Gov. Doug Burgum outlined Tuesday a $96 million housing initiative that aims to provide financing assistance to developers for building new single and multi-family homes and take advantage of existing infrastructure to help limit costs.
“We’re growing and our economy is growing,” Burgum said during a news conference at Bismarck’s Custer Park. “We can’t grow unless we’ve got workforce, and we know we’re having challenges with workforce coming to our state because housing in certain markets, in certain places in the state, has gotten very tight.”
The recommendations will be part of Burgum’s state budget proposal he’ll announce during the first week of December.
The plan calls for nearly $39 million to be put toward “financing innovations” to provide gap funding for developers to construct single and multi-family homes through the North Dakota Housing Incentive Fund, which is managed by the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency.
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Group gathering input on North Dakota housing needs
It would also provide low interest construction loans for projects relating to entry-level homes and aging-in-place home designs within established neighborhoods.
“None of the programs we are talking about today are going to be directed toward greenfield, or new infrastructure,” Burgum said. “We have to invest in places where we’ve got existing infrastructure.”
Burgum emphasized that focusing the projects in areas with existing streets, utilities and fire and police coverage will not increase the property tax burden for the community.
The plan would also incentivize partnerships at the local level through low interest loan programs to improve existing houses with repairs so people can stay in their homes longer and keep those homes in a sellable condition, if the homeowner decides to move.
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Almost $23 million would be used to fund innovation grants to spur additional housing projects in urban and rural areas.
Burgum said clearing some of the permitting and zoning “red tape” would also help promote the next generation of manufactured housing, which is modular home designs.
“As the manufactured home moves from what we might traditionally think about with mobile homes, which people think is substandard, there’s a whole new industry coming and we’ve got to attract it to North Dakota,” Burgum said. “There’s a way to lower the cost of homebuilding with modular, manufactured housing as a key part of that, that hasn’t really arrived here … and we’ve got to make sure our code allows that to happen.”
The ideas are the result of the North Dakota Housing Initiative Advisory Committee, which has been working to develop a comprehensive housing strategy. The committee held five listening sessions with stakeholders in Bismarck, Fargo, Harvey, Williston and at the Strengthening Government to Government Conference with tribal nations.
Committee member Kim Settel, vice president of retail banking and lending for Gate City Bank, said clearing regulatory burdens for new construction would go a long way toward incentivizing new home construction. She also emphasized finding ways to decrease mortgage rates.
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Burgum highlighted that some homeowners with grown children may want to downsize and sell their home to a new family, but high interest rates are a deterrent.
“If we can get them into a rate that is more amenable to what it was, then you can open that house up for another family,” Settel said.
She also said no two housing markets are the same and what may work to increase housing in a city like Fargo may not be the same approach needed in Bowman.
The plan also provides $10 million to address ongoing homelessness through emergency shelter operating funds and re-housing assistance.
Burgum said homelessness can occur rapidly for families, based on circumstances. He added about a third of all homelessness involves families with children.
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“It’s not just about individuals, it’s about families,” Burgum said.
State Rep. Mike Beltz, R-Hillsboro, a member of the Housing Initiative Advisory Committee, said the best thing you can do for a homeless person is to put a roof over their head.
“It provides them stability and exponentially increases the opportunities for positive outcomes on that front,” Beltz said.
Burgum said about $16 million of the new initiative will provide eviction prevention resources and housing assistance for those deemed high-risk for housing instability. To receive housing assistance, the recipient must take part in a financial coaching program, he said.
“We just want to make sure people understand, on the financial side of things, both the responsibilities and the opportunities within home ownership,” Burgum said.
Beltz said the housing initiative proposal will fall across multiple state agencies that will administer the programs.
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To assist the construction workforce, $6 million from the program would be made available through grants to local schools for continuing to promote construction careers.
Lawmakers will consider Burgum’s budget proposal, as well as budget recommendations from Gov.-elect Kelly Armstrong, when the legislative session begins Jan. 7.
BISMARCK — Christmas Day marks the ninth anniversary of 31-year-old Michelle Duppong’s death. While her family and friends will feel her absence on this day, they also feel the love, kindness and faith she demonstrated during her short life, along with abundant hope that she not only shared while alive but continues to share in death, which is one of the reasons she is slated to become the first person from North Dakota to become a Catholic saint.
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In June 2022, Bismarck Bishop David D. Kagan announced the opening of a diocesan investigation into Duppong’s “holiness of life and love for God,” officially starting the long and arduous process of canonization to a saint. On Nov. 1, 2022, Kagan deemed Duppong a servant of god.
Duppong is on track to be the first North Dakotan and one of few around the world to be canonized, said Father Tom Grafsgaard, of Hazen, North Dakota. According to Catholic publications, only 11 people from the U.S. have become canonized saints.
“It’s never happened in the history of North Dakota in either (the Bismarck or Fargo) Diocese,” Grafsgaard said. “It’s quite exceedingly rare for this to be happening.”
In the process of canonization, the Catholic Church declares people “saints.” There are three paths to sainthood: to have died as a martyr for Catholicism; if one lived an expression of love and died a rather quick and unexpected death; or if they gave a heroic example of living all the Christian virtues.
The process of canonization is governed by a strict canonical or juridical procedure established by St. John Paul II in 1983.
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After Kagan began the process, Duppong’s cause entered the diocesan phase of investigation into her life. The Michelle Duppong Guild was created — a group tasked with promoting an awareness of her life. Officials are poring over Duppong’s writings, work, demonstrations of faith and the great number of lives she touched while alive, which are illustrated through interviews with those who knew her, Grafsgaard said.
Her case will be built up and eventually sent to the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints in Rome for the Roman Phase of canonization. A Vatican panel will also investigate and determine if Duppong lived a heroically virtuous life. The Dicastery can then issue a “decree of heroic virtue” in which Duppong would be given the new title of “Venerable Servant of God.”
The third step, beatification, then begins. During this phase, it must be proven that one miracle has been granted by God through Duppong’s intercession. If the Pope declares a true miracle occurred, then Duppong would be declared “Blessed.” Last, a ceremony of canonization would take place where the church declares her a Saint in heaven with God.
“The process is very long,” Grafsgaard said. “I often say, ‘It takes as long as it takes.’ ”
Michelle Christine Duppong was born Jan. 25, 1984, the fourth of six children to parents Ken and Mary Ann Duppong. She grew up on the family farm in Haymarsh, North Dakota, where her parents said she loved to help with chores, including caring for sheep but especially gardening, mowing, pruning, weeding, harvesting and canning, according to her mother.
Duppong was named valedictorian and president of her senior class and later attended North Dakota State University, where she earned a degree in horticulture.
After earning her degree, she became a FOCUS missionary at four college campuses, including the inaugural year at the University of Mary, mentoring college students to draw them deeper into the faith. FOCUS is an apostolate dedicated to evangelizing college and university students.
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In 2012, she became the director of faith formation for the Bismarck Diocese, where she led parish missions, launched a podcast and spearheaded a three-day Eucharistic conference that drew thousands to the Bismarck Civic Center in 2013.
In the fall of 2014, Duppong was experiencing sharp abdominal pains that doctors initially thought were ovarian cysts, a common but painful issue for women that will sometimes dissolve and go away without major medical treatment. But by December, the pain was unrelenting, and an outpatient surgery was scheduled that month to remove the cysts.
According to Mary Ann Duppong, surgeons were “shocked to find” Michelle Duppong’s abdomen was “full of stage four cancer.”
Doctors expected the young woman to die within months, and hospice care was recommended.
“Michelle was not one to blame anyone for anything,” Mary Ann Duppong said. “Her attitude was, ‘If God wants me to go through this, I will go through this.’ “
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Despite the diagnosis, Michelle Duppong continued her life for nearly a full year.
According to the website that outlines the canonization process for Michelle Duppong and its status, she told one of the sisters providing hospice care that she believed she would pass on Christmas Day. Michelle Duppong died at 11:23 p.m. on Dec. 25, 2015.
Shortly after Bishop Kagan initiated the process for Michelle Duppong’s canonization, U.S. bishops affirmed their support for the cause’s advancement.
In this first stage, the primary focus is to raise awareness of Michelle Duppong and the push for her sainthood by spreading as much information about her and her life as possible, which is done through the creation of a guild and much of which can be found at
www.michelleduppongcause.org.
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In January, a FOCUS-produced documentary titled “Thirst for Souls: The Michelle Duppong Story,” was screened at a FOCUS convention in St. Louis. Afterward, Michelle Duppong’s parents were inundated for hours with comments about how much the movie and Michelle had influenced viewers.
While one cannot necessarily predict when or if Michelle Duppong will become a saint, Grafsgaard said a bishop must believe canonization is likely to begin the process.
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“For a bishop to initiate a cause, there should be a well-founded hope for its success,” he said. “There certainly was reputation in her life, and she continues to have it in her death.”
Grace M. Kegler, 94, of Grand Forks, ND passed away Monday, December 23, 2024, at Edgewood Vista in East Grand Forks, MN. Memorial Liturgy 1100 a.m. Saturday, December 28, 2024, with a 1030 a.m. Rosary Service in the Historic Norman Funeral Home Chapel. Family Greeting 1000 a.m. to 1100 a.m.
Coming out of a difficult non-conference span of games, this past week was likely a step down in competition for the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball team.
Beginning on Wednesday night, the Crimson Tide did what most programs do not often do, traveling across the country mid-week for a true road game against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Alabama would however win that contest in a closer game than most expected, 97-90, and then returned home Sunday for a showdown with the Kent State Golden Flashes in which they were victorious, 81-54.
Because of these results, Alabama now sits at 10-2 overall for the 2024-25 season with the Crimson Tide’s non-conference schedule winding down, and the start of SEC play looming in early-January.
However, just how much did these results affect Alabama’s AP Poll Top 25 ranking, if at all?
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After carrying a ranking of No. 6 last week, Alabama rose one spot up to No. 5 in the latest AP Poll released Monday afternoon. The Crimson Tide were also the third highest-ranked SEC team, trailing only No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 Auburn.
Riding a four-game winning streak, the Crimson Tide will officially be back in action this upcoming Sunday, Dec. 29 at home against South Dakota State, with tipoff set for 3 p.m. ET on either SEC Network+ or ESPN+.