North Dakota
U.S. Senate candidate Katrina Christiansen says things are going ‘amazingly well’ gearing into November
GRAND FORKS — With fewer than 50 days until November’s election, North Dakota U.S. Senate candidate Katrina Christiansen says a big part of what she’s hearing across the state is that government isn’t working.
“There are really serious problems that people want addressed, but we also have toxic cultural issues that won’t allow us to have constructive conversations,” she said. “It’s really challenging for people when we don’t talk about solutions to those things; that’s a failure of our system.”
Christiansen, a Democrat, is
running against incumbent Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer.
She has visited all of the state’s 53 counties, including
Grand Forks County last Saturday, when she marched during the annual Potato Bowl parade
. She said people are often surprised that she’s present at so many events.
It’s even become a campaign slogan: “Katrina, she shows up.”
“It was amazing. It went by so quickly and we had a lot of supporters out there and it was really encouraging,” Christiansen said of the Grand Forks parade. “(When) we were at the Bismarck parade and we had signs like that for the first time and we overheard a guy in the crowd say: ‘Katrina, she shows up. I like that.’ ”
She also recently released a new advertisement telling the story of a voter who’s planning on voting for former Republican President Donald Trump and for Christiansen, a Democrat. The history of split-ticket voting in the state, not voting entirely Republican or Democratic on a ballot, is something Christiansen said is key to her campaign.
“This seat was held by Democrats for nearly 60 years, and North Dakota hasn’t gone to a Democratic president since (President Lyndon B. Johnson),” Christiansen said. “But we’ve elected Democrats (into other offices), so we can get split-ticket voters.”
One of the biggest concerns she’s heard across the state is the rising cost of living. Christiansen said it’s an issue that stretches across the political spectrum, but she also believes other issues get in the way. She believes it’s often getting overshadowed by culture issues and differences that take the air out of the room.
This isn’t Christiansen’s first Senate campaign. She ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Republican Sen. John Hoeven in 2022. Since then, she believes she has grown as a candidate and that her ability to run a successful campaign has improved.
“It’s going amazingly well,” Christiansen said. “We’ve got our first attack ad up. We have got to remind people … why my opponent is not working for them.”
With some North Dakotans receiving ballots as soon as Friday, Sept. 20, part of Christiansen’s strategy is to keep getting out and meeting voters. She said it doesn’t matter whether they’re from the biggest cities or the smallest towns — she wants to meet people where they’re at.
“I don’t dismiss them,” she said. “I want these places to thrive.”
Democratic-NPL Chair Adam Goldwyn said Christiansen is showing up and doing the work.
“She’s a serious candidate with serious ambitions and serious aspirations to actually do real work for the people of North Dakota,” he said. “Christiansen’s campaign is a campaign for the freedom of all Americans and all North Dakotans.”
He added that her campaign will likely help down-ballot races and the enthusiasm for voting this election. No Dem-NPL candidates were eliminated in the June primary by not having enough votes, and the party has fielded candidates in 80% of legislative races this year.
“I think that she’s showing us all the way forward for all of our down-ballot candidates, driving up enthusiasm and volunteers and money for every candidate,” Goldwyn said.
Christiansen is preparing to debate Cramer on Oct. 2 on Prairie Public. In August, the candidates debated on Forum Communications columnist Rob Port’s “Plain Talk” podcast,
discussing issues from border security to the Farm Bill.
She also acknowledged that there are many hurdles for any Democratic candidate running for a statewide office. A Democratic candidate hasn’t served in a statewide office since Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who lost to Cramer in 2018. Regardless, Christiansen wants people to think about what Cramer has actually accomplished when in office.
“He is incapable of figuring out how to tie things back and then push something out,” Christiansen said. “I’m not saying that he’s a bad politician. He’s just not a problem solver.”
Voigt covers government in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.
GRAND FORKS — A North Dakota composer’s dream is turning into a statewide invitation.
Williston-based musician Emily Black-Driscoll was chosen as the North Dakota Music Teachers Association’s commissioned composer for 2026. She’s preparing an original composition that will premiere in August.
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North Dakota
Challengers declare victory after ND Supreme Court rules against Legislature’s attempt to alter term limits
BISMARCK — A constitutional ballot measure to amend the state’s term limits law as proposed by the Legislature will not appear on November’s ballot, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday, siding with petitioners who argued the Legislature exceeded its authority and violated the state constitution in proposing the changes.
“The people’s voice was heard,” Grand Forks County Commissioner Terry Bjerke said in reaction to the news.
Bjerke was a member of the sponsoring committee behind the successful 2022 effort to pass a term limits initiative, which amended the state constitution by capping legislative term limits to eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. The amendment, which became article XV of the state constitution, also included a clause barring the Legislature from making constitutional changes to term limits.
During the 2025 session, however, lawmakers narrowly approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 4008, in which the legislature proposed Constitutional Measure 1, a ballot measure to amend the term limits language to allow legislators to decide in which chamber they want to serve their 16 years, and to repeal the clause limiting the legislative assembly’s authority to propose an amendment to alter or repeal term limits.
Bjerke and former Minot legislator Oley Larsen brought the lawsuit challenging the validity of the Legislature’s action in January, and the state Supreme Court
heard oral arguments in the case
this spring.
“Those term limits may only be altered by a measure proposed by the people rather than the Legislative Assembly. And yet a few years later, the Legislative Assembly is doing what they are prohibited from doing,” attorney Zachary Wallen argued on Bjerke and Larsen’s behalf.
Tanner Ecker / The Bismarck Tribune
The Legislature’s attorneys argued the clause prohibiting legislative proposals to alter the constitutional term limits language “infringes on our republican form of government” by “limiting the people’s ability to vote on amendments proposed by their elected officials.”
Justice Jon Jensen seemed skeptical of that argument during the April 2 hearing, questioning whether a second vote was appropriate.
“The public did speak on this. The public spoke on it when it passed the original constitutional amendment and they said, ‘Legislature, you don’t even get to propose a change.’ They have already spoken on it,” Jensen said. “You want a second shot, or a second bite at the apple, not a first one, a second.”
In Thursday’s ruling, all five justices sided with Bjerke and Larsen.
“We … conclude the Legislative Assembly’s adoption of S.C.R. 4008 violated N.D. Const. art. XV … and declare S.C.R. 4008 and Constitutional Measure 1 void … We enjoin the Secretary of State from placing Constitutional Measure 1 on the November 2026 general election ballot,” the ruling said.
Bjerke thanked the legal team that worked on behalf of their lawsuit, and said he was grateful the court reached the conclusion it did.
“I’m thrilled that what the people voted on and approved has been validated,” Bjerke said.
He added that the Legislature had “multiple opportunities” to address term limits prior to 2022’s initiated measure and chose not to, and gave a nod to the country’s coming milestone and the process by which voters expressed their support for term limits.
“We’ve lasted 250 years,” Bjerke said. “I have two words for those elected leaders who think they aren’t: everyone’s replaceable.”
North Dakota
Fargo woman convicted in North Dakota fraud case now faces charges in Minnesota: A deeper dive
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A North Dakota woman who was sentenced to 180 days in jail in Cass County for defrauding healthcare providers and Medicaid programs is now facing additional fraud charges in Minnesota.
Christine Marie Pryor, 55, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to theft by deception involving more than $50,000. She was sentenced to first serve 180 days with a 3-year sentence suspended. She received credit for 44 days already served.
Pryor was ordered to pay $82,584.78 in restitution to Southeast Human Services in Fargo, where she worked between 2018 and 2019.
How the scheme unfolded
According to court documents, Pryor worked at multiple healthcare facilities in North Dakota and Minnesota between 2018 and 2023, using the identities and credentials of three licensed professionals without their knowledge. She submitted fraudulent Capella University diplomas and transcripts to gain employment.
Investigators say Pryor admitted she searched state licensing websites for therapists who shared her first name, then used those therapists’ last names and license numbers when applying for jobs.
At Southeast Human Services, where she worked as a Licensed Addiction Counselor, Pryor earned $55,584.82 while providing therapy services to approximately 150 patients. She also opened her own counseling center, NIAM Brain Injury Center, in Fargo between 2020 and 2021, and worked at The Lotus Center in Moorhead, Minnesota, from 2021 to 2023.
Court documents say the three licensed professionals whose identities were used told investigators they had no knowledge of Pryor’s actions and did not give her permission to use their information.
Two additional charges against Pryor in North Dakota, unauthorized use of personal identifying information, were dismissed on motion of the state.
Additional charges in Minnesota
Pryor is also facing charges in Minnesota. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Tuesday charges against Pryor in Clay County District Court for six theft offenses and six identity theft offenses related to defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program of more than $150,000.
According to the Minnesota complaint, Pryor claimed to provide psychotherapy and alcohol and drug counseling services to Medicaid recipients despite having no license or credentials to do so. Prosecutors allege she used the credentials and identities of three licensed professionals while claiming to provide Medicaid-funded services to 169 clients.
The Minnesota charges were filed as part of National Health Care Fraud Takedown Day, a joint effort involving the Department of Justice and more than 40 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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