Associated Press

Western Michigan Broncos (3-6) at North Dakota State Bison (9-4)

Fargo, North Dakota; Sunday, 2 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Bison -8.5; over/under is 144

BOTTOM LINE: North Dakota State hosts Western Michigan after Jacksen Moni scored 25 points in North Dakota State’s 91-62 win against the Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils.

The Bison have gone 4-1 at home. North Dakota State is fifth in the Summit League in rebounding averaging 33.7 rebounds. Noah Feddersen leads the Bison with 6.2 boards.

The Broncos are 1-4 on the road. Western Michigan ranks fourth in the MAC scoring 34.2 points per game in the paint led by Chansey Willis Jr. averaging 10.0.

North Dakota State averages 78.4 points, 7.8 more per game than the 70.6 Western Michigan allows. Western Michigan averages 72.0 points per game, 0.4 more than the 71.6 North Dakota State allows to opponents.

TOP PERFORMERS: Moni is averaging 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the Bison.

Markhi Strickland is averaging 13.2 points and 1.7 steals for the Broncos.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Associated Press

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Cam Miller threw a pair of touchdown passes to Bryce Lance and ran for another to lead North Dakota State over Mercer 31-7 on Saturday and into the FCS semifinals.

The second-seeded Bison (12-2), in their 15th straight FCS playoffs and winner of nine titles, will play No. 3 seed South Dakota State, a 55-14 winner over Incarnate Word. The Bison beat the Jackrabbits 13-9 during the regular season.

NDSU, SDSU and and fourth-seeded South Dakota tied for the Missouri Valley Conference title. South Dakota will play top-seeded Montana State in the other semifinal.

Miller was 16 of 25 for 259 yards passing though he was intercepted twice by Myles Redding. Miller passed Easton Stick (11,216) for the school career total yards record with 11,406 after rolling up 299 Saturday. Mekhi Collins had 119 yards receiving.

Whitt Newbauer was 8 of 18 for only 90 yards with a touchdown to Kelin Parsons and an interception for the seventh-seeded Bears (11-3), champions of the Southern Conference making their first quarterfinals appearance.

Miller hit Lance down the left side for a 40-yard touchdown and less than three minutes later tossed a 4-yard score to Lance for a 14-0 first-quarter lead, the latter TD coming after Collins went 70 yards on a catch-and-run.

Newbauer found Parsons in the end zone for a 38-yard score to trail 14-7 after one quarter.

Miller raced down the left sideline for a 34-yard score and Griffin Crosa added a 38-yard field goal in the final seconds of the first half to go up 24-7.

Barika Kpeenu scored from a yard out with two minutes remaining for the second-half’s only points.

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BISMARCK — The department that manages state lands and mineral rights in North Dakota has announced record monetary payouts to benefit education in the state.

Joseph Heringer, Trust Lands commissioner, said the Department of Trust Lands has laid out a historic $620 million in distributions for the 2025-2027 biennium, reflecting a significant increase in asset values.

“That ultimately goes to help education in the state, both at the K-through-12 level and at the university level,” he told The Forum.

When North Dakota was granted statehood in 1889, the state was granted acreage from the federal government.

The Board of University and School Lands is charged by the state constitution with overseeing management of those lands and mineral rights, Heringer said.

The board and Trust Lands staff manage assets that include more than 700,000 surface acres, 2.6 million mineral acres and 13 permanent trusts, all to generate revenue.

Through that management, asset integrity has been preserved while driving growth, leading to a 17% biennial increase in overall distributions to fund beneficiaries.

“Basically, they’re like endowments for the state,” Heringer said.

The record growth is due to a combination of factors, he said, including $2 billion in oil and gas royalties generated over the last five years from nearly 10,000 wells, agricultural rents, easement revenues and a diversified $7.4 billion investment portfolio.

The Common Schools Trust Fund, with a value of $7 billion, makes up the vast majority of that portfolio.

In the current biennium, the Common Schools Trust Fund is at $500 million, distributed by the Department of Public Instruction to schools according to the state school funding formula.

In the 2025-2027 biennium, that amount rises to nearly $585 million.

“These funds will continue to ensure that education in our state remains strong, now and for generations to come,” Heringer said.

Here’s the breakdown of how nearly $620 million in Trust Lands funds will be distributed to beneficiaries over the next two years:

• Common Schools Trust Fund (K-12 public education): $584,677,350
• North Dakota State University: $8,770,000
• University of North Dakota: $6,948,000
• Youth Correctional Center: $3,136,000
• State College of Science: $2,570,284
• School for the Deaf: $2,388,000
• State Hospital: $1,976,284
• School for the Blind: $1,936,284
• Valley City State University: $1,566,000
• Mayville State University: $1,102,000
• Veterans Home: $994,284
• Dickinson State University: $406,284
• Minot State University: $406,284
• Dakota College at Bottineau: $406,284

Huebner is a 35+ year veteran of broadcast and print journalism in Fargo-Moorhead.