North Dakota
From Omaha to Fargo: A teen's fight to finish school
FARGO — An 18-year-old student who moved from Omaha to Fargo just weeks ago is defying the odds and preparing to graduate from high school on June 6 after overcoming immense challenges — including neglect, instability and an academic setback of nearly three semesters.
Jason Seminara-Bronston, who will soon take the last name of his adoptive parents, Rayburn, was living in a difficult situation in Omaha earlier this year. He was sharing a home with his sister, her boyfriend, and her three children, and struggling in school with a GPA below 1.0.
“I was being stolen from — all checks that were provided from the government for me were being stolen … stolen and spent on weed from my sister,” Jason said. “It wasn’t the best. I was falling behind in school.”
Jason had spent time in foster care earlier in life and was living with his grandmother until she was killed in a car crash in October.
When Jason’s aunt and uncle, Kristi and Cliff Rayburn of Fargo, were contacted about his repeated absences from school this spring, they made the trip to Omaha. Though Jason had only known them since 2021, he asked if he could live with them.
“He approached us and basically said, ‘Hey, I’m not happy with where I’m at now. Can I come with you?’ And it takes some guts to do that,” Cliff Rayburn said.
Determined to earn his diploma, he began commuting back and forth between Omaha and Fargo on weekends to stay with the Rayburns, whom he now calls Mom and Dad. In early May, he was allowed to officially transfer to Dakota High School in Fargo.
“Look, you’ve got essentially three semesters of school that you have to do. You know, there’s a lot of work there,” Cliff told him.
Jason took on the challenge headfirst. “I was like, well, might as well just try,” he said.
He completed all the necessary coursework in just 12 days.
“He did something nobody thought he was going to be able to do, and he did it in 30 less days than anybody even anticipated,” Cliff said.
Now, Jason is catching up on childhood experiences he says he never had. He’s spent the past few weeks learning how to ride a motorcycle, having water gun fights, and eating family dinners — something he says he never experienced growing up.
“(The) first time I sat down and had dinner with them, that was the first time I’ve actually ever done that in my whole life. And I didn’t even tell them that. They didn’t even know that,” he said.
Jason plans to enlist in the Army and is currently speaking with recruiters.
“It’s more fun to watch him not only grow, but also, even at 18, still realize he can be a kid, right?” Cliff said.
Kristi Rayburn, who is currently in Nebraska working through a custody battle for Jason’s nieces and nephews, said via text that it was Jason’s choice to turn his life around.
“I think every kid deserves that opportunity. And when an 18-year-old comes to me and says, ‘Hey, these are my plans. This is what I want to do,’ and he puts the work in — why would you not?” Kristi said.
Jason will walk across the stage at Dakota High School on June 6, proving what can be done with the right support and determination.
GRAND FORKS — A North Dakota composer’s dream is turning into a statewide invitation.
Williston-based musician Emily Black-Driscoll was chosen as the North Dakota Music Teachers Association’s commissioned composer for 2026. She’s preparing an original composition that will premiere in August.
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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.
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