North Dakota
Fedorchak ranks border security as top issue in US House race • North Dakota Monitor
This is the first in a two part-series about candidates for U.S. House.
Republican U.S. House candidate Julie Fedorchak ranked addressing southern border concerns as her top focus if voters send her to Washington as North Dakota’s first female House member.
Fedorchak is running against Democratic-NPL candidate Trygve Hammer during the 2024 election for North Dakota’s at-large House seat. Republican U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong is running for governor.
Fedorchak has served on the North Dakota Public Service Commission since being appointed in December 2012. She was reelected to the position in 2014, 2016 and 2022 and also serves as president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
In an interview with the North Dakota Monitor, she ranked her other main priorities as increasing the development of federal lands for energy production and passing a farm bill. Fedorchak also talked about reducing inflation and her stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
Southern border
Fedorchak said many of the policy changes she believes are needed involving the southern border should be done through the executive branch.
“I view the border crisis being largely a crisis of neglect,” she said. “We need, not necessarily new ideas, but we need new leadership, and I believe President (Donald) Trump will provide that leadership.”
North Dakota US House candidates trade barbs on abortion rhetoric
She added she believes this is the No. 1 issue for North Dakotans and it affects public safety, which includes combating drug trafficking.
Fedorchak also said immigration and visa program changes are a top priority for businesses that are struggling to fill open workforce positions.
“There are lots of people in this world who want to move to America, so let’s provide an orderly process for that to happen,” she said. “But it starts with securing the border.”
Energy production
On energy production, Fedorchak said third-party regulators of the country’s electric grid have warned that a majority of the nation is in danger of not having enough power, especially during extreme weather.
“The generation capacity is shrinking and the demand is increasing and that is an unsustainable path,” she said. “There’s no excuse for us running short. We’re gonna have storms and we’re gonna have outages of course, but not having enough supply to meet demand, that is avoidable and that’s a leadership issue.”
Having reliable energy provides security for the country, Fedorchak said, and having more power generation would reduce the overall cost for energy and provide relief for businesses and people who have seen their costs increase in recent years.
“Those energy prices are baked into the costs of everything that we consume,” she said. “I support increasing, not decreasing, energy development on federal lands and developing the resources that are owned by citizens of the state.”
Farm bill
The third top issue facing North Dakotans, Fedorchak said, is passing a farm bill to support the state’s agriculture interests.
She added Congress may pass a new farm bill during the lame duck period before new lawmakers are sworn in, but, if they don’t, she would address it as one of her first priorities.
Fedorchak also said she would continue to look into reducing inflationary pressures on farmers after a new farm bill is passed.
Reducing inflation
Fedorchak said walking out of the grocery store with two bags that cost $75 is difficult for families that struggle to make ends meet.
Lowering energy costs, tackling the country’s spending and overall debt would start reducing costs for Americans, Fedorchak said.
“We’ve seen significant growth in a lot of the regulatory agencies under the Biden administration,” she said.
Fedorchak voices support for federal abortion ban as she campaigns for US House
The Environmental Protection Agency workforce has ballooned to more than 18,000 people, Fedorchak said, which is thousands more compared to the agency size during President George W. Bush’s administration.
“Those folks are out there writing rules like the greenhouse gas rules that are completely disconnected to science and reality, and causing a great deal of potential harm to our electricity industry,” she said.
She also said car dealerships should not be forced to buy electric vehicles via clean energy mandates. Fedorchak added the mandates force companies to spend countless hours and money trying to comply with new regulations.
“Just think about that, 300 million hours that they are spending complying with federal regulations rather than trying to make money, trying to increase their wages, trying to employ more people or keep their costs down,” she said. “Those things contribute to inflation as well.”
Israel-Hamas war
Fedorchak said the country should “stand firm” on its support for Israel during its continued war against Hamas.
“Iran is at the heart of all of this,” she said. “It comes back to a failure of leadership by the Biden administration, who’s been weak on Iran since day one.”
She also said she believes in former President Trump’s foreign policy position of “peace through strength.”
“It’ll provide some motivation for these bad actors to start behaving better,” Fedorchak said.
She said she wants the U.S. to continue in its support role in the conflict and looks forward to taking a more nuanced position once she begins receiving intelligence briefings, if she is elected.
Abortion
During a debate between the U.S. House candidates in August, Fedorchak said her anti-abortion stance reflects the values of North Dakotans.
She said she believes abortion policy is best decided by individual states; however, she also favors a nationwide gestational limit.
“That would be set around 15 or 16 weeks,” Fedorchak said.
She said her position would allow states to set stricter abortion policies underneath the gestational limit.
Fedorchak defeated four other Republican candidates during the primary election in June.
As of Sept. 30, Fedorchak has raised more than $1.8 million in donations during the 2024 election cycle with more than $409,000 raised in the last three months.
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BOWBELLS, N.D. — More cases of
measles
have been identified in North Dakota, including in a previously uninfected county.
The North Dakota Health and Human Services Department announced on Thursday, May 29, the state’s 28th case, up seven from last week.
The latest case was the first reported in Burke County in far northwest North Dakota. The release did not identify the age of the infected individual but said they traveled frequently to
Williams County, where the first case was reported.
Williams County has nearly half the state’s cases with 13 infections, according to Health and Human Services.
The state has reported 23 cases in people who are less than 20 years old, including three in children 5 years old or younger.
Burke is the fourth county in North Dakota to have a measles case. Cass and Grand Forks counties reported seven cases each as of Thursday. At the end of last week, Cass County reported six cases and Grand Forks County reported two.
People in Divide County may have been exposed to the virus, Health and Human Services said. Places of possible exposure in Crosby include Lindsey’s Grocery Store at 211 Main St. S. from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Monday and Dollar General, 1108 Fourth St. SE, between 3:20 and 5:45 p.m. Monday, the release said.
“This is the highest number of measles cases reported in North Dakota since 1978, when 211 cases occurred,” state Immunization Director Molly Howell said in a statement.
North Dakota has a vaccination rate of almost 90%. The risk of measles to vaccinated residents is low, Health and Human Services said.
Measles is highly contagious since it can spread through the air and linger in rooms for up to two hours, the release said.
“People with measles are contagious before and after symptoms appear, increasing the risk of unintentional spread,” the release said.
The state recommends two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine — the first between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.
Two doses of the vaccine provide 97% protection, while one dose is 93% effective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The MMR vaccine is effective for life.
Residents who were born before 1957 are considered immune.
Those who have contracted the virus should monitor symptoms for 21 days, while unvaccinated people who are exposed to measles should quarantine for the same time period, the release said.
Information on measles and the vaccine can be found at
hhhs.nd.gov/immunizations/measles.
North Dakota
North Dakota (NDHSAA) high school baseball playoffs: 2025 brackets, matchups, game times (5/28/2025)
The postseason has arrived for North Dakota high school baseball.
The playoffs begin in the Peace Garden State in Class A and Class B, with a handful of games getting underway this week. Region semifinal and finals will be played throughout the state of North Dakota, with a chance on the line to advance to the next round.
Stick with High School on SI North Dakota for all of the matchups, game times and scores throughout the 2025 NDHSAA baseball playoffs.
Here are the NDHSAA high school baseball playoff brackets, with matchups and game times from NDHSAA’s Class A and Class B:
No. 4 at No. 1 Mandan
No. 3 Legacy at No. 2 Sheyenne
No. 4 Jamestown at No. 1 Fargo Davies
No. 3 West Fargo Horace at No. 2 Minot
BYE: Thompson
Bishop Ryan at No. 3 Northern Cass
Rugby at No. 1 Park River/Fordville-Lankin
No. 5 Shiloh Christian at No. 4 LaMoure/Litchville-Marion
Follow SBLive North Dakota throughout the 2025 high school baseball season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!
Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school baseball news.
To get live updates on your phone – as well as follow your favorite teams and top games – you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App
— Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi
The North Dakota State Library’s Center for the Book announces the North Dakota Great Read titles for 2025 are “What We Leave Behind” by Barb Solberg and “Sir Rupert and the Battle of the Squirrels” by RubyAnn Stiegelmeier.
“Great Reads from Great Places provides a wonderful opportunity to highlight North Dakota authors both nationally and across the state,” says Literacy Specialist Tammy Kruger. “We are excited to have the talents and hard work of Barb Solberg and RubyAnn Stiegelmeier showcased in 2025!”
Every year, the Library of Congress asks each state Center for the Book to select titles that represent the state’s literary landscape to highlight at the National Book Festival, an event showcasing the importance of books and reading. This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, Sept. 6, in Washington, D.C., and online. More information can be found at
https://www.loc.gov/events/2025-national-book-festival
.
The North Dakota Center for the Book invites North Dakotans to read “What We Leave Behind” by Barb Solberg and “Sir Rupert and the Battle of the Squirrels” by RubyAnn Stiegelmeier.
For more information on the 2025 North Dakota Great Read Program, visit
https://library-nd.libguides.com/NDCenterforthebook/greatreads
.
About “Sir Rupert and the Battle of the Squirrels”: This book is a funny approach to creative problem solving, cooperation and perseverance. Sir Rupert is a young person living in the castle, aspiring to become a “real” knight someday. He tries to help everyone he can to gain necessary knighthood experience. When his friend Bertha, the castle cook, comes to him one day asking for help with squirrels that have overrun the kitchen, Sir Rupert’s skills are put to the test. He asks everyone he can find for help, but no one has practical advice, so he and his friends team up to tackle the problem on their own. This story draws on themes of asking for help, persevering no matter what, helping others in the face of adversity, and receiving approval for one’s efforts even when things don’t turn out the way you planned.
About “What We Leave Behind”: Martin and Asta came to America in 1913 to homestead and create a better life for themselves and a hoped-for family. Nineteen years later during the difficult years of the Great Plains Dust Bowl, they intend to improve the lives of three of their nine children by sending their 18-year-old daughter with her two younger sisters to Norway to live with relatives for two years. But things do not go according to plan. The oldest sister falls in love with and marries a young Norwegian man, leaving the two younger sisters with no one to take them home. By 1940, when Germany invades Norway, the two younger sisters were living with the family relative who in the meantime married a Quisling, a member of the Norwegian Nazi Party. The two sisters miss the last U.S. evacuee ship out of Petsamo, Finland, and soon German soldiers take one sister to Grini, a concentration camp north of Oslo. Eventually she and her older sister both marry men active in the Norwegian Resistance Movement of WWII. Will the entire family ever reconnect?
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