North Dakota

Fargo area leaders urge local control as state works on property tax reform

Published

11 months ago

February 22, 2025

Fargo area leaders urge local control as state works on property tax reform

FARGO — Local leaders are keeping a close eye on moves in the state Legislature that aim to offer property tax relief after Gov. Kelly Armstrong identified that as a key legislative priority.

If passed,

House Bill 1176

would place a 3% cap on annual property tax levy increases for political subdivisions. The bill, introduced by Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, includes a host of other property tax changes championed by Armstrong, as well as tax relief for renters and elderly homeowners.

On behalf of the most populated county in the state, Cass County Commission Chair

Tony Grindberg told lawmakers this process should include collaboration between the state and local powers.

He submitted opposing testimony to the bill.

“We want a seat at the table to be part of the solution,” Grindberg told The Forum. “A 3% cap creates challenges for the state’s fastest-growing county.”

While the county supports statewide efforts to expand property tax relief to primary residences, there is concern at the county level that the bill doesn’t adequately factor in inflation, economic and population growth, or changing requirements for government.

Historically, Cass County has maintained healthy finances through “fiscally conservative budgets,” Grindberg said.

A 3% cap on annual property tax increases doesn’t align with the growing demands on the county, he said, including increased costs across the board, workforce challenges and an ongoing jail expansion.

If this is put into law, Cass County will either need to cut services or face a deficit of $4 million by 2026, he said. The bulk of the county’s budget is earmarked for public safety offices like the jail, sheriff and state’s attorney, he said, and other cuts could impact the highway fund for road upkeep.

Ultimately, Grindberg said he hopes lawmakers arrive at the right decisions for property tax relief and reform that provide a level of local control and flexibility.

“It will all work out, but it’s going to take a collective effort,” he said.

The Fargo School Board is asking the Legislature to push forward property tax reform that prioritizes local control and can be easily and practically applied throughout the state.

On behalf of the board, member

Robin Nelson submitted neutral testimony to the bill.

It’s increasingly apparent that property tax issues are complex, Nelson told The Forum, and require more thought than placing a cap on local government.

However, that’s how leading goes, she said, noting it involves coming to the table with an idea and working on it until it’s the best it can be.

“That’s how the democratic process works,” Nelson said. “Legislation is sausage-making.”

At the end of the day, Nelson said, the best ideas from around the table will be formed into a final solution to best serve the interests of local communities.

The city of Fargo is excited to see property tax reform and the positive impact it will have on residents, Mayor Tim Mahoney said. He did not submit testimony on the bill.

However, the city isn’t without worry about the shifting landscape.

The 3% cap on annual increases won’t keep up with the growth of communities like Fargo, West Fargo and Horace, Mahoney said.

These concerns have been brought to Armstrong’s attention on behalf of the Fargo City Commission and the city of West Fargo, he said, and leaders from both communities plan to work alongside state leaders to find solutions.

At the end of the day, the city wants to continue providing services to residents, Mahoney said, and could face cuts if the community’s growth outpaces the proposed cap.

“People expect great services in their community,” he said.

Legislators amended HB 1176 several times since its introduction.

Most notably, lawmakers adjusted the bill to allow voters to exclude their county or city from the levy increase caps for up to 10 years,

The Bismarck Tribune reported.

Armstrong told The Bismarck Tribune the built-in flexibility could be “a little more restrictive,” but he commended the hard work that is moving the bill forward.

There has been a mixed response to the bill,

according to submitted testimony,

with roughly half in favor, a quarter opposed and another quarter neutral.

Most of the written comments were submitted on behalf of government entities or by government officials and other large organizations.

The bill was sent to the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 11 and is awaiting a recommendation there.

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North Dakota

North Dakota officials celebrate being among big winners in federal rural health funding

Published

2 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

North Dakota officials celebrate being among big winners in federal rural health funding

North Dakota U.S. Sen. John Hoeven and Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Friday touted the success of the state’s application for federal Rural Health Transformation Program funding, which landed one of the largest per-capita awards in the nation.

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North Dakota

Tony Osburn’s 27 helps Omaha knock off North Dakota 90-79

Published

14 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Tony Osburn’s 27 helps Omaha knock off North Dakota 90-79

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tony Osburn scored 27 points as Omaha beat North Dakota 90-79 on Thursday.

Osburn shot 8 of 12 from the field, including 5 for 8 from 3-point range, and went 6 for 9 from the line for the Mavericks (8-10, 1-2 Summit League). Paul Djobet scored 18 points and added 12 rebounds. Ja’Sean Glover finished with 10 points.

The Fightin’ Hawks (8-11, 2-1) were led by Eli King, who posted 21 points and two steals. Greyson Uelmen added 19 points for North Dakota. Garrett Anderson had 15 points and two steals.

___

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

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North Dakota

Port: 2 of North Dakota’s most notorious MAGA lawmakers draw primary challengers

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Port: 2 of North Dakota’s most notorious MAGA lawmakers draw primary challengers

MINOT — Minot’s District 3 is home to Reps. Jeff Hoverson and Lori VanWinkle, two of the most controversial members of the Legislature, but maybe not for much longer.

District 3, like all odd-numbered districts in our state, is on the ballot this election cycle, and the House incumbents there

have just drawn two serious challengers.

Tim Mihalick and Blaine DesLauriers, each with a background in banking, have announced campaigns for those House seats. Mihalick is a senior vice president at First Western Bank & Trust and serves on the State Board of Higher Education. DesLauriers is vice chair of the board and senior executive vice president at First International Bank & Trust.

The entry into this race has delighted a lot of traditionally conservative Republicans in North Dakota

Hoverson, who has worked as a Lutheran pastor, has frequently made headlines with his bizarre antics. He was

banned from the Minot International Airport

after he accused a security agent of trying to touch his genitals. He also

objected

to a Hindu religious leader participating in the Legislature’s schedule of multi-denominational invocation leaders and, on his local radio show, seemed to suggest that Muslim cultures that force women to wear burkas

have it right.

Hoeverson has also backed legislation to mandate prayer and the display of the Ten Commandments in schools, and to encourage the end of Supreme Court precedent prohibiting bans on same sex marriage.

Rep. Jeff Hoverson, R-Minot, speaks on a bill Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, at the North Dakota Capitol.

Tom Stromme / The Bismarck Tribune

VanWinkle, for her part, went on a rant last year in which she suggested that women struggling with infertility have been cursed by God

(she later claimed her comments, which were documented in a floor speech, were taken out of context)

before taking

a weeklong ski vacation

during the busiest portion of the legislative session (she continued to collect her daily legislative pay while absent). When asked by a constituent why she doesn’t attend regular public forums in Minot during the legislative session,

she said she wasn’t willing to “sacrifice” any more of her personal time.

The incumbents haven’t officially announced their reelection bids, but it’s my practice to treat all incumbents as though they’re running again until we learn otherwise.

In many ways, VanWinkle and Hoverson are emblematic of the ascendant populist, MAGA-aligned faction of the North Dakota Republican Party. They are on the extreme fringe of conservative politics, and openly detest their traditionally conservative leaders. Now they’ve got challengers who are respected members of Minot’s business community, and will no doubt run well-organized and well-funded campaigns.

If the 2026 election is a turning point in the

internecine conflict among North Dakota Republicans

— the battle to see if our state will be governed by traditional conservatives or culture war populists — this primary race in District 3 could well be the hinge on which it turns.

In the 2024 cycle, there was an effort, largely organized by then-Rep. Brandon Prichard, to push far-right challengers against more moderate incumbent Republicans.

It was largely unsuccessful.

Most of the candidates Prichard backed lost, including Prichard himself, who was

defeated in the June primary

by current Rep. Mike Berg, a candidate with a political profile not all that unlike that of Mihalick and DesLauriers.

But these struggles among Republicans are hardly unique to North Dakota, and the populist MAGA faction has done better elsewhere. In South Dakota, for instance, in the 2024 primary,

more than a dozen incumbent Republicans were swept out of office.

Can North Dakota’s normie Republicans avoid that fate? They’ll get another test in 2026, but recruiting strong challengers like Mihalick and DesLauriers is a good sign for them.

Rob Port is a news reporter, columnist, and podcast host for the Forum News Service with an extensive background in investigations and public records. He covers politics and government in North Dakota and the upper Midwest. Reach him at rport@forumcomm.com. Click here to subscribe to his Plain Talk podcast.

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