North Dakota
North Dakota lawmaker introduces bill to invalidate certain out-of-state driver's licenses
BISMARCK — Out-of-state visitors to North Dakota may have to remember their passport or other identification beyond their driver’s license to drive through the state under a proposed bill.
House Bill 1501
would make driver’s licenses from states that issue them without requiring proof of citizenship invalid in North Dakota without a secondary form of identification that proves citizenship such as a passport, birth certificate or certificate of naturalization. This means those with a driver’s license from 19 states that do not require proof of citizenship to issue licenses could be charged with driving without a license if pulled over in North Dakota.
The bill is not intended to be a primary offense, according to the bill’s primary sponsor Rep. Keith Kempenich, R- Bowman, meaning law enforcement could only cite someone if they were pulled over for a separate offense.
Kempenich said the bill is in response to issues brought up in the last presidential race, specifically media attention surrounding claims of immigrants’ actions in Springfield, Ohio. He said driving is a privilege reserved for citizens.
“Other states are basically just flaunting — flaunting the idea that this is a privilege to have this,” Kempenich said. “And some of these states think that this is a good idea to just let whoever, basically get a driver’s license out of a Cracker Jack box.”
Members of the House Transportation Committee raised concerns over the hassle this would cause law-abiding citizens who come from these 19 states. The legislators said it is not common to have a passport or other secondary piece of identification on someone at all times.
“I mean, these are documents you usually have, you know, stored away somewhere safe until you need to produce them,” said Rep. Dan Ruby, R-Minot. “So that’s my only concern, is that — what we would be doing to legitimate populations that are traveling to our state that now are going to be considered guilty until proven innocent.”
Tanner Ecker / The Bismarck Tribune
Kempenich said the bill is designed to cause complications to start a conversation around other states’ decisions not to require proof of citizenship for driver’s licenses. He said, “it wouldn’t impact any North Dakotan” or any driver from the 31 states that require proof of citizenship to issue driver’s licenses.
There were questions raised about the bill’s constitutionality, with legislators concerned that it may violate the Interstate Commerce Clause. Kempenich said the clause only refers to citizens but recognized that the bill may spark a conversation about how to interpret the clause.
Cody Schuler, a lobbyist with the American Civil Liberties Union, said the bill is constitutionally suspect under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the Constitution, which requires states to recognize the legal documents and precedents from other states.
He also said that enforcement of the bill would be cumbersome, especially along the densely populated parts of the Minnesota border. Under this bill, some Minnesota driver’s licenses would be invalidated.
“This bill is troubling because (it) is blatantly anti-immigrant and does not seem to have any other purpose than to send a clear signal that immigrants are not welcome in North Dakota,” Schuler said in an email to the Tribune.
Ruby said he could not see voting for the bill as it currently stands, but would give Kempenich and the committee time to consider amendments that could make the bill viable.
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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