North Dakota
Letter: To put North Dakota first, we’re holding China and Russia accountable
When President Trump says we will no longer tolerate foreign “pollution havens” where jobs are offshored, North Dakota knows exactly what the challenge is. This session our Legislature adopted
House Concurrent Resolution 3009
by unanimous voice vote, telling Washington to stop giving foreign polluters a free pass and start standing up for American workers. No nation on Earth produces energy or manufactures goods as cleanly as the United States, yet we keep letting countries China flood our markets with dirt-cheap products made with abysmal standards. That ends when we put America first.
Our economy is 44% more carbon-efficient than the world average, and private-sector innovation (specifically, natural gas and oil development) has helped the United States cut more emissions over the last 15 years than any other country. Meanwhile, Beijing pumps out a third of the planet’s pollution—more than the entire Western world combined—and does it with Communist Party subsidies, stolen technology, and zero regard for basic environmental or labor standards. A widget made in China spews three times the pollution of one made here; Russian goods are even worse. Yet 75% of what we import comes from high-polluting nations that laugh at rules we take seriously.
North Dakotans feel that unfairness implicitly with the sense that we are getting ripped off. Main Street producers know it explicitly, when federal regulators lock up our public lands, block pipelines, and slow-walk permits. Our communities feel it personally when this strips potential billions of dollars from our schools and roads. So why are we forcing the nation to import over 80% of its critical minerals—minerals we could mine right here?
This Resolution demands trade policy that punishes global polluters and rewards American excellence. If China or any other country wants the immense privilege of access to the world’s greatest consumer market, they should meet our standards, or pay a penalty that erases their dirty subsidy. That kind of trade policy would level the playing field, bring supply chains back home, and create good-paying jobs in rural America instead of mega factories in Xinjiang.
China has been waging a trade war for decades with stolen patents, state-owned industry, and environmental cheating. Trump is thankfully addressing that with his America First trade agenda. North Dakota is calling for that to be made more targeted, hitting our competitors where it hurts. We also want to make trade policy durable, with action in Congress, so businesses can predictably know that they will benefit from—not be punished for—doing business cleaner, here in the United States.
HCR 3009 now heads to every member of our congressional delegation. North Dakota has charted a course that aligns perfectly with Trump’s agenda: secure our supply chains, crush foreign pollution cheats, and put American workers back in the driver’s seat of the global economy. Now it’s up to Republicans in Washington and Trump to get the job done.
Rep. Jeremy Olson, R-Arnegard, serves in North Dakota’s House of Representatives.
North Dakota
Bankruptcies for North Dakota and western Minnesota published July 4, 2026
Filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court
North Dakota
Louis Michel Poeltl, Grand Forks, Chapter 13
Kaylen Rae Stanleyu, formerly known as Kaylen Bahl, Fargo, Chapter 7
Michelle Vasicek, formerly doing business as Luna Wolf Sales, Fargo, Chapter 7
Justin David Scheidt, Bismarck, Chapter 7
Barrett Van Wagner, Dickinson, Chapter 7
Carolyn Williams, Bismarck, Chapter 7
John Todd Ukkelberg, West Fargo, Chapter 7
Natasha Anne Lafrenz, Bismarck, Chapter 7
Daniel Peter Binstock Jr., Bismarck, Chapter 7
Rodney Nelson, Reeder, Chapter 7
Shawn Solberg, Dickinson, Chapter 7
Kansas Aime Yankton, also known as Kansas Cavanaugh, Devils Lakes, Chapter 7
Erica Lynn Truhlicka, Fargo, Chapter 7
Stephanie Renee Hagerott, formerly known as Renee Hehn, Bismarck, Chapter 7
Nathan Thomas Schneider, Lignite, Chapter 7
Daniel Scott Diehl, Dickinson, Chapter 7
Wayne Rynart Courchene, Williston, Chapter 13
David Emil Raymond, Grand Forks, Chapter 7
Krista Renee Reed, West Fargo, Chapter 7
Travis Cecil Tharp, Williston, Chapter 7
Tyrell Michael Ledoux, Bismarck, Chapter 7
William Joseph Horneman, Merrill, Wis., Chapter 13
Kaleb James Brockman, Gwinner, Chapter 7
Edgardo Luis Torres-Rivera, Williston, Chapter 7
Minnesota
Bankruptcy filings from the following counties: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Norman, Otter Tail, Polk, Traverse, Wadena and Wilkin.
Alexander Rudkowski, New York Mills, Chapter 7
Brandon Nash and Kayla Lynne Korn, Alexandria, Chapter 7
Ronald G. and Cindy Jo Schmitz, formerly known as Cindy Mills, formerly doing business as Crystal Rock Healing, Pelican Rapids, Chapter 7
Michael James Jordan, formerly known as Michael James Block-Jordan, and Christina Rose Jordan, Wadena, Chapter 7
Darren Michael McClure, Alexandria, Chapter 7
Steven Madrid Torres, Perham, Chapter 7
Chapter 7 is a petition to liquidate assets and discharge debts.
Chapter 11 is a petition for protection from creditors and to reorganize.
Chapter 12 is a petition for family farmers to reorganize.
Chapter 13 is a petition for wage earners to readjust debts.
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.
North Dakota
1 dead in southwestern North Dakota crash Friday
BOWMAN COUNTY, N.D. — A 67-year-old Bowman, North Dakota, man is dead following a crash in southwestern North Dakota Friday morning, July 3.
According to a North Dakota Highway Patrol news release, at approximately 8:45 a.m. Friday, a 2019 Dodge Ram 1500, driven by the Bowman man, was traveling westbound on Highway 12 near mile marker 30, west of Bowman. The man experienced a suspected medical incident, causing the vehicle to leave the roadway to the left and enter the south ditch, the release said.
The vehicle continued westbound through the ditch, where the front of the vehicle struck a tree. After the impact, the vehicle traveled onto a gravel frontage road before coming to rest in the ditch. The man was transported by Bowman Ambulance Service to Bowman Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The man was wearing his seat belt.
The crash remains under investigation by the North Dakota Highway Patrol.
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.
North Dakota
Pembina bridge closure, causing headaches for community members, close to short-term solution
PEMBINA, N.D. — The closure of the Stutsman Street bridge has put some residents in Pembina out of reach of certain recreation spots. Timelines for bridge construction remain unclear as proposals for temporary fixes have been denied by the North Dakota Department of Transportation, but a Wednesday, July 1, meeting has brought some clarity to the issue.
The bridge has been out since early June. Mainly, the Pembina Golf Course has seen its business suffer due to children and local members being unable to access the course. John Feldman, treasurer of the Pembina Golf Course, calls the bridge a “lifeline to part of the city,” and its complete closure has been causing problems.
“All of our young kids that we’re trying to groom into golfers are not golfing anymore. Our locals that used to drive their golf carts across the bridge can’t do that anymore. So, business is down immensely,” Feldman said.
Feldman is part of a committee formed to work to get the bridge opened temporarily to pedestrians and carts. The committee has expressed its concerns with the city and city leaders are hoping to meet with NDDOT to address those concerns.
The Pembina City Council has been discussing the bridge and has made efforts to get in contact with NDDOT. Council President Connor Snitker told the Herald the NDDOT reached out to the city and a special council session took place Wednesday night with NDDOT present.
In an effort to find a temporary solution, city engineers had previously inspected the bridge to confirm the original findings and put forth a proposal to open the north half of the bridge to a weight-bearing capacity of one ton or less. That proposal, along with an alternative, was originally denied by NDDOT, but at Wednesday’s meeting, NDDOT said it would review federal regulations to find a temporary solution for pedestrians.
“We’re still running down every alternative path we can right now, trying to figure out if there’s a way to reclassify the bridge or do something that would allow us to have flexibility to at least have it operating at our temporary capacity,” Snitker said.
The DOT says the critical issues with the bridge make a temporary solution for pedestrians a challenge, but language in those regulations will be reviewed. A solution could be found as soon as this weekend.
“Late Tuesday night we received word from the Federal Highway Administration that there was an option we could pass along to the city and I think that went over well,” engineer Derek Pfeifer said. “We’ve been working really hard to find a short-term solution for them to at least allow pedestrians to cross the bridge.”
A load analysis was expected to be done Thursday to assess whether pedestrians would be able to cross. NDDOT remains adamant that only pedestrians would be allowed access with a temporary solution, and golf carts would still be unable to access the bridge.
“As long as the bridge meets a certain standard, it could open to pedestrians,” Snitker said. “It’s a step in the right direction.”
Main issues with the bridge are spalling — or flaking of surface materials — found under the load bearings, stress cracks and splitting in some of the pedestals above the columns. At the east end of the bridge, there has been five inches of movement toward the south. As the bridge moved, it sheared the anchor rods.
Before the bridge’s closure, children would regularly play the course. Easy bridge access allowed for some to even come to the course twice in a day. Now, a six-mile detour has seen that business go away.
The detour makes its way through gravel roads, which is prohibitive to golf carts and those who were walking to the course.
“We need the bridge open, not just for the golf course, but for the kids to come and play in the playground over there to play baseball,” Feldman said. “It’s really a livelihood over there for the kids and for adults.”
Looking ahead to a permanent resolution to the bridge, Pfeifer and NDDOT are looking to the city and county to come to a decision in order for them to determine the next steps.
“Do they want to fix it? Do they want to replace it?” he said. “A structural engineer will need to do an analysis of those findings that were there and what kind of effort it’s going to take to fix it. So at this point, it’s up to the city and county to determine how they want to move forward.”
Digital Content Producer and Sports Reporter at the Grand Forks Herald since December of 2020. Maxwell can be contacted at mmarko@gfherald.com.
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