North Dakota
Concerns over local control pop up in hearing on North Dakota bill to restrict student cellphone use
BISMARCK — North Dakota lawmakers heard testimony for and against a bill to ban cellphone use by public school students during instructional time Wednesday, Jan. 15.
House Bill 1160,
sponsored by Rep. Jim Jonas, R-West Fargo,
would prohibit students from using cellphones during classes or any educational activity but allow such use during lunch, recess, between classes and open class periods.
Jonas said approximately 11 states have either total bans or restrictions on student cellphone use and another 10 are considering them.
“Let’s see if we can get better behavior, academic scores up, math, reading and better mental health,” Jonas told the House Education
C
ommittee on Wednesday.
A modified version of the bill makes exceptions for students who must use their cellphone to manage a medical condition or are on an individualized education program, plan or 504 plan who use their phone as an assistive device.
In addition, a school district or school may temporarily suspend the cellphone ban in the case of an emergency.
West Fargo High School Principal Rachel Bachmeier, who spoke in favor of the bill, said her school, along with others in the district, implemented a policy in the fall of 2022 to restrict cellphone use.
In effect, the cellphone policy is “out of sight, out of use from bell to bell,” she said, but students may use them during non-instructional time.
Consequences for violating the policy range from a classroom warning to surrender of the cellphone to the main office for a day or more to family meetings and behavior plans.
“We very, very rarely move beyond the first main office consequence. It is an incredibly effective policy in that way,” Bachmeier said.
Teachers have also noticed less “drama” in the classroom when students aren’t distracted by their phones, she added, and students themselves have reflected on how the policy improved their own behaviors.
Several school administrators and other stakeholders expressed concerns with aspects of the bill.
Steve Madler, principal of Bismarck Century High School, said they follow an “out of sight, out of mind during instruction” policy after attempting an all-out cellphone ban a few years back, which led to too many arguments from students and families.
However, he said, some students and teachers use cellphones in the classroom for research, surveys and language translation, adding that the Bismarck district distributes Google Chromebooks to students, which aren’t as efficient as Apple iPads for those tasks.
“It’s important for us to have policies, but I think it’s also important that we have pieces in the bill that allow us to use it for an educational purpose,” Madler said.
KrisAnn Norby-Jahner, in-house legal counsel for the North Dakota School Boards Association, expressed concern about a blanket ban on cellphone use. She said local control should be maintained, and a large majority of school districts already handle this issue.
Norby-Jahner suggested a change in the bill’s language simply requiring all school districts to come up with their own cellphone policies.
In 2024, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law requiring school districts and charter schools to adopt student cellphone policies by March 15, 2025.
Bachmeier said there is an argument for local control, but action is needed if lawmakers believe excessive cellphone use and social media access during classes is a public health crisis.
“If we do, what is our responsibility as a state to step in and take the first action in helping protect our kids?” she asked.
MCHENRY, N.D. — A 58-year-old man was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash Saturday, May 30, south of Devils Lake.
According to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, a Neche man was riding a 2017 Harley Davidson Tri Glide Ultra Trike eastbound on Highway 15 at an unknown speed, 11 miles northwest of McHenry. The trike struck an area of broken payment and rolled over.
The driver was not wearing a helmet and was seriously injured. He was taken by air ambulance to Sanford Medical Center in Fargo.
The Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
McHenry is located in Foster County, roughly equidistant between Jamestown and Devils Lake.
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“The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” Genesis 12:7
These verses have been used to justify all kinds of land disputes in the Middle East. Indeed, I have heard people in Christian circles in our own country use this verse to justify their support for Israel in wars to preserve “their” God-given land, because the Israelites were the children of Abram (later called Abraham).
While that is true, Abraham was the father of two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. Jewish and Christian believers consider themselves descendants of Abraham through Isaac. Muslim believers consider themselves descendants of Abraham through Ishmael. Therefore, the land God gave to Abraham, and his descendants is not Jewish land, Muslim land or Christian land. It belongs to all of these “cousins” who believe in God/Yahweh/Allah (etc.….).
One of the most alarming trends in the world of faith is the rise of religious nationalism. According to Wikipedia, “religious nationalism is the fusion of national identity with religious beliefs, where a nation is defined by a shared faith, and religion serves as a central pillar of its political and social life. It seeks to align government policies and laws with religious doctrines.” This happens among all of the cousins of Abraham’s descendants. There are Islamic nationalists, Jewish Zionists, and Christian nationalists, and they are all dangerous.
In the same way Zionists will claim the Middle East as given to them by God, religious nationalists use the beliefs and texts (Bible, Koran) out of context to rationalize their political views, policies and even wars. They attempt to convince people that one political viewpoint supports their faith, and others do not. In the United States, Christian nationalism is on the rise. Politicians repeatedly use scripture to support their policies and ideals, attempting to convince us that what they are doing is the “Christian” thing to do, when, in fact, quite often these policies and ideals not only have nothing to do with the Christian faith, but they also occasionally go completely against it.
I once heard a state politician say, “It’s my God-given right to carry a gun.” Say WHAT??? God did not give anyone the right to carry a gun. Period. That’s just foolishness. And nobody even commented about it, which tells me it doesn’t bother us to hear people say things like that.
Our faith in God, no matter which branch of the family tree we come from, should “inform” our political and ethical views, but we cannot become like other countries and base our laws on one religious belief or another. Especially in a country where we are diverse in our religious beliefs. This is not a “Christian” nation, a “Muslim” nation or a “Jewish” nation. It is a nation of people who come from all kinds of faith traditions, and we are promised the freedom to practice our religion, no matter what it is.
God gave the descendants of Abraham – all of the descendants of Abraham — blessings too numerous to mention. We can be grateful for those blessings without trying to claim all of them as our own.
Rev. Janel F. Kolar is the pastor at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Dickinson, North Dakota.
BISMARCK — Fargo Shanley shined in a battle of unbeatens Saturday afternoon at Sanford Sports Complex, while unseating the defending state champion.
The Deacons got goals from Carly Hulstein, Emma Rohrich and Annie Yablonski to earn a 3-0 victory against Mandan for the North Dakota girls soccer state championship.
Shanley completed its unbeaten season, while shutting out defending champ Mandan for the first time this spring.
“The girls were excited to play Mandan, two undefeated teams and someone had to come out as the winner,” Deacons head coach Ryan Christianson said. “Whoever worked the hardest was going to come out champions, our girls were hungry.”
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
The Deacons (13-0-4) won their first state crown since 2019 and third overall. Mandan (17-0-1) fell one win shy of a repeat.
“Tough game, I felt like we controlled the game, to be honest,” Mandan head coach Aaron McElwee said. “We knew they would be dangerous on set pieces and that’s what they created.”
Shanley converted on a corner kick in the opening half for what proved to be the game-winning goal. Hulstein got a late head touch on a corner off the foot Rohrich, giving the Deacons a 1-0 lead with 16 minutes remaining until halftime.
“The first goal in the first half, that sparked momentum,” Christianson said. “Coming off of last year, we scored a bunch of corners, but this year I think we only had one or two. To make it count in the state championship game, I’ll take it.”
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
The first insurance goal for the Deacons came with less than 18 minutes left in the second, as Rohrich scored off a rebound.
“That second goal was a hustle effort by Emma with an awesome finish,” Christianson said. “Emma was locked in from yesterday’s game, two goals sparked the fire and led into today. She deserved that one.”
Yablonski, a freshman, scored her first varsity goal for a 3-0 lead with 1 minute, 31 seconds remaining, as Mandan tried to apply pressure late.
“Annie with the cherry on top with the deep ball after the goalie was pushed up to help her team,” Christianson said. “That’s a way to start off your varsity career. She was close earlier in the game with a shot that went wide of the post, but that was a heads-up play by her, noticing the goalie was out.”
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
Mandan’s best chance came from senior Sarah Helderop, off a corner kick in the second half, but Shanley goalkeeper Kailey Ottmar knocked the ball down and grabbed the rebound before any Braves players could arrive.
“Kailey was focused from the beginning of the game, usually I talk to her a bit, but she wanted to be by herself,” Christianson said. “She didn’t have to do too much, but there was a corner, a free kick. She was heads-up and had a good handle on the ball.”
Ottmar finished with six saves to earn the shutout. Gabby Frohlich had three saves for Mandan.
“Congrats to Shanley,” McElwee said. “We were close.”
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
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