North Dakota
Men’s basketball: St. Thomas lives up to hype, rolls past North Dakota State
A matchup against a perennial Summit League power, a national cable television audience, and a sold-out crowd that included Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch and team president Tim Connelly.
There were a lot of reasons for St. Thomas freshman guard Nolan Minessale and his teammates to be excited Sunday afternoon, but the Tommies managed to keep their emotions in check and focus on the task at hand.
That composure paid off as St. Thomas jumped in front of North Dakota State early and never looked back, cruising to a 79-62 victory at Schoenecker Arena.
“There was a lot of hype around this game, but we went in with the mindset that every game is a big game for us,” said Minesalle, a graduate of Milwaukee’s Marquette University High School, who led St. Thomas with 23 points Sunday.
“We came out with a lot of energy, and that was the spark right away.”
The Tommies did indeed come out of the gates quickly, racing to a 24-8 lead with 11:50 to play in the first half. St. Thomas began the game 5 for 10 from behind the 3-point line, led by two from junior guard Kendall Blue.
NDSU, meanwhile, started just 2 for 8 (25 percent) from the field and turned the ball over four times, setting the stage for an afternoon when the Bison turned the ball over 15 times in all.
“Being in gaps early, rebounding and limiting them to one shot on each possession – I thought we did a good job of all that (Sunday),” said Blue, an East Ridge High School graduate who finished with 20 points.
The Tommies increased their lead to 45-26 at halftime, and to as much as 22 early in the second half. The Bison (16-8 overall, 5-4 Summit) did cut the gap to as little as 11 on a 3-pointer by junior guard Tajavis Miller with 3:02 remaining.
But that was as close as NDSU got.
“They played with great spirit and a lot of fire,” Bison coach David Richman said. “It was a tremendous atmosphere, and I think they got behind that.
“For lack of a better term, they overwhelmed us.”
With the victory, St. Thomas (18-6, 8-1 Summit) pulls back into a first-place tie with Omaha (14-10, 8-1 Summit) atop the conference standings. The Mavericks dealt the Tommies their only conference loss of the season, winning 89-78 on Jan. 23 in Omaha.
The two teams are scheduled to clash again on Feb. 15 in St. Paul.
“I don’t think we look at the standings much because then you’re worrying about things you can’t control,” said Tommies head coach Johnny Tauer, whose team is still in just its fourth season at the Division I level.
“But certainly, if you’d asked us three years ago where do you think you’re going to be, I don’t know that anybody would have predicted this. In the preseason, there were about 40 votes cast, and not one of them picked St. Thomas to win the conference. I don’t blame people, and we don’t use that as motivation. I just think this team is really good about taking it one game at a time.”
That approach proved successful Sunday in an atmosphere Tauer called electric.
“When you show up 90 minutes before the game, and there are students lined up outside the arena, I don’t remember that happening before,” said Tauer, whose team picked up its 15th straight home victory. “I think in some ways, this was sort of the culmination of what we’ve been trying to build.
“It’s certainly not an end point, but it’s one of those markers.”
Originally Published:
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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