North Dakota
The beauty of North Dakota's prairie landscape
I recently read a blog by Kent Nerburn, author of the trilogy Neither Wolf Nor Dog, The Wolf at Twilight, and The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo, most of which are set in North and South Dakota.
Nerburn is a northern Minnesota author who was not initially impressed with North Dakota. He described it as “endless miles of boredom.” But then he went on to say that the Dakotas began to whisper to him, and he found himself being “pulled magnetically into the vast openness of the plains and prairies to the west.” So his next book, Long Dog Road, will be set, in his words, “in the land that had so touched my spirit and fired my imagination.”
Sound familiar? For many, be they native North Dakotans, transplants, or those just passing through, it often takes some time to warm to the wide-open spaces of the North Dakota landscape.
Although there is a lot of crop land, I suspect that for many people, the wide-open expanses of prairie are a large part of what calls people to love and appreciation of the landscape. Looking out over those vast expanses of prairie can be humbling. But those large tracts of prairie are getting harder to find. There are, however, still places in the state where one can look across the landscape and see largely unobstructed prairie with few if any trees or signs of modern human occupation.
John Madson described the prairie well in his book, Where the Sky Began: Land of the Tallgrass Prairie:
“A man could stand in a small grove of virgin white pine of the same size and feel that he was in primeval forest. Not so with prairie. To the average man, a scrap of native prairie is just a shaggy weed patch between cornfields. Prairie must have sweep and perspective to look like prairie. It is more than native grasses and forbs: it is native sky, and native horizons that stretch the eye and the mind. To be good prairie, really good prairie, it must embrace the horizons.”
So, as you travel about the state, take a little more time to more closely observe and appreciate the unique aspects of the North Dakota prairie landscape. It may touch your spirit and fire your imagination, as well.
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.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
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.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
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.
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.
North Dakota
The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion to the ND State Auditor – North Dakota Attorney General
04 Mar The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion to the ND State Auditor
in Opinions
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.
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
###
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.
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.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
Map: 4.9-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Louisiana
If you loved ‘Sinners,’ here’s what to watch next
Meta’s AI glasses reportedly send sensitive footage to human reviewers in Kenya
Iran continues firing missiles, drones at neighboring states, with multiple interceptions reported
Paxton vows he’s ‘staying in this race’ even if Trump backs Cornyn in Texas GOP clash
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Map: 4.9-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Louisiana
Paxton vows he’s ‘staying in this race’ even if Trump backs Cornyn in Texas GOP clash
Which Kurdish groups is the US rallying to fight Iran?
Man accused of plot to assassinate Trump testifies Iran pressured him, says Biden and Haley were other possible targets
DHS defends McLaughlin against allegations husband’s company profited millions from ad contracts: ‘Baseless’
-
World1 week agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Wisconsin3 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Maryland4 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Florida4 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Denver, CO1 week ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Massachusetts2 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Oregon6 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling