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Supreme Court upholds North Dakota’s majority-Native legislative subdistricts • North Dakota Monitor

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Supreme Court upholds North Dakota’s majority-Native legislative subdistricts • North Dakota Monitor


The U.S. Supreme Court settled a North Dakota voting rights case Monday, leaving in place two majority-Native American subdistricts challenged as unconstitutional.

“I’m glad that it’s finally been resolved,” said Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille, a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation who represents one of the subdistricts. “It’s very important that we’re able to represent our needs at the table.”

The lawsuit, brought by two non-Native North Dakota residents, alleged that the subdistricts are racial gerrymanders — meaning the Legislature established them based predominantly on the racial makeup of their communities, rather than looking at other criteria like geography, population size or the political interests of residents. The plaintiffs argued the Legislature relied heavily on anecdotal evidence, not legitimate research, when it created the districts.

The plaintiffs claimed the subdistricts violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by strengthening the voting power of Native American residents at the expense of constituents who aren’t Native American.

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Native Americans gain representation in North Dakota Legislature as Republicans keep supermajority

The Legislature established the two subdistricts in 2021. District 4A follows the boundaries of the Fort Berthold Reservation, while District 9A includes the Turtle Mountain Reservation and some surrounding communities.

A three-judge district court panel found in 2023 that the map was constitutional.

The panel wrote that even if the Legislature did look to race when making the map, federal courts have previously found that states may consider race in a “narrowly tailored” capacity when drawing district lines to comply with the Voting Rights Act. 

Unsatisfied with that decision, the plaintiffs asked the U.S. Supreme Court to send the lawsuit back to a lower court for further proceedings, or to accept the case.

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The high court on Monday dismissed the appeal of District 9A and affirmed the district court’s decision on District 4A. The court did not explain its reasoning.

Robert Harms, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, called the decision disappointing.

“The troubling aspect of this whole case is that the North Dakota Legislature didn’t have in front of it any statistical analysis,” he said Monday.

The lawsuit was filed by Charles Walen and Paul Henderson, both of whom are former district chairs for the North Dakota Republican Party, Harms said. Walen last year successfully ran as a Republican for a District 4 state Senate seat. 

The boundaries of District 9A and District 9B changed for the 2024 election after a federal judge imposed a new map following a separate voting rights lawsuit brought by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. 

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The MHA Nation, Finley-DeVille and MHA citizen Cesar Alvarez joined Walen and Henderson’s lawsuit on the side of the state, arguing that the Legislature had gathered sufficient evidence to warrant the creation of the subdistricts.

That included testimony from tribal representatives, information about the use of subdistricts for Native American reservations in South Dakota and previous redistricting litigation, according to a brief filed by the MHA Nation, Finley-DeVille and Alvarez.

MHA Chairman Mark Fox testified during the redistricting process that candidates favored by Native residents of District 4 had been repeatedly defeated by the district’s white majority.

The plaintiffs disagreed. In one response, they argued that even before the subdistricts were created, voters in District 4 and District 9 were able to elect Native lawmakers to the Legislature, and that therefore the subdistricts are not necessary. The brief cites Rep. Dawn Charging and Sen. Richard Marcellais as two Indigenous lawmakers elected in District 4 and District 9, respectively.

The U.S. Department of Justice in a December brief advised the Supreme Court against considering the case.

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In an unusual move, North Dakota came out against the district court’s ruling, despite that the court had ruled in the state’s favor. In a memo filed this spring, the state said that the Legislature did not rely on race as a predominant factor in the redistricting process, and that the district court was wrong to rule that such behavior would be permissible in any circumstance. The state asked the Supreme Court to send the case back to district court for further proceedings.

“We said before and we maintain now that race was not the predominant motivator for the redistricting,” North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said Monday.

The Supreme Court has taken up two other voting rights cases challenging a majority-Black district in Louisiana as racial gerrymandering.

In a 2023 voting rights case, Allen v. Milligan, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Alabama had violated the Voting Rights Act when it created only one majority-Black district, finding that this unlawfully weakened the power of Black voters in the state.

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North Dakota

Runners will soon trek across North Dakota to bring awareness for families grieving the loss of a child – KVRR Local News

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Runners will soon trek across North Dakota to bring awareness for families grieving the loss of a child – KVRR Local News


FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — For more than 400 miles, 12 runners will trek across North Dakota to carry the stories of love, loss, and resilience from community to community.

“After having run Haven since 2017, the 10.15 Project came, and it just is so exciting because it’s really looking at pregnancy and infant loss and putting it in a new light. And really giving people the opportunity to do something that you can see and it’s meaningful,” said Jen Burgard, Founder and Executive Director of Haven.

The 10.15 Project was co-founded by Haven, an organization that supports grieving families. The relay begins on International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. And during the four days, the team hopes to bring awareness to families.

“It gives you pieces of solitude, of quiet, of reflection, and also a purpose. It gives you meaning, and I think endurance is one of the biggest pieces of this. It’s the endurance required to navigate pregnancy and infant loss is extreme. And I think this really mirrors that,” said Burgard.

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While many of the runners come from different fields, many have also experienced a loss themselves.

“When it happened in my family, it was kind of something we were all struck by. You realize how common it is. And you know, I want to bring light to that,” said Ty Casey, Runner and Learning and Development Specialist at TrueNorth Steel.

Casey has multiple runs planned over the next few months, but with this run in particular, he hopes this will bring awareness.

“If this is one thing that can help bring light to it and help people be more open and help people to talk about it, and take some of the grief away that would be totally ideal for us just to help out a little bit,” said Casey.

The relay begins on October 15 in Medora and will end on October 18th in Fargo.

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Behind the Badge – Spring Fever

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Spring Fever

District Game Warden Sam Feldmann

As winter begins to fade and ice fishing begins to slow, everyone gets the itch to be outside on nice days when it’s warming and the sun is shining. People are beginning to think about their garden or outdoor projects around the house they have been pondering all winter.

While others have been thinking about open water fishing, getting the boat ready, hitting the field to look for shed antlers in a favorite spot they’ve been watching deer all winter, or slipping into the field to lure a spring gobbler into shotgun range with a new call they’ve been practicing with all winter.

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With the excitement of warm weather and getting out to enjoy everything a spring day has to offer, I would like to remind everyone of a few things while enjoying what North Dakota has to offer.

This year is a registration year for all motorized watercrafts. This doesn’t just mean you have to renew your registration. It means that when you get the new red stickers sporting “28” on them that they must be affixed to both sides of the bow of the boat.

Another reminder is that if you are going shed hunting, there are a few things to remember. Shed antlers are legal to possess. This time of year, our officers receive lots of calls about shed hunters locating “dead heads,” which are animals that have died and the antlers are still attached to the skull plate.

If you happen to locate a dead head, you cannot possess it without contacting your local game warden and receiving a permit for the animal. Also, if you are going to shed hunt on posted private property or a Private Lands Opens To Sportsmen tract, you need to obtain permission to do so. Wildlife management areas and other state and federal lands are open to shed hunting, but a good rule of thumb is to check the regulations on public property before heading out.

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If you are going to be chasing turkeys this spring through the timber, there are a few things that should be remembered. Make sure you have your tag with you when you are in the field. Remember that your tag is only legal for one bearded wild turkey. If you are lucky enough to harvest a turkey you fooled into coming to your calling and decoy, you must tag it before doing anything else.

One last reminder for the spring activities. Remember that all licenses, whether it’s a hunting license or fishing license, expired March 31 and needed to be renewed as of April 1, 2026

With these few reminders out of the way, remember to have fun and enjoy what the great state of North Dakota has to offer.



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Retired Game & Fish Director facing new charge of molesting a child – KVRR Local News

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Retired Game & Fish Director facing new charge of molesting a child – KVRR Local News


MANDAN, N.D. (KVRR-KFGO) – Former North Dakota Game & Fish Director Terry Steinwand has been charged with molesting a child.

The Class “A” misdemeanor was filed after a Morton County District Court judge rejected a proposed plea agreement to a felony charge and prosecutors dismissed the charge while retaining the right to file an amended charge.

Steinwand is from Mandan. The 72-year-old is now charged with one count of sexual assault-offensive contact. The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail.

Steinwand was originally charged in September, 2025, when police say he admitted to sexual misconduct.

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Steinwand worked for the Game & Fish Dept. for 40 years. He led the agency for about 15 years and retired in 2021.





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