits are coming from him, as well as criminal charges.
“Trump is coming,” he said. “His DOJ is coming.”
Republicans have criticized a jury verdict that found Trump guilty in a hush-money case earlier this year. He also faces several federal indictments, including in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in Washington, D.C., where masses tried to overturn the 2020 election results that said he lost to Biden.
Sanderson filed a lawsuit against the North Dakota Republican Party after it kicked him out in 2022. He said he tried to run against Myrdal at the District 19 nominating meeting.
He and the NDGOP agreed to dismiss the case.
BISMARCK — Landowners in Dickey, LaMoure and Stutsman counties made their plea to the North Dakota Supreme Court on Tuesday, June 23, to fight a massive powerline project.
The 90-mile-long “Jamestown to Ellendale” transmission line, also known as JETx, would use towers up to 150 feet tall.
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March 31, 1957 – June 5, 2026
Timothy Paul Ganyo, 69, passed away on Friday, June 5, 2026, after a courageous six-and-a-half-year battle with non-small cell lung cancer.
Tim was born on March 31, 1957, in Grafton, North Dakota, to Willard Paul and Marlene Frances Ganyo. He grew up in Grafton, where he attended school and was active in both hockey and football. During his high school years, he also worked as a lifeguard at the local swimming pool.
Tim proudly served his country for more than three decades. He enlisted in the United States Air Force on December 4, 1977, and served until 1981, with an assignment at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.
Following his active-duty service, he joined the Air National Guard while attending North Dakota State University. Later, seeking a new opportunity, Tim joined the Air Force Reserve and relocated to Northern California, where he served at Travis Air Force Base as a flight engineer aboard the C-5 aircraft.
Throughout his distinguished military career, Tim was activated numerous times and served in support of multiple military operations around the world, often flying into war zones. He treasured the friendships he made with his fellow airmen and took great pride in serving alongside the members of the 312th. Tim retired from the United States Air Force Reserve on June 1, 2010.
Committed to lifelong learning, Tim earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology in August 2003. Following his military retirement, he worked in the laboratory at Shell Oil Company in Martinez, California.
Tim spent more than 40 years in Northern California, where he met his wife, Roxanne. They shared 34 wonderful years of marriage. He was a devoted husband, a supportive stepdad, and a loving grandpa who cherished time spent with his family.
Tim was a passionate fan of University of North Dakota hockey and proudly remained loyal to the Fighting Sioux throughout his life. He was also a member of the Solano Yacht Club and enjoyed the friendships and camaraderie he found there.
Tim is survived by his mother, Marlene Dvorak; his beloved wife, Roxanne Ganyo; his stepchildren, Ryan Brown, Chad (Tonya) Brown, Jaime Wolf (Dave), and Kristy Brown (Devin); his grandchildren, Calleigh Brown, Jaxon Brown, Taya Wolf, and Jordyn Brown; his brothers, Mark (Rhonda) Ganyo and Michael Ganyo; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his father, Willard Paul Ganyo; and his brothers, Ray Ganyo and Philip Ganyo. Tim will be remembered for his strength, dedication, patriotism, sense of adventure, and unwavering love for his family and friends. His presence will be deeply missed and forever cherished by all who knew him.
Family and friends are invited to attend a funeral service on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at Bryan-Braker Funeral Home Chapel, 1850 West Texas Street, Fairfield, CA
A ceremony with military honors will be held at 12:30 p.m. at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon, California, where Tim will be laid to rest.
GRAND FORKS — A Grand Forks man is working to overturn his conviction for killing his friend.
Donald Bartlette’s attorney, Kiara Costa Kraus-Parr, wants the North Dakota Supreme Court to declare a mistrial when he was found guilty of manslaughter in the October 2024 death of Tony Kiehl.
During a hearing Monday, June 22, Costa Kraus-Parr said prosecutors unfairly made jurors biased against Bartlette at trial in August of last year.
That includes referencing past drug use and testimony from a witness who called Bartlette a bully.
That testimony was objected to, and the objection was sustained.
Bartlette was found guilty of manslaughter and was later sentenced in December to 10 years in prison.
Bartlette, 46, maintains Kiehl, 49, came at him with a knife and he acted in self-defense.
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.
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