WASHINGTON, D.C. — North Dakota organizations have submitted letters of support for a federal bill that would improve veterans’ access to local health care options, which has been examined by the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

The bill – the Critical Access for Veterans Care Act – from Sen. Kevin Cramer and Sen. Tim Sheehy would allow veterans living in the rural United States to seek health care services at their local critical access hospitals or rural health clinics, a press release said.

“The Community Care program literally can be a lifeline,” said Cramer, R-N.D. “(What) prevents it from being a lifeline as often as it ought to be is all of the roadblocks that get put up. After hearing from veterans and rural health care providers and leaders across North Dakota, I proposed a solution with Sen. Sheehy to simplify access to the critical access network, whether it’s a critical access hospital (or) rural health clinic.”

Cramer and Sheehy’s (R-Mont.) bill would amend the VA (Veterans Affairs) MISSION Act of 2018 to make a new category under which “care is required to be furnished through community providers, specifically for care sought by a veteran residing within 35 miles of the critical access hospital or rural health clinic,” the release said.

The release also said a number of veterans live in rural areas and face major challenges to accessing timely and quality health care. In North Dakota, there are 37 critical access hospitals, but only five of those communities housing them also have a VA community-based outpatient clinic. The state has one VA medical center in Fargo and eight community-based outpatient clinics in total.

The bill has received letters of support from the North Dakota Rural Health Association and a coalition of 22 North Dakota rural health care providers, the release said, who wrote that the legislation will offer a streamlined and practical approach building on existing infrastructure and recognized designations in rural health care. The American Hospital Association, America’s Warrior Partnership and the National Rural Health Association have also voiced support for the bill.

Another letter of support for the bill has come from Marcus Lewis, CEO of the North Dakota Veteran and Critical Access Hospital. A veteran himself, he said he lives more than three hours from the nearest VA hospital and works two hours away from it. However, there are three community health care facilities within 50 miles of his home.

“Despite the availability of this high quality local care, I am currently paying out of pocket for needed therapy because accessing services through the Community Care Network has proven prohibitively difficult,” he wrote.

Cramer said the VA system gives veterans less access to care that is readily available, and the goal of the bill is to give rural veterans access to their local critical access hospitals without strings attached.

“I worry if the bill is watered down, quite honestly, that we turn the authority back over to the bureaucracy to decide,” he said.

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CANFIELD, Ohio (WJW) – Nobody took home the massive Powerball jackpot on Wednesday, but one Canfield man is still celebrating after purchasing a winning ticket worth $50,000.

According to Ohio Lottery, Bryan decided to try his luck after realizing the Powerball jackpot was over $1 billion. He bought a ticket from the Meijer grocery store on Boardman-Canfield Road in Boardman.

The next morning, Bryan woke up and checked the ticket, stunned to discover that he won $50,000.

After mandatory state and federal taxes, the lucky winner will take home more than $36,000.

Bryan told lottery officials that he doesn’t have specific plans for money yet, but the big win will certainly make for “a very good Christmas.”

It has been months since someone won the Powerball jackpot, which now sits at a massive $1.5 billion. There is also a cash option worth $689.3 million up for grabs.

The next drawing will be Saturday night at 11 p.m. Learn more about the Powerball right here.

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Two people licensed to practice medicine in South Dakota have received official reprimands for unprofessional conduct.

The South Dakota Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners took the actions against Phinit Phisitkul, a foot and ankle surgeon for CNOS in Dakota Dunes, and Sheena Rippentrop, an OB/GYN who specializes in reproductive medicine for Sanford Health.

The South Dakota reprimands came after Phisitkul was officially punished by the Iowa Board of Medicine and after Rippentrop was officially punished by the North Dakota Board of Medicine.

Phisitkul admitted that he sexually harassed a medical student in 2017 while he was employed by the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where he practiced for 10 years.

Phisitkul agreed in a May 16, 2025, settlement with the Iowa board to take “live Board-approved courses on the subjects of professional boundaries and medical ethics,” have “a chaperone present during all examinations and consultations with female patients” for one year, and to pay a $2,500 civil penalty to the Iowa state treasurer.

Phisitkul signed a separate settlement agreement with the South Dakota board on June 26, 2025, and the board voted to accept it on September 11, 2025.

Rippentrop, meanwhile, was reprimanded by the South Dakota board earlier this year for “falsely documenting in a patient’s medical records that two IUI procedures were performed on the patient.”

The North Dakota medical board opened an investigation of Rippentrop in 2024 and considered an official complaint alleging that Rippentrop “falsely documented in a patient’s medical records that two intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedures were performed when Dr. Rippentrop did not complete an IUI on either occasion.”

The North Dakota complaint specifically said:

“(Rippentrop) established a physician patient relationship with Patient A. Patient A carried
the BRCA2 gene and wanted to proceed with in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, Patient A’s insurance required that Patient A go through three intrauterine inseminations (IUI) before
insurance would cover IVF. (Rippentrop) saw Patient A on August 17, 2024, and September 23,
2024 for an intrauterine insemination (IUI). On both dates, (Rippentrop) documented in Patient A’s chart that the IUI procedure was done without difficulty even though (Rippentrop) did not complete the IUI on either occasion.”

Rippentrop signed a stipulation on October 29, 2024, agreeing “the allegations in the Complaint are true and are grounds for disciplinary action by the North Dakota Board of Medicine.” The North Dakota board on January 31, 2025, approved its order that Rippentrop receive a reprimand.

The South Dakota board in turn approved its reprimand of Rippentrop on June 12, 2025.

Neither Rippentrop nor Phisitkul appeared at their hearings held by the South Dakota board.