North Dakota
Port: Maybe don't spike the football on a man's grave
MINOT — State Rep. Josh Christy
tragically passed
away earlier this legislative session. Under state law, legislative vacancies are filled by an appointment made by the local political party the departed lawmaker belonged to.
Christy was a Republican, so last week the District 27 NDGOP
selected T.J. Brown
to replace Christy, and one MAGA-aligned group is declaring victory.
“We are proud to announce that TJ Brown has won the special election in North Dakota’s District 27!” an email sent out by former state Rep. Brandon Prichard states. The email was sent from Citizens Alliance of North Dakota. Prichard serves as the executive director of that group.
“Representative-Elect Brown will proudly serve the remainder of the 69th Legislative Session, bringing a strong voice for liberty to Bismarck.”
“This win is a testament to the power of grassroots support and the growing demand for leaders who put principle over politics,” the email continues. “We need more champions like TJ Brown standing tall for North Dakotans, and together, we’re making that happen.”
There are so many things wrong with this it’s hard to know where to begin.
The gleeful tone in the email is abhorrent given that Brown’s appointment to the Legislature was made possible by the death of a man who had a wife, children and friends who are still mourning him. The email even comes off as critical of Christy, making it seem as though he wasn’t a voice for liberty in Bismarck.
Certainly Christy’s
thoughtful and pragmatic approach to serving in the Legislature,
and his willingness to reach out and work with Democrats, are things Prichard and his ilk find objectionable, even if they’re the pillars of honorable public service. But that doesn’t justify spiking the football on the man’s grave.
Also, this was not a special election. It was an appointment. It’s understandable why Prichard might spin this that way given his abysmal track record as an activist. He, through Citizens Alliance, organized
a brutal smear campaign
against a slate of moderate Republican incumbents in last year’s primaries and mostly lost. Of the 18 candidates Prichard’s group endorsed in competitive Republican legislative primaries,
just four advanced to the general election.
Prichard also lost his own primary campaign.
Citizens Alliance of North Dakota is the local chapter of a national organization. The fundraising Prichard conducted was of dubious ethical founding. He raised funds for a federal political committee called the YR Victory Fund and distributed literature to contributors making it seem as though their donations would support the North Dakota Young Republicans group. But Prichard ultimately
transferred nearly all of the contributions
to the YR Victory Fund (outside of a payment for himself) to a separate federal committee he established for Citizens Alliance.
He then used that committee to campaign against incumbent lawmakers, prompting at least one contributor to
demand her money back.
I should note that I don’t know much about Brown. He may well be a fine choice to serve the people of District 27, but his affiliation with Prichard’s group — in so far as he’s signed a pledge of fealty to the group and its goals — doesn’t bode well.
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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