North Dakota
Arkansas professor makes case for school choice in North Dakota
FARGO — A professor of education policy says North Dakota is “ready to pop” when it comes to adopting a private “school choice” program.
Patrick Wolf, with the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, spoke about “School Choice in North Dakota” at North Dakota State University on Friday, Nov. 1.
He was a guest of the Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth as part of a fall speakers series.
Wolf said 34 states have implemented some form of private school choice, including Montana, South Dakota and Minnesota.
“There’s one state there, North Dakota, that is a bit of a donut hole,” Wolf told the audience, as he referred to a map on a projected screen.
But he predicts the state won’t be an “outlier” for long.
Anna Paige / The Forum
The North Dakota House put forward a bill in 2023 to offset costs of private school tuition,
but Gov. Doug Burgum vetoed it and an attempt to overturn the veto failed.
House Bill 1532 would have set aside $10 million from the state’s general fund for an educational reimbursement program.
Wolf said Burgum’s inability to get a school choice program passed during his eight years as governor of a red state hurt the governor’s efforts to become presidential nominee Donald Trump’s choice as vice president.
“That was a strike against him,” Wolf said of the governor.
In Burgum’s veto message at the time, he said while his administration supports school choice, the bill was not the comprehensive solution needed and it fell short especially for rural areas far from any existing nonpublic schools.
In opposing the bill at the time,
Nick Archuleta, president of North Dakota United,
said it was about using taxpayer dollars to allow private schools to choose the students they want to educate.
He also said rural schools would end up “subsidizing private education for urban families.”
Kirsten Baesler, who is running for a fourth term as superintendent of public instruction, has said North Dakota should not fund school choice programs at the expense of public schools.
“This cannot be an either-or conversation,”
Baesler said in an interview last month with the North Dakota Monitor.
School choice programs come in four forms, Wolf said: school vouchers, tax credit scholarships, individual tax credits and education savings accounts, or ESAs.
South Dakota and Montana both have tax credit scholarships, with the latter also offering ESAs, while Minnesota has an individual tax credit to benefit parents who self-fund their child’s private schooling, according to Wolf.
Tax credit scholarships were developed, he said, because some states have constitutional prohibitions against the government directly supporting religious organizations.
An ESA system, similar to a health savings account, would fit best in North Dakota, he said, because of its flexibility.
“They can accommodate rural areas that wouldn’t have a critical mass of students to go to a traditional private school, but also accommodate the existing private schools,” he added.
Wolf made a case for school choice by saying while the government has a responsibility to support every child’s education, it doesn’t have to control the delivery of education as a result.
He compared North Dakota to West Virginia, also a rural state with a handful of medium size cities, where an ESA program was adopted three years ago.
Based on the states’ similarities, he said it’s estimated North Dakota would have approximately 1,100 participants in an ESA program the first year, about 2,700 the second year and a little less than 5,000 the third year.
There would be net costs to the state the first two years, but by year three, Wolf said the state would get back $1.11 in savings for every dollar spent.
He also maintains his research and that of colleagues shows private school choice programs can boost high school graduation rates, thus leading to lifetime income and health benefits for those individuals and communities as a whole.
He also said studies indicate test scores of public school students go up when those public schools are pressured by the launch of a school choice program.
Two private school leaders attended Wolf’s presentation.
“He’s got a lot of evidence to put to bed some of the fears and misconceptions, stereotypes, of why we can’t possibly do school choice,” said Mike Hagstrom, president of JPII Catholic Schools.
Bob Otterson, president of Oak Grove Lutheran School, echoed that statement.
“What I think we heard today from Dr. Wolf is there’s actual research. It’s not just a feeling about what people have,” he said.
North Dakota
Found guilty of manslaughter: Dickinson man to spend only about four and a half more years in prison
DICKINSON — A 70-year-old Dickinson man
charged with murder in 2024
was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 years in prison after the charges against him were dropped to manslaughter. According to court documents, he will only be in custody for about four and a half more years.
Nine years were suspended from Jeffrey Powell’s sentence along with 532 days or about one and a half years for time already served.
Barring future developments, Powell will be incarcerated at the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for
the death of 59-year-old Christopher Volney Ische
for about four and a half more years.
That’s just months more than the four-year minimum sentence, according to the Stark County State’s Attorney Amanda Engelstad.
The initial incident happened on July 3, 2024. Police said the shooting, which resulted in Ische’s death, happened around 7 p.m. in a residential neighborhood in Dickinson after a verbal altercation. Police also said Powell had stayed on the scene of the shooting and talked with officers.
At the time of Powell’s arrest, police said they presumed Ische’s death was an isolated incident. He has been held at Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center (SWMCCC) since the incident with a $2 million bond.
Powell
was initially charged with a Class AA felony
, which could carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. On Tuesday, Dec. 16, Powell was found guilty of manslaughter of an adult victim, which is a Class B felony.
Powell pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge.
Engelstad said to The Press that the difference in charges was based on evidence presented in the trial and was an “appropriate resolution.”
Different sentencing rules applied to Powell, however, because of how North Dakota law interprets the use of a firearm in cases like this.
During the trial, the court found that Powell was a dangerous special offender pursuant to NDCC 12.1-32-09. This portion of North Dakota law allows the court to sentence above normal charges. In Powell’s case, a class B felony typically carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. With the dangerous special offender finding, the sentence can be a maximum of 20 years.
Engelstad said the State had argued for a sentence of 20 years.
“I’m disappointed in the outcome,” said Engelstad.
Additional terms of Powell’s sentence include five years’ supervised probation, along with no contact with the family of the deceased for the same length of time.
If Powell does not violate these terms, his probation will end in 2035. He is scheduled to be released from custody June 23, 2030.
A total of $775 in fees for Powell’s case, including criminal administration, facility admin and victim witness fees, were waived. He may be required to pay restitution. The State’s Attorney’s office has 60 days from the date of judgment to file an affidavit of restitution.
The view through a North Dakota Highway Patrol squad’s windshield. (Facebook)
(FOX 9) – Blizzard warnings are in for parts of both North and South Dakota, creating hazardous conditions for drivers on Thursday morning.
Blizzard warning in effect
What we know:
In North Dakota, the blizzard warning covers most of the northern two-thirds of the state, stretching into northwest Minnesota.
In South Dakota, the blizzard warning only covers three counties in the far northeast part of the state, including Day, Marshall, and Robert counties.
The National Weather Service is only forecasting between one and four inches of snow in North Dakota and two inches of snow in South Dakota, but whipping winds up to 70 miles per hour will greatly reduce visibility and cause damage to trees and power lines.
READ MORE: White-out conditions reported in NW Minnesota
What they’re seeing:
North Dakota Highway Patrol shared photos showing the blizzard conditions along Interstate 94 just east of Bismark. In the photos, it appears you can only see a few feet past the front bumper of the squad.
Another post shows snow whipping in the high winds in Grand Forks County. Troopers are urging residents to stay home in North Dakota if they are able.
Travel restrictions in place
Big picture view:
A travel alert is in effect for western parts of North Dakota while no travel is advised for central and eastern parts of the state. Troopers have restricted oversized loads from roads in the northwest and northeast regions of the state as of 5:30 a.m. and empty or light-loaded high-profile vehicles due to the high winds and icy conditions.
In South Dakota, officials warn that there are reports of multiple downed powerlines and trees blocking roadways. No travel is advised in Day and Marshall counties.
The Source: This story uses information from the North Dakota Highway Patrol and the National Weather Service.
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A 24-year-old suspect wanted on fraud charges in Florida was arrested in Bismarck following a multi-state investigation into alleged economic crimes targeting St. Lucie County, Florida residents in 2024.
Kylen Running Hawk was arrested on Tuesday, Dec. 16, by Bismarck authorities working with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. Running Hawk is being held at the Burleigh County Jail pending extradition to Florida.
Running Hawk faces three charges under Florida law:
- Fraud/swindle: Defrauding to obtain property valued at less than $20,000
- Fraud/impersonation: Use or possession of another person’s identification without consent
- Grand theft: Property valued at $750 or more but less than $5,000
Detective Cpl. Redler coordinated the cross-state apprehension, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Copyright 2025 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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