North Dakota

Board approves Brent Sanford as new ‘commissioner’ of North Dakota University System

Published

3 months ago

September 23, 2025

Board approves Brent Sanford as new ‘commissioner’ of North Dakota University System

MINOT — The board overseeing the North Dakota University System has awarded the interim chancellor the permanent role and changed the name of that role in the process.

The State Board of Higher Education unanimously approved Brent Sanford as commissioner of the system at its meeting Tuesday, Sept. 23, in Minot.

Sanford, a former Republican lieutenant governor, was

named the interim university system leader in April,

replacing Chancellor Mark Hagerott,

who stepped down around the same time.

In August, Board Chair Kevin Black told a legislative committee meeting in Dickinson that

he favored skipping a nationwide search in favor of giving Sanford the job.

Before the vote Tuesday, Black called it a “once-in-a-generational opportunity” to appoint Sanford, whom he said can make a true difference for higher education.

“For those reasons, I think doing the right thing and putting the right person in the seat trumps the process. In this case, I think it is absolutely 100% worth it,” Black said.

Other board members praised Sanford, indicating he was an obvious choice.

“I can always recognize the guy that’s got that ‘it factor,’ and in my opinion, Brent’s got that ‘it factor,’ and I’m excited about his opportunities to come and lead this university system,” said Member Tim Mihalick.

Said Member Danita Bye, “We could have done a national search and Brent would be our top candidate.”

Black said despite changing the title to commissioner, a motion that also received unanimous approval, the role of the position does not change.

“What I think the board is really saying through this motion is that we believe it’s important to align with what the Constitution says and what Century Code says,” he said.

To reflect the change, Board Vice Chair Donald “D.J.” Campbell laid out further amendments to other leadership titles.

The chancellor will become commissioner, the vice chancellor for academic and student affairs will become deputy commissioner/chief academic and student affairs officer, and the vice chancellor for administrative affairs will become deputy commissioner and chief financial officer, he said.

Before the vote on Sanford took place, he gave a presentation to the board and answered questions from board members.

Member Patrick Sogard asked about

a perception among some in the public

of Sanford’s lack of experience in academia.

Hagerott, who had led the university system since 2015, had a doctorate degree, and other recent chancellors have had master’s or other advanced degrees.

Sanford said his experience interacting with higher education as lieutenant governor was valuable.

He added that he was truly enjoying the role as interim chancellor.

“You can probably tell I do and I find it a better fit than I thought it would be, because it’s turning out that this job is very much a government leadership, government administrator, political administrator, type job that I’m used to,” Sanford said.

Also slated to be discussed Tuesday was

consideration of a policy change stating presidential vacancies at colleges and universities may be filled without doing a search.

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North Dakota

As ACA tax credits expire, a North Dakota rural hospital braces for 2026

Published

2 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

As ACA tax credits expire, a North Dakota rural hospital braces for 2026

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – With federal health care tax credits set to expire, rural hospitals in the state warn the ripple effect could strain their budgets while they are already operating on thin margins.

The Emergency Department at Jamestown Regional Medical Center is gearing up for more patients to come into their doors, uninsured, starting Jan. 1.

“We could be affected as early as January of the coming year. So it would happen very, very quickly. And nobody really knows what’s going to happen,” said Mike Delfs, the CEO of Jamestown Regional Medical Center.

Many rural residents are on the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Since premiums are predicted to spike significantly, some people will drop insurance, and they will be forced to go to the ER when they get sick. Hospitals cannot refuse emergency patients, and will have to shoulder the cost on thin margins.

“We would be looking at anticipated bad debt, but to what degree we don’t even know, and it is kind of scary to think about,” said Delfs.

Hospital leadership and staff say that the uncertainty is wearing on them, on top of the common stressors rural providers have to deal with.

As of now, they say their best bet is to hope that Congress can put aside partisan differences and come up with a solution.

“We have real people who are either going to lose their insurance or its going to get so expensive they literally can’t afford it. And the downstream effect of that is now you are endangering hospitals in rural locations just by their mere viability,” said Delfs.

According to hospital leadership, without congressional action in 2026, the end of the year could leave the hospital with nearly one million dollars in unpaid medical bills.

North Dakota’s Republican congressional delegation says the Rural Health Transformation Fund will greatly benefit rural hospitals and blames democrats for voting against their healthcare plan.

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North Dakota

Pepperdine hosts North Dakota State following Koenen’s 22-point game

Published

14 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Pepperdine hosts North Dakota State following Koenen’s 22-point game

North Dakota State Bison (8-2) at Pepperdine Waves (7-2)

Malibu, California; Tuesday, 5 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: North Dakota State visits Pepperdine after Avery Koenen scored 22 points in North Dakota State’s 83-55 victory against the Eastern Illinois Panthers.

The Waves are 4-0 on their home court. Pepperdine is 1-0 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 18.2 turnovers per game.

The Bison are 3-0 on the road. North Dakota State scores 77.4 points and has outscored opponents by 15.3 points per game.

Pepperdine averages 8.1 made 3-pointers per game, 2.8 more made shots than the 5.3 per game North Dakota State gives up. North Dakota State averages 6.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.1 fewer made shots on average than the 7.3 per game Pepperdine allows.

TOP PERFORMERS: Seleh Harmon averages 2.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Waves, scoring 10.4 points while shooting 44.4% from beyond the arc. Elli Guiney is shooting 47.3% and averaging 14.4 points.

Molly Lenz averages 1.7 made 3-pointers per game for the Bison, scoring 7.8 points while shooting 39.5% from beyond the arc. Koenen is averaging 18.2 points, 10 rebounds and 1.6 steals.

___

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

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North Dakota

North Dakota lawmakers from West Fargo announce bid for reelection

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

North Dakota lawmakers from West Fargo announce bid for reelection

WEST FARGO — Three incumbents from West Fargo will run for reelection to their state legislative seats.

North Dakota Sen. Judy Lee and Reps. Jim Jonas and Austen Schauer, all Republicans, announced Sunday, Dec. 14, that they would campaign to represent District 13 in the state Legislature. The district covers much of north West Fargo.

Austin Schauer.

Special to The Forum

Lee was first elected to the North Dakota Senate in 1994. Jonas and Schauer have served in the state House since 2023 and 2019, respectively.

The three ran unopposed in the 2022 election. The next election for their seats is in 2026.

Jim Jonas, candidate for West Fargo School Board. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor — Jim Jonas.

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.

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