North Dakota
Bills seek to add protections for North Dakota renters • North Dakota Monitor
Lobbyists for the ACLU and North Dakota Apartment Association clashed over three bills that would provide North Dakota renters with more protections.
Three bills heard by the Senate Industry and Business Committee this week would provide renters protection from snowballing late fees, and empower the Department of Labor and Human Rights to investigate complaints against landlords. The department would also be able to take disciplinary action against a landlord for violations of North Dakota Century Code involving the leasing of property and eviction.
Cody Schuler, advocacy manager for ACLU of North Dakota, said 40% of renters in North Dakota are “cost burdened,” meaning those tenants tend to live paycheck-to-paycheck, spending more than 30% of their income on rent. He testified in support of all three bills.
“Individuals who are living on those margins, they live on the cusp of possibly becoming homeless,” Schuler said in an interview. “And when we look at the sheer volume of the cost of homelessness, and how to correct homelessness, it’s so much more financially responsible for everyone involved … to be able to prevent homelessness.”
Opposing all three bills, Jeremy Petron, lobbyist for the North Dakota Apartment Association, said a lot of the confusion over late fees stems from renters not reading their lease agreements, and landlords not explaining the lease and late fee processes well enough during the lease signing.
“I myself have been in the property management industry for 20 years, and the company that I work for, we communicate with our tenants and let them know … We don’t try to just automatically evict someone for just one late fee,” Petron said. “We’re going to work with them.”
All three bills were introduced by Sen. Ryan Braunberger, D-Fargo.
After the public hearing, Braunberger said he’s concerned that the committee didn’t seem receptive to his three bills.
“I think we need to make sure we’re looking at both sides,” Braunberger said. “We don’t necessarily want to punish good landlords, but we want to make sure we’re protecting good tenants too.”
Late rent payments and fees
Senate Bill 2235 would prioritize processing the payments of late rent first before late fees are processed, Braunberger said. By processing the late rent amount first, renters wouldn’t accrue as many additional late fees.
Schuler shared a story with lawmakers about a Fargo resident who lost his minimum wage job and needed rental assistance to cover a late payment and fees. The renter thought the full amount had been paid but received a three-day eviction notice after the additional late fees were processed before the late rental payment, leaving an unpaid balance.
“The fact of the matter is, he wouldn’t have even needed this assistance had this law been in place,” Schuler said.
Multiple senators on the committee questioned whether the new payment priority changes would incentivize tenants not paying any late fees.
Petron said the payment of late rent and fees is spelled out in the rental agreement, so both the renter and the landlord are on the same page.
The late fees could still be recouped by the landlord through an itemized deduction from the tenant’s security deposit after they move out, he said.
Senate Bill 2236 would cap the amount landlords can charge in late fees at 8% of the rent, Braunberger said.
“This basically will address issues regarding compounded fees,” he said. Landlords wouldn’t be able to keep adding late fees for each day or week that a payment is late unless the total fees are under 8% of the rent for the month.
Another supporter of all three bills, Kaden Felch, a fair housing specialist with the High Plains Fair Housing Center, said late fees can range from $10 to $100 with fees being added until the rent is paid in full.
“Large and accumulating late fees can set renters back for months, leading to eviction or lead to large bills that may stay with them for a long time and prevent renters from finding stable housing in the future,” Felch said. “This cap will just allow more flexibility for North Dakotans who may not have as much expendable income as others.”
Petron said the bill was essentially “price fixing” what landlords can charge for late rent payments.
“A property owner’s costs associated with operating and maintaining a property aren’t fixed and can fluctuate,” Petron said.
Investigations of complaints
Senate Bill 2237 would empower the Department of Labor and Human Rights to be able to investigate complaints against landlords and take disciplinary action against a landlord found to be in violation of state law.
Schuler said North Dakota doesn’t have a clear pathway for a state agency to address landlord-tenant disputes outside of the courtroom. During North Dakota eviction proceedings in 2022, he said landlords retained legal representation in 98% of all eviction cases and tenants were represented by attorneys in only 1% of cases, according to the Legal Services Corp.
“When we get into this place where 40% of North Dakota renters are considered cost-burdened, it’s unlikely that those individuals would have, or be able to afford, legal counsel,” Schuler said.
Zachary Greenberg, interim commissioner for the Department of Labor and Human Rights, asked lawmakers to recommend a “do not pass” on the bill due to the department’s jurisdictional, legal and administrative concerns.
He added the department doesn’t license or register landlords in the state and disciplinary actions needed to address complaints would focus on the license they don’t issue. He said other industries have their own licensing boards that can issue disciplinary actions against their membership.
“This bill grants the labor commissioner enforcement powers that do not align with existing regulatory frameworks, raising legal and procedural concerns,” Greenberg said.
He said the investigative burdens on the department would be large and require “substantial new resources.” Greenberg said the department’s estimate of about $750,000 per biennium needed to implement any sort of landlord-tenant program was very conservative.
After the hearing, Schuler said federal fair housing laws don’t address business practices, which is what the three bills are attempting to address.
No action was taken by the committee on the bills after the public hearing.
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Vernon Dale Krause, 93, of Fargo, ND, formerly of Wahpeton, ND, passed away peacefully on Friday, July 10, 2026, at Heather’s House in Fargo, ND, under the care of HIA Hospice.
A Celebration of life will be held on Monday, July 20, 2026, at Vertin-Munson Funeral Home, Wahpeton. Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., followed by a service at 10:00 a.m., with burial immediately following at Fairview Cemetery in Wahpeton.
Vern was born on February 16, 1933, in rural Wyndmere, ND, one of eleven children born to Theodore and Ella (Rohl) Krause. He grew up in Wyndmere and attended Wyndmere Public School, where he left his studies behind to volunteer for the United States Army. Vern proudly served from 1953 to 1956 before transferring to the Army Reserves. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and, throughout his life, carried great pride in his years of military service.
He married Jean (Carey) Krause, and together they built a life and raised their family in Wahpeton, where he would spend most of his years. They were blessed with two children. In his later years, after developing severe dementia, Vernon moved to Fargo so he could receive the care he needed and be closer to family.
For 41 years, he worked for the City of Wahpeton Water & Sewer Department, where he was highly regarded and known for knowing every inch of the city like the back of his hand. Even after retirement, he continued to volunteer his time and expertise whenever the City needed him. Among the accomplishments he was most proud of were his early years helping develop the Chahinkapa Zoo.
Above all, he cherished his family. He loved anything to do with his grandchildren — from crafting chairs out of tree trunks and splitting wood, to watching their sporting events and helping them grow into who they were meant to be. His great-grandchildren were a true blessing to him — even if their energy made him a little nervous, he always looked forward to their visits. His nieces and nephews brought him great joy as well especially in his later years and he loved being an uncle to them. When his brother Leyone “Spud” moved to town, Vern couldn’t wait to deliver him the daily newspaper and share a chat. He loved tinkering in the garage, always engineering new ways to drain water, and he was the biggest Green Bay Packers fan around — proud to call himself a team shareholder. After moving to Fargo, Vernon was grateful for the time he was able to spend with his sister, Carole Jean, who had always been his protector.
Vernon will be remembered for his steady hands, his quiet devotion to family and community, and the example he set of showing up — for his country, for his city, and most of all, for the people he loved. He will be deeply missed.
Vern is survived by his son, Mark Krause, Fargo; two sisters-in-law, Priscilla Krause and Donna Krause; two brothers-in-law, Ron Carey and Don Carey; eight grandchildren, Carey, Danielle, Margo, Jodi, Nikki, Kevin, Brad and Tracee; 13 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Jean Krause; his daughter, Deb Christopher; five brothers, Alfred, Donald, Willard, Kenneth and Leyone Krause; five sisters, Dorothy Peterson, Loretta Dable, LaVelle Odegard, Lucille Kruchek and Carole Jean Johnson-Bohlken; sisters-in-law, Viola Krause, Marleen Krause, Amy Carey and Linda Carey; brothers-in-law, Elroy Odegard, Robert Johnson, Willis Bohlken, Pete Peterson, Johnny Kruchek and Frank Dable; granddaughter, Robyn Krause; and grandson, Jack Bollman.
GRAFTON, N.D. — Two North Dakota men are speaking out about a 38-year-long alleged mistake that altered their entire lives.
The men and their families are suing Unity Medical Center in Grafton, saying the hospital is responsible for
switching them at birth in 1988
. The hospital denies the allegations.
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There are moments that remind us exactly who we are as a community, and the recent fire at Antelope Creek Bar and Grill in Mooreton was one of them. Many already know the awful loss that unfolded. It was a brutally hot day, the kind where the sun feels heavy and the air is so thick, and social media quickly filled with photos, videos, and comments documenting the devastation. Heartbreaking. Gut‑wrenching. A place that held memories for so many suddenly only visions smoke and charred remains.
But even in the middle of all that loss, something else rose up, something that always seems to show itself around here when life gets hard. Kindness. Pure, steady kindness.
The volunteer firefighters were the first reminder. They never cease to amaze me. They drop everything … work, family, whatever they were in the middle of and suit up in layers of gear despite the heat and humidity. They’re regular people with regular jobs, yet they show up like it’s the most natural thing in the world. No spotlight. No applause. Just service. Just heart.
Then came the folks who arrived with water, Gatorade, and anything they could think of to help ease the burden of those battling the blaze. Nobody organized it. Nobody asked. They simply showed up because that’s what people do here. That alone would have been enough to warm my heart.
But it didn’t stop there.
As the day went on, I saw posts from other regional businesses, specifically other bar and grills, reaching out with messages of support. These are places that could easily be seen as competition, yet there they were, offering help, extending care, and standing shoulder to shoulder with the owners who had just watched their livelihood disappear. “We are here. How can we help?” they wrote. No rivalry. No hesitation. Just neighbors being neighbors.
If you ever need a reminder of what makes this valley special, it’s moments like that. People who could have stayed quiet choosing instead to lift someone else up. Businesses that could have focused on themselves choosing instead to stand with another in their darkest moment. It’s the best of us. The part of small town life that doesn’t make headlines but makes all the difference.
We talk a lot about community, but this, this right here is what it looks like. It looks like firefighters sweating through their gear on a 90‑degree day. It looks like strangers handing out cold drinks. It looks like business owners reaching across the aisle to say, “You’re not alone.” It looks like compassion showing up before anyone has time to think twice.
Loss has a way of revealing character. And what I saw in the wake of that fire was a valley full of people who still believe in showing up, still believe in helping, still believe in each other. In a world that can feel divided and loud, this quiet, steady goodness is worth noticing. Worth celebrating. Worth holding onto.
Because when the smoke clears and the debris settles, what remains is the strength of a community that refuses to let anyone face hardship alone. And that, more than anything, is the story worth telling.
That is the true Best of the Valley. The people.
Bobbi Steffens resides in the Southern Valley and discovered her passion for writing through an unexpected path.
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