North Dakota
Federal Reserve official says he looks to Bakken for insight on economy
A national banking official said he looks to North Dakota’s oil industry for clues about the health of the region’s economy.
“The Bakken, and North Dakota, is very interesting in giving me insight into what’s happening here and what it means for the broader economy,” Neel Kashkari said Thursday, May 16, while speaking at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck.
Kashkari is president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, which serves North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, as well as part of Wisconsin and Michigan. The Federal Reserve Banks are independent financial institutions that manage the U.S. economy.
In ordinary circumstances, when the economy is healthy, unemployment is low and the average rate of inflation is about 2%. However, if one of those factors is thrown out of whack, the Federal Reserve may decide to intervene.
“If the economy is growing too slowly, we will traditionally cut interest rates to try to give it a boost,” Kashkari said. “If the economy is overheating and inflation is too high, like recent experience, we will raise interest rates to try to tap the brakes in the economy to bring inflation back down.”
The Federal Reserve conducts extensive research to help inform those decisions, he said — including looking at employment trends in the Bakken.
“There have been times when the labor market here is incredibly tight, and it’s not been so tight around the U.S. economy, and you’re drawing in workers from all over America to come here — creating opportunity, high wages, and also challenges here in the local economy,” Kashkari said of North Dakota.
Michael Achterling / North Dakota Monitor
Recently, that hasn’t been the case, though. The whole country has had more jobs available than workers to fill them.
“If you have a particularly hot sector, you can’t simply draw workers from the rest of the country, because everyone around the rest of the country also has tight labor markets,” he said.
According to Kashkari, tribal economies are another important part of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve’s research. That’s because even when the U.S. economy is strong, tribes often face barriers that prevent them from accessing that wealth.
Their hope is to identify policies that governments can use to break down those barriers.
“Tribal economies have a unique set of challenges,” Kashkari said. “The economy may do well, different businesses may do well, and we still have people who are not participating in our economy.”
So where is the U.S. economy right now?
A mix of factors — including COVID-19, supply chain issues, an increased demand for consumer goods and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — caused global inflation to surge in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
These days, however, the economy is doing pretty well, Kashkari said.
Nationwide unemployment is relatively low — it was under 4% as of the end of April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And while inflation is still rising more quickly than ideal at around 3.5%, it’s a far cry from its peak of 9% in late 2022.
Consumer spending is also strong.
“As much gloom as there appears to be when people are surveyed about how they feel about the economy, most people are spending like they feel pretty good about the economy,” he said. “If you go on airplanes, they’re usually full. If you go to restaurants, they’re usually full. If you go to a hotel, they’re usually busy.”
The housing market has been unexpectedly resilient, too, he said. It’s remained competitive even after a series of mortgage hikes by the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage hovered around 3% before 2022, but is about 7.5% today.
“We think that there’s a pent-up demand for housing,” Kashkari said. “There’s been a pent-up shortage of housing across our economy for the last decade.”
The conference, which has more than 2,200 attendees, continues through Thursday.
This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com
______________________________________________________
This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.
North Dakota
Challengers declare victory after ND Supreme Court rules against Legislature’s attempt to alter term limits
BISMARCK — A constitutional ballot measure to amend the state’s term limits law as proposed by the Legislature will not appear on November’s ballot, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday, siding with petitioners who argued the Legislature exceeded its authority and violated the state constitution in proposing the changes.
“The people’s voice was heard,” Grand Forks County Commissioner Terry Bjerke said in reaction to the news.
Bjerke was a member of the sponsoring committee behind the successful 2022 effort to pass a term limits initiative, which amended the state constitution by capping legislative term limits to eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. The amendment, which became article XV of the state constitution, also included a clause barring the Legislature from making constitutional changes to term limits.
During the 2025 session, however, lawmakers narrowly approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 4008, in which the legislature proposed Constitutional Measure 1, a ballot measure to amend the term limits language to allow legislators to decide in which chamber they want to serve their 16 years, and to repeal the clause limiting the legislative assembly’s authority to propose an amendment to alter or repeal term limits.
Bjerke and former Minot legislator Oley Larsen brought the lawsuit challenging the validity of the Legislature’s action in January, and the state Supreme Court
heard oral arguments in the case
this spring.
“Those term limits may only be altered by a measure proposed by the people rather than the Legislative Assembly. And yet a few years later, the Legislative Assembly is doing what they are prohibited from doing,” attorney Zachary Wallen argued on Bjerke and Larsen’s behalf.
Tanner Ecker / The Bismarck Tribune
The Legislature’s attorneys argued the clause prohibiting legislative proposals to alter the constitutional term limits language “infringes on our republican form of government” by “limiting the people’s ability to vote on amendments proposed by their elected officials.”
Justice Jon Jensen seemed skeptical of that argument during the April 2 hearing, questioning whether a second vote was appropriate.
“The public did speak on this. The public spoke on it when it passed the original constitutional amendment and they said, ‘Legislature, you don’t even get to propose a change.’ They have already spoken on it,” Jensen said. “You want a second shot, or a second bite at the apple, not a first one, a second.”
In Thursday’s ruling, all five justices sided with Bjerke and Larsen.
“We … conclude the Legislative Assembly’s adoption of S.C.R. 4008 violated N.D. Const. art. XV … and declare S.C.R. 4008 and Constitutional Measure 1 void … We enjoin the Secretary of State from placing Constitutional Measure 1 on the November 2026 general election ballot,” the ruling said.
Bjerke thanked the legal team that worked on behalf of their lawsuit, and said he was grateful the court reached the conclusion it did.
“I’m thrilled that what the people voted on and approved has been validated,” Bjerke said.
He added that the Legislature had “multiple opportunities” to address term limits prior to 2022’s initiated measure and chose not to, and gave a nod to the country’s coming milestone and the process by which voters expressed their support for term limits.
“We’ve lasted 250 years,” Bjerke said. “I have two words for those elected leaders who think they aren’t: everyone’s replaceable.”
North Dakota
Fargo woman convicted in North Dakota fraud case now faces charges in Minnesota: A deeper dive
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A North Dakota woman who was sentenced to 180 days in jail in Cass County for defrauding healthcare providers and Medicaid programs is now facing additional fraud charges in Minnesota.
Christine Marie Pryor, 55, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to theft by deception involving more than $50,000. She was sentenced to first serve 180 days with a 3-year sentence suspended. She received credit for 44 days already served.
Pryor was ordered to pay $82,584.78 in restitution to Southeast Human Services in Fargo, where she worked between 2018 and 2019.
How the scheme unfolded
According to court documents, Pryor worked at multiple healthcare facilities in North Dakota and Minnesota between 2018 and 2023, using the identities and credentials of three licensed professionals without their knowledge. She submitted fraudulent Capella University diplomas and transcripts to gain employment.
Investigators say Pryor admitted she searched state licensing websites for therapists who shared her first name, then used those therapists’ last names and license numbers when applying for jobs.
At Southeast Human Services, where she worked as a Licensed Addiction Counselor, Pryor earned $55,584.82 while providing therapy services to approximately 150 patients. She also opened her own counseling center, NIAM Brain Injury Center, in Fargo between 2020 and 2021, and worked at The Lotus Center in Moorhead, Minnesota, from 2021 to 2023.
Court documents say the three licensed professionals whose identities were used told investigators they had no knowledge of Pryor’s actions and did not give her permission to use their information.
Two additional charges against Pryor in North Dakota, unauthorized use of personal identifying information, were dismissed on motion of the state.
Additional charges in Minnesota
Pryor is also facing charges in Minnesota. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Tuesday charges against Pryor in Clay County District Court for six theft offenses and six identity theft offenses related to defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program of more than $150,000.
According to the Minnesota complaint, Pryor claimed to provide psychotherapy and alcohol and drug counseling services to Medicaid recipients despite having no license or credentials to do so. Prosecutors allege she used the credentials and identities of three licensed professionals while claiming to provide Medicaid-funded services to 169 clients.
The Minnesota charges were filed as part of National Health Care Fraud Takedown Day, a joint effort involving the Department of Justice and more than 40 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
NCAA Set to Change Unpopular Football Rule Just in Time for North Dakota State’s FBS Jump
North Dakota State playing in the FCS playoffs and College Football Playoff in back-to-back years? It’s likelier than you think.
That’s because on Wednesday, according to a report from Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports, the NCAA Division I cabinet voted to repeal a rule that effectively barred teams transitioning from FCS to FBS from playing in postseason games in their first FBS seasons. The Bison are making that move along with Sacramento State in 2026.
The reported change has been a long time coming; the rule has hampered teams from immediate bowl eligibility for decades. Its good intentions of dissuading teams from rashly making the FCS-to-FBS leap have been rendered obsolete in recent years by the fact that programs generally arrive in FBS more prepared than ever before.
Consider the number of new FBS teams that have had to work within the provision in the past decade alone
That list includes: Liberty (home for the holidays at 6–6 in 2018), James Madison (8–3 in 2022 under coach Curt Cignetti, and barely able to play in a bowl at 11–1 in ’23 due to a lack of bowl-eligible teams), Jacksonville State (8–4 in ’23 before backing in like the Dukes), Missouri State (7–5 in 2025, also backed in) and Delaware (6–6 in ’25, ditto).
James Madison in particular became a cause célèbre in ’23 because it started the season 10-0, climbing as high as No. 18 in the AP Poll in mid-November. Then-Virginia attorney general Jason Miyares bandied about suing the NCAA before the Dukes lost 26–23 to Appalachian State, an event that caused the program to back off and accept a bid to play Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. James Madison lost that game 31–21, by which time Cignetti had left for Indiana.
There was a time when the FCS-to-FBS jump was an imposing one, and the NCAA did not want to incentivize making it lightly—not even a proud Florida A&M program could make a mid-2000s attempt at a jump stick. However, the Flames, Dukes and other teams have shown it’s not so great a climb for programs with the right resources and management.
Now the Bison and the Hornets stand to benefit.
How far can North Dakota State and Sacramento State go in the near term?
The Bison opened 12–0 last year before a shock loss to Illinois State in the FCS playoffs’ second round, so that question may answer itself. North Dakota State does not play a single Power 4 team—a potential strength-of-schedule albatross if it has designs on really surging. A potential roadblock: the fact that the Bison have to visit the Mountain West’s two favorites, UNLV (Oct. 10) and New Mexico (Oct. 24).
It’s a different story for the Hornets, a 7–5 squad a year ago whose move to the FBS is widely seen as a gamble on their growth potential. Sacramento State also does not play a major-conference team, but has a breakneck travel schedule ahead of it—the Hornets will visit Ypsilanti, Mich.; Bowling Green, Ohio; Muncie, Ind.; Mount Pleasant, Mich. and Honolulu. Combine that with a first-year coach—Oakland native and ex-MC Hammer choreographer Alonzo Carter—and it could be a long FBS debut in California’s capital.
More College Football From Sports Illustrated
Listen to SI’s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s College YouTube channel.
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
-
Los Angeles, Ca52 minutes agoJury says it is deadlocked in trial of man accused in Palisades Fire
-
Detroit, MI1 hour agoScene active as police shoot, kill man on Detroit’s west side
-
San Francisco, CA1 hour agoCivil grand jury report warns of wildfire risk at SF’s Glen Canyon Park
-
Dallas, TX1 hour agoIvory Coast advances at World Cup, how to buy Ivory Coast tickets
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMen used fake credentials to enter Brazil vs. Scotland match at Miami Stadium, deputies say
-
Boston, MA2 hours ago3 arrested after trying to break into downtown building, Boston police say – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoRTD to bring back BroncosRide bus service after 5-year suspension
-
Seattle, WA2 hours agoFOLLOWUP: Sound Transit Board finalizes $400+ million spending installment for West Seattle light rail
